Strange Weirdness: December 2006

“Gameplay”. Not one of the default words in the Microsoft spelling checker and yet one of the most widely used terms in computer games. Gameplay is the term used to describe the way in which a person interacts with a game. Without gameplay computer games would just be set stories with no interactivity or would not be very much at all as the lack of gameplay would mean tat the game could not progress thereby causing the game to get stuck.

In my opinion gameplay is the single most important aspect of a game as without gameplay it isn’t a computer game. Admittedly almost any game that is purely gameplay will be simple or boring which is part of why storyline and graphics have become such a big part of modern computer games. However defining gameplay is somewhat difficult due to the shear amount of variety in how games can be played. The only definable rule for gameplay that I can think of is that it requires some kind of input from the player, aside from that the gameplay can be as varied as computer games and peripherals can.

These days it’s becoming harder and harder to think of original gameplay styles using the traditional input devices so new peripherals such as the Eye Toy and motion sensitive controllers are being developed. These enable the gameplay to be new and different in games that would otherwise have almost identical gameplay to most other games in their relevant genre.

Damn it this is a tough task!

“Think of the characters you’ve encountered in books, TV and in films. What are your feelings towards them?”

I’m not sure I’ve ever really given it much thought. It’s certainly difficult to describe my feelings towards “them” as there are a potentially infinite number of different and varied characters to talk about.

I personally like characters who are quirky and somewhat unique (Edward from the Cowboy Bebop series for example) or just plain cool in my opinion (I really like Cloud and Sephiroth from Final Fantasy 7. You can’t go wrong with stupidly large swords.)

The script, acting and appearance that go into producing a character are all very important in creating a believable and likeable (hateable or whatever the desired response) character with the emphasis shifting from each depending on the media (for example appearance isn’t quite as important if your reading a book because the image of the character is generally generated from a brief description of the character when they are introduced into the story and as such is mostly up to the readers imagination).

I find any adventure story with a good hero/heroes and villain/villains to be my favourite kinds of stories. Ideally with a bit of a back story for each of the main characters and some kind of romantic sub plot if applicable (there’s nothing like the need to save a loved one to help spur on a hero). There are exceptions however, I wouldn’t exactly call “Shawshank Redemption” or “Patch Adams” adventure stories but they are two of my favourite films. I think a large reason for why I like them is because they provoked a certain emotional response in me when I see them (I shed a couple of tears in each when I first saw them and I cant help but smile at certain points in the films where something I think is really nice happens). That’s also part of why my two favourite anime series (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Cowboy Bebop) are my favourite anime series, because there are episodes in each that provoke emotional responses (I’m not saying anything about which episodes because I don’t want to spoil them for anyone that might read this blog but haven’t seen them yet). In conclusion I think basically any story that can make me cry (or smile when what’s currently happening isn’t funny) is a good story as is any story that keeps me reading/watching/listening just to find out what happens to a particular character or an action film that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

A list of favourite stories:

Film

Patch Adams

Shawshank Redemption

Bandits

Die Hard Series (particularly Die Hard 3)

Cowboy Bebop the Movie

Aliens Series

Anime/Manga

Cowboy Bebop

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Big O

Shaman King

Bleach

Trigun

Naruto

Outlaw Star

Zone of the Enders (entire story including the games)

Full Metal Alchemist

Books

(I don’t really read many books these days.)

The Hobbit

Lord of the Rings

Games

Final Fantasy Series (particularly FF7)

(I haven’t played anywhere near all of them but most have a good story and the only one iv played that didn’t was a very old game on the Gameboy called something slightly different like Final Fantasy Legends)

Zone of the Enders (as stated above)

Metal Gear Solid Series

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! I know there are more but I can’t think of them right now!)

A list of my favourite fictional characters:

(This is significantly shortened to my two favourite heroes and villains due to the sheer length a full list would be.)

Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop)