From Skyrim, to Dark Souls, to Mass Effect 3: The Current State of the RPG

My apologies for the long hiatus again.  I had some personal things that I was dealing with, and my other writers were busy doing other things.  This equated to zero posts for quite some time, and while it is infinitely regrettable, it was also sadly unavoidable this time around.  

For my first article after my return, I wanted to do another "state of" article about my favorite genre: the RPG.  Because this genre is so broad and is not dominated by a few specific titles, I'm going to go about this in a different way.  RPG fans: read on!

RPGs are one of the better selling genres overall.  Players enjoy the ability to immerse themselves in a game world and play their character the way THEY want to play it.  While this idea is much more prevalent in the open-world Western-style RPGs, Japanese RPGs still offer the same sort of escape from reality.  Everyone wants to be the unlikely hero that saves the world, and RPGs play on this to great effect.  The funny thing about the genre is that we're seeing elements of it everywhere.  Call of Duty brought RPG elements to shooters with their multiplayer level-up/customization system.  The Gran Turismo series has been bringing RPG concepts to gear-heads and racer fans for years with its in-depth vehicle customization options.  Castlevania has been bringing RPG tropes to platformers since the early days of gaming, and Action/Adventure titles like Zelda and God of War have tons of obvious examples of RPG systems as well.  In fact, most modern games in almost any genre have at least some form of RPG elements in them.  The reason for this is because the genre is the primary founder of character customization and player choice.  These two concepts are universally desired among gamers, which has led to their inclusion in so many other genres.  Because these traits are so desired, the RPG genre continues to be one of the most popular genres overall.

What I imagine a corporate meeting to be like.

Let's take a look at all the different RPG series that are still going strong (just off the top of my head):
NOTE:  I am NOT including MMORPGs, as they are part of a whole different animal.

Fallout:  One of my personal favorites, the recent Fallout games have successfully melded the RPG with the shooter.  While not the only series to do so, I'd have to say that Fallout is my favorite "hybrid" game, because the emphasis is put on the RPG, and not the shooter.  The series also offers an incredible amount of customization, a well-crafted world, fantastic writing, and (most importantly) great gameplay.  The games are known for having crazy amounts of bugs, but that hasn't stopped them from selling like hotcakes.  If you'd like to know more about Fallout, I wrote an entire post about it.

Elder Scrolls:  The penultimate Western-style RPG series of its time, and universally hated among the girlfriends of gamers everywhere.  The Elder Scrolls games have been popular for quite some time, but when Morrowind hit the shelves, the series took off.  Oblivion sold extremely well, and Skyrim brought the series to critical mass.  Each installment served to bring Elder Scrolls to even more people who hadn't played any of the series' predecessors. Skyrim was actually my first adventure into the Elder Scrolls universe, and I was pretty impressed.  It was obvious that Bethesda put a ton of work into the game itself, and I genuinely enjoyed playing it.  There isn't really anything that I can say about this game that hasn't already been said.  Score another one for Bethesda.

Skyrim widows.

 

Mass Effect:  Many consider this to be more of a shooter than an RPG (especially Mass Effect 2), but I'm still going to put it in the RPG category.  I have never personally played the series, which is a little embarassing, admittedly.  It never truly appealed to me, but I can't leave it out of the list.  Bioware is one of the best at creating compelling characters, interesting stories, and amazing dialogue.  In fact, Bioware's reputation is nearly Blizzard-like, to the point where gamers will purchase a title simply because Bioware developed it. I personally feel like the Mass Effect games have a little bit too much Gears of War thrown into their combat, a series that I have played through and did not particularly enjoy (the solution to every problem is: find cover and shoot from behind it).  However, I am quite obviously not the majority opinion on the subject, because the franchise has been overwhelmingly successful.  I suspect that this is due to Bioware's ability to craft amazing stories. 

Demon Souls/Dark Souls:  Widely considered to be one of the hardest RPGs in existence.  In fact, Pachbel wrote an entire article about it.  While I don't necessarily find the game to be that hard anymore, I do find it to be quite unforgiving - if you mess up, you're punished with death 99% of the time.  The series' variety of paths/options and interesting take on multiplayer have guaranteed its spot among the top RPGs, and deservedly so.  Dark Souls (but not Demon Souls) is also a rare example of an open-world Japanese RPG.  While the differences between the Western RPG and Japanese RPG are becoming more blurred by the minute, Dark Souls is one of the first "mainstream" Japanese RPGs to use a Western-style world in-game.  The big difference between the Dark Souls open-world and the open world of a traditional Western RPG is that Dark Souls does no hand-holding.  They throw you straight into the fire without any direction whatsoever, and only after soaking you in kerosine.  They don't even tell you the story behind the game, the player has to figure it out themselves from the vague introductory cutscene and the game's item descriptions.  You have to really want it when you're playing games in this series.  Judging from the franchise's success, a lot of people want it bad.

This might as well be the title screen, to prepare you for what's coming. 

Pokemon:  The series that never seems to end.  Pokémon is one of the most lucrative franchises of all time. In fact, only the Mario franchise has made more money than Pokémon. The game itself follows the traditional Pokémon model of urging the player to "catch 'em all" as they proceed along their quest to become a pokéchampion (or whatever it's called).  Every few games, the list of pokémon increases, and a new region is available for exploration.  The games appear to be open-world, but are designed in such a way that they're actually quite linear.  I have not played a Pokémon title since the first ones (Red and Blue), but I have fond memories.  As far as RPGs go, this is one of the easier series to get into and play without having to do too much thought.  The single-player experiences are always fairly easy, but that's to help ensure that the franchise continues to appeal to the broadest demographic possible. 

Final Fantasy:  The series that started it all (depending on who you talk to), and the only series on this list that's older than Pokemon and Diablo. Final Fantasy has been going strong since 1987, which is before most modern gamers were even born. In my opinion, however, Square's (now Square Enix) best works are behind them.  I see the recent Final Fantasy games more as cash-ins than quality titles.  The games are always top-notch in terms of graphics and music, but their stories are impenetrable at times, their mechanics are getting more and more gimmicky, and the progression within the games themselves is usually fairly linear.  Fortunately for Square, the current generation of gamers was not privy to the gems that were pre-FF7.  Don't get me wrong, Final Fantasy 7 is a great game in its own right, but the only reason that it received the hype it did was because it was many-a-gamer's first foray into the Final Fantasy series and RPGs as a whole.  I could probably write a separate post on the evolution of the series, so I won't go into anything else here.

No caption needed.

Diablo:  With the upcoming release of Diablo (one of the most anticipated modern games), this series is stronger than ever.  The founders of the hack-and-slash dungeon-crawler, Blizzard, have done such a fantastic job with the series that it is widely considered to be one of best of all-time by many gamers.  Blizzard is also famous for having some fairly rabid fans, so take any "best of" statements with a grain of salt.  Personally, I love the series, and I can't wait for Diablo 3 to finally be released (May 15th, 2012).  Do I think it's one of the best series of all time?  I don't really care, as long as I have fun playing it.



