Homage to Greatness: Oblivion

Prior to playing the PC game "Oblivion" I had never had any desire to play any previous game in the Elder Scrolls series. To be honest, those games just aren't really my style. I may play games like FFXI and Zelda, but even I have my "nerd" limit.

I went through a phase right after building a $4,000 computer where I absolutely had to own and play every new PC game out there that had cutting-edge graphics. You know, the kind of games that you can only play at max settings with a $4,000 PC. The idea of being one of the select few in the world able to experience the finest graphics in gaming was appealing enough to make me read up on this game called "Oblivion". Upon seeing the screenshots, there was one thing that captured my imagination completely: the draw distance. Now for those who aren't entirely familiar with technical terms, "draw distance" is basically how far into the distance a game will allow you to see before it either uses fog to fade it out, or just makes distant objects disappear entirely. It typically requires far too much computer power for the average game to let the player see any more than a quarter mile into the distance, so most games are structured around indoor areas and, if there are outdoor areas that allow the player to see into the distance, the background graphics are usually just "cutouts" used to appease the eye. Oblivion, however, presented a bold and exciting promise: any mountain, building, or path that can be seen, can be accessed. Not just through loading screens after you travel a certain distance towards something, but a real-time world where everything was truly as you saw it. It's something that anyone but the most hardcore gamer would say "big deal" to, but to me, it was "Holy hell, this is unbelievable".

So I played it. Much to my shock, it pushed my fully custom PC system to the absolute limit. Some areas would slow down so much it bordered on unplayable. But that didn't stop me from loving it. As far as the story goes, it seemed decent. I say "seemed" because, I must admit, I never got the chance to finish the game. In fact, although I played it for months, I'd say I only progressed 1/4 of the way through the actual story of the game. So from the little that I was able to see, the story seemed compelling enough. But that's where the concept and perception of this game splits. You could easily play through the entire story of the game, and have an opinion about it. However, you can also experience the game in entirely different ways due to the endless things to do outside of the main story-driven mission. I came upon a boat docked near the river where I paid money to rest for the night, only to wake up and find myself in the middle of the ocean as the boat had been taken over by thieves. Or another time when I met a strange man behind a church who swore that people were trying to kill him, and paid me very well to follow certain people and spy on them. None of these things had anything to do with the main story of you saving the world. Most games include these types of "side quests" as they're known, but Oblivion is so packed with them, you could spend months simply talking to people in towns and going on these quests without ever paying any attention to saving the world. This is why you don't "play" games like this, you "experience" them.

But aside from its greatness, there were a couple things that I'm sure bothered everyone. For one, every item that you see in peoples' homes, in shops, and in castles can be stolen. Not only that, you can actually see the monetary value of an item just by walking near it. This forces the player to get the urge to steal (I know it did for me at least), especially seeing some rare treasure in someone's home, knowing that you could swipe it and, if you get away with it, could instantly be rich. But I understand that this, like the abundance of side-quests, is also the game's way of letting you play however realistic you want, and that it's "realistic" to be able to steal for money, just as in real life. It only bugs me that certain items and scenes can only be accessed through stealing and other illegal means, as I hate knowing that I'm missing out on parts of the game simply because I'm trying to play a "moral" character. This also applies to other things. There is an entire portion of the game dedicated to those who take pleasure in running around killing random people (which is an urge people typically get when playing an open-ended game such as this). The "Dark Brotherhood" is somewhat of a "cult" that you can join and take part in tons of missions and quests all in the name of bloody murder. This leaves players like me with an "incomplete" feeling, as I'll never get to experience those things unless I go back and start going on rampages. And that's just not how I decided to play; I wanted to be the "good guy" (you are, after all, entrusted with saving the world).

Another minor annoyance can be the small cast of voice actors (anyone who's played the game knows exactly what I'm talking about). There are only about 5 variations in the voices of the characters, meaning chances are, out of the next 10 people you talk to, 3 or 4 of them will sound exactly the same. This wouldn't be so bad if the game weren't filled with hundreds of characters. But ultimately it's no big deal.

