PAX 09 - Sunday 9/6/09
Well, I brought an unwelcome guest home from PAX.
As some of you may already know, I caught swine flu up at PAX, an outbreak that's been dubbed “PAX Pox” by the media. So, the day after I made my last post I was feverish, coughing, and altogether not in a mood to make this post. Fortunately, I'm better now and back in school. So that's all good. And, at least I caught mild variation rather than the one that some virologists believe might hit the United States come next month.
Here's to hoping they're wrong (though I'll be immune in any case).
So now that I'm done with the unwelcome diversion, I'm posting my remaining review of the events from PAX. If, for some reason, you didn't catch my previous post on the subject and still want to, here is is.
As for the rest, read on.
Table of Contents
The Old Republic
Penny Arcade Panel
Dragon Age: Origins
Muramasa: The Demon Blade
Overall Reaction
The Old Republic Footage
By now, all of this footage has already been released to the public through the press, but since I was there to see it during its initial release, I'll go ahead and give my comments at the time.
As many of you may know I was more than a little skeptical about The Old Republic when it was first announced. Okay, scratch that. I was a jerkass, thriving on the very same fandumb I usually deride and bemoan. Yes, I had legitimate complaints about the game, many of which I still hold. However, it is and, more importantly, wasn't anywhere near the disaster I so angrily proclaimed it to be. So what I'm saying is I was wrong and I apologize for being so hasty to jump on the hate bandwagon.
In fact, given what I saw at PAX I have wholeheartedly converted to the “SWTOR is awesome” camp. If someone had told me that I would say that a year ago, I would have not believed them.
Here's the truth. The footage being shown at shows like E3, GamesCom, and PAX has demonstrated one clear thing about BioWare's intent with SWTOR. They intend to make it as awesome as they possibly can. Now, I can't say I agree with all their design decisions or don't think that Obsidian producing a third KotOR wouldn't have been a better idea. But I can't fault them for trying and, admittedly, producing some very nice results (as far as I can tell).
Now, on to the actual experience in question. I will say with some degree of certainty that the exhibit for SWTOR was possibly the largest line I have ever seen. Granted, I haven't been to many conventions, but this one was the longest I saw at PAX, which wasn't exactly short on lines, as my earlier post made clear. Fortunately, Andrew and I both made it our priority to get in the line more than an hour early, which meant we were a good deal ahead of most of the crowd (I'd say we were in the first 30%). We both managed to stay mildly entertained. Andrew played his DS and I listened to music while pooling together writing ideas in my head... something I commonly do while listing around bored.
The wait was worth it, however, as BioWare gave us a first class reception. Not only were there BioWare reps dressed up as Jedi and Sith, which is awesome in of itself, but there were also free download codes for the PC version of KotOR, which was recently rereleased over Steam. That was pretty damn cool.
And yes, we did see the trailer again. Honestly, I am getting a little tired of it, even if it is a very well-put together piece of cinematic art.
Much of what we saw was old stuff, recycled from GamesCom. But that was okay for a few reasons. First of all, to be entirely fair, seeing game footage over GameTrailers.com or IGN is not the same thing as seeing it in person, on a giant projector screen, with a few hundred fans pumped up with enthusiasm surrounding you. It's just not the same experience. It's a lot more awesome. Secondly, we did see roughly a half hour of new footage - some of it entirely new (like the trooper gameplay or the Coruscant debut trailer) and some of it merely expanded footage of what we'd seen previously (notably the quest involving the space battle). Also, since all the footage was in real-time, it wasn't actually the same footage, but rather the same demo, played by different people.
Some of the footage we saw was rehash, but we still some exclusive footage, such as the debut of the planet Coruscant.
Things that excited me the most.
1)Bringing the dialogue system of Mass Effect over to SWTOR. Yes, this isn't news to anybody who's been paying attention. But that doesn't make it any less cool. I will admit that I personally think this dialogue wheel should be used more often and for the life of me don't understand why BioWare isn't using it in Dragon Age.
2)Making the dialogue competitive. They didn't demonstrate this very clearly, but it's a pretty cool idea. It's the central problem, really, with having a singleplayer-esque experience in an MMO. How do you handle management of the conversation? Easy, you make it another way for players to prove how cool they are by competing for control.
3)The classes look very balanced. This is a good thing. The central worry I'm sure everyone's had is that Jedi and Sith will completely own everything else in the game. This does not appear to be the case. Tycho's bounty hunter (not sure if it actually was Tycho who was playing, but that's the screen name that was used) was as essential to the final demo's gameplay as Gabe's Sith was. Each class proved able to take on multiple NPCs with about the same degree of proficiency. That is how it should be.
4)The game's got a very epic presentation. I'm entirely serious when I say that and I'm not substituting epic for “cool.” What I mean is that the game seems to make you feel like a hero, something I've gotten the impression most MMOs lack. The game seems positively oriented towards roleplaying and game world immersion, which is what draws me to RPGs in the first place. It's also the main reason I've avoided MMOs so far - even discounting the monthly subscription fees. To be frank, I was doubtful BioWare could pull it off.
However, that's not to say I'm without worries. What I remain skeptical of follows.
1)NPC companion characters. The fact is BioWare really showed nothing about them at PAX. Oh, sure, they joked about it and showed off a unicorn plushie as a character, but really, they avoided the subject for the most part, merely reiterating the company line that they exist. To be entirely fair it's not so much the lack of characters that bothers me - rather it's their presence and the fact that BioWare doesn't seem to know what to do with them in a game that is ostensibly based around human to human interaction.
After all, when you're socializing with actual friends online, what's the point in socializing with a make-believe friend who's programmed to provide you with preprepared responses? It'd be like taking a (non-sapient) robot to a party with your friends. There's a sort of dissonance going on here that I think BioWare is aware of, but doesn't want to acknowledge.
2)Secondly, I'm still a bit peeved, I'll admit, over the story's abandonment of the arc established by Obsidian. Yes, I can understand on an intellectual level why they did it, but BioWare hasn't done a very good job of reassuring me that they even acknowledge TSL's existence beyond it's implication that Revan went off to fight the True Sith. Why do, for instance, the Jedi appear to be a carbon copy of the Jedi from KotOR - who were wiped out in the backstory of TSL? Why do the Sith appear to be humans instead of, say, aliens? What happened to the Exile? Or the Lost Jedi?
I mean, sure, most of these details aren't going to be shown in promotional videos or demos because, really, they're irrelevant to the audience they're aiming for - which is not us (us being fans of the original games) but the general public. But the fact that they haven't shown themselves to be in any way respecting Obsidian's original vision while filling their advertising with the art and music of TSL seems, to me, blatantly disrespectful. I mean, can anyone explain to me why Nihilus' face is found on virtually every preview article for the game when he's clearly not in it?
3)The art of the game. And no, I don't mean the graphics. They've kind of grown on me actually. No, I mean the art behind the graphics. Namely, the fact that everything in the game looks like a photocopy of either KotOR or the Original Trilogy, pasted into the game, right down to the logos. Now, I know I'm nitpicking here, but why do the Sith have uniforms and logos identical to the Empire's more than three thousand years later - especially since in previously established continuity its clear that these designs evolved out of the Republic and not the Sith. The Empire's well-known insignia is an altered version of the Republic's, as made clear in the films, and the uniforms are based on those used in the Republic's local militias prior to the Clone Wars. Why then, would anybody in their right mind, adopt them from the Republic's greatest enemy from a few millennia earlier?
To be entirely fair, I can provide an explanation. Three thousand years is an awfully long time. But then, you see, that works against itself because so much of the rest of the game is visually parallel to the films. Jedi wardrobes haven't changed in millennia so why should the Republic's? It's an odd sort of artistic dissonance.
Again, I'm nitpicking here and I recognize most fans probably couldn't give a rat's ass about these things. But I'm a canonista so it bothers me, if only a little.
Over all, though, I can easily say the demo left a good impression on me. So much, in fact, that I am seriously considering purchasing the game. Currently, I'm weighing the positives of how good the gameplay looks and how much polish the game has against my wallet and time. But you never know, BioWare may win me in the end.
Which I would never have believed (almost) a year ago.
Penny Arcade Panel
In spite of the fact that PAX's name is an acronym meaning “Penny Arcade Expo,” the comic-writing duo have become less and less the focus over the years. This isn't a bad thing in the least. For one thing, PAX is supposed to be a gaming expo, not a comics expo, and the duo don't really need a whole convention to celebrate their comic. Tycho has, himself, iterated this line of thought, writing that, “PAX has developed a culture independent of Penny Arcade... it simply needed a vessel, a thing we have done our best to provide.”
That being said, PAX was started by Penny Arcade's Gabe (real name Mike Krahulik) and Tycho (Jerry Holkins) and its appropriate that they should host an annual Q&A session where fans ask them questions. This was actually the first panel I saw last year, an entertaining, if surprisingly embarrassing (for them) panel that was finished off by an impromptu performance of Bad Horse. It gave a good impression and I was happy to join again and see the duo at work, whose chemistry in real life is even stranger than the relationship between their caricatured selves in Penny Arcade.
The panel opened with a bit more flash than last year. Gabe and Tycho initially just walked on but, deciding that wasn't cool enough, they went back out and came back in on a wave of enthusiastic applause as loud music boomed in the background. Not fed up with music yet, they quickly segued, via audience question, into one of PAX's traditions - Tycho singing (in this case, a “ballad” of sorts by the Sex Pistols called Are You Really a Woman?) in his particular way. It was all good fun.
As has become something of a tradition, Tycho sang for the crowd.
There was, compared to last year, a notably smaller number of embarassing questions than last year. There were no questions about Gabe's anxiety disorder (a condition he shares with many Americans) or about carving mashed potatoes into phallic symbols. That's not to say there weren't some provocative statements made, such as the religious question, which was raised twice, revealing that Tycho is an atheist and Gabe a deist. There was also a vaguely pornographic softcore piece of fan art that was flashed at us for about a second before it was hidden from sight (with a warning for all innocent eyes to look away).
But all in all, it was mostly pretty laidback stuff. Gabe and Tycho commented on how they picked keynote speakers (mostly they just pick whoever they feel like at the moment), how they enjoyed game design (Tycho liked it a lot more than Gabe), and why they disliked using continuity in their strip (in direct contrast to similar webcomics like PvP or Ctrl+Alt+Delete). There were also a few more interesting questions, such as wide support for the expansion of PAX to the east coast come this spring and hopes for a possible expansion into, of all places, Mississippi. Not that there's anything wrong with Mississippi (or any other southern states - I rather enjoyed New Orleans when I visited it back in '03). I just found the number of requests for a PAX South astoundingly high.
There were also discussions of how the army of PAX attendees might be utilized for world conquest or the resurrection of Firefly. And Arkham Asylum is their favorite game of the year so far.
Overall, it was a fun and easygoing panel. Nothing really eye-opening or exciting, but just pure and simple fun. And that was more than okay. After all, everyone's got to have an off-switch.
Dragon Age: Origins
Finishing off my previews of BioWare games was my playthrough of the Dragon Age demo at PAX. This was a demo I'd been eager to get my hands on for a long time - not so much because I was looking forward to Dragon Age but rather because I was hoping to see evidence that would assure me and dissolve the worries I'd developed from seeing preview footage of the game for the past year. Most infamously, of course, the E3 “Violence” trailer.
So I made sure, as with the Old Republic exposition, to get in line early. As in, as soon as I got lunch. Instead of sitting down to eat my mundane Subway sandwich I headed straight to the line for the Dragon Age demo, scarfed the sandwich like a starving hyena, and whipped out Dune: House Corrino to keep me company as the line moved forward at the pace of a drunken snail riding a sleeping tortoise. Yes, while I stand my previous statement that the Old Republic line was longer, this line was much slower. I spent roughly three hours in a line that was maybe fifty feet long. Needless to say, I got a lot of reading done.
So the question becomes, was it worth it? Well, at first I expected it would be. After all, as in the case of SWTOR BioWare was making a real effort here. The reps were dressed as Gray Wardens and there was a big, gigantic dragon statue at the entrance. On the other hand, those very same efforts only served to reinforce the “bloody mess” motif the advertisements seem to be embracing. The imagery of blood was, quite literally, everywhere, in amounts that would make Frank Miller embarrassed. Why, I wonder, does BioWare feel the need to embrace gorn? I really have, utterly, no idea. But embrace it they have.
Say what you will, but you can't deny BioWare puts a lot of effort into presentation.
Given how long I spent in line, I was surprised how little time I spent playing. Yes, I understand that the very fact the line was so long meant they had to limit the amount of time playing severely. But the situation, when compared to the Mass Effect 2 demo, which gave a pretty significant playtime per line time ratio, was striking to me. Frankly, we spent more time being told what we were going to play by the BioWare reps than we actually did playing.
Alright, but the gameplay was fun, right?
No. No, it wasn't.
Okay, I'll admit I have biases, I have preferences, but let's be fair. I've really liked every other BioWare game I've played. I mean, even though I thought Neverwinter Nights was a poor example of storytelling I thought the actual gameplay was fun. I loved KotOR. I thought Mass Effect was brilliant. And while Jade Empire could get repetitive the gameplay it was still a damn fine game. But Dragon Age. No, no, I did not have fun playing the demo.
For one thing, it was very combat-focused. Where was the, you know, roleplaying? I mean, even the ME2 demo, which seemed to be mostly about showing off new weapons, had an important conversation and character debut thrown in. But Dragon Age? No, it was just slaying one ogre (excuse me, Darkspawn) after another. And then slaying some orcs (or orc-esque creatures I suppose). And then a few other beasties thrown in for good measure.
That wouldn't be so bad if it was gameplay similar to, say, NWN or The Witcher, but the fact is, the gameplay was bad. It was a clunky, non-intuitive combat system that only got in the way of having fun. Worse yet, there was no tutorial, despite the fact it plays like no other BioWare game I've ever played, so I was fumbling away for minutes trying to figure out how to cast basic spells. Not to mention that the much talked about tactical aspect to gameplay seemed to be about as shallow as a tide pool.
No, it really just wasn't fun.
Oh, yeah, and remember how this is a “mature” RPG? Well, mature in this particular instance seems to boil down to, as the ads have indicated, blood, blood, some more blood, with a side of gore, and sex for desert. Actually, I didn't see the sex part, but it's been rather rampantly advertised so I imagine it's in there somewhere. Let me give you an example: every character is covered from head to toe in blood. It's distracting. Honestly, this game makes Gears of War, which I admittedly liked, look clean. There's blood and grime everywhere.
