The last couple of weeks have been rather exciting in the gaming industry. GDC 2010, which was incredibly interesting from both a mainstream and indie perspective, has just come and gone. There is tons of content to consume lately, and you can spend several nights just reading interviews and watching gameplay footage.  But what has made these recent weeks particularly exciting for me, is that I’ve started development on my own game.

And it has been a blast. While I don’t want to say too much about the game at this stage, I felt that it was the right and proper time to announce it now. It is, of course, a very small scoped game, that was actually conceived while I was busy working on the technology for my original game concept. Basically, the game I intended to create first, is far more content heavy and demands several months of development time. While working on the game engine, and things started to come together, I realized two things: 1. I wanted to play with the technology I had now; and 2. The game I intended on making first was going to take substantially longer to develop.

Although, it’s not quite as simple as that. The rationale behind my current direction is quite layered and granular. Such as I’ve always wanted to exploit this fun gameplay element that has been residing in my head for years. That development on this game would not, in fact, impede and sidetrack the development of my original concept.  Instead, it would contribute to a common technology base that would be shared between the two game ideas, sans additional complex systems that would be needed for the original concept to be realized.

The decision in re-scoping the project and developing this new idea, serves as an ideal way to cut my teeth, while avoiding being constantly inundated with more complex problems, that will take me months to figure out on my own. So the motivations for this direction are very clear, and to fully explain how these decisive factors perfectly overlap, would require me recording audio, a video, talking in front of an audience, or directly speaking to you (while revealing too much).

So I’m stoked, amped, psyched to get this ball rolling faster and into your hands.

It would be an understatement to say that information regarding Doom 4 has been tightly guarded. So you can imagine my excitement when during one of my id Software stalking episodes, I came across the new logo for Doom 4 on their job opportunities page. Discreet, but delicious.

And I must say, I like it. I love the way the logo honours its lineage, while maintaining a character of its own. Although this doesn’t relieve the intense deprivation I’ve been burdened with since id Software first announced that Doom 4 was in production, it certainly wet my lips.

I’m also beginning to think, that if you want the latest and exclusive news on id Software’s projects, their job opportunities page is where it’s at. As far as I recall, the first announcement of Doom 4 came from the very same place, when they were looking to hire new talent to work on the game.

Taking the logo reveal as an omen of news, I scrubbed a little further and came across Doom 4’s page on Wikipedia, informing me that a writer by the name of Graham Joyce has been penned “to help develop the storyline potential”. Something that Computer and Video Games reported that I apparently missed. It’s good news, as id Software has always been in need of a good writer. However, their games have always excelled at delivering an amazing experience, which fills in the gaps of a under-worked storyline. In fact, to add an overly embellished storyline would actually become a detractor to the overall experience.

Gosh, I really do hope the new Doom is more like the original. Which is the impression I’m given by the new logo. The fact that the texture on the lettering appears to be concrete, with a little earth thrown in on the bottom half. Although to be fair, it equally if not more so, depicts a Hell-ish type theme; but let me elaborate on my first assumption, a man has to dream. The setting and style exhibited in the first two episodes of the original Doom (Knee Deep in the Dead and The Shores of Hell) is very hard to rationalize. Almost inexplicable. The architecture consisted of large, monolithic, concrete structures with technology embedded here and there. It reminds me of mall designs back in the 70’s and 80’s. Lots of concrete and open spaces. I guess what makes it so confusing is that it’s like present day buildings, but with highly advanced technology mixed in. It had a unique feel; and while I loved Doom 3’s futuristic, cold steel, hydraulic theme (which I think id Software nailed), I do miss the oft vacant and sparse facilities, that haunted moons.

Unless you’re wandering the vibrant forests of Pandora, devoid of Human contact, you’ve by now heard of and seen James Cameron’s long awaited and incredibly publicised movie, Avatar. The film has been met with almost unanimous applause from critics and audiences alike. But it seems, what people failed to predict, was that the exotic fantasy would become a double-edged sword, leaving many of its fans depressed in its wake.

I was made aware of this when I came across an interesting article at CNN.com that has been doing its rounds on the internet; receiving much commentary. Jo Piazza of CNN writes,

“James Cameron’s completely immersive spectacle “Avatar” may have been a little too real for some fans who say they have experienced depression and suicidal thoughts after seeing the film because they long to enjoy the beauty of the alien world Pandora.”

Why is this so interesting to me? Because I get to say this to the disillusioned Avatar fans: Welcome to the club, movie-going masses, you’re experiencing what many gamers have been experiencing for years. Only feeling now what I felt 9 years ago after completing Final Fantasy VIII. It’s significant, because only today is there a massive scale of people — who don’t play games — that can relate to the level of immersion gamers experience from playing video games. Albeit, such experiences do not necessarily result in suicidal thoughts. Personally however, I can totally empathize with such thoughts, and can see how they may become self destructive.

Obviously, some people are more susceptible to being sucked in than others, and not all games are capable of captivating their players in this way. In fact, a games ability to keep me in a state of immersion, is how I gauge how good a game is.¹ Whether or not I can lose myself in it. Finely crafted games that successfully create and maintain the illusion of an alternate reality I dub, “experiences”, because the word “game” does not fully honour what they provide. Titles such as Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy VII, Half-Life, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Dino Crisis and Silent Hill; transcended from being “just-a-game”, they blurred the lines between the real and surreal. Their consuming atmosphere was tangible. And in Final Fantasy VIII’s case, the emptiness that followed in its absence, real.

I would just like to emphasize that, although there are quite a few games out there that are immersive, Final Fantasy VIII specifically left me feeling depressed. I was like, “What do I do now?”. When I finished the game, I couldn’t believe it was over. That it was done, finished, no more. That that would be the last time I saw Rinoa and friends. The last time I would enter a world I was tremendously attached to.

When I was a kid, the original DOOM showed me that I could experience fear while playing a video game. Final Fantasy VIII however, made me come to the dawning realization that a whole cornucopia of emotions could be evoked. I experienced love and strong emotional bonds between the characters. I lived a second life, in the midst of an elegantly beautiful world that I was in no hurry to leave. Like Final Fantasy VIII, Avatar had a love interest; and it’s that element specifically that leaves people with that empty feeling. An overall happy overtone that contrasts real life. You come from doing the spectacular, back to the ordinary and dull. You realize life doesn’t quite play out as magical as in a game or movie. There are no “moments”.

