videogame deconstruction
Jul. 14th, 2003 09:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
egypturnashSunday was, as I had hoped, a day of laziness and laundry. I went out and picked up a couple of games - Wario World, developed by Treaure (yay), and a used copy of Conker's Bad Fur Day.
I mostly played Conker. And sometimes found myself analyzing it.
Conker is a vicious deconstruction of the conventions of platforming games. Starting with the first moment you control Conker: experimentally, you hit A, to see what function will define this game (the most important action is, on Nintendo machines, inevitably bound to the A button). And Conker jumps. But it's this anemic little jump - it's what anyone would do if they were tired, hung over, and tried to jump.
And then there's the 'day' thing. In most adventure platformers, there are attempts to give a feeling of time passing - some levels are mid-day, some are evening, some are morning, some are night. Not in Conker. It's explicitly one day; the longest day in this guy's life. An endless, exhausting, time-distorted day, a weird void of endless music loops.
His motivations are simple - he just wants to get home, and if he can grab some cash and ogle some gals along the way, that's fine too. No getting involved in saving the world from the Bad Guy because it's the Right Thing To Do; Conker would ask 'What do I get out of it? Where's the dough?' - wouldn't any of us? He refuses to grow and change. He's not a child growing into a man over the course of the game; neither is he the wordless cipher that so many head-jumping heros are. He's an ordinary slob. Screw this Monomyth business, he just wants to survive and go out to the pub and get drunk.
On the face of it, it's just lots of swearing and nastiness in the conventional jumping adventure format, but I can't help but feel it's also a commentary on the cliches of the genre. Like the traditionally-inexplicable 'prehistoric' area, where cavemen and dinosaurs mix, and a weasel points out that "they just don't fit into this ecosystem". Or some of Conker's many idle animations: pull out a Gameboy and start playing a game, glare at the screen and wonder if the player died or obliquely accuse you of masturbating; take out a porno magazine and flip through a few pages...
I'm attempting to analyze the symbolism and underlying meaning of a videogame. I can't believe this. Well, I have maintained that they're a valid form of storytelling, handicapped by, for the most part, terribly banal stories...
'BFD' is not a masterpiece; Rare's character design is, as always, glaringly ugly. Some parts become chores to get through, like the prehistoric hover-board race over a lava track (you're chasing several caveteen punks who knocked you out, stole your money, then mooned you - deliberately common motivations abound in this game) or the battle with the Mighty Poo (overly touchy jumps made me have to do it far too many times; the concept of him singing throughout was clever, but the execution wasn't what I'd expected from the glowing descriptions of that encounter). I wouldn't buy a used N64 just to play it. But it's a refreshing take on the relentless niceness of most of its genre.
I mostly played Conker. And sometimes found myself analyzing it.
Conker is a vicious deconstruction of the conventions of platforming games. Starting with the first moment you control Conker: experimentally, you hit A, to see what function will define this game (the most important action is, on Nintendo machines, inevitably bound to the A button). And Conker jumps. But it's this anemic little jump - it's what anyone would do if they were tired, hung over, and tried to jump.
And then there's the 'day' thing. In most adventure platformers, there are attempts to give a feeling of time passing - some levels are mid-day, some are evening, some are morning, some are night. Not in Conker. It's explicitly one day; the longest day in this guy's life. An endless, exhausting, time-distorted day, a weird void of endless music loops.
His motivations are simple - he just wants to get home, and if he can grab some cash and ogle some gals along the way, that's fine too. No getting involved in saving the world from the Bad Guy because it's the Right Thing To Do; Conker would ask 'What do I get out of it? Where's the dough?' - wouldn't any of us? He refuses to grow and change. He's not a child growing into a man over the course of the game; neither is he the wordless cipher that so many head-jumping heros are. He's an ordinary slob. Screw this Monomyth business, he just wants to survive and go out to the pub and get drunk.
On the face of it, it's just lots of swearing and nastiness in the conventional jumping adventure format, but I can't help but feel it's also a commentary on the cliches of the genre. Like the traditionally-inexplicable 'prehistoric' area, where cavemen and dinosaurs mix, and a weasel points out that "they just don't fit into this ecosystem". Or some of Conker's many idle animations: pull out a Gameboy and start playing a game, glare at the screen and wonder if the player died or obliquely accuse you of masturbating; take out a porno magazine and flip through a few pages...
I'm attempting to analyze the symbolism and underlying meaning of a videogame. I can't believe this. Well, I have maintained that they're a valid form of storytelling, handicapped by, for the most part, terribly banal stories...
'BFD' is not a masterpiece; Rare's character design is, as always, glaringly ugly. Some parts become chores to get through, like the prehistoric hover-board race over a lava track (you're chasing several caveteen punks who knocked you out, stole your money, then mooned you - deliberately common motivations abound in this game) or the battle with the Mighty Poo (overly touchy jumps made me have to do it far too many times; the concept of him singing throughout was clever, but the execution wasn't what I'd expected from the glowing descriptions of that encounter). I wouldn't buy a used N64 just to play it. But it's a refreshing take on the relentless niceness of most of its genre.
no subject
Date: 2003-07-14 11:28 am (UTC)There were several N64s set up in a special room made to look like a bar.
Actually, I think it WAS a bar, I seem to remember drinks being served.
And everyone who came in got carded.
Anyway, I stepped up to one of the machines and started playing.
And suddenly got the impression I had travelled to a weird parallel universe...
I mean, there I was, in the middle of Nintendo's gigantic booth, controlling an
obviously drunk and very weaving squirrel whose sole purpose, in this part of
the game anyway, was to put out little mischievous flame sprites by peeing on them!!
And when he was out of ammo, I had to reload him with more beer!
I mean, come on! This is a Nintendo game? This paragon of fluffy, cute, nice,
and oh-so-very-PC was making a game like this? With swearing, heavy drinking,
and general un-Nintendo-like behavior!?!?
Cool!!
I thought it was a hoax at first. It was mentioned in various magazines, and
I didn't believe it until I actually played the demos at E3.
I've never owned any Nintendo consoles (for various reasons to lengthy to detail
here), but I've been tempted to get a used N64 and Conker from time to time.
I might still do that, who knows.
I heard there was a sequel being worked on...
no subject
Date: 2003-07-14 11:59 am (UTC)They had a contract to do another game with Nintendo, and I guess their contract forced Nintendo to keep their hands off, so they went with this crazy-ass game.
There is indeed another BFD coming. I saw the multiplayer aspect at E3, it'll be on Xbox. It doesn't look to be an actual sequel, though... glancing at Rare's site, it appears to simply be the first BFD, prettied up for Xbox and including some extra bits, a "director's cut", so to speak.
no subject
Date: 2003-07-14 12:48 pm (UTC)Guess I don't have to worry about getting an N-64 then.
I never liked that damn controller anyway.
Since it's more likely that I will get an X-Box in the future rather than an N-64,
(I already have a PS2), this works out just fine. Especially since Microsoft introduced
the Controller S, which mimics the PlaySation controller layout.
No more goofy PC-joypad-like tilted-diamond button arrangement!
I am standing here besides myself in joy.