And no, I saw no evidence of emotional maturity or moral sophistication. The one instance where I actually got a chance to do something other than killing was a conversation I had with a minor NPC who was badly wounded. I had two options, essentially: be a nice guy and heal him or be needlessly cruel and cut his throat out. Oh, yeah, I did get a third option that made no difference. Because I died once while trying to figure out the controls I got a chance to try out both the evil option and the “neutral” option. The neutral option demonstrated, as the senior Gray Warden proceeded to heal the man anyway, that the only valid option was the yay, good side option. Not that I'd probably choose a different one in most cases anyway since I tend to play nice guys. But given how much BioWare has advertised Dragon Age as being more mature and morally gray than its previous games it was pretty funny to see a return to black and white concepts.
Now, I know the press is raging (in some places) about Dragon Age and I know that many BioWare fans are looking forward to the game. And I didn't get a true chance to see the story at work since BioWare insisted on giving us a hack-and-slash demo to play. But I honestly can't see what the hype is about. I never have and I'm far less convinced of Dragon Age's quality than I was a year ago. It's sort of the opposite of SWTOR. I was cautiously optimistic early on about this game but what I've seen has convinced me that Dragon Age is a shallow, “darker and grittier” RPG that imitates the aesthetics of games like Gears of War, Fallout 3, or The Witcher while taking on none of the deeper qualities that make those games entertaining.
At this point, it would take a minor publicity miracle to convince me this game is worth the plastic it's printed on. Feel free to try and convince me otherwise.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade
I'll confess something.
I don't really buy into the whole retrogaming rage right now. I mean, strange as that seems. After all, in my earlier post about PAX I talked about how I think innovation is overrated. But at the same time, I'm not really sure what all the fuss is about 2D platformers or old-school RPing. Okay, I'll retract that statement. I get it on a level and I understand that it's as much about childhood nostalgia as anything else. The problem is, I wasn't a part of that experience, so I don't share the same emotional luggage.
That being said, I have nothing against 2D games in principle. I just tend to think that game developers have come up with a lot of better ideas since then and that something like, say, Mass Effect is a better, all-around designed game than say, Super Mario Bros 3. Yes. Heresy, I know.
But when presented with a particularly fun 2D game... well, I have absolutely nothing to complain about.
Muramasa, a surprisingly fun game with great presentation.
I'm not sure whether I want to buy Muramasa: The Demon Blade or not. But it was certainly fun to play and a nice way to wrap up PAX this year. By that point the game had already come out and I'd already read reviews but I thought, why the hell not try the game anyway?
For those who haven't heard of the game, it's essentially a 2D platformer/RPG/action hybrid that uses ukiyo-e resembling art design and subtitled dialogue to convey a strangely distilled Japanese feel. The game revolves around trying to break a variety of curses and using ninjutsu and magical katanas to accomplish that. It also takes place during the Genroku period, a favorite sub-era of the Edo period in Japanese period films.
I'll say this. The controls are easy to learn and fun to use. The game's not particularly complex and its probably not something that has a lot of replay value. But it fun in a sort of pure, unsophisticated way. I'm not sure it's worth the full price I'd pay for, say, Mass Effect 2, but there's something rewarding about this hack-and-slash adventure, where ninjas are ludicrously overpowered and monsters are really big and ugly.
Maybe I won't buy it. But maybe I will.
Enough rambling.
Overview of Day Two and Reaction to PAX Overall
So, on the whole, my second day at PAX, like my first, had its ups and downs. On the one hand, I planned it better and I enjoyed the conferences a lot more. On the other hand, the Dragon Age demo was pretty disappointing. But, on the whole, I think the day went pretty well. It was a good finish for the exposition.
As for PAX overall... well, it was definitely a better experience than last year. For one thing, we got out and saw quite a bit more than I got a chance to last year, where I played one notable demo and attended two conferences. So the extra time was definitely a boost. Also, we had some nice quality time with my cousins, who Andrew and I stayed with while we were up in Seattle.
Was it worth it? Hell, yes, even taking into account the PAX pox. However, it brought me to a strange realization. I'd always assumed playing game demos would be the funnest part of PAX. It wasn't. In fact, it was my least favorite part (though I don't think Andrew agreed). Instead, I was most fond of the conferences and, to a lesser extent, the people. Everyone at PAX was very genial and warm-hearted and quite a few were dressed up in kick-ass costumes - which almost made me wish I'd brought one.
Definitely worth the swine flu.
So, next year, when I head to PAX 10, I think I'll make it my goal to attend more of the social events - concerts and the like. I missed out on that and that's my main regret. So next year, a goal.
Oh, and for any who weren't able to make it this year: there's always PAX East Coast in Boston. I won't be going (I neither have the time nor the money) but by all means, feel free to go yourself.
