Sunday, October 21, 2012

Video Games Through Technology 1983-92

By: Cortney Norton

The gaming industry has further advanced right along side technologies of the time. The constant advancing in technology sets the standard for what is to be expected in the video gaming industries as far as graphics and interactions throughout each time period. Between the years 1983-1992 the video game industry was at it’s own stage of development, just beginning to break away from the overall development of technology as a whole.

Video games have become a staple of technology and has gone beyond just technology and become its own art form. Advances in programing and rendering are being  made available every day to create these works of art, a path of evolution that runs parallel with the evolution of technology and mirrors the growth and development of art itself. When humans create or discover a new medium generally, after all of the practical uses have been discovered, the devolvement of a new form of art and entertainment follows. “The real motive force behind the advance of the world has always been provided by ideas.”¹ Through many influences came our technology, as did the video game industry. For example: “Our modern world is largely an intellectual product of the Renaissance and a physical product of the industrial revolution.” ¹ It is through this mindset that video games are possible, yet they are also a product influenced by many cultural and technological influences.

Video game consoles were being introduced rapidly, companies were trying to butt into the market every day. Before the major video game manufactures we know today became mainstream, many other companies were joining the race of game development. Some lesser known developers helped set the stage for companies as we know them no w.  In 1983 the first video game to use laser-disc technology was established by Rick Dyer. Namco’s PV-1000 was introduced in Japan in 1983 with only 15 games to choose from, Dig-Dug being the most notable and popular.² Dig-Dug remains a classic even to this day. A lesser-known Nintendo also released the NES in Japan, yet due to Atari’s current domination of the American video game industries it was not released in the U.S. until 1985. Other popular consoles released during this time include The Colecovision, Intellvision, Commodore 64, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, and the Super Nintendo.

The games being released for these consoles ranged from four different game types including: Target, Adventure, Action, and Tactics.² In games that were target based, the players main objective was to hit a direct sometimes moving target. These games were mainly point-shoot games where the player was the armsman. In the adventure based games the player took on the roll of a specific character, and had many tasks and quests to accomplish to complete each goal. The more tasks the player completed the higher the difficulty advanced moving on to the next one. The player had accomplish many achievements and defeat many obstacles and bosses in order to win the over all game. Tactics games were strategy based games where the player usually versed a computer mode, and the players decisions throughout the game affect the overall outcome. Nintendo was the main producer of these games between 1986 and 1988.² These years were some of the strongest years for Nintendo. Most of the action and adventure games that provided a base for these genres were introduced by Nintendo for the NES. The games that strongly influenced the current industry and some franchises that Nintendo continues to build on to this day. A few of these games were: Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man 2, and Metroid.

¹ Anon[JA7] . “JSTOR: Leonardo, Vol. 17, No. 4 (1984), Pp. 277-287.[JA8] ” www.jstor.org.library.scad.edu/stable/1575105?&Search=yes&searchText=game&searchText=evolution&searchText=video&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dvideo%2Bgame%2Bevolution%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don&prevSearch=&item=24&ttl=2768&returnArticleService=showFullText[JA9] .

² Chris Melissinos, Patrick O’Rourke, Mike Mika, Elizabeth Broun. The Art Of Video Games: From Pac Man to Mass Effect.(New York: Welcom Books 2012)[JA10] 

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STORY-TELLING IN VIDEO GAMES: FINAL FANTASY

One of the most iconic video game franchises to date, this series exemplifies the movement towards a more storytelling-centered approach to video games.  The video game, along with the Legend of Zelda (1986), and Dragon Quest (1980), were among the earliest video games associated with the popularization and legitimization of the role-playing video games, following it’s fiscal and critical success after it’s release in 1987. The role-playing genre itself is one that is particularly involving as the player immerses himself or herself in the world of the character, is as such very much entrenched in the idea of storytelling.

The earliest versions of game in this genre began with “pen and paper” role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons in1974, and with the growing technologies that were presented by the video gaming world, it became increasingly possible to make the genre even more immersive as the world only imagined by players before was given the opportunity to become increasingly tangible first with computer games in 1980 and then with consoles in 1982.

