Morpheus: "Human beings feel pleasure when they are watched. I have recorded their smiles as I tell them who they are."

JC Denton: "Some people just don't understand the dangers of indiscriminate surveillance."

Morpheus: "The need to be observed and understood was once satisfied by God. Now we can implement the same functionality with data-mining algorithms."

If I ask you who worked on Deus Ex, what would you answer? Most would cite Warren Spector, others Harvey Smith. Personally, I was obsessed with Sheldon Pacotti, responsible for the writing on both Deus Ex and its sequel.

Yes, the game offered players a cornucopia of agency and a story of epic scope but what impressed me were the philosophical depths that Deus Ex merrily threw itself into. The superfluous conversation with prototype surveillance AI Morpheus, of which the opener above is just an extract, was one of those moments where I felt good to be playing video games. It was 2000 and the golden era of video games had arrived.

Or so I thought. I waited and waited for Pacotti to turn up against other projects of interest but, although his name surfaced here and there, there was nothing suggestive of Deus Ex's writing calibre. Eventually I stopped checking and made the decision to move on. There were other writers to develop amorous attentions for. What a shame.

Then in August last year, Rock Paper Shotgun let me know that Pacotti was linked to a game from new indie developer New Life Interactive called Cell: Emergence. There was even an inscrutable trailer.

RPS said it was due for release very soon. Except "soon" was delayed until two weeks ago.

Now that trailer plus “Pacotti” equalled instant buy. Cart Life, forgotten. Mass Effect, postponed. It’s Pacotti time. I bought it right off the bat without checking the demo.

And then: damn.

Continue reading: The Real Interloper

In May 2004, Mrs. HM and I went on a whistle-stop tour of Kyushu, the big southwestern chunk of Japan, home to Nagasaki, the steamy onsen town of Beppu and the slightly surreal Dutch theme park Huis Ten Bosch. It was one part honeymoon, two parts sayonara as we were soon to depart Japan for a new life in the UK. The final destination of this tour was the island of Yakushima, a verdant fist of volcanic rock punching out of the water around 70km off the southern coast of Kyushu. It's reputed to be the inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke.

We had two days on Yakushima. On the first day we did a circuit of the island by car, leaving us with memories of lazy monkeys pottering about on the road and magnificent waterfalls at every turn. On the second day, we went to see a tree.

Continue reading: The Rings

Richard Hofmeier

It's no secret that I love Cart Life, having already dubbed it "game of 2011" and breaking down why it succeeds, mechanic by mechanic. I even begged Adam Smith of RPS to take a look at it. He called the police because I wouldn't leave his bathroom, but he still posted about it anyway.

But an important question remains: Who is Richard Hofmeier?

I wanted to find out, figuring Electron Dance readers might be interested too, so I utilised modern games journalism techniques such as phone hacking and the hiring of private investigators.

The result is an Electron Dance podcast: one hour of conversation with the man himself. As an added bonus, it is low on Cart Life spoilers, so no excuses! I will warn you, though, I consume food at a critical juncture

Continue reading: Who Is Richard Hofmeier?

In 2011, Resistance Is Futile II bemoaned peer pressure, specifically the fear of spoilers (aarghnophobia) and the internet's inability to keep it's digital mouth shut.

In 2012, it's time for the climax. Who will win? The selling Sith or the jaded Jedi?

Dear Emperor Palpa-

Screw it. I see your pet Vader, weaving about in the mirror. You are wondering why I shipjacked this Tie Fighter and why, right now, I'm hurtling down this trench looking for a dinky exhaust port. It's over.

Continue reading: Resistance Is Futile III

We, the undersigned, hereby demand that "HM" of the site Electron Dance play the game "Mass Effect" developed by BioWare.

It's five years old for cryin' out loud.

Please add your name to the comments if you support this noble cause.

I'm just going to come out and say it: Mafia is not a great game.

If I'd run through it in 2002, I probably would've had fun. But this is 2012. Mafia is another title that shows how fast games are ageing - or rather, how fast game design and audience expectations are surging ahead, throwing a harsh spotlight on the crude, medieval designs of our gaming past. In 2022, will the next generation of kids claim Minecraft is a bit rubbish?

But It’s The Truth

I cited Mafia in last year’s essay Those Honeymoon Hours, describing how an early mission in Mafia was exciting because I was oblivious of the game's constraints and hadn’t yet learnt how to master – or perhaps game – its mechanics.

Pretty soon, though, the frustrations break through and its wonderful façade crumples like a mobster taking a baseball bat to the head. I'm not going to whine about the Mafia "sandbox" not being interesting enough as I recognise it is neither a sandbox nor an open world - it is merely an enormous set upon which a gangster-themed third-person shooter plays out.

Continue reading: The Don of Cutscenes

Last week I made the bold move of announcing a “game of the year” which was Richard Hofmeier’s Cart Life. It probably surprised everyone because I'd never mentioned it before although an observant follower might have seen this tweet on 3 Dec 2011:

Man, I think I love this game.

Yes, well, that was Cart Life.

Cart Life was teeming with showstopping bugs on release last May which is likely the reason it barely registered across the indie game-o-sphere. But what has been said of Cart Life following its mention on Electron Dance last week?

David Kanaga, the musical maestro of Proteus and Dyad, said the game "had me tingling for its first 15 minutes." I dare not ask about what happened the minute after that.

Pippin Barr, author of The Artist Is Present amongst other games, said it was craaaaazy and wished he'd made it as it was so interesting.

Nicolau Chaud, the mind behind Marvel Brothel and Beautiful Escape: Dungeoneer, wrote the following on his blog:

I have to say, one of the things that motivated me and inspired me the most to work on Polymorphous Perversity again was playing an awesome indie game. And the game I'm talking about is Richard Hofmeier's Cart Life. This game is just so unique and brilliant that I have to be careful not to be overhumbled and give up on whatever I'm working at.

Yes, too many replays will eventually ruin its magic. Yes, too many bugs will keep this game off an IGF list. Yes, some of the broken design is accidental and not intentional. So it's time I explained why a game which made me panic about a cat's well-being is deserving of so much attention.

Read no further if you still intend to play, because I am about to discuss the lives of Melanie Emberley and Andrus Poder in some depth

Continue reading: Ahead… The Stars

And dear sweet babies of Jesus, I realise how much I've written last year for no pennies.Continue reading: Electron Dance 2011 Review

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