In Conclusion:  The genre is seemingly evolving with every new release, sprouting new sub-genres and innovative mechanics all the time.  I actually like the direction that RPGs are headed, and I don't fear for their future the same way I do for shooters.  However, RPGs have an inherent advantage in terms of not getting stale, simply because of the nature of the genre.  The genre itself has virtually no limits on creativity, with the only limiting factor being the constraints of the technology available.  My only concern is the evolution of the hybrid RPG games.  While some incredible games have come out of hybridization, if developers buy into that notion too heavily, the genre could become polluted with borrowed mechanics.  Fortunately, there are tons of top-notch developers to ensure that the future of RPGs remains bright.

Join the Protest Against SOPA and PIPA

Due to the numerous blackouts today, this cause needs no introduction.  For those of you that have come across this blog post: consider this a reminder to let your elected officials know how you feel about these bills.  The internet has never and should never be regulated, regardless of the what the supposed intention may be.  While I am by no means advocating piracy, these bills are not the answer to the piracy issues that the entertainment industry faces today.  If you would like more information about SOPA and PIPA, please feel free to check the following informative websites:


https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

http://americancensorship.org/infographic.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Learn_more

http://blog.reddit.com/2012/01/technical-examination-of-sopa-and.html

http://kotaku.com/5877000/what-is-sopa?tag=sopa

Make sure to take the time to contact your elected officials and let your voice be heard.  Also, be sure to sign some petitions while you're at it.


Thank you for not supporting SOPA and PIPA.  Please stay tuned for a regularly scheduled blog post later this evening.

Sid Meier's Civilization 5: My Adventures - Episode 2

Welcome to the second installment of My Adventures in Civilization 5.  After a brief holiday hiatus, I am back and ready to tell more tales of treachery and warfare.

My Adventures in Civilization 5 
Episode 2:  Napoleon's Folly

Pachbel and myself decided to try and repeat the success from our previous campaign.  This time around, Pachbel picked the Americans, while I stuck with the Chinese.  Having already achieved a military victory, we decided to try our hands at a scientific victory for this particular campaign.  I figured the Chinese bonus to our Science score would help to that end.  But honestly, how hard could it be to win with technology, right?

Our journey to technological superiority started the usual way: Pachbel and I spawned on opposite sides of a very large map, with Pach ending up in the far east while I was stuck in the northwestern corner.  I started with an abundance of resources at my disposal, while my American ally started in the middle of a desert with nothing but - well, sand.  Unlike last game, we knew it was wiser to simply hang back and try and get a foothold on our respective continents before attempting to join our borders.  It didn't take long for some sweaty barbarians to show up in Pachbel's desert paradise, ready to troll the life out of him.  While Pach dealt with the endless barbarian raids, I scouted my own continent as quickly as I could - secretly hoping to find a world wonder.  As I explored my immediate surroundings, I gathered up the secrets found within several ancient ruins, while being sure to defend my territory from the marauding barbarian hordes.  I wasn't immediately able to find any wonders, but it wasn't long before I happened upon my soon-to-be good friend Montezuma.  I'm not sure how well you know your history, but the Aztecs were not exactly opposed to war.  I attempted some diplomacy with the angry Aztec lord, but talking didn't appear to be his strong suit.  This is when I learned my second Civ 5 life lesson:  Montezuma hates everyone.  The game had been going for only a few dozen turns before I was being attacked by Monty's noble Jaguar Warriors.  Thankfully, I had a few military units at my disposal and was able to repel the attack rather easily.  Monty had already made it clear that his civilization would be the first on my list of things to erase from the collective memory of the world.

Like this, but less literal and more destructive.

Meanwhile, in the sandy wasteland known as America, Pachbel was still dealing with his friendly neighborhood barbarians.  The fun-loving trolls had already kidnapped several of Pachbel's settlers and workers.  When they weren't kidnapping everything that had a pulse, they were happy to run around and set fire to everything beautiful in the world.  Pach held his ground though, and through sheer tenacity he managed to stem the tide of barbarians long enough to expand his borders with several new cities.  During the expansion process, Pachbel happened upon some French scouts.  Knowing the Frenchman's tendencies from last game, the leader of the free world decided to keep a close eye on the outlying American cities - in fear of the inevitable French hostilities.  We were well aware of Napoleon's thirst for treachery.  Things calmed down for a little while on the American front while Pachbel started to claw his way back up the ladder of dominance - upon which I was firmly planted at the top (mostly due to my starting resources).

On my side of the world, things were fairly peaceful, outside of the occasional Aztec uprisings - which were immediately quelled by my superior Chinese army.  The might of the Chu-Ko-Nu crossbowmen were too much for Monty to bear, but that didn't stop him from trying again, and again, and again.  The Aztec emperor suffered from a bad case of bloodthirst, and it wasn't winning him any points with the other civilizations.  Due to his apparent allergy to peace, Monty had successfully alienated himself from the entirety of the world, with the exception of Gandhi (his ally).  The warmongering got so bad that even Gandhi was starting to question his loyalty to the Aztec warlord.  Luckily, Gandhi was much more diplomatic, which allowed me to keep the peace for short periods of time.  Like any addict, Montezuma would still declare war every chance he got, but having Gandhi around meant that I could simply look toward the Indian leader for momentary peace if I didn't feel like stomping Monty's army into the ground for the 23rd time.  There was also still the question of the remaining civilization that we had not yet met, the Songhai Empire.  Pachbel and I had no idea what to expect from Askia, Songhai's mysterious leader.  All that we knew at that point was that Askia was ranked 2nd behind myself as "Strongest Civilization." Since Napoleon and Gandhi were both situated on the same continent as America, it was a foregone conclusion that the Songhai leader was on my continent.  It appeared as though a "clash of the titans" was inevitable.

I will be playing the role of Perseus,
except I'm decidedly more awesome. 

It was around this point in time that barbarians were no longer an issue for America.  Instead, Pachbel found himself on the business end of several musketeer battalions, courtesy of (you guessed it) the French.  You see, Mr. Pachbel doesn't always play it safe in Civ 5, he tends to just let things fly and see what happens.  This was one of those instances where his philosophy of throwing caution to the wind came back to bite him in his American ass.  Pach had successfully managed to found cities near every valuable resource within his relatively short reach.  The problem was that each resource was nowhere near his capital, leaving his cities scattered and difficult to reinforce.  Napoleon, ever the opportunist, was probably salivating over the prospect of claiming himself some sweet American soil - and Pachbel's southernmost city made for some tempting Napoleon bait.  The city itself was newly founded, so it had a small population and meager defenses.  The threat of Napoleon's advancing army forced Pach to fortify the city with everything he had.  While it would normally be a problem to start a war with the sole ally of the Chinese juggernaut, Pach and I were so far apart that there was no feasible way I could send a contingent of troops that would reach him in time to be of benefit.  I was forced to sit and watch the war unfold from the outside.  