Having played games for many years, I’ve learnt to deal with this. I’ve become hardened to it. But as disheartening as it may be, there’s a positive flip-side. It’s an awesome thing knowing that there’s more out there. Personally, I crave and seek out games that can offer this experience to me. That I can buy a ticket to a different place. It’s like buying a dream. One of the best things ever is purchasing a good video game. On that note, Dr. Stephan Quentzel, a psychiatrist and Medical Director said in that CNN article:

“Virtual life is not real life and it never will be, but this is the pinnacle of what we can build in a virtual presentation so far”

He obviously has never played video games. Which are interactive, as opposed to passive viewing. Not to take away from Avatar, the CG was freaking insane. The facial expressions, perfect. I would go so far as to say, that Avatar was one of the only movies where I truly experienced video game-like immersion.² Watching it in 3D certainly helped. It really did feel like it physically took you along for the ride. The setup was perfect. You experience Pandora and the Na’vi with Jake Sully (the main protagonist). Every time he went to sleep and his conscience possessed his Na’vi body, you were seeing things for the first time as he did. You learnt and discovered with him. When he woke in shock, to a cold reality, it hit you as well. I was actually quite jarred and confused after seeing Avatar, as straight after watching the evening show, and because it was a long movie, by the time I got home I immediately went to bed. As I laid on my bed, I thought I was Jake, about to sleep and wake-up in an alien body. It was pretty bizarre but exciting too.

Somehow James Cameron has also managed to make it possible, for a person to find a blue female alien attractive. Moving on.

Immersion is one of the key pillars of why I deem video games a superior form of entertainment, and it’s quite interesting to finally see it emerging within the world of cinema. Immersion is a vitally important topic to me, and I’ve contended at length to retain its integrity.

Neytiri is hot.

1. Certain exceptions apply. Realism and immersion isn’t necessarily every games goal. Puzzle games for example. ↩
2. The only other movie I can think of — as of this writing — where I really felt incredibly immersed, was Cloverfield. ↩

My inspiration and interest is one of absolute polarity. Not only does it have its highs and lows, but it completely flips direction. What must now be years of trying to comprehend this quandary have left me empty handed and more confused than ever. I am a man with many interests which are met with almost equal enthusiasm depending on my current psychological state.

Living a paradoxical life with the realization that time is fleeting has left me more stressed than a soon-to-be 26 year old should be. While the minor aspects of my day-to-day meanderings benefit from my protean nature, my life’s timeline lacks the major milestones my heart desires. I am a collection of insubstantial events that are invisible in retrospect. Today my interests wax an wane between Development, game code and programming in general; Art, graphic design, level design & textures, illustration and 3D modelling; Writing, my website and commenting on various places that cater to my interests; and Reading.

Web design has helped satiate these varied fields of interest and I’ve been doing it for nearly five years now. It’s a great dynamic career path that allows you to be a jack-of-all-trades and rewards you for it. Although the web world is awesome, my first love lies with game development. If anything, I think my experience doing web work has made me more qualified to start tangible movements towards my dream of one day making games. It’s by web, that I transformed my ignorant tinkering with QBasic to actual programming knowledge by learning Flash and ActionScript. From doing everything in Photoshop, oblivious of details such as colour modes and kerning, to designing identities in Illustrator and evolving an acumen for graphic design.

Many years ago, level design did the same for me. Instead of just concerning myself with geometry, lighting and gameplay, I soon realized that I needed to make custom textures, sounds and models for my environments. That sometimes the assets I needed in order to achieve the atmosphere and feel I was going for, wasn’t available online. Furthermore, downloading such materials would deprive me of the pleasure and pride of crafting everything myself.

Although at least back then, I was not in flux. I would make countless little experimental maps that would never see completion, but once I decided on one, my drive and inspired enthusiasm would see me until the end of the project. My weeks and months spent in isolation, completely submersed and in the zone was a satisfying experience. The achievement of finishing a project like that was a milestone that made my joy complete. Sure, some days I was in the trenches and it felt like “work”. And there wouldn’t have been as many experimental maps if at one point, I didn’t intend to finish each and every one of them. But regardless of the conflict that existed by having so many different ideas, I still ended up producing something. Even if the number of unrealized concepts far outweighed the number that saw the light of day.

Let me bring some focus: My core dilemma isn’t that I have many interests, but the fact that I become infinitely obsessed about any one of them at a time, for short durations. This makes deciding on anything for the long-term very difficult. Not necessarily career decisions, but personal projects too. I’ve tried to exploit this nature, by feeding it what it wants at any particular time, hoping to prolong its cravings. So, whenever I feel like coding, I listen copious amounts of John Carmack’s talks; and no matter how many times I listen to them, they never get old. Basically soaking myself in material that inspires me to a point where I feel like binary is coming out of my pores. When I’m in a graphic design mood, I peruse through designer portfolios such as Scott Hansen and The Designers Republic. When I’m in a web design mood, I check out some award winning websites and see what projects the leading design studios I actively follow have recently completed. However, this tactic of appeasement normally occurs organically, it’s a natural tendency driven by my current obsession.

But, because each field is so extensive and there’s so much to learn, not a lot gets done in these brief stints. As a result, my blog has taken a severe knock this past month, with me failing to uphold my modest goal of one post per week. I realize by most peoples standards that it’s a minimal goal, but it’s within my reach and not too high that it scares me off and becomes a burden to me. It’s this thinking that fuels my determination to retain it. I’ve also noticed my polarity has affected my popularity, and rightfully so. I’ve been desiring to write a Crysis review that is unfortunately passed its inspiration date, but I think I’m going to risk writing one anyway. Regardless of how I tackle this problem, I know that I want my website to be consistent. This blog is not my primary aim in life, but I do want it with me for a long time, running in parallel with whatever I eventually end up doing.

A hint to the solution probably lies in the fact that among my interests are a few big players, and those I are the ones I focus my energies on. Game programming and game design would be at the top of the list, but that is a large category that encapsulates all my interests. To start with, I would have to decide on a subset. But which one? Web / Flash games? Indie / XNA / XBLA games? Then once I’ve overcome that riddle, I somehow need to find energy after working all day to pursue it, while ensuring I get some play time throughout the week. Whilst ignoring my brain when it switches to graphic design mode or something contrary to my aforementioned direction. Scheduling seems key, but I fail to see how people can implement such a rigid structure to life.

