Nerd RoundTable With the Percival Bros.

The Sit-Down, Episode 1: Choice and Consequence

noreply@blogger.com (Percival Brothers) — Fri, 5 Aug 2016 16:48:00 -0700

OH MY GOSH WE'RE NOT DEAD.

In his new solo series, Matthew uses "Life is Strange" to talk about one of gaming's most important mechanics.

Video version is on our Youtube Channel!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muixLvYHE4M

Hate listening to sound? Text version below:

***contains minor spoilers for Life is Strange, a lovely adventure game I highly recommend playing without spoilers. If you want, go give the first episode a try for free on Steam and then come back!

Choice and consequence has been one of the defining, unique traits of videogames from the very beginning. In many games, the choices are presented as possible solutions to a problem:

-Mario needs to get past a Goomba. How do you do it?

-Missiles are raining down on your cities! What order do you shoot them down in?

-Asteroids are surrounding your ship, how should you proceed?

The consequence in most games are simple: you either succeed or you fail. And they’re usually tied directly to the execution of your choice. You choose to jump on the Goomba’s head, but if you miss, Mario’s in trouble. You may choose the right order to shoot at the missiles, but you need to aim properly. You either clear the asteroids, or you get smashed to pieces after a poorly timed hyper jump.

In other cases, the gameplay’s choices and consequences involve more critical thinking. One of my favorite examples of gameplay choice is in Halo: Combat Evolved. Thanks to the 2 weapon carry limit, the player is having to constantly make decisions on what weapons to take with him to the next encounter. And since the weapons are designed for pretty specific circumstances, your choice will have major consequences on how your next fight goes, especially if you’re not sure what types of enemies you’ll encounter.

Do I take the powerful sniper rifle, despite its limited ammo? Or do I take the scoped pistol, which is much weaker but more versatile? And what should I combo it with? The plasma pistol for its charged shot? Or the hot-pink needler for its usefulness against Elites (assuming you’re on legendary mode. Otherwise DROP THE NEEDLER IT’S TERRIBLE).

Gameplay choice is the most common version of this mechanic, but today we’ll be focusing on narrative choice.

Narrative choice is a common staple of RPGs, especially Western RPGs in the post-Knights of the Old Republic era. The player is faced with a decision that will have lasting effects on the rest of the narrative. Sometimes it will be a binary “good” or “evil” choice (Fable, KOTOR) sometimes it’ll be a little more nuanced than that (the Mass Effect series), and sometimes it’ll be a choice impacting the relationship between the player character and others (Persona, all the Bioware games).

This aspect of choice and consequence has always excited me the most, creating narratives that are not only interacted with, but shaped by the player. This is where, as a form of expression, video games are wholly unique. And in a time where the Internet has given us all the ability and desire to create our own content, videogames have the chance to become our culture’s most beloved artistic medium.

That brings us to Life is Strange, an episodic adventure with some of the most successful uses of choice and consequence I’ve ever experienced.

The story follows a high school senior girl named Max Caulfield who discovers that she has the power to rewind time. With this newfound ability, Max rescues then reunites with her childhood friend Chloe, and together they try and solve the mystery of what happened to Chloe’s friend Rachel, who went missing several months ago. Oh, and maybe the apocalypse is happening.

And with that setup, the game becomes a series of choices and consequences. During a scene, Max will sometimes have to make a choice, with the game pausing to let you think about it. In most games, the choice and its consequences are final, barring a reloaded save file. This can sometimes lead to unexpected (and undesirable) consequences. I lost count of the number of times I pick a dialogue option in Mass Effect, only to have Commander Shepard take the conversation in a wildly different direction than I thought she would.

Here’s where Max’s rewind power comes in. The game gives the player time after nearly every choice (with two very notable exceptions). to rewind and try again. This way, you can see the consequences of each choice, and decide which one you’d prefer. After you leave the area, your choice is final.

This seems problematic at first glance. If you can play through each choice and see which one’s better, where’s the stakes?

Well, there often isn’t a “better” choice. These decisions are tough, with long-term consequences that are difficult to grapple with.

An example: early in the game, Chloe’s step-father David catches her with weed while you’re hiding in the closet. Your first choice is to stay hidden. Consequence: Chloe and David get in a shouting match that culminates with David slapping Chloe. You’ve stayed out of trouble, but your best friend has endured a terrible experience and can’t help but be pretty upset with you.

Option 2: Come out of hiding and take the blame for the weed. Consequence: Chloe is ecstatic that you stood up for her, but her step-dad is a paranoid security officer who works for your school. He could make your life a living hell.