A view of the world map of Final Fantasy I

The game takes place in an alternate fantasy reality, inhabited by a number of races including; humans, mermaids and dragons. It follows four 'Light Warriors', tasked with restoring balance to a world devastated by the darkening of the world’s four elemental orbs by the four ‘Elemental Fiends’. The plot of the game develops as the player moves through the game, interacting with citizens residing in towns to gain information and visiting shops to buy equipment to enrich the gaming experience and strengthen the characters adds a touch of reality to the game that provides a relatability that makes the game even more immersive and involving, making it considerably less linear than the side-scrolling platform games that came before.

Screenshot of Light Warriors (Right) battling an Elemental Fiend

The game also featured a variety of weapons, armor and other special items that can be found or bought throughout the game in order to make the character more powerful. Each character is classified into six classes: Fighter, Thief, Black Belt, Red Mage, White Mage and Black Mage. These classes influence the way each character can navigate throughout the game. Depending on the class, there are restrictions on which weapons and armor are available for use, and as such how effective each character is in battle. Characters also develop organically as game experience is amassed; the player is then given the option to undo a class upgrade. These features, typical of an RPG, are examples of how the game is given complexities and details in order to make the gaming and storytelling experience all the more vivid, convincing and engaging.

Even today, the game is widely regarded as one of the pioneers in RPG video game field, and with it's series about to spawn it's 14th title, it is clear that the lasting impression that was made  with it's innovations in gaming will be continued for a while to come.

Creative Project

Here you may see a picture, and a play-through of the first video game Nintendo ever released in America, as well as their most famous character, Mario's first ever appearance. It's amazing how far the company has come throughout the years.

Cortney Norton

The Future of Video Game Graphics

When Pong came out in 1972, it started the revolution of video games as we know it; since then, the video game graphics have come a far way¹. Game designers hoped to eventually produce photorealistic graphics that will be indistinguishable from real life. With each generation we get closer to creating the perfect visual game.

Christoph Hartmann, the boss of 2K Games, was quoted saying that, “until games are photorealistic, it'll be very hard to open up to new genres. We can really only focus on action and shooter titles; those are suitable for consoles now"². To make this happen game developers need two things. First game developers need better hardware, e.g. game consoles, to be able to support the graphics and visual effects it takes to create the games. Due to technology constantly improving we can see advances in graphics more often. Current video game consoles are six generations behind in technology versus computers. That is an enormous gap in technology. However, game consoles tend to have a better ability at keeping up with graphics during game play than computers do. The reason for this is because game consoles are designed for one thing only, games. Computers may have more advanced technology, but are also equipped to perform different tasks. When the next generation of consoles come out in the next few years, developers hope to use the technology to their advantage. In one of his speeches the founder and programmer of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney, said, “over our lifetime, we'd get to amounts of computing power that come very close to simulating reality”³. The second thing is new and improved game developing software that can generate these realistic graphics.

In 2012, during E3, Electronics Entertainment Expo, multiple gaming companies revealed their new game design engines. Square Enix revealed their next generation engine titled “Luminous Studio” that showed actual in game footage of a demo entitled “Agni's Philosophy” and Epic Games showed off their UNREAL 4 engine⁴. Euclideon, a company from Australia, has been working on a technology they call “unlimited detail”⁵. Where most game design companies use polygons to create graphics, Euclideon is using atoms⁶. Higher polygons counts equal more details in games, and therefore game developers are able to create more realistic games. Euclideon is changing all that with their unlimited detail engine. By utilizing atoms rather than polygons, they are able to produce a much higher level of detail in games and create a more realistic look when it comes to graphics. In their demo one can actually see individual grains of sand. The company has even developed this piece of software to allow you to scan actual things from the real world into the game. With the development of this software using atoms, the details of using atoms are so vivid, that it is difficult to determine what has been scanned in or created. This type of technology opens so many doors. If this new technology takes off the gaming industry could be looking at a historical leap in graphics and game realism and the options could become limitless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UVX0OUO9ptU

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DrBR_4FohSE

 Anel Sisic

1 D.S. Cohen, “Pong-The First Video Game Megahit,” http://classicgames.about.com/od/history/p/Pong-The-First-Video-

Game-Megahit.htm.