Argh, frustrating. What do I want to be!? It feels like I want to do everything, yet every time I see someone making steps towards game development I feel the sourness that accompanies envy. Thinking as I write this, perhaps it’s not that I want my cake and to eat it too, but simply that I’m not occupying most of my time seriously trying to make a game. If I had to see someone else create an awesome poster design, would I feel the same? Most likely not. One of my fears is that if I perused programming, one day I would see an illustrator draw some brilliant concepts and I would feel jealous and empty, and visa versa. I like art and programming equally… I think. When I was a young boy I sat and drew all day, my home brimmed with paper. If I didn’t go the art route, it would feel like I was wasting my natural talent. I do think having both skillsets is valuable, but is it feasible to do both?

Becoming a garage developer would be an obvious option, and I guess becoming a programmer doesn’t mean you have to be a silent observer on the art side either. Depending on where you work, the job can be what you make it. One could also be fortunate enough to be hired as a game designer, but that’s like winning the lottery as far as chances go.

Who knows. Once again, time will tell. Either way, something has to happen, and it always requires a step forward. Otherwise you wake up one day, living a life that isn’t your own.

In keeping with Microsoft’s tradition of trying to garner as much hate as corporately possible, an announcement from Remedy stated that in all likelihood, Alan Wake would not be released on the PC simultaneously with the Xbox 360, and that ultimately, Microsoft was responsible.

I’m amazed that Microsoft’s efforts to trounce their name can still surprise me. It usually happens when I have a profound love for a product that they have somehow twistedly involved themselves with. In this case, Alan Wake. Further cementing the harrowing reality that PC’s, which were once the father, is now the red-headed stepchild of gaming platforms, and it’s getting out of hand. The fact that some random commenter on BrightFalls, used the very same words to describe PC gaming as it stands today, is indicative of a very sad consensus.

It’s no surprising why the PC market is dwindling, or why Gears of War received poor reception on the platform. By the time they (Microsoft and Epic Games) release the game on the system, it was old hat, most likely played at a friends place while in parallel, being completely deprecated by online media. Then the suits at Microsoft and Epic perceive PC’s as a “poor platform”. Retards, the lot of them. The game industry wouldn’t be where it is today without computer games. That goes for their companies too. It’s astounding that developers can discard a user base that has brought them success and riches through loyal support, without even flinching. Shame on you Remedy, you can suck my balls in bullet-time.

I guess the source of my immense resentment is the fact that, I believe noobs are responsible for this turn in the industry. PC’s simply don’t have the buffer of a couple million casual gamer masses like consoles do. And this bothers me to my core. It’s these “people” that are causing the votes to swing the opposite way. It’s like having the jocks win at the end of a movie. They save the world and get the girl, while the nerd gets to sleep in a pile of his own shit. The passionate, loyal and true gamer is being replaced by the spontaneous, unappreciative casual gamer. Persuading me that the world, is indeed, unfair. The thought of starting an online petition actually crossed my mind, even though it’s frowned upon. News that you find disarming will have that effect. But upon giving it more thought, I came to a reasonable and possibly more effective way to voice my concern. Make your opinion heard in places that matter, such as community forums and websites based around the specific game, where developers will most likely have their ear to the ground. Regarding Alan Wake, BrightFalls might be a good first step.

I was so deeply excited for Alan Wake, simply because I believed it would be better on my PC. Oh, forgive me for loving anti-aliasing, and that I can use resolutions that are so high, they border on divine. I had aspirations of taking part in something that harkened back to my experience with the original Alone in the Dark. So silly of me.

Rage, unknowingly a powerful metaphor for PC gaming, a sign of life in a previously thriving world.

Amidst the despair in the barren landscape that is PC gaming, there are the few glimmers of hope, whose light provides the most comforting warmth. Id Software have begun teasing us with crumbs off of their royal table. Providing tidbits of media for their upcoming post-apocalyptic title, Rage, on their new teaser site After the Impact. As of this writing and checking the website, I see they’ve updated it, so do check it out. The website itself oozes with atmosphere, one can only imagine how consuming the actual game will be. From an artistic and design perspective, Rage is looking hot. Subtle touches are even evident on the website, such as the ship named Apophis. Signs of Id’s focus in creating not only high-tech graphics, but great content and design as well. I guess they thought one way to break the ice with their parent company, was to shame them.

Thank goodness for FPS games, RTS games and World of Warcraft to help keep the dream alive.

For those of you that don’t know; John Carmack is my favourite game developer. I’ve always looked up to him and found him as a source of inspiration. I’ve listened to his talks countless times, and have been following his company, Id Software, for many years. From Commander Keen to Doom, I’ve always appreciated and enjoyed Id’s hard work. But now, it seems, that my worst fear has materialized, so terrible, I couldn’t have even imagined.

Upon taking a quick gander at Kotaku before going to bed, I read the headline, “id Software Bought By Bethesda Parent Company, ZeniMax,” followed by, “id: Why We Sold To ZeniMax.” I sat there, stunned and refusing to believe my eyes. I took a moment so that the headlines would sink in, and then decided to read the further. Scurrying for any excuse I could find, I was hoping the headlines were some clever play with words. To my dismay, the headlines were dead on.

Some of you might be wondering, why is this such a shock for me? Well, I’ve always admired Id Software’s self direction. Being an independent developer, they’ve never really needed to answer to anyone. I’ve always accredited this fact, as a strength to Id Software. Being a fan of the company, this was a point of pride for me. Id Software were around since the beginning of the golden era of game development. Let me clarify. I’m not suggesting they made the first video game, but they helped boost the entire video game industry as a medium. I loved the fact that they’ve run their own ship since the heydays, where so many other companies have been bought out, only to be the small print in some corporate take-over. Lets not forget, they created the first person shooter genre!

This calamity is exacerbated by the fact that Id Software and Bethesda Softworks are poles apart. Chalk and cheese if you will. John Carmack and his team create polished products, which may not necessarily be incredibly original, but the experience is always sublime. Bethesda on the other hand, if it were not for Fallout 3, I would still completely loathe and despise. Bethesda’s ham handed, stale and lifeless approach to creating worlds has always rubbed me the wrong way. Excessive repetition of areas and the complete overuse of art assets in their titles, leads me to believe that their aim in life is to unlock some sort of achievement for using copy and paste more than anyone else on planet earth. Characters and non-player characters that remain perfectly prostate and stiff when conversing with the player, concluding with them walking away like they have a carrot stuck up their arse. Terrible scripts made worse with even more terrible voice acting. The technology used in their games is always sub-par, and continuously reskinned and labelled as new titles. Their outdoor lighting is bland and almost non-existent. Rudimentary aspects such as fire casting light and ambient sound effects are usually forgotten or omitted. Not to mention their engines run poorly, and that their games crash often. How Bethesda has managed to make, what should be a beautifully crafted single player experience feel like an MMO is completely appalling.