There’s not a “right” choice here. They both have their own pros and cons, and those cons are murky enough to make predicting their full impact difficult. One confrontation I had in a later episode resulted in Chloe having to do something extremely traumatic, and it was only possible because of a particular set of circumstances. Circumstances that I had unknowingly set up with my choices. I had effectively made my best friend commit a terrible deed for which she would never forgive herself. It was my fault.

And thanks to the rewind power, you have all the time in the world to reflect/stress over these impossible situations. Giving the player that period of reflection is crucial in these kinds of games.

Think back to PS3 game Heavy Rain. It’s structurally similar to Life is Strange; you walk your character around the environment, clicking on objects to hear what the character thinks about them, and sometimes you have to make choices or take actions that significantly alter the narrative. But Heavy Rain rarely gave you time to think about your actions. Most of the scenes that could heavily change the story were basically quick-time action scenes, where you had to click buttons and wave your controller when prompted to keep your character alive. There was no time for reflection, no time to contemplate your situation, only constant panic and hope that the PS3’s crappy motion controls wouldn’t screw you over.

And the consequences in this type of adventure game aren’t near as dynamic and interesting. They feel more like a Mario game; you messed up the button prompt, so your character is dead. Yes, the narrative is altered, but it feels less like a collaboration between the player and the game, and more like a punishment for not being good enough at the game. That’s not the kind of feeling you want to foster in a narrative-driven game.

Instead, Life is Strange focuses on the nature of the choices themselves, presenting you with the sort of moral and ethical quandaries that can make you learn quite a bit about yourself.

What do you think is more important: your friend’s emotional well-being or the stability of her family?

Is it good to have a gun for your own protection, or will you just risk escalating a confrontation?

Are you willing to take part in a loved one’s assisted suicide?

It’s in these moments, the kinds of decisions I hope I’ll never have to make in real life, that Life is Strange absolutely thrives.

Thankfully, the choices aren’t always huge, life-changing decisions. That would get exhausting real quick. Often, the decision is over something mundane and pretty inconsequential: how much should I water my plant, should I sign this school petition, what should I have for breakfast? These quieter choices aren’t highlight material, but they immerse the player in Max’s life and the Twin Peaks/Juno hybrid world she lives in. Which is great, because this setting and these characters are practically unheard of in videogames. How often have you played a game from the perspective of a teenage girl, in a story centered on the relationship between two young women?

That relationship is the glue that ties the game together. Here’s a golden rule to follow for not just videogames, but all methods of storytelling: consequences have no weight if you don’t care about the characters they affect. The videogame Fable 2 ends with one of those big “moral decisions” that western RPGs are so fond of. At the end of the game’s main story, you have to choose between receiving untold riches, saving the lives of thousands of innocents, or bringing your recently killed dog back to life.

I have no data to back me up, but I’ll bet my life that most everyone chose the dog on their first play-through. The dog is the only character in the game that the player forges a real emotional connection to. Meanwhile, the innocent people you can save are shallow caricatures, and money is ridiculously easy to acquire. This isn’t a moral choice, it’s a no-brainer. The only people who chose the other options were achievement/trophy hunters or people who hate dogs beyond all reason.

But I deeply cared about Max and Chloe. For all of its flaws (and there are many flaws, some of which are just as interesting to discuss as its successes), the game’s earnest characterization shines through. Even with dialogue that occasionally sounds like adults pretending to be teenagers, Max and Chloe’s relationship is authentic, complicated, and beautiful to watch unfold.

I was fully invested in Max’s increasingly desperate and dangerous attempts to protect her friend. I dearly wished for Chloe to grow and learn and find some peace in her life. And my choices as the player could make or break that wish.

This is choice and consequence at its finest. When done right, it gives videogames an emotional impact that film and literature could never replicate. Considering that it’s been several days since I played its final episode and I still feel like I got punched in the gut, it’s safe to say Life is Strange did right in a lot of ways.

There’s so much more I want to talk about in regards to this game: its mixed success at tackling some very serious topics, its unnecessary use of more “game-y” conventions, and of course it’s devastating and divisive final moments.

For now, thanks for stopping by! If you’re interested in trying out Life is Strange, it’s available on PC, Xbox One and PS4, and the first episode is free. If you have any interest in a videogame’s storytelling potential, it’s a necessary purchase.

Nerd Roundtable Episode 5: A Spoiler-y Smorgasboard!

noreply@blogger.com (Percival Brothers) — Mon, 16 May 2016 16:41:00 -0700

Kevin and Matthew begin with that important thing that happened on Game of Thrones. BIG FAT SPOILERS for Game of Thrones (and The Walking Dead, I guess), skip ahead if you wish to avoid that (2:30).

