editorial

Unlike my usual failure to live up to my promises of DoFuss content this time I have a legitimate reason for recent inability to produce, that is that I have a job. As of last week I have been pounding the streets to raise money for charity, not out of some sense of altruism but from a need for cash. The downside to this arrangement (for me) is that it is 100% commission based with means for the fifty-two hours I worked last week I earned a total of £17.60. With a friend visiting on top of this I had little time to study for my design course, or edit my articles.

Zelda, a game I know I can be confident in my opinion of.

That said I have still been writing (even if most of my work was done on the train) and my course has had to take a quick hiatus anyway, while they renegotiate the licence for the course software (currently I am half way through a game with no way to make things explode). So I took Sunday out to edit some articles and, hopefully, have a good chuck of content ready to go up over the next week. Fingers crossed.

Proving even more of a challenge in this equation is keeping up with my writing for other sites, but I do at least have a backlog to keep me going until I get to grips with my new employed status. The timeliest posting of one of these reserve reviews has been that of the The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

When rating a game I have to check my opinion carefully and match it to the site it will appear on's scale.

Following on from my opinion piece here on DoFuss, the review’s posting could not have been planned better. It obviously echoes the piece here, and adds review scores that I feel truly confident about. My usual lack of confidence in my scores does not come from uncertainty in myself, instead they stem from the scale I find myself rating on.

It is a truth that I have become depressingly aware of on a number of sites I have written for, sometime the PR gods have to be sated. This is not the case on every site, but on some fan driven sites that thrive on hand outs, it can be an issue. It creates a false economy, games have to exist on a scale between 6-10 and remarkably few manage to muster anything above 9. There is nothing wrong with this in some respects, it’s a scale after all… and one I guess most gamers are aware half exists, but it relies on our audience knowing the specific metric of the site, and one which is wasteful of the accuracy that could be present in the scale.

To be fair it is rare that an editor has changed a score on my behalf. Knowing the scale most publications work to I adopted a similar scale (not my own crazy idea that 5 is an ‘average’ title). When ratings have been changed however it throws my scale in to question. Were the games I only gave a 7.5 really worth an 8 if the 5 I gave became a 6? There is no answer to this in truth, but I do know that I have no doubt in my score for Ocarina of Time because once I get over 9, things get a lot more certain.

Last month saw the release of a number of significant titles from Japanese designers and developers, most notably Child of Eden and Shadows of the Damned. For a long time gamer like myself they represented hugely significant titles marking (in Eden) a spiritual successor to a classic (Rez), and (in Shadows) a collaboration of some of Japan’s greatest talents. Yet while my excitement was nearly over flowing at their release, the gaming playing community at large responded with a near inaudible, ‘meh’.

For all of my protestations and despite having bought it before huge price reductions, I am not enjoying Child of Eden.

The 360 timed exclusive Child of Eden, the first ‘core’ game for Kinect, shifted 90,000 worldwide, while Shadows of the Damned mustered even fewer at 60,000 despite being aimed more at a Western market and releasing for PS3 and 360. This is all set against the sales of the critically panned Duke Nukem Forever, which has (at the time of writing) had sales totaling of 750,000. I say these figures represent worldwide sales but in fact these games have only released in Europe and America, despite their Japanese roots. Interestingly in the same time frame the PS3 exclusive, Yakuza: The End, released in Japan and has managed sales of 400,000 units, proving Japanese games can sell to the right/home audience.

But should this be a surprise to anyone? Having followed gaming in both the East and the West it is becoming increasingly clear that games do not transcend culture as some once believed. There was a time when the limited number of games (and a focus on the pure mechanics of play) allowed sales of ‘good’ games to cross cultural boundaries. Yet with the market and range of games growing, a title’s ‘dressing’ has becoming increasingly important.

Shadows of the Damned lack of success in the West is a mystery to my, let's put it down to poor advertising.

In much the same way that all entertainment media struggles outside of its cultural home, games are now finding that the environment they are created proves an increasingly limiting factor. A fact that can be clearly demonstrated with Call of Duty: Black Ops, which sold a total 10,300,000 units, only 300,000 of which came from Japan.