First-person combat with swords and bows is probably about as good as it can be. Which is still not superb, but once you get used to it, it's decently implemented. The soundtrack for the game is amazing, as the music for simply walking around outside mirrors the awe-inspiring visual experience. In many cases you'll find the music hit just the right note when you come over the hill during sunrise and have the orange glow of the wide open valley below come into view. Sure it's just a random coincidence of audio and visuals, but it definitely stays with you.

And that's what this game is so great at. Staying with you. Most people that play games are interested in doing just that- playing a game. But some have been searching for a game that gives them a chance to live a fully imaginary life that thus far hasn't been possible given the limits of choices presented by video games. Sure, "living an imaginary life" sounds like the epitome of nerdism, but I'd like to think "imaginary" and "imagination" should not be viewed so different from each other. If you have an imagination, and the courage to use it, Oblivion is the experience for you (though many reading this have most likely already played it). It's still an absolutely stunning technical achievement with an enormous world and endless possibilities. I can't wait until the day comes when I can finish it, and dive back into that world. Until then, many aspects of it have yet to be topped in gaming, and I'm not sure how long it'll be before they are.

What an experience.

"The Incident" : Zelda 2008

Around the turn of the new year a website appeared that went largely unnoticed by most of the world, but was quickly thrown into a relatively small spotlight among fans of the Legend of Zelda game series. This was www.zelda2008.com, and though its intention was largely unknown, its purpose was entirely fulfilled without most ever knowing.

A few months ago, no more than a couple of weeks after its release, I had written what amounted to little more than an apology to fans who felt the site was meant to steal 15 minutes of fame by posing as an officially licensed project from Nintendo. Before long, I did away with the apology speech, and forgot about my creation, having lost the desire to explain my intentions. But with the recent creation of this blog, I suppose now would be the time.

I created Zelda2008.com with one goal: make people think. Unsatisfied with Twilight Princess and afraid of the traditional and ungroundbreaking approach the series has progressively taken since Ocarina of Time, I thought I would share my ideas with others. I've always had the idea of a truly realistic Zelda game. One could argue into the ground whether or not this would be the right direction for the series, but I'm glad that so many got as in-depth with that discussion as they did. So while I don't necessarily believe that the next Zelda game should be "gritty and realistic", I do believe that the possibilities are worth thinking about.

A few years ago, with 3D modeling being a hobby of mine, I made a fairly realistic 3D rendering of Link. Then to practice more inorganic modeling, I tinkered around with recreating other various environments from the series- the Temple of Time, Master Sword, etc. And yes, I used these to create the backgrounds for the Zelda 2008 website. The reaction to the art itself was surprisingly negative. But I should've seen that coming, as I too would be brutally railing on any art that was of less-than-groundbreaking quality that I felt was trying to pass itself off as "official Nintendo-quality work". People nailed everything from the "cheap looking Triforce" to the "amateur layout", even criticizing the fonts used. It was said that the site could've been designed by anyone with even beginner 3D and Photoshop skills. Well congratulations, you were all able to spot the difference between the quality of work befitting an official industry-shattering announcement from Nintendo and someone who threw together 4 year old half-finished renderings in 10 minutes.

I knew that the overwhelming majority of people would see it as some kind of announcement of a new Zelda title. And, in turn, I assumed that most would easily see that it was "fake" and see it only as "fan art". But while some did just that, most ripped it apart as a cry for attention by someone needlessly trying to stir up controversy by spreading lies. If there is one thing that I have always despised in regards to the internet, it is how easily people can spread rumors and intentionally give false information to better their own imaginary digital reputation. I simply wanted people to think, and after the third day the site was posted and after reading the feedback across all the forums, I almost felt as if I had to defend my work by continuing it. So as some already know, I kept it going, leaving more hints that only fans would truly get (for the record, the Hyrulian text in one of the graphics translates to "Experience the Challenge of Endless Adventure", a reference to the original NES game box that a couple people actually managed to translate and understand). But eventually, I stopped caring, for whatever reason. So I left it alone. And alone it has been, for a few months now.

Whatever your reaction, I hope it made you think. I'm glad people discussed the possibilities, even if they had been already talked about in the past. Personally I feel the series needs to change, as the traditional Zelda style, while it still "works", doesn't further the groundbreaking notion of "Zelda" that was established by the first NES game and Ocarina of Time. I feel Nintendo is more than capable of doing this, it will all come down to who makes the decision to actually do it.