From there, it's a rambling spree: the Assassin's Creed movie and other significant video game projects like Final Fantasy XV and Persona 5 (20:37), the casting controversy surrounding Doctor Strange (38:30), why remakes and sequels are so prevalent in movies and games (46:00), and Matthew ruining GTA IV's attempt at a serious narrative (56:30)

Nerd RoundTable Episode 4-Superhero Movies: What the Hell's Happening?

noreply@blogger.com (Percival Brothers) — Fri, 6 May 2016 15:27:00 -0700

Kevin, Matthew, Laurel, Jake and Kendal wrap up last episode's discussion/destruction of Batman v Superman (1:00), then ponder how DC can make things right going forward (10:00)

Other topics include other iterations of Batman, including the upcoming Killing Joke movie (20:10), Marvel wackiness (29:45) and the future of the comic book movie industry (42:45).

EVERYONE STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING, PERSONA 5 HAS A RELEASE DATE

noreply@blogger.com (Percival Brothers) — Thu, 5 May 2016 14:53:00 -0700

Stop the presses!

Put down your ham and cheese sandwich!

Stop shooting at each other over your ideological differences!

Quit performing CPR on that guy, he's not going anywhere!

Only one thing matters today: Persona 5 is coming out September 15, 2016.

Well, a release date for Japan. Other regions such as the US are still in the dark, though a February-March 2017 release is probably the latest we'd have to wait.

But who cares, IT'S HAPPENING.

Now, those of you who know what the hell Persona is just had a brief seizure of joy and are now leaping around the room like a maniac, confused onlookers be damned. The rest of you are those confused onlookers. Let me explain.

Persona is a series of Japanese role-playing games that are part detective novel, part monster-fighting dungeon crawler, and part anime high school simulator, all mixed together with some Carl Jung philosophical themes for good measure.

.....no, that was too much. Let me sum it up:

The Persona games are brilliant and you've never experienced anything like them. Persona 4 in particular is one of the greatest works of art I've ever seen, and that's including books and movies and other things that people with fancy hats call art. In the crowded field of JRPGs, Persona has consistently stood above the pack with its strong writing, unique focus on contemporary life and striking visual style. Yes, I'm a big Persona fanboy.

And speaking of style, look at that trailer. I don't speak Japanese, so I have no idea what's going on, but just LOOK AT IT!

Victorian masks! Tommy guns! Tron motorcycle! Paint flecks when the protagonist does cool stuff! Some kind of....cartoon Zorro cat? I dunno, but I dig it!

Hell, Persona 5 has more creativity in just its UI than most games have in their entire game!

Persona 5's UI is hot pic.twitter.com/ahx9zGvLKW
— Wario64 (@Wario64) May 5, 2016

Moving past the game's eye candy, the trailer confirms that Persona 5 isn't straying too far from the series formula, design-wise: by day, you play as a normal high school student, attending class, making friends and doing other high school things. By night, you and your friends enter an alternate reality to do battle with horrific monsters that personify human emotions.

Presumably, the heroes will have Personas: beings that they can summon to fight the monsters. But the game's promotional material has been coy about revealing them. Only the protagonist's Persona has gotten good screen time so far.

So mark your calendars, dust off your PS2s and replay the previous Personas, because we have a long, agonizing wait ahead of us. And if you've never played the series and are intrigued, there are tons of ways to give it a try! Persona 3 and Persona 4 are available on numerous platforms, including Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable and PS Vita.

You won't regret it.

Nerd RoundTable Episode 3: Batman v Superman, What the Hell Happened?

noreply@blogger.com (Percival Brothers) — Sun, 24 Apr 2016 12:38:00 -0700

Matthew, Jake and Laurel try to explain the entire plot of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice to Kevin.

Yes, it takes a full hour. Brace yourself.

(massive spoilers, of course)

Nerd RoundTable Episode 2: Star Wars Palooza!

noreply@blogger.com (Percival Brothers) — Sun, 17 Apr 2016 14:15:00 -0700

Special guests Jake Martin and Matthew “Star Wars Grand Maester” Johnson join us to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Star Wars, The Force Awakens (3:15) and the questionable background of the film’s main baddies, the First Order (14:23). Special guest Laurel Percival jumps in to tell us why we’re all being wet blankets about the whole thing (25:46).

We then move on to the upcoming spin-off film Rogue One (32:56), Rey’s aptitude for everything she touches (38:06), and the group’s complicated feelings for the prequels and George Lucas (44:05).

NERD NEWS ROUND-UP: Week of April 8, 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Percival Brothers) — Fri, 15 Apr 2016 17:28:00 -0700

by Matthew

Each podcast, Kevin and I look at several timely nerd topics and choose two or three of them to cover. This is mostly done to keep us focused; otherwise, our conversations would segue every tens seconds because we have the attention spans of five-year-olds.