As some of you may already know, I caught swine flu up at PAX, an outbreak that's been dubbed “PAX Pox” by the media. So, the day after I made my last post I was feverish, coughing, and altogether not in a mood to make this post. Fortunately, I'm better now and back in school. So that's all good. And, at least I caught mild variation rather than the one that some virologists believe might hit the United States come next month.
Here's to hoping they're wrong (though I'll be immune in any case).
So now that I'm done with the unwelcome diversion, I'm posting my remaining review of the events from PAX. If, for some reason, you didn't catch my previous post on the subject and still want to, here is is.
As for the rest, read on.
Table of Contents
The Old Republic
Penny Arcade Panel
Dragon Age: Origins
Muramasa: The Demon Blade
Overall Reaction
The Old Republic Footage
By now, all of this footage has already been released to the public through the press, but since I was there to see it during its initial release, I'll go ahead and give my comments at the time.
As many of you may know I was more than a little skeptical about The Old Republic when it was first announced. Okay, scratch that. I was a jerkass, thriving on the very same fandumb I usually deride and bemoan. Yes, I had legitimate complaints about the game, many of which I still hold. However, it is and, more importantly, wasn't anywhere near the disaster I so angrily proclaimed it to be. So what I'm saying is I was wrong and I apologize for being so hasty to jump on the hate bandwagon.
In fact, given what I saw at PAX I have wholeheartedly converted to the “SWTOR is awesome” camp. If someone had told me that I would say that a year ago, I would have not believed them.
Here's the truth. The footage being shown at shows like E3, GamesCom, and PAX has demonstrated one clear thing about BioWare's intent with SWTOR. They intend to make it as awesome as they possibly can. Now, I can't say I agree with all their design decisions or don't think that Obsidian producing a third KotOR wouldn't have been a better idea. But I can't fault them for trying and, admittedly, producing some very nice results (as far as I can tell).
Now, on to the actual experience in question. I will say with some degree of certainty that the exhibit for SWTOR was possibly the largest line I have ever seen. Granted, I haven't been to many conventions, but this one was the longest I saw at PAX, which wasn't exactly short on lines, as my earlier post made clear. Fortunately, Andrew and I both made it our priority to get in the line more than an hour early, which meant we were a good deal ahead of most of the crowd (I'd say we were in the first 30%). We both managed to stay mildly entertained. Andrew played his DS and I listened to music while pooling together writing ideas in my head... something I commonly do while listing around bored.
The wait was worth it, however, as BioWare gave us a first class reception. Not only were there BioWare reps dressed up as Jedi and Sith, which is awesome in of itself, but there were also free download codes for the PC version of KotOR, which was recently rereleased over Steam. That was pretty damn cool.
And yes, we did see the trailer again. Honestly, I am getting a little tired of it, even if it is a very well-put together piece of cinematic art.
Much of what we saw was old stuff, recycled from GamesCom. But that was okay for a few reasons. First of all, to be entirely fair, seeing game footage over GameTrailers.com or IGN is not the same thing as seeing it in person, on a giant projector screen, with a few hundred fans pumped up with enthusiasm surrounding you. It's just not the same experience. It's a lot more awesome. Secondly, we did see roughly a half hour of new footage - some of it entirely new (like the trooper gameplay or the Coruscant debut trailer) and some of it merely expanded footage of what we'd seen previously (notably the quest involving the space battle). Also, since all the footage was in real-time, it wasn't actually the same footage, but rather the same demo, played by different people.
Some of the footage we saw was rehash, but we still some exclusive footage, such as the debut of the planet Coruscant.
Things that excited me the most.
1)Bringing the dialogue system of Mass Effect over to SWTOR. Yes, this isn't news to anybody who's been paying attention. But that doesn't make it any less cool. I will admit that I personally think this dialogue wheel should be used more often and for the life of me don't understand why BioWare isn't using it in Dragon Age.
2)Making the dialogue competitive. They didn't demonstrate this very clearly, but it's a pretty cool idea. It's the central problem, really, with having a singleplayer-esque experience in an MMO. How do you handle management of the conversation? Easy, you make it another way for players to prove how cool they are by competing for control.
3)The classes look very balanced. This is a good thing. The central worry I'm sure everyone's had is that Jedi and Sith will completely own everything else in the game. This does not appear to be the case. Tycho's bounty hunter (not sure if it actually was Tycho who was playing, but that's the screen name that was used) was as essential to the final demo's gameplay as Gabe's Sith was. Each class proved able to take on multiple NPCs with about the same degree of proficiency. That is how it should be.
4)The game's got a very epic presentation. I'm entirely serious when I say that and I'm not substituting epic for “cool.” What I mean is that the game seems to make you feel like a hero, something I've gotten the impression most MMOs lack. The game seems positively oriented towards roleplaying and game world immersion, which is what draws me to RPGs in the first place. It's also the main reason I've avoided MMOs so far - even discounting the monthly subscription fees. To be frank, I was doubtful BioWare could pull it off.