2Eddie Makuch, “2K Calls for Photorealism in Games,” http://www.gamespot.com/news/2k-calls-for-photorealism-in-games-6389629.

3Kyle Orland, “How Close are we to Truly Photorealistic, Real-Time Games,” http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/02/how-close-are-we-to-truly-photorealistic-real-time-games/.

4“Square Enix Reveals a Glimpse at the Future of Video Game Graphics,” http://www.hailmaryjane.com/square-enix-reveals-a-glimpse-at-the-future-of-video-game-graphics/.

5Tim Ingham, “The Future of Video Game Graphics – or a Load of ole Nonsense,” http://www.hailmaryjane.com/square-enix-reveals-a-glimpse-at-the-future-of-video-game-graphics/.

6Tim Ingham

Scholarly Post - Jon Bayens

If a single role-playing game, RPG, character had to be named as the most iconic of them all it would be Link from The Legend of Zelda series. With his first game release being in 1986 in the title The Legend of Zelda, Link can still be seen today continuing his epic quest. The game has survived all throughout the years because of its very unique game play involving a mix of action, adventure, and puzzle solving. Because of this it is one of Nintendo's most important franchises.

For being a game that has lasted this long it has actually kept many similarities between all its titles. Each game features the hero Link on a quest to save princess Zelda from a dark evil, usually Ganon, while harnessing the power of the master sword and triforce, which is a magical item bestowed upon Link by the goddesses. The success of this franchise is not even debatable as of December of 2011 the series has sold over 67.93 million copies since its original release in 1986. Through these many years the character of Link has also been advanced and changed to fit the new technology available to Nintendo.

With each adaptation of the game the current doom facing the world, the world, and Link himself generally change. The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time was a huge turning point in the series as well as the best selling title. This is most likely because it was the first three-dimensional title released in the series. It was being developed around the same time as Super Mario 64, the first three-dimensional title in the Mario franchise; however, because of the complexity of The Legend of Zelda it took an additional two years to release. After twenty five years of the franchise Eiji Aonuma, the producer of the series, said, "our aim has always been to produce something different, something you've never seen before in a video game. To that end, a lot of our past innovations have become something that can only be seen in a Zelda game."[1]

The Legend of Zelda (1986)

The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (1998)

Because of the many different forms the adventure may take it has opened the game up to be so much more than just a simple RPG. Especially with the advancements in the systems used to play the game it has allowed the franchise to "not really [be] a genre in itself, but it should never limit itself to one genre. With Zelda we're always trying to do something unique." [2] Unique is an understatement. In no other game can you go from grappling through the ruins of a temple floating in the sky to transforming yourself to be able to traverse a dungeon sunken in a lake.

The mastermind behind this series is none other than the same mastermind behind the Mario franchise, Shigeru Miyamoto.  The inspiration for this game "was born in the rolling hills of Kyoto Japan" [3] with a young boy exploring the country side. Miyamoto armed himself with a lantern and explored a dark cavern. It was this feeling that he had from his childhood that he wanted to recreate and give to the players of the very first Legend of Zelda game. In the first game many things had yet to be discovered about the series, but it helped pave the pathway into the game that it is today. Throughout the different games there have been a couple experiments that were tried that didn't survive through the series. In Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, our hero appeared in a "side-scrolling adventure" instead of his previous isometric view. In later games only a couple times in very specific areas did the game ever return to being a side-scroller.

Although The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time was the most prominent and best selling title, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, which came out six years prior, set up and named a lot of things that are known to be iconic of the series. This game "crafted Hyrule into a living, breathing world. The opening sees a terrible storm pounding on the rooftop of a humble woodland home."