Far away in the northwest, I was more than content to just sit back and let the technology flow.  Since Montezuma's paltry forces were now nothing more than a swarm of feeble gnats compared to my massive, sprawling empire, I could easily afford to funnel resources and money into the American war effort.  While I generally don't spend money on anyone but myself (because I'm one of the greediest Civ 5 players of all time), I decided to help out, and this was good for Pachbel - because he was up to his ears in musketeers at the moment.  The musket-wielding french infantry were also backed by cannons and other siege weapons, so we knew they meant business.  Unfortunately for the French, business is one thing that Americans definitely understand, so Pach was able to show the French a little bit of American business.  Due to my considerable scientific progress, we were able to research a few technologies that allowed us to jump ahead of Napoleon in the midst of the war.  This became the primary reason that Pachbel would stay alive, and yet another reason why you should never piss off the Chinese.  Suddenly the American minutemen were replaced by riflemen, and the poor French musketeers were annihilated just as quickly as they appeared. With the stench of failure in his nostrils, Napoleon vacated the American borders heavy-hearted.  The Frenchman knew he had been beaten, and that it was unlikely he would ever reach our level of technological prowess.  Despite Napoleon's less-than-glorious retreat, Pachbel was not finished with the French just yet.  During the war, the French had founded a city right next to one of Pach's American cities, in an attempt to steal a valuable silver mine.  Now that Pachbel could actually do something about it, he set upon the small French city with the kind of fury thought to be attainable only by spree killers.  By attacking America early on, Napoleon had once again opened Pandora's box, and he would come to regret it tenfold.

I'm not sure you understand the point of this list, Napoleon...

With The Purge in the east, my continent was fairly boring in comparison.  Askia of Songhai continued to expand closer to my borders, gobbling up every single resource he could find.  I was nearing my breaking point when it came to the trifling Songhai empire and the annoying pest that was Montezuma, but I did not attack either one of them just yet.  Instead, I waited patiently.  I knew that my scientific progress was ahead of theirs by leaps and bounds, so I decided to fortify my lead even further.  I churned out as many military units as I could muster, setting up defensive barricades around any city that I deemed to be even the least bit vulnerable.  Once I was satisfied with my defensive posture, I reverted back into science mode - to increase my lead even further.  Due to the war in the east, Napoleon was also reaching out to any city states that were willing to lend him a sympathetic ear.  He managed to create an alliance with two city-states, Rio de Janeiro and Florence, both of which were just north of my capital city.  While I was aware of the city-states' existence, I did not figure them to be a threat, until Florence decided to capture one of my workers.  Unknown to Florence, that would be the last mistake they ever made.  While Florence's technology was nearly comparable to mine, they didn't stand a chance.  I quickly glanced over at Florence's forces, to get an idea of what I would have to go up against.  After seeing it was mostly ground-based, I took my Attack Helicopters and proceeded to burn Florence to the ground.  Rio de Janeiro decided to muster up a counter-attack to defend the memory of Florence, but infantry do not fare very well against flying, bullet-spraying machines - generally speaking.  Having successfully cut off Napoleon's proverbial arm in the west, I quietly went back to researching. 

The city-eating snake known as America had already conquered its fourth French city by this point.  Napoleon was getting caught in a fairly shameful pattern of attempting to defend a city with his entire army, then retreating when the city fell.  While retreating, the French units would get cut off and subsequently obliterated by the Americans.  Because of this, the Frenchman's army was being slowly, but purposefully whittled down to nothing.  Sure, the Blue Coats would reinforce their numbers periodically (before being instantaneously eradicated), but it would only serve to temporarily sate Pachbel's bloodlust.  After the fifth French city was placed under American rule, the Chinese-American alliance began the Manhattan Project (this, for those of you who are not familiar with the name).  This meant two things:  (1) we were about to have a nearly endless supply of glass on our hands, and (2) Napoleon was not long for this world.  As soon as we were able, we began to stockpile an unhealthy amount of atomic bombs.  When I say "we," I'm actually only referring to myself, because Pachbel could only hold onto his nukes for 15 seconds before they began to burn a hole in his pocket (figuratively, and possibly literally).  Unfortunately for Napoleon, France became Pach's nuclear testing ground.  France's primary exports were no longer champagne, wine, and cheese.  As it turns out, it's quite difficult to make any of those three products when 95% of your country is covered in ash and/or nuclear fallout.  Instead, France could only manufacture anguish and suffering. 

It didn't take long for France to simply cease existing, although Napoleon did give it the old college try.  As a last ditch effort to preserve his civilization, he sent out a dozen settlers to found as many cities as he could before Paris evaporated.  Sadly, this did not go unnoticed by the Americans.  Any living settlers were immediately kidnapped by the American military.  Those that had managed to start cities were immediately blasted with a barrage of concentrated artillery fire.  France was nothing more than a radioactive pile of ash, a memorial to Napoleon's shattered dreams and bad decisions.  Gandhi watched the slaughter transpire, but never rose a complaint or even a whisper against it.  Gandhi knew that he had to keep his mouth shut, or face potential retribution.  The rest of the game followed in short order, just as you would expect.  I systematically dismantled the entire Aztec army, taking their lands for my own.  Askia knew the outcome if he retaliated after Napoleon's destruction, so he remained quiet.  Our technology continued to advance at its nearly warp-speed pace.  Shortly after I took over Montezuma's last city, Pachbel and I launched our space program and put a man on the moon.  The science victory was ours!  It wasn't quite the same cathartic victory that we experienced in our previous game, but it was still a victory all the same.  Through the powers of technology, we had surpassed every other civilization and achieved a relatively easy victory.

Stay tuned for the next installment of My Adventures in Civ 5, where Pachbel and I increase the AI difficulty levels - with frightening results.

Trends in Game Creation: "Keep It Simple"

This article represents the beginning of yet another ongoing series.  The goal here is to look at game design/production trends with an excessively critical eye, in order to slowly peel off the layers of the game industry onion.  Once we've established what a given trend is, we can begin to analyze it and deconstruct the general ideas at play.  Through these articles, I hope to show you some facets of game development that you might have never considered before, and not always in a flattering light.  I decided to start this series with something that I find to be increasingly relevant in modern game creation: the "Keep It Simple" Principle (KISP for those who love acronyms).

"Hey Boston, what exactly is this trend?"