However, that's not to say I'm without worries. What I remain skeptical of follows.
1)NPC companion characters. The fact is BioWare really showed nothing about them at PAX. Oh, sure, they joked about it and showed off a unicorn plushie as a character, but really, they avoided the subject for the most part, merely reiterating the company line that they exist. To be entirely fair it's not so much the lack of characters that bothers me - rather it's their presence and the fact that BioWare doesn't seem to know what to do with them in a game that is ostensibly based around human to human interaction.
After all, when you're socializing with actual friends online, what's the point in socializing with a make-believe friend who's programmed to provide you with preprepared responses? It'd be like taking a (non-sapient) robot to a party with your friends. There's a sort of dissonance going on here that I think BioWare is aware of, but doesn't want to acknowledge.
2)Secondly, I'm still a bit peeved, I'll admit, over the story's abandonment of the arc established by Obsidian. Yes, I can understand on an intellectual level why they did it, but BioWare hasn't done a very good job of reassuring me that they even acknowledge TSL's existence beyond it's implication that Revan went off to fight the True Sith. Why do, for instance, the Jedi appear to be a carbon copy of the Jedi from KotOR - who were wiped out in the backstory of TSL? Why do the Sith appear to be humans instead of, say, aliens? What happened to the Exile? Or the Lost Jedi?
I mean, sure, most of these details aren't going to be shown in promotional videos or demos because, really, they're irrelevant to the audience they're aiming for - which is not us (us being fans of the original games) but the general public. But the fact that they haven't shown themselves to be in any way respecting Obsidian's original vision while filling their advertising with the art and music of TSL seems, to me, blatantly disrespectful. I mean, can anyone explain to me why Nihilus' face is found on virtually every preview article for the game when he's clearly not in it?
3)The art of the game. And no, I don't mean the graphics. They've kind of grown on me actually. No, I mean the art behind the graphics. Namely, the fact that everything in the game looks like a photocopy of either KotOR or the Original Trilogy, pasted into the game, right down to the logos. Now, I know I'm nitpicking here, but why do the Sith have uniforms and logos identical to the Empire's more than three thousand years later - especially since in previously established continuity its clear that these designs evolved out of the Republic and not the Sith. The Empire's well-known insignia is an altered version of the Republic's, as made clear in the films, and the uniforms are based on those used in the Republic's local militias prior to the Clone Wars. Why then, would anybody in their right mind, adopt them from the Republic's greatest enemy from a few millennia earlier?
To be entirely fair, I can provide an explanation. Three thousand years is an awfully long time. But then, you see, that works against itself because so much of the rest of the game is visually parallel to the films. Jedi wardrobes haven't changed in millennia so why should the Republic's? It's an odd sort of artistic dissonance.
Again, I'm nitpicking here and I recognize most fans probably couldn't give a rat's ass about these things. But I'm a canonista so it bothers me, if only a little.
Over all, though, I can easily say the demo left a good impression on me. So much, in fact, that I am seriously considering purchasing the game. Currently, I'm weighing the positives of how good the gameplay looks and how much polish the game has against my wallet and time. But you never know, BioWare may win me in the end.
Which I would never have believed (almost) a year ago.
Penny Arcade Panel
In spite of the fact that PAX's name is an acronym meaning “Penny Arcade Expo,” the comic-writing duo have become less and less the focus over the years. This isn't a bad thing in the least. For one thing, PAX is supposed to be a gaming expo, not a comics expo, and the duo don't really need a whole convention to celebrate their comic. Tycho has, himself, iterated this line of thought, writing that, “PAX has developed a culture independent of Penny Arcade... it simply needed a vessel, a thing we have done our best to provide.”
That being said, PAX was started by Penny Arcade's Gabe (real name Mike Krahulik) and Tycho (Jerry Holkins) and its appropriate that they should host an annual Q&A session where fans ask them questions. This was actually the first panel I saw last year, an entertaining, if surprisingly embarrassing (for them) panel that was finished off by an impromptu performance of Bad Horse. It gave a good impression and I was happy to join again and see the duo at work, whose chemistry in real life is even stranger than the relationship between their caricatured selves in Penny Arcade.
The panel opened with a bit more flash than last year. Gabe and Tycho initially just walked on but, deciding that wasn't cool enough, they went back out and came back in on a wave of enthusiastic applause as loud music boomed in the background. Not fed up with music yet, they quickly segued, via audience question, into one of PAX's traditions - Tycho singing (in this case, a “ballad” of sorts by the Sex Pistols called Are You Really a Woman?) in his particular way. It was all good fun.
As has become something of a tradition, Tycho sang for the crowd.