Legendary game developer and icon of the industry, John Carmack.

I realize I have, when in comparison to the gaming masses, a fairly unique opinion of Bethesda Softworks. Partly because I believe I’m one of the last, sane and critical thinking people left on earth that play games, alongside Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw. It’s nice to know that none other than John Romero himself, shared somewhat similar feelings. Even Penny-Arcade’s Jerry Holkins had something to say, which adequately described my fear. I foresee Bethesda Softworks benefiting a lot out of this acquisition. I assume they’ll get their hands on John Carmack’s amazing technology, Id Tech 5, and future feats born out of his genius. As far as Id Software is concerned, I pray that Bethesda have zero influence on their projects. I’m just glad to read that Id Software, as noted in the press releases, is going to run as it always has and I sincerely hope that’s true.  If anything, as much as this is a turn from my initial attitude towards this acquisition, I should give John Carmack the benefit of the doubt.

Games have evolved in many aspects over the years, liberating the potential for greater immersion and saturating atmosphere. Not just from the advent of increasingly realistic graphics, acute sound projection and all manner of technical advancements, but from a conceptual standpoint as well. Storylines that organically unfold in-game, emotional engagement, more creative and complex puzzle solving, are a few that immediately come to mind. But are all changes for the better? Some, I say, are a step backwards.

Not so long ago, with the desire of finishing the Half-Life franchise as it stands today, I purchased The Orange Box and started making my way through Episode 1, 2, and then Portal. It was near the end of my time as Gordon Freeman that I was made unavoidably aware that something was wrong. That something, was achievements. This spurred me on to searching my memory in an attempt to recall a featured article I once read at Gamasutra, entitled, Unlocking Achievements: Rewarding Skill With Player Incentives. After my in-game experience and reading the feature, I felt overwhelmingly compelled to write this article.

Shattering the Illusion

By now, many of you are accustomed to the achievement system, it’s nothing new, it made its splash and has become a de facto feature in games. I however — as you’ve probably guessed — am not completely on-board with it. Primarily for one specific reason, immersion.

Little did I know at the time, I was playing through the Half-Life series while in offline mode. What this meant was, that my Steam profile was not logged in, therefore I was never awarded any achievements for the greater part of Half-Life 2: Episode 2. Obliviously one night, I started up Steam and continued with my game, eager to don the HEV suit once again. At the time, I was journeying north towards an old missile base called White Forest. I was given intel that there were several caches of weapons, ammunition and other useful items along the way. Minding the games pacing and general urgency of the situation, I immediately decided I was not going to make a conscience effort to look for these caches. If I happened upon them conveniently along the way towards White Forest, and my radar detected them nearby, then, and only then, would I pursue them. The first cache met the aforementioned criteria, resulting in me abandoning my vehicle and investigating the surrounding area. Successfully solving a clever and yet practical puzzle, I got my hands on the first lambda cache. Suddenly, to my surprise, a pop-up appeared on the bottom right of my screen, “Achievement Unlocked: 1 out of 3 caches found”.  Good-bye immersion, hello real world. A slap in the face, reminding me that I was only playing a game. This simple pop-up dialog shattered the illusion Valve created, while being incredibly distracting at the same time. Even with just a mustard seed of curiosity, you can’t help but peek at the bottom right of your screen to see what’s just happened.

1 out of 3 caches found, awesome. Why don’t I collect some coins and bash my head against some bricks while I’m at it. I was absolutely bewildered at this point. My mind couldn’t comprehend that Valve, of all people, who seemingly loved to craft their game experiences, would implement such a “feature” to the detriment of the games immersion. Realism may not be the end-all goal of every title, but for Half-Life, it’s imperative. Valve broke the most cardinal and fundamental rule of an FPS, an act I consider sacrilegious.

Forcing the Players Hand

Furthermore, after that stunner, something interesting occurred. I realized I had two more caches to find. The caches, which I initially assumed were just some helpful extra pick-ups, like I’ve found constantly throughout the game, except perhaps in greater quantity, now felt crucial to my success. After all, they’re important enough to have an achievement based on them aren’t they? The RPG I just acquired from the endeavour further supported this theory. Now I felt compelled to find all the caches, and complete the achievement. My main concern with this is that it pushes the player to make decisions he might not have chosen naturally. I was trying to play the game as spontaneously as possible, and my voluntarily decision — not to specifically search out the caches — shifted to a mandatory treasure hunt, not to mention I had the burden of having a mental checklist. Concerning this, there was only one excerpt that struck a chord with me in the Gamasutra article, the thoughts of Uncharted’s Lead Designer, Richard Lemarchand.

“Lemarchand worries that the quest for trophies may drive some players into play styles that are not a natural fit for them — they could end up completing tasks that negatively affect their experience with the game.”

The Gamastura article also detailed several reasons why these virtual pat-on-the-backs are a resounding success. Most of which I’ve countered from an experienced gamers perspective. Although, the viewpoints I don’t agree with aren’t unique to Gamasutra, or rather the author, Mary Jane Irwin. I’d like to think I’ve approached this from a very simple and logical point of view.

Is the Game the Goal, Or the Game For the Goals

It’s been said that achievements are a new metric to prove game mastery. That they are the new high score. That they enhance the gameplay experience and reward dedicated players for their effort and skill. All of which are astoundingly feeble statements, based on unfounded generalized assumptions that are incredibly belittling to me as a gamer.

What if I don’t want to prove myself, want if I just want to enjoy myself. In real life, performance is something I have to wrestle with everyday and don’t necessarily seek that in games. Sure I love doing well in a game and owning it up, but I don’t like being reminded that I could have been “better” in successfully completing a story rich game. Which to me, is somewhat of an oxymoron. Most of my favourite gaming moments came from enjoying the experience, whether I did poorly or not. What if all I wanted to do was rid the earth of a hostile take-over from an alien multidimensional empire, who had an unwavering desire to enslave the human race. To save the girl of my dreams from the clutches of an evil sorceress, so that I can kiss her and finally, in sweet embrace, admit that I love her.