First, I should let you in on a little secret:  game companies exist to make the most money possible.  For some companies, the amount of money to be made is much higher than others.  However, for the purposes of this article, you need only know that developers and publishers are all in it for the profit.  I'm sure some of you are thinking: "But Boston, independent developers only care about making their fans happy, they don't care about money!" If that is indeed what you're thinking, then you couldn't be more incorrect.  The ONLY exceptions to the golden rule of profit are: if the developer has a substantial nest egg (generated from previous games, some other business venture, a trust fund, etc.) and has no need for the potential income from game titles, if the developer thinks that there is no potential loss of income from releasing the title for free (implying that they don't care if people buy it or not), or some variation of those two scenarios.  In any other case, the intent to make money is always there.  Think about all the big indy games over the past few years:  Super Meat Boy, Minecraft, Terraria, etc.  What do they have in common?  They became popular and sold like hot cakes.  They all used the revenue generated from their success to continually make their games better, while still making money hand over fist.  So these developers definitely care about their fans, right?  Of course they do, but so does every other developer in existence (to some extent).  The fans are the ones who purchase their games, and if they are unable to cater to the very people who play their game, then their game is probably not worth anyone's time.  You can argue with me and say that the money is just a bonus and that they're all truly in it to bring joy to the public, but then you'd be getting a little ridiculous.  For the sake of my sanity, all you need to know up to this point is that games are made with the intention of making money.  Plain and simple.

Need I say more?

The reason I brought this up is because the concept is of paramount significance when discussing most trends in the industry (especially this one).  So then, knowing what we know, I want you to pretend that you're a major developer.  You've made dozens of hit titles, and you have become your publisher's leading cash cow.  Your publisher tells you that you have to come up with a new IP, with the intent of making it into a hit franchise.  How do you go about making sure that your game will be successful?  You pick a wide-ranging demographic and appeal to as many people as possible.  Does your game need to be good as well?  Well yes, but only to start with.  At the very least, it needs to be somewhat innovative, but not to the point where it alienates your core audience.  If the first title is good enough to gather a substantial following, you know that you only have to iterate on your first successful title in order to continue the cash flow.  Case in point: Modern Warfare.  Once a franchise is established as a hit, a developer has almost free reign with whatever comes next, as long as they continue to iterate and appeal to their demographic.  This is where the KISP comes in.  

To this day, games are still seen as being undesirable and impenetrable to some.  The higher you go in generations, the more likely it becomes that you'll encounter this sentiment.  As time passes, the older generations are passing as well.  The current generation of developers most likely grew up on games, but not in the same way that the younger generations have.  They grew up in the age of Pong, Pac-man, and Space Invaders.  In other words, they grew up in a time where games were simple.  Whether this has stuck with them as their mantra throughout their careers, whether they derive nostalgia from simplicity, or however else they attempt to justify it - they will sometimes favor their version of simplicity over other alternatives.  Because of this false understanding of the need for simple games, certain figures in the industry have been trending towards dumbing down their franchises.  While this aggravates the younger generations of gamers, it also guarantees that the titles appeal to the broadest demographic possible.  When these games do well, the success is attributed to the game's simplicity, instead of the game's appeal to the lowest common denominator (or fans who were tricked because they enjoyed previous games in a franchise).  Because of this, the franchise will continue to get dumbed down, to the point where it's barely even a game any more.  This, my friends, is problematic.

Case in point (more on this later).

"But Boston, why should we care about this?" 

This trend has the potential to result in some less desirable games.  To illustrate this point, I'm going to reference a few franchises:  Fable, Mass Effect, Ninja Gaiden, and Demons Souls.  On one side, we have Demons Souls and Ninja Gaiden.  Both of these franchises have substantial followings, and both are known for the absurd level of difficulty featured in their games.  Let's look at these two games individually.  Ninja Gaiden has a difficulty curve resembling a vertical line.  However, is the game particularly complicated?  Not really.  When you get to the heart of it, it's just a combat-oriented platformer/adventure title.  None of the abilities or movesets are overly difficult to execute, and the world is not massive enough to constantly get lost in - the game is just simply hard, and all of the titles have sold quite well.  Why am I bringing this up?  People often confuse difficulty with complexity.  Just because something is difficult doesn't mean that it's overly complex, whereas an overly complicated game isn't necessarily difficult to conquer if you can understand the game's systems.  Part of the problem with the KISP trend is that complexity is being associated with difficulty, because older generations of gamers are finding both complex and difficult games to be equally impenetrable - causing them to dump both types of games into the same general category.  Demons Souls is another franchise along similar lines.  At its core, it's a hack-and-slash dungeon crawler with some Japanese influence.  Is it a difficult game?  It certainly is.  It's also more complex than Ninja Gaiden, simply because of the RPG elements featured in the game.  Even so, this series was an international success.  Is overwhelming simplicity a necessary evil that must be tolerated for the sake of success?  The series proves otherwise.  While not overly complicated, Demons Souls offers varying levels of complexity based on how deeply you want to explore the game.  In doing so, it appears to hit the sweet spot with relative simplicity accompanied by a heavy dose of optional complexity.

Even though a good amount of complexity is necessary, anyone who claims
to enjoy the complexity of Steel Battalion is either a liar, a masochist, or both.

On the other side, we have Fable.  This franchise is the primary inspiration for this article.  While never an overly complex franchise, Fable has succeeded in actually dumbing the game down to the point where it almost plays itself for you.  The games have never been particularly difficult, and they have also had some interesting systems.  As the franchise progressed to its second installment, it maintained the charm of the first title, but added some fun (and optional) complexity while still keeping things relatively simple.  Then Fable 3 came along.  I had fun with this game at first, but after the first few hours, I had no desire to keep playing.  I managed to trudge through the storyline and experience the end-game of becoming a king, only to come to the conclusion that nothing in the game really mattered at all -  no matter how much I wanted it to.  If I wanted to press 'A' to win, I would have played an Atari game.  The bosses in Fable 3 were uninteresting, and the world gave me no reason to explore unless I wanted items that didn't actually matter.  Sure, the writing is clever, but even incredible writing can't save a game that's drowning in simplicity.  I might come off as a Fable hater, but I really did try to enjoy my play experience.  I do not detest the franchise as a whole, I only dislike what it represents - extremely basic gameplay.  This series is the very reason that the trend frightens me.  As we have seen, even so-called "complex" games are really not all that confusing, and yet they still remain engaging, compelling, and most importantly, fun.  It's when people grievously misuse the KISP that I begin to get worried, and Fable 3 is the perfect example of a franchise moving in the wrong direction. 

Mass Effect is taking a slightly different road to Simple Town.  In their attempt to appeal to a broader audience (not that they needed to, with the game's success), they also dumbed the game down to some extent.  Bioware turned Mass Effect 2 into more of a shooter and less of an RPG (compared to the original title), while still keeping enough of the RPG elements to prevent the alienation of their fans.  While I am still not a fan of game simplification (especially with RPGs, but that's another story), I feel that Bioware did a solid job of preserving the bits of complexity that were essential to the game's success, while simplifying aspects of the game that they felt were in need of a "trim." This is the proper way to iterate through a franchise, generally speaking.  A developer needs enough pieces of a complex system to give their game the depth necessary to make it compelling.  It's really just a balancing act.