There was, compared to last year, a notably smaller number of embarassing questions than last year. There were no questions about Gabe's anxiety disorder (a condition he shares with many Americans) or about carving mashed potatoes into phallic symbols. That's not to say there weren't some provocative statements made, such as the religious question, which was raised twice, revealing that Tycho is an atheist and Gabe a deist. There was also a vaguely pornographic softcore piece of fan art that was flashed at us for about a second before it was hidden from sight (with a warning for all innocent eyes to look away).
But all in all, it was mostly pretty laidback stuff. Gabe and Tycho commented on how they picked keynote speakers (mostly they just pick whoever they feel like at the moment), how they enjoyed game design (Tycho liked it a lot more than Gabe), and why they disliked using continuity in their strip (in direct contrast to similar webcomics like PvP or Ctrl+Alt+Delete). There were also a few more interesting questions, such as wide support for the expansion of PAX to the east coast come this spring and hopes for a possible expansion into, of all places, Mississippi. Not that there's anything wrong with Mississippi (or any other southern states - I rather enjoyed New Orleans when I visited it back in '03). I just found the number of requests for a PAX South astoundingly high.
There were also discussions of how the army of PAX attendees might be utilized for world conquest or the resurrection of Firefly. And Arkham Asylum is their favorite game of the year so far.
Overall, it was a fun and easygoing panel. Nothing really eye-opening or exciting, but just pure and simple fun. And that was more than okay. After all, everyone's got to have an off-switch.
Dragon Age: Origins
Finishing off my previews of BioWare games was my playthrough of the Dragon Age demo at PAX. This was a demo I'd been eager to get my hands on for a long time - not so much because I was looking forward to Dragon Age but rather because I was hoping to see evidence that would assure me and dissolve the worries I'd developed from seeing preview footage of the game for the past year. Most infamously, of course, the E3 “Violence” trailer.
So I made sure, as with the Old Republic exposition, to get in line early. As in, as soon as I got lunch. Instead of sitting down to eat my mundane Subway sandwich I headed straight to the line for the Dragon Age demo, scarfed the sandwich like a starving hyena, and whipped out Dune: House Corrino to keep me company as the line moved forward at the pace of a drunken snail riding a sleeping tortoise. Yes, while I stand my previous statement that the Old Republic line was longer, this line was much slower. I spent roughly three hours in a line that was maybe fifty feet long. Needless to say, I got a lot of reading done.
So the question becomes, was it worth it? Well, at first I expected it would be. After all, as in the case of SWTOR BioWare was making a real effort here. The reps were dressed as Gray Wardens and there was a big, gigantic dragon statue at the entrance. On the other hand, those very same efforts only served to reinforce the “bloody mess” motif the advertisements seem to be embracing. The imagery of blood was, quite literally, everywhere, in amounts that would make Frank Miller embarrassed. Why, I wonder, does BioWare feel the need to embrace gorn? I really have, utterly, no idea. But embrace it they have.
Say what you will, but you can't deny BioWare puts a lot of effort into presentation.
Given how long I spent in line, I was surprised how little time I spent playing. Yes, I understand that the very fact the line was so long meant they had to limit the amount of time playing severely. But the situation, when compared to the Mass Effect 2 demo, which gave a pretty significant playtime per line time ratio, was striking to me. Frankly, we spent more time being told what we were going to play by the BioWare reps than we actually did playing.
Alright, but the gameplay was fun, right?
No. No, it wasn't.
Okay, I'll admit I have biases, I have preferences, but let's be fair. I've really liked every other BioWare game I've played. I mean, even though I thought Neverwinter Nights was a poor example of storytelling I thought the actual gameplay was fun. I loved KotOR. I thought Mass Effect was brilliant. And while Jade Empire could get repetitive the gameplay it was still a damn fine game. But Dragon Age. No, no, I did not have fun playing the demo.
For one thing, it was very combat-focused. Where was the, you know, roleplaying? I mean, even the ME2 demo, which seemed to be mostly about showing off new weapons, had an important conversation and character debut thrown in. But Dragon Age? No, it was just slaying one ogre (excuse me, Darkspawn) after another. And then slaying some orcs (or orc-esque creatures I suppose). And then a few other beasties thrown in for good measure.
That wouldn't be so bad if it was gameplay similar to, say, NWN or The Witcher, but the fact is, the gameplay was bad. It was a clunky, non-intuitive combat system that only got in the way of having fun. Worse yet, there was no tutorial, despite the fact it plays like no other BioWare game I've ever played, so I was fumbling away for minutes trying to figure out how to cast basic spells. Not to mention that the much talked about tactical aspect to gameplay seemed to be about as shallow as a tide pool.
No, it really just wasn't fun.
Oh, yeah, and remember how this is a “mature” RPG? Well, mature in this particular instance seems to boil down to, as the ads have indicated, blood, blood, some more blood, with a side of gore, and sex for desert. Actually, I didn't see the sex part, but it's been rather rampantly advertised so I imagine it's in there somewhere. Let me give you an example: every character is covered from head to toe in blood. It's distracting. Honestly, this game makes Gears of War, which I admittedly liked, look clean. There's blood and grime everywhere.