How is it now, because I couldn’t give a shit about Gamerscore, or any equivalent system which has absolutely zero relevance to the game I’m playing, be any less dedicated? I bought the game and successfully attained victory as outlined by the titles storyline. Gamerscore has absolutely no significance whatsoever to any title. It’s a system that remains completely outside of a game, exists solely for itself, and has no purpose in a game. The fact that developers have adopted this system across the board, has just given me greater animosity towards the subject. Microsoft, who are definitely not known for their brilliant game design, has set the precedence to which all game development studios are following. It makes no sense. In the context of a game, the addition of the achievement system, with the goal of pumping up a players Gamerscore provides no benefits to the title. It’s this point, that I find continually baffling and feel the need to continuously stress. Like-minded thinker, Andy Lundell, comments on Gamasutra,

“What bugs me the most about Achievements is that they’re not good for anything. They’re just for their own sake.”

An added fact to why I say achievements are a step backwards, is because it’s something that we’ve always had, but have conceptually evolved into something more cohesive. Obviously barring games with arcade-like metrics, or even multiplayer games, there was a reason we left high score behind. Not to say that a multiplayer game can’t suffer from a ham handed implementation, but I’m talking about single player experiences exclusively. In modern conventions, we reward intuitive players by their observation, cognizance and general perspicacity, with advantages and benefits that fit the game worlds context. Be it sturdier armour, more powerful weapons, valuable information etc… Rewards that inform the player, through gameplay, the developers recognition and acknowledgement that he has done well. Games today are now taking this well advanced mechanic and are mixing it with outdated thinking. Regressing game design. All developers are doing now, is simply slapping a label to everything and displaying that to the player. As if the reward wasn’t a clear enough indication that the player had achieved something. Joel McDonald, whom I immediately loved after reading his comment on Gamasutra, writes,

“First and foremost, the core gameplay should provide intrinsic rewards to the player such as a sense of accomplishment, feelings of mastery, and the ability to make meaningful choices. As soon as players start to play the game purely for the artificial rewards of earning achievements, we have failed as designers.”

Achievements can also provoke a checklist mentality in gamers. Instead of focusing a players attention to the main story arc, we’re distracting them with a list of achievements. A segment of players will browse through these achievement lists and set goals for themselves, sometimes even before they’ve begun the game. Players are informed via descriptions exactly what is needed to be done in order to complete a task. Which is also why I think using achievements to try and attain valuable player statistics quite laughable. You can easily create a system aside from achievements and trophies that tracks all this data in the background. Just because it is visually presented to the player doesn’t make it any more real. In fact, it compromises your study. Valve, with Steam, has been recording player data and patterns for years. Horrifyingly, the descriptions accompanying these achievements can reveal events to come, and are basically spoilers. Spoilers. How come I have never read anyone complain about this!? Oh, I’m gonna race Dog at some point? I’m going to be shooting something into space? Thanks for that. Why don’t I just browse some walkthroughs online while I’m at it.

Tony Hawk Pro Skater had achievements way before Microsoft’s foray into the console market, but it’s game model revolved around it. It was the game and worked amazingly, because it was designed. I’m not suggesting that game developers should now mould their content around achievements, which I’m sure in some small ways has been the case at times, as that would cause the game design to be compromised.

Do It Again Danny

On the premise of achievements adding replayability, I don’t see the point of ruining my memory of a game, by playing through what would now be a predictable storyline, divorced from excitement of exploring the unknown. I didn’t buy the game with the purposes of owning very well disguised checklist, I bought it for the crafted experience I’d get from it. However, if the game had replayability masterfully designed into it, like the Hitman series, where there is multiple ways to accomplish a goal. Thus promoting the player to approach a problem in several different ways.

There’s also this notion that achievements can be used as a tool to help players realize that any particular feature of a game is fun. Perhaps you shouldn’t need to desperately convince a player that a particular feature is fun? If it’s fun, trust me he’ll know about it. If this isn’t the case, it’s just indicative of a design failure or problem that needs to be solved. You shouldn’t resort to applying the plaster that is achievements. When I first heard of, and then played Final Fantasy VIII, I thought it was going to be the biggest load of crap. Shortly after a couple hours of gametime, I watched as my ass got appropriated by Squaresoft (at the time) and shipped to Japan. It won me over despite the fact that the title had a considerably large barrier to entry. Especially since I had not played a Final Fantasy or JRPG before it.

“Success”

It’s also been highlighted several times that the achievement system has benefited game sales. Simply put, games with achievements implemented sell better. And from a purely business perspective, it seems logical to adopt this system. But this is where I’d like to point out, that the game industry has continued to grow from strength to strength without the aid of the casual gamer masses. What about the love of the craft? I’m gonna say it, revenue isn’t everything. Sure that sounds like a statement born out of pure monumental ignorance, but if you’re thinking that, you’re probably a suit. Golf on Friday? But don’t hear what I’m not saying either. I realize the game industry is a business, and of course, we want to make good money too. Everybody needs food and Ferrari’s.

Games don’t need achievements in order to be a success, we know that. Valuable development time is now expended on satisfying the basic needs and desires of the masses, with not enough consideration to the craft of game design. Most of these “gamers” deplorable compulsions, don’t go past clicking random objects on the screen and watching them explode. Lets not forget the wicked score, incrementing every time you’re successful in doing so. It’s these gamers that aren’t going to care about your artful touches, your attention to detail, or your story. Instead, in efforts to garner a larger and larger audience, we are breeding monsters. To be blunt, what about caring for the guys that loved your games and bought your shit in the first place. Achievements are only a “success” if your measure for success is based on revenue alone. I guess, that would make the drug industry a success too.

Anaesthetics

Developers should rather weigh its benefits against how suitable it is for each title. More importantly, consider the ramifications it might have. Some of my objections to the achievement system could be numbed however, through improved implementation. One solution would be having the ability to disable the in-game notifications / pop-ups. Players would still get their just rewards without intrusive dialogs appearing in-game. Such a simple answer, that takes the players experience into consideration. Valve have included this functionality for your Friends notifications, I can’t see why they can’t do likewise for achievements.

A mock-up of Steams interface, allowing in-game notifications to be turned off.

Smarter designers, give the player a time of “soaking”, allowing them to revel in a moment. Then afterwards, during a break or paused moment in the game, the achievement is unlocked and the player is informed of his reward. This prevents the achievement from being intrusive during gameplay, which is better, but still damages the illusion. I’m merely proposing that, in its application, developers should carefully plan its implementation. That is, if it must be implemented. In Half-Life 2: Episode 2’s case, the achievements felt like they were included post the games production, just for the sake of having them.

I found that after looking deeply into the subject, bouncing my thoughts amongst fellow gamer friends, and playing devil’s advocate with myself, served only to confirm my initial knee-jerk reaction to achievements. That ultimately, we don’t need them, especially where single player games that want to be taken seriously are concerned.

