My personal gaming history

So we finally arrive to the part of gaming history where I am conceived and have picked up my first gaming pad.

Original SSX cover art

This would be around about November in 2000. That’s when SSX the original was released and it was one of the first games I ever played. SSX for those who don’t know is a snowboarding game that allows you to pull off insane manoeuvres, in unrealistic ways to score points. I loved that game, I would spend hours playing it trying to bust the ‘phatest’ trick and achieve the highest score on the scoreboards. But the franchise lost its way over the years and it died for me at SSX 3. However the latest instalment went back to the roots of the game to dig out what made it good and made it better. It’s a little poetic how the newest version of the franchise coincided with my enrolment on this course. Maybe it’s a sign that this is where I’m supposed to be?

The new SSX cover. Incidentally 'Mac' is the character in both versions. look at the progress in 12 years.

I mean if I think about it in the space of 12 years I have grown from wanting to be part of the games industry, to being on a games industry accredited design course. If I think back to what gave me the urge to be part of the industry it would be SSX, not just because of its fluid and addictive gameplay but because of how it made me feel to play it. If you liked the creativity of music, it was there. If you liked good visual aesthetic, it was there. If you just liked to have outrageous fun and enjoy a game for being a game, it was there. You could bust a crazy trick, the music would fade and filter to the movements of your character, who in turn would blur into this complex form of colour and motion; and before you even touch your board back on the snow again you think to yourself. WOW. That seamless infusion of creativity produced such a memorable experience for me.

Try this in reality.

Being part of the industry means I will be able to help shape the directions video games take in the future. But at the same time the future is undefined and things like technology will advance in ways that I cannot imagine. I want things go like Star Trek and for ‘Holodecks’ to become a reality. That to me would add another aspect to video games and what u can do to them. For example let’s take halo 4. I am a big halo fan, love the visual design and concepts of the world. I know when the designers come up with ideas they think to themselves, ok how would this fit in the world , what atmosphere does this place have, how does this gun handle, what protection and mobility can this armour provide. However as the player there is only so much interaction you can have through a screen. 3D brings us closer to the game but it is still a screen. Imagine being able to hold that signature battle rifle, hear the growl of a warthogs engine beneath your feet, smell the air of a Forerunner installation , see an actual elite de-cloak with his energy sword and piss yourself. All these things add dynamism to the game. And I would love to play games in such a personal way.

                                                                         I feel so high

Yes being a Spartan is bad-ass but how does the armour feel on you is it tight is it loose does the heat irritate the skin and make your concentration falter. That would add emotional aspects to a game, if you’re in a cold world alone you really want to leave that planet and get home. Then again that deep connection to a game could cause problems, people would lose sense between what is and is not real. I mean how does it feel to actually take a life, alien or not the psychological repercussions could cause people insomnia. When time comes to actually work for your fortune 500 employer all you can see is that pinnacle moment when u broke that Jackal’s neck. When a colleague starts stressing you out and being confrontational about it, you remember the moves to take down a Jackal and the urge to apply them to the person stood in front of you is there. Would that mean that we start teaching people to be soldiers, footballers, street fighters? That’s a scary thought.

                                                             Heres your damn sales report

Ah well let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, till then I want to enjoy a form of entertainment that engages me and impresses my eyes. Peace.

                                               My halo reach spartan.I wonder what its like in there.