And no, I saw no evidence of emotional maturity or moral sophistication. The one instance where I actually got a chance to do something other than killing was a conversation I had with a minor NPC who was badly wounded. I had two options, essentially: be a nice guy and heal him or be needlessly cruel and cut his throat out. Oh, yeah, I did get a third option that made no difference. Because I died once while trying to figure out the controls I got a chance to try out both the evil option and the “neutral” option. The neutral option demonstrated, as the senior Gray Warden proceeded to heal the man anyway, that the only valid option was the yay, good side option. Not that I'd probably choose a different one in most cases anyway since I tend to play nice guys. But given how much BioWare has advertised Dragon Age as being more mature and morally gray than its previous games it was pretty funny to see a return to black and white concepts.
Now, I know the press is raging (in some places) about Dragon Age and I know that many BioWare fans are looking forward to the game. And I didn't get a true chance to see the story at work since BioWare insisted on giving us a hack-and-slash demo to play. But I honestly can't see what the hype is about. I never have and I'm far less convinced of Dragon Age's quality than I was a year ago. It's sort of the opposite of SWTOR. I was cautiously optimistic early on about this game but what I've seen has convinced me that Dragon Age is a shallow, “darker and grittier” RPG that imitates the aesthetics of games like Gears of War, Fallout 3, or The Witcher while taking on none of the deeper qualities that make those games entertaining.
At this point, it would take a minor publicity miracle to convince me this game is worth the plastic it's printed on. Feel free to try and convince me otherwise.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade
I'll confess something.
I don't really buy into the whole retrogaming rage right now. I mean, strange as that seems. After all, in my earlier post about PAX I talked about how I think innovation is overrated. But at the same time, I'm not really sure what all the fuss is about 2D platformers or old-school RPing. Okay, I'll retract that statement. I get it on a level and I understand that it's as much about childhood nostalgia as anything else. The problem is, I wasn't a part of that experience, so I don't share the same emotional luggage.
That being said, I have nothing against 2D games in principle. I just tend to think that game developers have come up with a lot of better ideas since then and that something like, say, Mass Effect is a better, all-around designed game than say, Super Mario Bros 3. Yes. Heresy, I know.
But when presented with a particularly fun 2D game... well, I have absolutely nothing to complain about.
Muramasa, a surprisingly fun game with great presentation.
I'm not sure whether I want to buy Muramasa: The Demon Blade or not. But it was certainly fun to play and a nice way to wrap up PAX this year. By that point the game had already come out and I'd already read reviews but I thought, why the hell not try the game anyway?
For those who haven't heard of the game, it's essentially a 2D platformer/RPG/action hybrid that uses ukiyo-e resembling art design and subtitled dialogue to convey a strangely distilled Japanese feel. The game revolves around trying to break a variety of curses and using ninjutsu and magical katanas to accomplish that. It also takes place during the Genroku period, a favorite sub-era of the Edo period in Japanese period films.
I'll say this. The controls are easy to learn and fun to use. The game's not particularly complex and its probably not something that has a lot of replay value. But it fun in a sort of pure, unsophisticated way. I'm not sure it's worth the full price I'd pay for, say, Mass Effect 2, but there's something rewarding about this hack-and-slash adventure, where ninjas are ludicrously overpowered and monsters are really big and ugly.
Maybe I won't buy it. But maybe I will.
Enough rambling.
Overview of Day Two and Reaction to PAX Overall
So, on the whole, my second day at PAX, like my first, had its ups and downs. On the one hand, I planned it better and I enjoyed the conferences a lot more. On the other hand, the Dragon Age demo was pretty disappointing. But, on the whole, I think the day went pretty well. It was a good finish for the exposition.
As for PAX overall... well, it was definitely a better experience than last year. For one thing, we got out and saw quite a bit more than I got a chance to last year, where I played one notable demo and attended two conferences. So the extra time was definitely a boost. Also, we had some nice quality time with my cousins, who Andrew and I stayed with while we were up in Seattle.
Was it worth it? Hell, yes, even taking into account the PAX pox. However, it brought me to a strange realization. I'd always assumed playing game demos would be the funnest part of PAX. It wasn't. In fact, it was my least favorite part (though I don't think Andrew agreed). Instead, I was most fond of the conferences and, to a lesser extent, the people. Everyone at PAX was very genial and warm-hearted and quite a few were dressed up in kick-ass costumes - which almost made me wish I'd brought one.
Definitely worth the swine flu.
So, next year, when I head to PAX 10, I think I'll make it my goal to attend more of the social events - concerts and the like. I missed out on that and that's my main regret. So next year, a goal.
Oh, and for any who weren't able to make it this year: there's always PAX East Coast in Boston. I won't be going (I neither have the time nor the money) but by all means, feel free to go yourself.