For those who like literal imagery.

What can we conclude from all this?

It is important to keep things simple enough to remain accessible, but not so simple that the game becomes forgettably effortless.  To be clear: I am not saying that simplicity is always a horrible thing.  I can think of plenty of simple games that are still incredibly entertaining, just as I can think of games that have fallen to the wayside by being too convoluted.   The key is to be aware of the portions of the game that need simplification, and those that are fine the way they are.  Games that essentially play themselves are just as awful as games that require a doctorate to understand.  For the most part, developers know where that fine line is.  As the gaming industry continues to evolve, so does the KISP.  Younger generations of game developers will have their own methods of creating intriguing systems.  However, it will always be important to keep the balance of simplicity and complexity in the back of their minds.

Sid Meier's Civilization 5: My Adventures - Episode 1

This is a new segment I will be writing from time to time.  For those of you that know me, it comes as no surprise that I am a fan of the Civilization games.  I have poured countless hours into the recent embodiment of genius that is Civ 5, and I have come away from it with more than my fair share of stories, to say the least.  I intend to share these experiences with the general public by way of these posts.  For those of you that have never played any of the Civilization titles: do not be afraid to read on (but shame on you for not playing them!).  This segment will not be jargon-heavy, so those of you that have no knowledge of the series should still be able to enjoy the stories as much as an experienced Civ player.

My Adventures in Civilization 5 
Episode 1:  European Treachery

Pachbel (the same Pachbel who writes weekly for this blog) and myself have played several Civ 5 multiplayer campaigns.  We team up against other teams of computers and try our hands at different victory types.  Right after I purchased the game, we decided to jump right into an online game.  I picked the Chinese, and he picked the Japanese.  Since it was our first time playing the game, we had no real plans on pursuing any particular victory.  We started the game, only to find out that we ended up on continents on the opposite side of the map.  So naturally, we decided that our first objective would be to join our two civilizations in an unholy union of world superpowers.  To accomplish this, we needed to explore first.  Things started fairly slow as we ran around with our scouts to check the surrounding landscape.  However, it wasn't long before I found a World Wonder (in the form of Cerro de Potosi) and was promptly distracted by the riches it promised.  After quickly looking up the purpose of obtaining wonders, I began to try and expand my empire towards the gem-encrusted mountain.  While I was working towards this, I happened upon the esteemed Elizabeth of England.  Excited about the prospect of procuring an ally for our empire, I decided to try an exercise in diplomacy with the English queen.  Of course, Elizabeth wanted no part in anything I had to offer, promptly threatening me with the wrath of the Redcoats should I get in her way.  Not one to shy away from a challenge, I decided to test her resolve (I wasn't about to let her steal Cerro de Potosi) - and she definitely held true to her word.

Off in the Land of the Rising Sun, things weren't going as well for Pachbel (which is saying something, since I was at the brink of war with an angry Brit).  While I was off chasing wonders and hobnobbing with bitter queens, my ally was toiling in misery while fighting off the barbarian horde.  For those of you that have not played the game, barbarians are essentially the trolls of Civ 5.  They never manage to do any real damage to your cities, but if you leave a worker/settler unattended, you can bet that some upstart barbarian gang will show up to snatch that precious citizen right out of your hands.  This also applies to leaving a low health military unit out in the open, or leaving a city without the protection of at least one capable defender.  Whenever you're vulnerable, the Barbs will find a way to troll you.  They'll burn every tile improvement you have, kidnap any unprotected worker they can find, and pick off any low health unit that doesn't have support, and then simply leave your lands to go troll someone else (or perhaps start 4chan) - presumably while listening to this song the entire time.  Barbarian camps also work like the heads of the mythical Hydra.  If you incinerate one camp, two or three more will spring up to take its place.  By this point in the game, Japan had not one, not two, but SEVEN barbarian camps surrounding it from all sides.  Needless to say, things were not going well for Japan - leaving me without allied support against England.

Barbarians:  the epitome of wit and elegance.

Without the help of my allies on the other side of the world, I was going to have to find a way to hold off a British invasion with my currently undermanned Chinese forces.  This was when I discovered the beauty of the devastating Chu-Ko-Nu.  For those that don't know, the Chu-Ko-Nu is China's version of a crossbowman.  However, comparing a Chu-Ko-Nu to a normal crossbowman is like comparing an atomic bomb to a cherry bomb.  The former destroys nations, while the latter destroys toilets.  I had a whopping two of these deathdealers to hold off the entirety of the British army, and I was able to do it with ease.  The crossbow volleys were too much for the cranky Elizabeth, and so the Red Coats retreated - with my army suffering nothing more than a single death.  Her majesty retreated back to her own borders (which were touching mine at this point) to regroup.

Elizabeth was not aware of this universal truth.

It was at this point in time that I was introduced to the noble Napoleon.  The Frenchman apparently hated the Brits just as much as I did, and he was more than eager to ally against them, IF I provided him with an open borders treaty.  I should have found it suspicious that the diminutive general happened to have 10-12 troops stationed right outside my borders before the treaty was signed, but I dismissed it as him providing me with assistance against my British oppressors.  I was about to find out one of Civ 5's life lessons - never trust Napoleon.  Sure enough, the French wasted no time flooding my borders with their troops, all under the guise of helping in the fight against Elizabeth.  A few moments later, Napoleon promptly revealed his ace in the hole - allying with the Brits and attacking my cities from within my own borders.  I was now holding off invasions on two fronts from two European superpowers.  My Chinese empire was in serious trouble.

At this point you might be saying: "Hey Boston, where the hell is Pachbel's Japanese army?" Sadly, I was wondering the very same thing.  Japan had indeed finally broken through the Barbarian blockade, only to find that the two of us were separated by the majority of the ocean.  Upon being told of my plight, Pach sent a few contingents of Samurai to help me in the war effort.  Sadly, the war would most likely end before the majestic swordsmen even reached their destination.  Having just broken free from his barbarian rulers, it was at this time that Pachbel decided to do what any emperor would have done in his situation - he set out to find things to murder.  Japan embarked on a mission to take over the entirety of the Southeastern continent.  This started with the systematic obliteration of anything that even resembled a barbarian camp.  After that task was complete, Pachbel set his sights on any and all nearby city-states.  City-states are just like civilizations, except they typically only have a single city.  They are mostly used as pawns to supply your empire with resources or soldiers.  Hardened from the dark ages of barbarian oppression, Pachbel ignored the potential usefulness of the city-states and began to take over each and every one he could find.  The city-states fought hard, but the might of Japan was just too much for them to handle, and Pachbel soon found himself the proud owner of 6 new cities - spread all across his continent.  However, the Japanese bloodlust had not yet been sated.  Pachbel only hungered for more, setting his sights on Gandhi's India.  Gandhi replied by declaring war on us, but this didn't deter Pachbel one bit.  He wouldn't be stopped until every Indian city was flying a Japanese flag.