That's where this series comes in! Every week, I'll be looking back over the interesting geek culture tid-bits that we decided not to cover for whatever reason. Maybe it was too hard to discuss for twenty minutes. Maybe one of us didn't find it interesting enough, making the conversation too one-sided. Maybe we just forgot, because five-year-olds.

I'll also use this opportunity to utilize my complete lack of drawing skills and draw something in MS Paint for each topic, partly because I'm jealous of Kevin's natural gift for art and I hope to eventually even the playing field using the power of technology, and partly because my attempts at art are hilariously terrible.

Let's begin with some news that's actually important in the real world!

SPACE X SUCCESSFULLY LANDS

ROCKET ON BARGE

HELL YEAH, SPACE STUFF.

Elon "Actually Tony Stark" Musk and his Space X project have been making incredible progress on the Falcon IX reusable rocket. After just four years of development (including some demoralizing but awesome to watch failures), they've developed a rocket that can take important cargo to space and then return to Earth without crashing into the Atlantic. Though more tests are still needed, the speed with which they've accomplished this is mind-boggling to me.

I mean, they landed the rocket on a barge. A barge. Barges sit on water, which is always moving.

And they landed a rocket on that. FROM SPACE.

The number one inhibition to space development is cost. Since the space shuttle program was discontinued, everything we've used to transport satellites, astronauts and other cargo into space could only be used once, and those one-use items are expensive. As long as the maintenance costs aren't outrageous, a rocket like Falcon IX that could be used multiple times will open up opportunities for space projects that were simply too cost-prohibitive before.

So well done, Musk and Co. Keep up the good work so that space nuts like me can continue to geek out about the future of space exploration.

BATMAN ANIMATED MOVIE RATED R, DOESN'T CARE

The upcoming animated movie Batman: The Killing Joke has a lot of nerd hype around it. Not only is it based on Alan Moore's massively influential and controversial graphic novel, but it'll feature the cast of the classic Batman animated series reprising their roles, with Kevin Conroy as Batman, Tara Strong as Batgirl and Mark "Intense Stare" Hamill as the Joker. The return of Hamill to the role after his "retirement" from the character was enough reason alone for Batman fanboys to lose their minds.

Well, now the film has been rated R by the MPAA, confirming that the filmmakers haven't pulled any punches in their adaptation. The Killing Joke is full of the sort of violent and disturbing imagery that would make Adam West's Batman lose all faith in humanity, and it seems like we'll be getting much of the same in the film.

Warner Bros. president Sam Register said in a statement that they didn't worry about the MPAA rating while they were making the movie, instead focusing on a faithful adaption of Moore's novel, and that there is no plan for an edited PG-13 release. Considering that The Killing Joke is getting a straight-to-DVD release, this seems like a good move.

The Killing Joke will technically be the second R-rated Batman film after the extended cut of Batman v Superman, but it still has the chance to be the first R-rated Batman film that's actually enjoyable to watch. HEY-O! (high-fives self)

DOCTOR STRANGE TRAILER RELEASES, LOOKS LIKE HARRY POTTER/INCEPTION FANFICTION

Cheeky headline aside, Dr. Strange looks promising!

The trailer shows off a visual aesthetic unique to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with MC Escher rooms and mind-bending cityscapes. It also features Tilda Swinton punching Benedict Cumberbatch's soul out of his body, and Cumberbatch's almost-but-not-quite-perfect American accent. As someone who knows next to nothing about Stephen Strange, that was enough to get me intrigued.

No word yet on if the movie will include Dr. Strange's brilliantly awful job title: "Earth's Sorcerer Supreme." I will boo loudly during the credits if it's not.

That concludes the Nerd News Round-Up! If you see some interesting news you'd like us to cover either in the podcast or in our recaps, email us at brotherspercival@gmail.com.

And look out for a podcast episode to drop sometime this weekend! Maybe.......Sunday? Yeah, let's go with Sunday.

Nerd RoundTable Episode 1: Speed Racer Doesn't (Completely) Suck!

noreply@blogger.com (Percival Brothers) — Sat, 9 Apr 2016 22:33:00 -0700

In the very first episode, the brothers discuss how entertaining this election year has been (2:48) and Kevin drops some life advice (14:57), before moving on to talk about Cartoon Network's planned revival of a cult anime classic (18:05). Then, the bros tackle their favorite bad movie (24:50), peeling back its layers to reveal the terrifying truth (50:19).

With special appearances by Laurel Percival and Gasket the Cat.