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1992)

Being a leading innovator in game play physically as well as intellectually and holding true to itself with each additional title in the series is what has allowed the franchise to thrive the way that it has. With the end of each game the quest may be over, but the journey to save Hyrule from evil forces never ends.


1. Cowen, Nick "Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Interview," November 9, 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2011/nov/09/legend-of-zelda-skyward-sword (accessed November 5, 2012).

2. Ibid.

3. Hoggins, Tom "The Legend of Zelda: retrospective and interview with Eiji Aonuma," December 16, 2009. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/6826685/The-Legend-of-Zelda-retrospective-and-interview-with-Eiji-Aonuma-part-1.html (accessed November 5, 2012). 

Edited

History of Spacewar!: The First Major Computer Game

 By:Gaylen Malone    

     One of the earliest digital computer games was created by Stever Russell, Wayne Wiitanen and Martin Graetz in 1961. [1] The game was titled Spacewar! It is a two-game in which each player controls a space ship avatar. The goal in the game is for one player to destroy the other.

            The only computer games prior to Spacewar! were created between the years of 1957 and 1961. MIT created TX-0 (Transistorized Experiment Computer Zero). The TX-0 has a collection of interactive graphical programs that included Mouse in the Maze, HAX and Tic-Tac-Toe.[2] Spacewar! was created for the PDP-1 (Programmed Data Processor-1). Spacewar! turned out to be a good program to test the computer with so all the PDP-1 computers orders were shipped out with Spacewar! already in the core memory of the computer [3]. The widespread popularity of Spacewar! is largely accredited to the fact that computer shipped out preloaded with the game already on the computer.  

            In 1961, DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) donated a PDP-1 to the MIT "kludge room" in hopes that the students and professors at MIT could brainstorm together to think and create something wonderful and impressive to showcase the capabilities of the PDP-1. [2] "Somebody had built some little pattern-generating programs which made interesting patterns like a kaleidoscope. Not a very good demonstration. Here was this display that could do all sorts of good things! So we started talking about it, figuring what would be interesting displays. We decided that probably you could make a two-dimensional maneuvering sort of thing, and decided that naturally the obvious thing to do was spaceships."[4] The team of MIT students finished programming the computer game after nearly 200 hours of work. [1] The gameplay of Spacewar! involves two spaceships that shoot missiles that are unaffected by gravity. These two space ships are called "the needle" and "the wedge". The two space ships attempt shoot each other while trying not to fall into the star in the center of the screen. The star in the center of the screen is affected by gravity and is effectively a black hole that sucks up space ships that get too close to it. The limits of the ships are the limited number of missiles and the limited supple of fuel.

     The game has five controls, clockwise, counterclockwise rotation, thrust, fire and hyperspace. Hyperspace is a feather that lets a player avoid missiles by reintroducing them into the game space in a random location. [5] The risk of using the hyperspace button is that your ships risks the possibility of exploding. The probability increases with each use of hyperspace.

As of today, there is only on working PDP-1, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. It took a team two full years of work to restore the computer and display, but now Spacewar! is fully operational. [6]

[1]Markoff, John (June 3, 2006). "Alan Kotok, 64, a Pioneer In Computer Video Games". The New York Times Company Staff. Retrieved November 1, 2012.

[2]  "The origin of Spacewar", Creative Computing magazine, August 1981, J. M. Graetz, archived by wheels.org. Retrieved November 1, 2012.

[3]Computer History Museum. "Computer History Museum PDP-1 Restoration Project — Introduction". Retrieved November 1, 2012.

 [4]Brand, Stewart (December 7, 1972). "Spacewar: Fantastic Life and Symbolic Death Among the Computer Bums". Rolling Stone (Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc.) (123): 50–58.

[5] The origin of Spacewar", Creative Computing magazine, August 1981, J. M. Graetz, archived by wheels.org. Retrieved November 1, 2012.

[6] "The Mouse That Roared: A PDP-1 Celebration Event". Retrieved November 1, 2012.