Sorry Gandhi, but "peace" isn't on the menu. 
We can definitely do the tempura though.

Back over in my neck of the woods, I had successfully managed to destroy most of the French invaders and roughly 2/3 of the British army.  At this point, Napoleon did the very thing that the French do best - he retreated.  Stationing half my troops at home to protect my flank from the feisty Brits, I began my Occupy France campaign.  The difference between Occupy France and Occupy Wall Street is that my campaign didn't involve tents and homeless protesters, it involved me hunting down anything in a blue coat and making them wish they'd never screwed with the Chinese.  After chasing the French halfway to their capital, I had begun to think that I may have been a little over-zealous.  I sent my troops to regroup back in my cities.  Thankful for the reprieve, Napoleon retracted his declaration of war and requested a proclamation of friendship.  With my crossbow-wielding death machines in tow, I was still feeling good about my ability to hold off any invasions, so I accepted the proclamation.  After seeing that I was now friendly with France, Elizabeth signed a peace treaty.  Things were now fairly quiet on the Chinese front, so I began to expand my empire wherever I could find useful resources.  My science score was also getting fairly high, so Japan and I were pumping out technological advancements like nobody's business - shooting us ahead of the competition by leaps and bounds.   Would this prove to be our rivals' crucial mistake?

Over in the land of the Japanese Crusades, Pachbel had convincingly conquered India.  With Gandhi out of the picture, he set his blood-hazed gaze upon his new target: the Persian Empire, led by Darius the Great.  Until this point, Darius had never bothered with the Japanese, but that didn't stop Pachbel from attacking the noble Persian with his battle-hardened Japanese army.  This war lasted several decades, but eventually Persia would fall to the swarm of samurai and cannons at Japan's disposal.  Having completely dominated his own continent, Pachbel decided that he would finally make the long-awaited trek across the ocean to pay a visit to my empire.  His small Samurai contingent had already made their way to my side of the world, but they had been distracted by the prospect of conquering yet another city-state, so they never managed to make their way to my borders.  I was faring quite well at this point though, as I was able to rake in large amounts of money and resources while at peace for the first time in ages.  My army was also quite sizable, and I had a technological advantage over all of my rivals.  Elizabeth was too intimidated to actually try and attack me at this point, but that didn't stop Napoleon NaTROLLeon.  True to his nickname, the warmonger suddenly requested that I open my borders to him again.  Not one to fall for the same trick twice, I refused.  This angered Napoleon, but not enough to declare war.  I decided to send a unit of fast-moving cavalry to scout my borders.  Sure enough, there was Napoleon's army, preparing for yet another invasion.  I repositioned my defensive troops to block his entry into my domain.  Upon reaching the blockade, the foolhardy Frenchman declared war - charging at me with everything from Musketeers to Cannons.  Unfortunately (for Napoleon), my technology was more advanced than the French had anticipated, and I wiped out half of the invasion without suffering a single casualty.  Napoleon's French instincts took over again, and he retreated back to his homelands.

"I'm also great at starting fights I can't finish"
- Napoleon

It was tempting to back off and continue to advance my civilization as best as I could, but I had my fill of this backstabbing Frenchman.  Knowing that the Japanese would be there to protect me from an attack by the English, I moved the majority of my army to the west to do what I should have done ages ago - track down and destroy the French empire.  Elizabeth, ever the opportunist, saw my attack on Napoleon as a chance to grab some French cities of her own.  She promptly declared war on the Blue Coats and set off for Paris.  Pachbel's army had arrived on my borders around this time, and had begun positioning itself in a defensive posture around my cities.  Knowing that Elizabeth had left her borders relatively unguarded, the battle-hungry Japanese began to salivate over the prospect of seizing some British land.  Pachbel and I agreed that we could wait until Napoleon had been dealt with before we decided on Britain's fate.

When I arrived in France over to the west, Napoleon had mustered up a pathetic defensive line as a last ditch effort to dissuade my invasion.  I vaporized the defenders in moments, making them nothing more than a speed bump on my road to Paris.  I set upon the first city in my sights, taking it over with little effort.  I stationed a defensive garrison inside my first French city, and aptly renamed it "New Beijing." I set upon two other outlying cities, taking them as easily as I had taken the first.  Once I had properly garrisoned those cities, I had caught the scent of freshly-baked French baguettes.  I followed my nose and finally laid eyes upon Paris.  I decided to take my time and explore the French empire before committing to the siege of the capital.  As I expected, Elizabeth had already taken two southern cities, and was marching her troops over to Paris.  I was not going to let the Brits steal my thunder, so I redirected 7 troops to cut off the English soldiers - prematurely ending their celebratory champagne drinking.  I arrived just before the Red Coats and promptly surrounded the French city.  Just before his capital fell, I received a peace treaty request from Napoleon.  Sadly, my hearing was damaged from the cacophony of mortar-fire, and the warmonger's plea fell on deaf ears.  I proceeded to take Paris while the British watched.  Elizabeth did not appear to be phased by this, but she was also likely intimidated by my military prowess.  After I secured the once-French cities with adequate defenses, I started my long march home.  Knowing that the English were doing the same, I managed to edge ahead of their march, preventing them from reaching the English borders.  The Japanese were stationed around two English cities, and I had successfully surrounded the entire British army out in the open.  I'm sure you can guess what followed.

Wow, I can smell that delicious French Chinese bread from here!

If you guessed that we had several tea parties with the queen while we reminisced about Napoleon's traitorous behavior, you'd be wrong.  We set upon the British with the ferocity of a pack of wolves, and there was nothing that Elizabeth could do.  We quickly laid waste to all her outlying cities, making our way towards London, Elizabeth's last bastion of hope.  The combined might of the Chinese and Japanese armies was just too much for the English queen, and she fell just as all our other opponents did, as we rose from the ashes in triumph.  We had successfully conquered the world.  However, this was not the end for Boston and Pachbel, so stay tuned to The Little Gaming Blog to hear about our next adventure.  Happy reading!

Design Chat: Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas

And now for something completely different!

Here is the The Little Gaming Blog's first design-focused post (hopefully it's the first of many).  For my initial foray into design discussions, I decided to start out with two games that have provided me with hours upon hours of entertainment:  Fallout 3, and Fallout: New Vegas.  I'm going to cover them as one collective game because: both are run on the same engine, and both are very similar outside of their respective storylines (and the few changes/additions that came with New Vegas).  Without further ado, let's get started.