Recently I decided to try out EVE Online. This is not an effort to unjustly review a game I’ve only spent an hour or two playing, but an attempt to rationalize the conflicting initial impressions I got from it.

I love the whole space, sci-fi theme. It lends itself to ambient bliss. Even though I’ve never finished Homeworld, I still have fond memories of gently floating in space with the chorus of a tranquil song playing in the background. The mere act of being present in the game was an immersive experience. Quickly submersing you in, “the zone”. This was the bait to reel an atmosphere loving sucker like me into installing EVE Online, and starting a 14 day free trial.

Graphically, Eve delivers enough to satisfy. I was pleased to watch the shimmering light of a sun reveal the intricate details of my humble ship. The vibrant sun flare effects, bursting from behind every interstice of my hull. However, these visual feasts were occasionally jaded by blurry, low-detail textures on some planets and moons.

Not long after, you’re hit with a litany of tutorials and once you do a couple, you realize it’s not going to be over quickly, and it’s easy to get disappointed. But I knew going in, that Eve was an insanely complicated game and in its defence, it suits the genre. Unfortunately for me, I had a migraine, and as much as I love reading text the size of a grain of sand, however stylistically appropriate, felt like jabbing pins into my retinas followed by repeated swings to the temples with a hammer. Quickly looking for an option to change the font size — which I found — didn’t do squat. Instead, what it did was instill a false sense of hope and quickly shatter said hope before I could even finish my sigh of relief.

The real worrying aspect for me was the point I realized the game was essentially comprised of three elements. Flying through space in third person, being docked at a spacestation, and the interface menus where you’ll spend most your time. The reason it’s so disappointing, is because the ability to fly through space, roaming through the wonders of the universe, bares hardly any gameplay value. You don’t have direct control — not surprising — and instead, issue commands to your ship. Alarmingly the player control is even more abstracted and distant than World of Warcraft. From what I’ve seen, you spend most your time clicking from point to point and watching the game take over. Everything else, is managed via the menus. From trading, getting jobs from agents, to expanding your characters extensive skillset. I don’t really consider this gameplay, much like I don’t consider working with Microsoft Excel gameplay. In spite of all that, I spent quite a lot of time trying to figure out why I found this so disappointing. After all, I absolutely adored Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares, and it didn’t have any fancy third person perspective view. Instead, it was turn based, and like Eve, your time was mainly spent in menus clicking buttons and watching numbers change. The fact that Eve sells you this 3D aspect, to find out it’s really just fluff, is probably what bummed me out. Unlike Master of Orion II, it feels like it’s marketing itself as something it’s not.

Lastly, and probably one of my biggest gripes, is the fact that there is no dogfighting. For this you would need more direct control than is currently available. But it feels so silly for a game to be so thematically accurate, but not have such a fundamental element of epic Science fiction such as dogfighting. The frentic, fast-paced action between spaceships, like that seen in Star Wars.

I realize that in saying Wolverine is one of my all time favourite characters doesn’t make me incredibly unique, but it does mean that when you make a movie about him, it better be good.

I’ve been keen for X-Men Origins: Wolverine since I first laid eyes on some promotional shots and teaser footage. So it was great, as always, to finally get to watch it but be warned, this article contains spoilers.

I must say, the beginning had an incredibly cool intro. It showed Logan’s life through the ages, from World War, right through to Vietnam, alongside his comrade and brother Victor, who we know is in fact Sabertooth. As the intro plays out, you witness the evil side of Victor’s character and the steady decline of his humanity, contrasting that of Logans’. Victor’s unbridled feral nature inevitably causes him and his brother to be incarcerated on accounts of treason. After they are imprisoned, Logan and Victor are given a second lease on life and are both invited by Stryker to join, a “special team, with special priviledges”, to which they accept. Soon after, Logan leaves the team as it becomes clear to him that the group are willing to do anything it takes to achieve their goals, even if it means killing innocent people.

The movie moves on to Logans new, quiet and slow life with his wife in Canada, which I appreciated. It was done well and didn’t feel rushed. It’s classic Wolverine really. Reminded me of the X-Men cartoon series which I loved so dearly. I have to say, the woman who played Silverfox, Logans wife, looked absolutely gorgeous. Lynn Collins has such a great smile, suiting imagery for Logans new perfect life. Then of course the turn happens. Sabertooth loses the plot and helps stage the death of Logans wife, thus destroying his new life.

Here’s where things start getting a bit fucked up. Logan then reunites with Stryker — in the hopes of avenging his wife by killing his brother whom he thought was responsible — and takes part in the Weapon X program. Where “X” is the roman numeral for 10, because Logan is the tenth experiment. I don’t remember that being the case in the comic or cartoons storyline. Especially since there were other characters involved in the Weapon X program, such as Sabertooth and Deadpool. Which kinda blows the whole numeral system out the water. Nevertheless, this was where Logan’s skeleton was laced with Adamantium and Wolverine was born.

Hugh Jackman is a near perfect Wolverine, albeit a tad too tall. In fact, Hugh is getting better and better for the role as he ages. You can see Jackman devoted himself to the role. He buffed up, worked on his rage induced growls and naturally pulled off saying “bub” a couple of times. Also, I noticed the hair stylists did some fine tuning. His hair was more rough, less squeaky clean like in the X-Men movies. Even the minor raises of unshaven hair that occur when the sideburns meet the moustache. A level of detail I really appreciated. Furthermore ‘ol Hugh is a talented actor.

Wolverine had more of a heated temper in this film when compared to the other X-Men movies, barring a few scenes from X-Men 2 where they really let him loose. But it’s all kinda useless because he’s all bark and no bite. Throughout the film he’s “holding back”. I understand that Wolverine wrestled to control his temper, but he didn’t always win. It’s one thing to say he has a temper and have him growl with an awesome scowl, but if you don’t display his failures every now and again, it’s kinda moot. This gets so chronically bad that, after hell bent on revenge and stating and I quote, “I’m coming for blood, no code of conduct, no law”, when he finally finds Styker he… walks away. Wow, fierce. Atta go tiger. Sure Stryker proves his wife was not, in fact, murdered and was still alive but who gives a shit? Fabrication or not, he only ruined your life. Not to mention he hunted you down and killed everyone around you. Lets not forget that a moment ago he just told you, while standing next to the operating table, that he’s creating a new experiment called Weapon XI with the sole purposes of killing all mutants. That he admitted he captured mutants and was conducting experiments to combine all their powers into this one über mutant. That it would be a drone, following his commands unconditionally. The only reason Wolverine turns back from his pleasant meander away from the mad scientist, was the fact that he heard his love, screaming while in the clutches of Sabertooth. This brings me to the next fail.