Scholarly Post - Jon Bayens

In the past thirty years there has been an amazing leap in the graphics of games. Graphics have changed from very simple two-dimensional pixels on a screen into fully fledged high-polygonal three-dimensional models. One of the biggest pioneers in this journey has been the company Nintendo. Having released hundreds of games with many different characters at a glance a simple comparison in their appearance could be made; however, a much more interesting examination could be made about one of Nintendo's  most iconic characters which have survived throughout the years: Mario.

Interestingly the character of Mario first appeared in a game entitled, Donkey Kong. This game featured Jumpman, who had yet to be named Mario, climbing a series of ladders which dodging barrels to attempt to saved the damsel in distress. Since then Mario has appeared in over fifty different games. Because of this long career Mario has become one of the most iconic game characters.

 The creator behind this character is Shigeru Miyamoto. As a child living in a fairly rural region of Japan he was always exploring and experiencing the world in wonder. With this character and in his games he "has always tried to re-create his childhood wonderment." [1] It could be said that the success of Nintendo relied directly on the success of Miyamoto as he is "Nintendo's guiding spirit, its meal ticket." This directly places the character of Mario directly at the heart of the company.

Mario made his first three-dimensional appearance in Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64 console. This third dimension had previously never been known to the Mario franchise. It allowed the game to develop and play in an entirely new way. Mario could now spiral up the side of a tower or navigate a jumping maze in which objects and paths could move in the z-dimension. It also meant that Mario would need to be able to move in a more realistic manner to fit the three-dimensional space. This also meant that a decision had to be made by Miyamoto as to whether the camera would remain fixed or be freely controlled by the user.

In more recent times it seems that Mario may be on a bit of a decline with New Super Mario Bros. 2. With it having turned from a puzzle game into a " 'grind for coins' to reach a lofty goal" [2] type of game. It seems that the developers have stopped taking the risks that had previous made Mario the success he is today.  According to Richard George "the game simply wasn't bold or brave enough." [3] Fortunately the Nintendo Wii counterpart of the game has proved to be much more fulfilling. It is "respectful of its heritage while adding numerous new ideas in what amounts to a fantastic mix." [4] The IGN reporter Richard George has claimed this to be one of the most anticipated titles for Nintendo's new Wii U.

Super Mario Bros (1985)

Wii U: New Super Mario Bros. U

Having been able to survive through so many years and so many games it is no wonder that Mario is one of the most recognized characters in video games today. Starting with his humble beginnings as Jumpman through flying through space in Super Mario Galaxy it appears that society will continue to see more of this super hero plumber for years to come.

1. Paumgarten, Nick "Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo's man behind Mario, The New Yorker," December 20, 2010. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/12/20/101220fa_fact_paumgarten (accessed November 4, 2012).

2. George, Richard "The Redemption of New Super Mario Bros. U," October 30, 2012. http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/10/30/the-redemption-of-new-super-mario-bros-u (accessed November 4, 2012).

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

Edited.

Second Scholarly Post - Kahlani Hall (Revised)

Square Enix and the Rise of the Role-Playing Games

It goes without saying that Japanese video games have had quite an impact on the development of the video games of today. According to Chris Kohler in Power Up ,“Western games are now starting to dominate the charts, but no one can dispute the profound effect that Japanese game creators have had on our industry”. From Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda, to Namco’s Pac-Man, Japanese gaming companies have been developing games that appeal to all ages and audiences.

Since the days of the arcade games, many different genres have also begun developing. Arcade games and shooter games had become mainstream successes thanks, but other genres, such as the role-playing game, or RPG, were just beginning to gain popularity. RPGs are typically very story-oriented, and have fantastical settings. Originating from earlier pen and paper games such as Dungeons and Dragons, RPGs require decision-making, as well as character development through combat. Regarding the gameplay of RPGs, Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo fame commented, “The RPG system works best for games with lots of dialogue, to help bring about a writer’s voice, to bring a book to life. [1]” With that being the case, one company in particular can be said to have been the reason for the rise of the RPG.