VATS:  The VATS system (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, for all the non-nerds out there) allows the player to momentarily pause gameplay to aim at specific parts of a target's body with whatever weapon is in hand.  Once the shots are fired, the player watches the action unfold at almost bullet-time speed (that's "slow motion," for those of you that don't know).  This typically ends in more accurate attacks and the occasional glorious dismemberment. 
Why this was added to the game:  You might not know this, but shooter fans and RPG fans do not always overlap.  You're not going to find a lot of hardcore Counter Strike players lining up to play Skyrim, just like you're not going to find a bunch of dudes dressed up as Cloud Strife playing Modern Warfare 3 at MLG.  Understanding this is the key to understanding why VATS was added to the game: it keeps the game from feeling like a pure shooter.  Sure, there are other reasons for it being there, but without VATS, the Fallout games would look more like Half-Life than Fallout.  Aside from that, the devs also ensured the use of VATS by attaching perks and abilities to it, as well as adding additional functionality as a reward for using the system.  Giving players a reason to use a beneficial (but largely optional) system is always a sign of good design.

  Why go for the 8-ball in the corner pocket
  when you can go for a .38 in the eye socket?

Fast Travel:  Fallout's fast travel system allows the player to instantly travel to a location already discovered on the map, as long as the player is not in combat or carrying too much weight.
Why this was added to the game:  While the designers want the players to see the massive world they've created, there's no need for players to travel through the same empty areas for 30 minutes every time they want to visit Megaton.  Visiting each area once was enough for the developers to allow you to teleport there afterwards.  There's also the possibility that this was added by request of the QA team, after they were exhausted from repeatedly walking across the vast, mostly barren landscape.  In contrast, pay-to-play MMOs do not offer this type of fast travel because they want you to keep playing the MMO as much as possible.  Since players feel the need to play MORE when they are paying for their time, MMOs can get away with this.  Console games are generally expected to offer shortcut systems to cut down on monotonous gameplay, because players are NOT paying for their time.  Therefore, the fast travel system is not necessarily good design as much as it's expected design.  Regardless, it's still a nice addition to the game. 

Companions:  I'm going to assume that everyone reading this post has at least a little familiarity with the games in question.  However, if you're not very knowledgeable about the titles, just know that you can recruit companions during your playthrough.  These companions follow you around, fight with you, and carry items. 
Why this was added to the game: It gets lonely in the desert!  No, seriously, that's one of the main reasons as to why they were added, outside of their attachment to the alignment system.  It's much more comforting to have a companion on your journey, even if it's a giant, yellow, muscle-bound mutant with a penchant for murder (and this is one of the "good" alignment characters, go figure).  The designers also needed to find a few more things to link to the game's alignment system, so that it had value (something that Fable has never seemed to understand).  This comes in the form of alignment-specific buddies that will turn you down if you're not their preferred flavor of evil or wholesome.  The companions have their own set of glitches and problems (especially in New Vegas), but they're still a welcome addition to the game - when they're not running into a group of 20 enemies and getting themselves vaporized or shot to smithereens in the process.  As a parting gift, your "friend" will also turn the attention of every angry thing within a 5 mile radius onto you, usually guaranteeing you'll be meeting your wasteland companion at the pearly gates in short order.

This is Lily, a Fallout: New Vegas companion. 
She says that she's stealthy.  I'll just take her word for it.

Quests:  The quests in the Fallout games do an excellent job of giving you extra incentives to explore a large portion of the wasteland around you.  The designers managed to make the quests feel pretty different from one another, even if you're repeating similar actions.  The key to this is keeping the motivations fresh while throwing in a variety of characters and activities to keep the player from thinking "Oh great, another fetch quest." Oftentimes the player will also be rewarded with a variety of items upon embarking on and finishing quests, making the whole ordeal more than worth their time.  Quests that don't feel repetitive and monotonous for anyone but the most jaded of all gamers?  Good design.

Combat:  The sound and visual effects combine to give the combat system an almost-tangible "substance."  You get a nice 'crunch' when connecting with a melee weapon, and the big fleshy explosions resulting from gunfire definitely feel satisfying when they happen (not in the psychopathic sense, but in the sense that they keep the combat from being mundane).  While it can get a bit gory, it's more on the outrageous side of the gore spectrum (think Kill Bill or almost any anime, where blood/flesh sprays everywhere for no reason), which keeps it from being gross to all but the most squeamish of people.  This 'crunchy combat' is an example of good design, because it keeps repetitive actions from feeling like a chore. Yes, you're still doing the same basic actions over and over, but if it doesn't feel like you're toiling through tedium, then the developers have done something right.

This is not an example of combat. 
This is what happens when a Super Mutant divides by zero.

Customization:  This is a focal point of the Fallout games.  Everything about your character is almost entirely customizable, down to the way they look.  You pick your core traits, stats, perks, and even your hairstyle.  They took this one step further in New Vegas by allowing you to customize your weapons with a variety of add-ons as well.  This goes without saying, but everyone loves customization in their games.  Customization is the foundation upon which the Call of Duty franchise built their recent empire, and it is the very reason that we see RPG elements popping up in nearly every single genre nowadays.  The idea of RPGs is to play a role, and what better way to play a role than determining that role yourself and creating your character in such as a way as to best accomplish the goals of his/her role?  This is what made the original Dungeons and Dragons such a draw, before it became a punchline for frat boys.  However, RPGs have spoiled us over the years, so a good customization system also falls under the umbrella of "expected design."

"Well this is cool and all, but now it's too big to keep in the waist of my sweatpants."
- Plaxico Burress

World:  The worlds in the Fallout games do a solid job of rewarding exploration.  While the landscape is always expansive and full of things that want to kill you, you know that the random gas station on the horizon will probably have something cool in it, because it's so far off the beaten path.  While the game's quests show you most of the important places on the map, it's nice that you can wander off on your own and still find awesome things here and there.  There are also tons of little Easter Eggs to be found (such as the alien weaponry in Fallout 3), most of which also come with awesome items. If your friends are casually talking about a Fallout game, it's always fun when you can tell them about something that none of them have heard of, simply because you happened across an event in some random corner of the map.

Another thing that showcases good design is the world's environmental storytelling.  If none of you know what environmental storytelling is, go ahead and look it up, I'll wait.  Are you back yet?  Good, because I'm going to tell you what it is either way.  You know when you get a new game and you rifle through the intro sequence so you can get right to the gameplay?  Environmental storytelling is what allows you to do that and still have a good sense of what is going on in the world.  The D.C. ruins in Fallout 3 are a good example of this.  As soon as you see those landscapes, you have an excellent idea of what's going on and/or what happened.  This is especially effective with easily recognizable landmarks (such as the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building).  When a structure commonly seen in postcards is barely standing, you know some serious stuff went down.

Contrary to what you might believe, this is D.C. before the nuclear apocalypse.