The film makes it known that Sabertooth has somewhat of an edge over Wolverine. During the course of the film, Wolverine had a couple encounters with Sabertooth, with Sabertooth walking away with the victory. So when the moment finally came for the now Adamatium infused Wolverine to fight Sabertooth, I was psyched. This was the moment I had been waiting for, the epic fight between two arch enemies that has been chronicled through cartoons, comics and trading cards. This, was the fight I had been waiting for. X-Men Origins: Wolverine had another idea though. Wolverine and Sabertooth exchange a few blows, Wolverine then tackles Sabertooth sending them both flying through a window. Wolverine then quickly recovered after the hard fall, with Sabertooth still lying in pain. Wolverine, now filled with anger, readies himself to stab the crap out of Sabertooth’s face. But, once again, Wolverine holds back his anger and spares Sabertooh’s life. Another anti-climax. The scene was so brief, that I hadn’t even finished getting amped before it ended. So much for the epic battle finale I’m sure everyone wanted to see.

The film had a knack for building up momentum and then going nowhere with it. Always with the damn anti-climaxes. A veritable roller-coaster. I haven’t experienced so many in a movie before. Without exaggeration, I would say the trailer brought me to a greater adrenaline high than the movie did. The movie felt to a large degree, pointless. Additionally, many critics have noted it’s an action soaked, full of ’splosions and special effects movie. What they don’t mention though, is that the special effects in Wolverine are terrible. Wolverine’s claws couldn’t have appeared more CG if they tried. There’s this one scene where Wolverine is in a toilet, staring at his new Adamantium claws that will have you covering your mouth with your hand at the horrible craftsmanship of the CG effects.

Moving along, you come to find out that Wade, now Deadpool, is in fact the major bad guy fight scene. Deadpool, instead of being this cunning, smart-mouthed mercenary, was a horror with no mouth. The movie had previously done so well to bring Deadpool’s humour to the table, so what do they do with that, they take away his ability for utterance. Deadpool, who is now Weapon XI, becomes your generic, vacant of all personality, science experiment gone wrong. No awesome ninja-esque suit, no wicked mask, just a half naked guy that looks like he ran off the set of Silent Hill much to Christophe Gans’ dismay. I’ve since read up on the character and understand that in the comic book story, he was disfigured, but you never see him like that in the comics. Not often anyways. Furthermore, instead of wielding samurai swords, a single sword-like blade comes out of each hand in the same manner as Wolverine’s claws. This pissed me off. Hollywood has this fetish to make all bad guys in these comic book movies have all the attributes, and more, than the heroes abilities. Also, General Douche who’s responsible for everything, controls Deadpool via a computer, typing commands such as “DECAPITATE”. Seriously, are you kidding? No, really, come now.

Together, Wolverine and Sabertooth end up kicking Deadpool’s ass. The young band of mutants, the captured ones that Wolverine frees, finally escape the facility and are met by Professor Xavier, who arrives in a helicopter with rescue in mind (see what I did there). If you have to see this movie, watch it simply for Patrick Stewart’s brief appearance. You can’t help as the viewer think, “what the hell”, when he stares at the camera with skin so tightly stretched around his skull, I thought it was going to fold in on itself. Either that or propel his skull into orbit.

Wolverine’s story is one of solitude, he’s a loner, and instead of trying to fill a roster of characters they could have focused more on the few important ones. In my opinion, Stryker had far too much camera time, he’s merely the architect, from there, the consequences of his actions form the tragic stories of everyone involved in Weapon X. Instead of adding nonsense fluff like Emma Frost, Gambit and Scott Summers, more time could have been used for longer and more awesome fight scenes. The fact that Scott Summers (Cyclops) appears in a Wolverine origins movie is beyond me. Cyclops brings images of Wolverine’s well established future in the X-Men and his path in attempting to work in team. The mere fact that Scott Summers is in the film feels like a major time clash. This goes for Gambit as well, whom Wolverine is only supposed to meet after he joins the X-Men. The only purpose he served in the film was providing Wolverine transport to the super secret island. Which I’m sure they could have figured out some other alternative without including Gambit.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine reminds me of Tab or any variant of those fake colas out there. As you take your first sip and continue to drink it fast, it tastes just like Coca-Cola, but once you’re done, you get this nasty after taste. That’s what this movie was like for me. As it ended, I thought, at best, X-Men Origins: Wolverine was fantastically average. But as I pondered about it more and more, I became increasingly more disappointed with the movie.

I’ve become quite disillusioned and depressed with the film industry lately. There’s just been such a long line-up of disappointing movies that should have been great. Cinema is a graveyard. Silver screen is where all good things go to die. To be honest, I actually had more fun watching Dragonball: Evolution.

I was really excited to hear they were making a live action movie of Dragonball. Like most fans of the series, I always wondered what Dragonball would look like with real people. It’s just such a fascinating translation. What actor would suit Goku? How would they pull off his hair style?

The thoughts rambled on. Fortunately, after much anticipation, a slew of teaser shots, snippets of video and tons of rumours, Dragonball finally hit cinemas. Now I’ll have to admit, although I watched Dragonball Z religiously, I never did watch much of Dragonball. I knew the basic outline of the story, which I picked up mostly from Dragonball Z, and various media scattered around the web. I do still plan to watch Dragonball when I have some time. Having said all this, I don’t think I’m unqualified to give a decent opinion of the movie. I didn’t go in with very high expectations, instead, I was expecting the movie to have good parts, and bad parts. I didn’t think it would be excellent, but, I didn’t think it would be crap either. A sober attitude that I think was lacking among the black and white mindset of the online community. Mind you, this isn’t just a review, but more a post-mortem. Offering suggestions parallel to the criticisms and praises. Be warned, this article contains spoilers.

Strong Foot Forward

Dragonball starts out strong — barring some seriously cheesy elements — in the opening scene, with Goku training with his grandfather Gohan. Not only was the choreography creative, but the scene simultaneously introduced humour and character into the mix as well. Goku’s character is then developed as the movie moves on to his troublesome life at high school. A social outcast, Goku is emotionally bullied and is unable to fight, due a promise he made with his grandfather. The whole social dynamic introduced at high school was really entertaining. Goku, while staring adoringly at Chi Chi, loses himself to a hallucination. You couldn’t help but chuckle at Goku’s grossly exaggerated imagination. A classic Animé moment which plays out brilliantly. The directors definitely didn’t hold back. I found myself — probably because I was subconsciously critiquing the movie as it played along — getting nervous that the scene would get cut short and not go far enough, thankfully, that wasn’t the case. Thereafter, some cool interplay between the shy Goku and confident Chi Chi.