The natural conclusion to this for companies will be that they should only release massive games, or those deemed able to cross cultural boundaries, outside their of home territory. In other entertainment media this would leave it to small, specialised companies to bring a title to foreign audiences, but in gaming the cost of translation and distribution are considerably higher, increasing the risks involved. Even endeavors such as fan translations are faced with the struggle of media that is hard to alter, and so doggedly protected by its owners that even purchasing a legitimate foreign copy is often frowned upon and expensive.

Attempts to bring Call of Duty to Japan have always been half hearted in the knowledge sales will be limited.

It is hard to admit, but the reality is that the market for translated foreign titles is not present, making doing so an unattractive proposition for companies. It is a sad truth for long time gamers (like myself) to accept that despite the affection we have for Japanese titles it isn’t enough to convince a company, whose main focus is profit, to localise them for us. We are lucky to have companies like Atlus importing niche titles, and even more fortunate to have had EA sponsor a title like Shadows of the Damned, but if sales continue the way they are such projects will become increasingly rare. When that happens we can only hope that holders of their copyrights will be willing to loosen their grip and allow fans to find some (at least vaguely) legitimate way to experience their games.

(All figures courtesy of VGChartz.com)

It has been a while since I did one of these link posts, and if all you do is follow me on DoFuss you could be easily mistaken for thinking that something horrible has happened to me — especially if you are still waiting for the last DoFuss Show (believe it or not it is still planned). I checked back the other day and I have posted alarmingly little in the past six months despite previous promises of increased content.

I will not make excuses, but my life has been turbulent and my attention drawn away from the site by my search for work and my writing for other sites. In truth though for all of this I have had more than enough time on my hands, and can’t really place how I wasted it all.

Things have been changing though. Firstly the number of sites I now contribute to has grown, now including Games Jobs Japan, a site set up by gaming recruitment agency Interactive Selection to help place foreign workers in Japan. On top of this, while my furious hunt for work has met with a number of refusals recently I have at least been responding to follow up emails and even a few interviews.

A change came for me last week though as I realised that, in order to really get my first foot on the ladder of gaming employment, a bit more direct experience was need. So I joined the Train2Game design course. This two to three year is specifically constructed to help its pupils train for work in the industry. Backed by TIGA, and supported by a range of other gaming institutions, the design course I am on is set to give me a basic grounding in the skills I need to enter the production side of the industry.

But I don’t intend to rest on my laurels or let DoFuss fall to the way side, yes I will be busy studying… and writing… and hopefully working… but my love for this little site endures. With that in mind the direction is to shift slightly. My hope for the next few months is to post daily, but with a more eclectic range of topics (with gaming remaining at the core). The plan is to add news that catches my eye, links to my other writings, diary entries about my course and, on occasion, the kind of musings you have come to expect from DoFuss.

So starting soon, maybe tomorrow, expect DoFuss to get busier. Until then (like you can’t wait) below are links to everything you may have missed since my last link post, just to prove I have been keeping myself out of trouble. Also, for the record these big link posts may look lazy but they are a pain in the arse to do, so this will (thankfully) be the last one.

Scared Gamer Reviews- DJ Hero 2, Super Meat Boy, Braid (PS3), Dr Kawashima, Costume Quest, Dead Space 2, Dead Space Extraction, Dead Rising 2, Dead Rising Case West, Stacking, Pilotwings Resort, Marvel Vs Capcom 3, Portal 2, Steel Diver, Gatling Gears, Beyond Good and Evil HD, InFamous 2.

Reporting Gamer Previews - Yoostar 2, Ninja Gaiden 3, Serious Sam 3: BFE, Catherine, SSX: Deadly Descents, Rayman Origins, Ridge Racer Unbounded, Orcs Must Die, Prey 2, Blood Rayne Betrayal, The Darkness 2, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine, Call of Juarez: The Cartel, Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon, Track Mania 2: Canyon, Alice Madness Returns, Soul Calibur 5, Hunted the Demons Forge, UFC Personal Trainer, Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City, Wii Exerbeat, Red Johnson Chronicles, Dark Souls, Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition, Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Silver Earring, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Solider, Dead or Alive Dimensions, Child of Eden, Anarchy Reigns, Star Wars Kinect.

Game People Podcast - Alan Wake, Stacking, Flower, Uncharted Series, LA Noire.