Fallout 3 Subway Labyrinth:  This is probably one of the few examples of bad design that the games have to offer.  I personally believe that this was mostly the unintentional result of recycling graphics, but the subways in Fallout 3 were the bane of many gamers.  While some people had no problem with these underground mazes (and by some people, I mean myself), the vast majority of people that I've spoken with have cited the subway system as the most frustrating thing in the game.  While it did not pose as big of a problem for yours truly, there were times when even I was lost in depths of post apocalyptic D.C.  The main reason for this, as mentioned before, is that the developers recycled many of the subway pathways.  What does this result in?  Every single subway looks nearly identical, right down to the enemies found within (almost exclusively Ghouls).  Navigating the subways was also required in order to progress deep into the D.C. ruins.  In most cases, you could follow compass directions to find the exit you need, but this was not always the case.  There were times when the recycled tunnels would lead you somewhere that was not only different from your intended destination, but also extremely dangerous.  You would think that the game's "recommended path" feature on the Pip-boy map would help with this problem, but it doesn't.  There were times when the path would clearly dictate where you needed to go, but there were also other times when the game wouldn't show you any path at all.  The game's main quests usually came with a route on the map, but if you're doing anything else (or exploring on your own), then good luck to you - your Pip-boy will just give you the proverbial finger and call it a day.  Is this bad design?  Yes it certainly is, but it was purely accidental (to be fair, 99% of bad design is accidental).  Things like this normally get cleaned up during the QA process, but something tells me that either the QA testers memorized the subways long before this became an issue, or the developers simply let this go in order to make deadlines.  I'm guessing the latter.

 

Interactions With Environment/Characters:  The two games do a nice job of ensuring that most of your encounters will be full of personality and intrigue.  Very rarely do you find a boring character in either game.  You can guarantee that if they don't have something interesting to say, they're probably either going to kill you or be killed in a few moments.  In the rare event that someone is a generic shell of a meaningless character and they're not blown up on the spot, they will probably sell you items.  I can't tell you how many unique encounters I've had during my playthroughs, because whenever I would boot up the game it seemed like even more random events would occur while I was meandering about.  A random person ran at me while screaming that I needed to "disarm the bomb" just seconds before exploding in my face (taking out a chunk of my health and nearly killing my dog in the process).  This was not a character I had ever encountered, and I had little to no idea where they came from, why they were running around outside, or who armed them with explosives - and it was completely awesome.  When you're wandering around a world that genuinely feels "alive," that's yet another sign of solid design.

Closing Thoughts:

I felt like this was a good exercise in deconstructing a few aspects of the two games.  Admittedly, I could have gone deeper, but I can always do that in future articles.  With regard to the games, both are examples of conventional RPG design with some awesomely innovative extras thrown in.  As I write more of these, the line between convention and innovation becomes much easier to see, and that's when things get fun.  Until next time, happy reading!

PETA Speaks Out Against Mario's Tanuki Suit

A friend of mine recently linked me this article, and I was honestly astounded.  I'm sure some of you have already heard about this, but for those that aren't interested in reading the linked article (and would rather read my article), PETA has released statements criticizing Nintendo for adding the Tanuki Suit to the recently released Super Mario 3D Land.  Yes, they are upset about the suit originally seen in Super Mario Bros. 3 that allowed Mario to fly and turn into a stone statue.   To be honest, there are times when I can somewhat empathize with PETA.  Their crusade for animal rights normally doesn't garner much of a reaction from me (outside of a raised eyebrow), but this is just too silly to pass up.  For an organization that is already a punchline in most circles, you might have assumed that they would have thought this through a little more before they released public statements.  Rational thought goes out the window when PETA smells headlines, apparently.

Mario, the very embodiment of animal cruelty.

First of all, PETA is a little late to the party on this one, 23 years late to be exact.  I'm guessing that members of PETA didn't have the NES growing up, because they never saw fit to protest the game that first featured the suit.  Either way, releasing statements about an item originally introduced 23 years ago is not the best plan in the world, primarily because it only serves to make the organization look completely ridiculous.  It's almost as if someone bought the game upon release, saw the suit, and immediately thought to themselves: "This is my chance, now I can truly make a difference!" I understand that PETA is trying to save the Tanukis, but they're really going about it the wrong way, undermining their own cause in the process.  If Japanese raccoons are continually being harvested for their fur, I'm pretty sure it's because the trappers are desperate for money, not because they want to give people the ability to fly and turn to stone on a whim.  I'm also fairly confident that the fur trade existed WAY before Mario come to be.  Just a thought.

This attack on Nintendo also makes no attempt to be relatable to the average gamer, which also happens to be PETA's intended target.  It's almost a slap in the face when their Executive Vice President, Tracy Reiman, says things like "This winter, everyone can give raccoon dogs and other fabulous animals a 1-UP by keeping our wardrobes fur-free." I know what you're thinking:  "She used the phrase '1-UP'!  She totally understands me as a gamer!" Yes, I feel the same way.  It's really too bad that she doesn't seem to realize that giving them a 1-UP would imply that they would come back to life after we killed them.  Zombie Tanukis, anyone?

Another thing that bothers me about this is that Mario isn't exactly running around killing Tanukis in his COMPLETELY REALISTIC world.  He hits question mark boxes with his head and a feather pops out that instantly gives him the suit.  How does Mario know where the magical feather came from, or even what it does?  He runs around throwing fire balls at giant, angry, mullet-wearing turtle kings that have a knack for kidnapping his girlfriend.  In Mario's world, you just have to accept the fact that some really crazy stuff is going on, and take help where you can find it.  Questioning the ethical implications of a suit is not on the top of Mario's to-do list when he's under siege by plumber-seeking bullet-men and man-eating plants.

Mario World is identical to the streets of Detroit.
The only difference being that Detroit has WAY more magic mushrooms.  

From what I can tell, the Tanukis referred to by the game are also mythical creatures that do not actually exist outside of Japanese folklore, not the raccoon dogs that PETA is trying to save.  Since these mythical creatures are not real, wouldn't that imply that Mario could just as likely be wearing fake fur, blessed by the raccoon gods?  If anything, Mario is paying homage to his furry protectors!  Perhaps PETA should start an alliance with everyone's favorite mustachioed plumber, instead of criticizing his choice of wardrobe.  You know what?  I'll even let PETA use my alliance idea without crediting me, simply because I'm feeling generous.  You're welcome, PETA.

When it really comes down to it, what's with all this protesting for the Tanukis anyways?  We all know who the real victim is in all the Mario games.  That's right: Bowser.  I don't see PETA protesting the continual destruction of Bowser's property, the systematic elimination of all of his children, or his inevitable beat-down at the end of nearly every single Mario game.  Bowser has been thrown into lava, set on fire, drowned, and beaten to a pulp more times than anyone should ever be able to count, and yet he carries on.  Bowser has been on the receiving end of so much punishment, that I seriously question how he still maintains the will to keep on fighting.  My theory?  Either the Koopa King is a masochist, or Princess Peach must have something pretty awesome going on underneath that pink dress (even gargantuan, spiky Turtle Warlords need love).  We may never truly know.

Mario, Bowser, and other references to Nintendo franchises are the property of Nintendo.