I laugh every time I see part where Goku tries to cope with Chi Chi’s confrontation, after he opened her locker using chi. Justin Chatwin acted so well in this movie. He made Goku such a likeable character. For someone who received so much criticism pre-launch of the movie, he really did an awesome job and makes a great Goku. Good job chap. It’s also worthy to mention that Jamie Chung (Chi Chi) was also good throughout the film. The previous two facts are made abundantly clear with Goku’s inevitable pair up with Bulma (Emmy Rossum) and Master Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat), who’s performances were less than stellar. Emmy tried way too hard in her role as Bulma. In her efforts to sound cool and “bad”, she put on a laughable and cheesy low tone of voice. Then Chow, forgivably mediocre throughout Dragonball, failed to bring Roshi’s eccentric nature to the film a couple of times. Then, then there was… Yamcha.

WTFSTFUGTFO

Look it him, terrifying, isn't it?

In retrospect, Yamcha plays a pivotal role in Dragonball, for he marks the decline of the movie. Yamcha was played by Joon Park, who failed miserably in every conceivable way imaginable. I gritted my teeth every time Yamcha reared his ugly head onto the silver screen. For the first five or so minutes of his appearance — which felt like an eternity — I was in shock. My mind was racing and I didn’t know what to do. I was panicking, and wanted to leave the cinema, but at the same time I was telling myself, “No, no, this can’t be happening, he’s going to ruin the entire movie. Maybe he doesn’t feature much”. Desperately grasping to any hope I could muster. From what had been a rather exciting experience up to this point, was being butchered by Joon. He failed in several categories as Yamcha. For one, he didn’t really look the part. He looks incredibly sleazy and creepy. I’m sure mothers everywhere hugged their daughters when he spoke his first line. Secondly — and most importantly — he epicly over-acted with a ridiculously put on voice. In fact, you will fail to come to terms with it. Unlike Emmy, his voice is not something you can overlook. As noted by my friend David, the only explanation for Joon’s voice acting is, that he really thinks Americans speak like that, “BODACIOUS. AWESOME. WHOA!”. Mixed in with a way too literal adaptation of the cartoon characters voice. Joon Park’s performance brings to mind many offensive internet acronyms. Specifically, WTFSTFUGTFO. This movie doesn’t say much for his acting ability (because there’s nothing good to say), but it doesn’t say much for the director, editor, casting director and sound staff either. How Joon got the OK without at LEAST re dubbing the movie, is beyond me.

It’s amusing to me now to mention one of my least favourite scenes, which happens to come straight after Joon’s introduction. Coincidence? No. The freshly grouped band of adventurers, Goku, Bulma, Roshi and Yam$@! continued their quest to find the Dragonballs in hopes to stop Piccolo from making his wish. This lead to an necessary event, that happens inside the earth, where there was lava… yes, lava. It was here that my eyes were treated with terrible CG and a lacklustre fight scene that was very much a non-event.

Starring Justin Chatwin, Jamie Chung, Chow Yun-Fat, Emmy Rossum… with James Marsters

Which is what the poster and intro text should have read, because there really isn’t much to say about Piccolo, simply because he didn’t feature much. I wasn’t too phased by his looks, he just didn’t really feel otherworldly or mystical. Which is what Piccolo from the cartoon felt to me. The film fails to establish him as any real threat. I never feared him once during the movie. Simply stating he’s powerful and scary simply isn’t enough. The only point where there was a show of power, was when Piccolo crushed grandpa Gohan’s house. There was this other scene where he burned a village, but it was quite abstract and ineffective. In fact, as pointed out to me by a friend, Mai, his henchwoman, played a more pronounced role than the supposed “villain”. The portrayal of an impotent Piccolo was further amplified by the fact that Goku, with little training from Roshi — what was it, two days? — made quick work of Piccolo.

Bang and it’s Over

Dragonball felt like it gained acceleration after the first half of the film. I was waiting for an epic finale battle between Goku and Piccolo that never came. They exchanged a few blows while being blatantly pulled up by cables “flying” in the air (they really need a new wire-fu guy). The moment came when Goku shouted the words I had longed to hear, “KAME-HAME-HA!”. Ending off with a “power struggle” that seemed to forget it was supposed to be a struggle. To make matters worse, they committed what I would consider blasphemy. Goku, not letting us relish in the moment of chi goodness, leaps forward towards Piccolo as unconvincingly as you can being pulled by wires, into his own Kamehameha, instead of being crouched with his feet digging into the sand, maintaining his beam. End. What a let down. I have to be honest with myself and say that there wasn’t even really a “fight” as it were. No cool moves, no Kung Fu. The best fight scene was at the beginning of the movie! I also found the special effects for chi a bit weak. As a friend put it — as you many have noticed, there was a lot of discussion about Dragonball with my friends after the movie had ended — all the chi / energy effects appeared way too wispy. There was not enough differentiation between techniques. Also, I’m not sure where this whole “air bending techniques” description comes from, perhaps Dragonball, but the Kamehameha as far as I know, was always a beam attack. Pure energy. I don’t remember it being multi-purpose either. It wouldn’t hurt the franchise if they created greater distinctions between the different techniques. This would then create familiarity with the viewers, who could then be psyched up when they see a trademark technique coming and can call it out.

Surprisingly, there’s more to be said about this movie that I haven’t mentioned above. Although I’ve mainly focused on the bad, there were other good aspects. I liked Piccolo’s voice and really enjoyed the plot device they used to introduce Goku’s trademark hairstyle. Which I thought looked great. Initially, when I first heard about Dragonball going into production, Goku’s hair was what concerned me the most. It’s what makes Goku, Goku. It’s so distinctive and I’m glad they put the effort into it, and didn’t try “re visualize” it for the real world, like the movie industry does with so many fiction to live action adaptations. The crew also seemed to fix the scenes that were released on the internet during the movie’s production. All the complaints I had about specific moments in the teaser footage were edited and done differently (tastefully) in the actual movie. Watching Justin bring to life Goku’s little idiosyncrasies was a pleasure.

Despite it’s flaws, I couldn’t ignore its merits. Dragonball was still a fun and an ultimately enjoyable watching experience.