Japanese powerhouse Square Enix is a name synonymous with that of JRPGs (Japanese role-playing games). From Dragon Quest to Final Fantasy, Square Enix has given the video game industry many games featuring epic storytelling elements, emotionally compelling musical compositions, and breath-taking visuals that continue to astound.

Square Enix is actually the result of a merge from two rivaling companies. Founded in 1975, Enix was a fairly successful publishing company. In 1986, they released Dragon Quest, which was created by Yuji Horii. Released for the NES, it was different from other games of that time because it called for players to become the character they were playing. Through experience, the main character would become stronger, and turn from weakling to powerful. This contrasted to games such as Super Mario Bros., “because Mario was always the same Mario throughout the game[1]," as said by Chris Kohler in his book Power Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life. Sales were low initially, however, Horii used his connections with the popular manga-publishers Shonen Jump, including the artwork of Akira Toriyama of Dr. Slump and Dragonball fame, to market his game. The Dragon Quest series, while not as popular in America, is the best-selling game series of all time in Japan, far outselling any of its competitors [2].

Screenshot from Dragon Quest (1986)

Dragon Quest II Artwork (1987)

 illustrated by Akira Toriyama

Square, also known as Squaresoft in the United States, was a game development company that was founded by Masashi Miyamoto in 1986. Within months, however, they were on the verge of bankruptcy.  Wishing to create one last game, Hironobu Sakaguchi, the senior game designer for Square, gathered every last bit of money remaining, and began to develop what would later become the critically acclaimed Final Fantasy series. Released in 1987, Final Fantasy I combined Sakaguchi’s storytelling and world concepts, along with the conceptual designs of freelance artist Yoshitaka Amano, and finally, the emotional and melancholic melodies of Nobuo Uematsu, to create the franchise that would temporarily save Square from the brink. 

Final Fantasy’s success stabilized Square for a while, and they continued to create more games in the series, as well as other games outside the Final Fantasy franchise such as such as Chrono Trigger, Seiken Densetsu (known as the Mana series in America), and Kingdom Hearts, the last franchise Square would release before the merge. Unfortunately, the release of Sakaguchi’s first feature-length computer-generated film Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was considered a failure at the box office, which set the company back again. An analysis of Square by Darryl Kaye states that the failure of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within saw Square Co. announce what they deemed "extraordinary losses", of $115 million [3].

Along with Sakaguchi, there are two other names that go hand in hand with the Final Fantasy series. Musical composer Nobuo Uematsu has created the soundtracks for the first ten games in the series. As requested by Sakaguchi, Uematsu created melancholic and emotional music through use of synthesized versions of strings instruments and woodwinds. Uematsu has been known to delve into several genres of music that he’ll use for his scores, such as rock, ballads, techno, and world music. When Squaresoft merged with Enix and moved to Shinjuku, Tokyo, Uematsu had to resign as leading composer for the company, however he occasionally returns to supervise the development of soundtracks for other games in the series. 

Aerith's Theme, from Final Fantasy VII (1997)

composed by Nobuo Uematsu

            Artistically in the visual aspect, Sakaguchi has looked to the works of Yoshitaka Amano to implement his concepts and visuals. Noted for his unique style of traditional Japanese ink brush work with a more contemporary Art Noveau style, as noted by Philip Defina of Septagon Studios [4]. He was the main conceptual designer up until Final Fantasy VI’s release in 1994. He still returns to do promotional work and design the Final Fantasy logos for Square Enix however. 

Artwork for  Final Fantasy IV (1991)  and Final Fantasy X (2002) 

designed by Yoshitaka Amano

In April of 2003, after several disagreements, Enix and Square finally merged to form Square Enix. Initially, the newly formed company did not see the release of many titles, other than several sequels for already established franchises. In 2004, they would receive new management, and Japan and the world alike would see an explosion of new titles from Square Enix, including more CGI films, and newer and older titles.

Video games have obviously come a long way since its early beginnings. The role-playing game genre, originally derived from tabletop games, has been known to feature games that are similar to movies. Japanese gaming company Square Enix has mastered the development of RPGs, and has continued to create games that are more like experiences, rather than forms of entertainment.