Reviews – LA Noire, Faery Legends of Avalon, Soldnerx 2: The Final Prototype – The Last Chapter, Mircobot, Zeit, Spare Parts, Hard Corps: Uprising, Nintendo 3DS, Pilotwings Resort, Super Street Fighter 4: 3D Edition, Nintendogs and Cats, Steel Diver, Dead or Alive Dimensions, Strania: The Stella Machina, Ghostbusters Sanctum of Slime, The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile.

Previews – Bullet Storm.

Articles and Interviews – Nine Things to Remember About Japanese Business Culture, Interview with Q-Games Ariel Angelotti, Interview with Q-Games Jaymin Kessler.

Here we are, July 2011 and finally I am writing the last of my 2010 posts. It is in many ways poor timing as I currently find myself thinking far more about my past than my future. Here feeling slightly isolated and jobless in Birmingham, Japan seems very appealing, so my hope is that that maybe by wrapping up these posts and aiming to the future will help me come to terms with my situation and push on.

Somewhat fittingly I felt kind of trapped when I first played Enslaved. I was just out of a long relationship, but still did not feel free. For all of my protestations that I was fine, part of me still felt tied to my past. So I would drink a little harder, go out a little longer, and generally run further from my memories.

There are reasons these close bonds with my ex-partner. Fuelled by a desire to make her happy, I was constantly thwarted by her melancholy. Over time I came to except the struggle of this, but eventually I found my attempts to please were pulling down my own mood. So I was faced with a decision, stay and fight a losing battle or leave her, and worry about my own mood. Unfortunately is was a choice that would hurt her, and so went against my goals of the previous years.

Clearly a woman in need, something I (apparently) struggle to refuse.

Then a long came Enslaved, a game loosely based on the classic 16^th century Chinese novel ‘Journey to the West’. Enslaved tells of a woman, Trip, and her long journey home after being captured by slavers. Trip is far from helpless, very capable with technology, but finding herself in a destroyed New York as the game begins there is a quick realisation that she will need help on her journey.

Enslaved reclaimed world has a narrative all its own. Many years after whatever caused devastation of this post-apocalyptic America everything has been reclaimed by nature. Trip’s companion is in many ways a reaction to this environment, a nameless nomad who’s brute of a man like power and agile ape like moves have garnered him the nickname of Monkey with those he trades with. These qualities are vital, because as I take control of Monkey every ounce of his power and speed are needed to navigate the decimated world, and battle the slaver robots that populated it.

Huge robots are just one of the troubles Monkey has to deal with.

Much of what makes Enslaved work so well how it manages to bring elements of the classic text in its Sci-Fi setting. Monkey’s emergence from a stone egg in the original text is superbly mirrored in his escape from a status pod as the game opens. Other items are similarly reproduced but one element really embodies own my emotional ties to the game; the slave band.

In the original text it was a golden crown that enslaved Monkey (an cast out animal god) binding him to the hero’s will. In much the same way the slave band allows Trip to control her Monkey, but it is a strange kind of slavery. She is not violent or malicious, and indeed the very idea of servitude in upsets her. It is a necessity in her mind to ensure his help to get her home, but an uncomfortable one that she wishes she didn’t have to resort to.

There is something in this relationship that mirrored my life. Not that I was a slave but I never wanted to make her unhappy. I was never ordered to obey, but displeasure and disappointment was clear. And as surely as Monkey’s slave band inflicted pain up on him when he failed to follow instructions, I suffered mental pains when I saw my action distressed her.

The love and bond between them grows, switching from technological to emotional. Something I think I may envy.

But where my issues slowly drove a wedge between my partner and I, Enslaved sees it bring them closer together. The explicit dependence from Trip is matched by Monkey’s unrealised desire for companionship. Without realising it the bond slowly transcends the technology that traps him. Indeed in one scene that beautifully demonstrates the games graphical prowess, when Trip attempts to free Monkey and he stops her with a subtlety and tenderness of expression rarely seen in games thanks to developer Ninja Theory’s amazing facial capture technology. It is scene that demonstrates perfectly how he needs the bond, but is unwilling to confess his emotional need, preferring to keep the slave band.

I sat playing Enslaved, jealous of just how perfectly the bond between Monkey and Trip developed. There was a beauty to me in just how a love grew between the two characters, when neither had been looking for it. Sat in my room I contrasted this with my own life. Of how I had started at love, until the dependence grew eroding it with the pressure becoming too much for me. Leaving me still wondering if I did it all backwards, and envying Monkey.