The Impact Factor Ep. 62: Counter-Strike Gambling Offensive Podcast Welcome to the 62nd episode of The Impact Factor! The Impact Factor is what happens when two scientists, and two best friends, get together to talk about video games. Hosts Alex Samocha [biomedical scientist] and Charles Fliss [social scientist] sit down every week to discuss the week in gaming! Listen in for the news, views, and games that made the biggest impact!
In this episode Alex and Fliss talk about Bum Rush, EVO, Street Fighter V, Fig, E3, Pokemon GO, PS VR, Overwatch, System Shock, CSGO gambling, Clash Royale, Danganronpa 2 & much more! Counter-Strike Global Offensive Underage Gambling Suit
You Kill My Brother by Go! Go! Go! Micro Invasion, East Jakarta Chiptunes Compilations. Freemusic Archive. (Attribution Noncommercial Share-Alike License) Transitions: News & Views and Perspectives transitions from victorcenusa, Freesound.org (Creative Commons 0 License) Experimental Methods transition from Sentuniman, Freesound.org (Attribution Noncommercial License)
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Don’t Get Stranded: Death Stranding and Far Future Releases
Perspectives
Abstract: Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding was one of the most discussed E3 2016 reveals. It’s
fun to be excited about new games. What wasn’t made clear, however, was that Death Stranding is probably a 2019
release at the absolute earliest. Games should not be shown this early. The volatile
and difficult nature of game development can mean that games revealed too soon
can disappear, receive lengthy delays, or change entirely. Developers and
publishers should consider what they announce more carefully, only showing
off games that are at most 18 months away. Fans should be mindful of release
windows, with a preference for specific dates. We need to come together on this.
At the
year’s most impactful video game tradeshow, E3 2016, everything is fighting for
attention. The three-day event showcases hundreds, if not thousands, of games.
If your game isn’t attached to some long running franchise, it has to do
something truly unique to leave a lasting impression. When you take a look at
the games announced at E3 2016, I suppose it should come as no surprise that
one of the most bizarre game trailers I’ve seen in quite some time was
also one of the most talked about. That game is Death Stranding,
Death Stranding was announced on PlayStation’s E3
press conference stage. The game comes from lauded developer, and one of the most well known autuers of the games industry, Hideo Kojima. Kojima broke ground with Metal Gear Solid, leaving a legacy of
games that embrace the strange while delivering an exceptional gameplay
experience. Konami restructured, ousting Kojima. It wasn’t long before Sony
swooped in to snatch him up, offering resources, support, and (one would
assume) creative freedom in exchange for making his new title for PlayStation.
No one could have guessed what Kojima had in mind.
The concept
trailer for Death Stranding is
something else. We see a fully modeled, and fully nude, Norman Reedus awake on
a bleak gray beach. The water is black and oily. Giant whales
and squids are beached upon the shore. As the teaser continues, we discover
Reedus is attached via mechanical umbilical cord to a fetus. Reedus grabs that
fetus only for it to fade away in his arms. The camera then pans down his
torso, showing a scar across his stomach as if he had received a C-section. He
then looks over the ocean to see five humanoid figures ominously floating in the sky. Finally, the title: Death Stranding.
Death Stranding's reveal was awesome.
Sounds
exciting, right? Or if not exciting, certainly unique. I got excited too. Who wouldn’t? Kojima, for better and worse, has a peerless artistic vision. Nothing has looked, or will look, like Death Stranding. Kojima’s new title
promises to bring something gamers have never seen before. E3 2016
promised the moon with the reveal of Death
Stranding. We didn’t just get a title, we didn’t just get concept art. We
got a fully animated teaser trailer. Worth being excited for? Yes and no.
As it turns
out, perhaps unsurprisingly for those of us who follow the industry more
closely, none of what was shown in
the Death Stranding teaser comes
anywhere close to being “a game.” Kojima revealed that the trailer was
assembled over the course of a few months, intended to set the stage for the
game’s forthcoming development. As interviewers pried more, we got a look into
just how far away we are from actually playing Death Stranding. Kojima Productions has not even decided on what
engine they want to run the game on. That’s right. That teaser trailer we all
know and love? It was made in one of the two engines the team is considering.
Even worse, gameplay prototypes are currently being made on the other engine. This means that Death Stranding is in its earliest
phases of pre-production. If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to have the game in our
hands by the end of 2019. More realistically, however, I would not expect Death Stranding to come out before 2020. Death Stranding is a
long, long way off.
These hands won't be playing Death Standing until 2019 at the absolute earliest.
So why even
show it? I’m sure fans don’t want to hear that they will have to wait upwards
of 4 years to play Death Stranding. Unfortunately,
this is nothing new in the games industry, nonetheless at E3. On one hand, I
can understand why developers and publishers want to announce games like Death Stranding to the world. They’re
exciting. They’re new. They get people talking about your game over the course
of months and years. They can lead into a nice marketing plan. I get it. I love
to be excited about new games, and teasers like Death Stranding get me excited for the future. These hyper-early
reveals can be insidious, though. They often do more harm than good. For
starters, very few people who watch the Death
Stranding trailer will release the game is incredibly early in development.
Speaking anecdotally, I work with a pair of people who are relatively
knowledgeable gamers and they had no
ideathat Death Stranding is so far out. They were horrified. I felt bad, because I turned a lot of their interest into disdain when they found out Death Stranding is at minimum 3 years
away.
This
problem has existed for nearly as long as I can remember. Last console
generation (PS3/Xbox 360) in particular felt like it promised the moon each and
every chance it got. It’s easy to forget that games like The Last Guardian and Final
Fantasy XV (both releasing Fall 2016) were shown for the first time running
on PS3. The games were shown to us nearly a decade ago. As a result, I’ve had a
weird love/hate/sadness cycle of ‘will this game ever come out’ because I saw
too much too soon. Showing off a game too early carries other risks. Sometimes
games just don’t get made. Like the fetus in Death Stranding, sometimes these games just disappear never to be
heard from again. Rockstar’s Agent or Bioshock Infinite Vita, for example,
were both shown off and promised on the industry’s biggest stages – yet neither
will see the light of day.
Don't hold your breath. We're probably never going to get Agent.
It’s easy
to feel the hype for new releases, but don’t get stranded out at sea (or on the
beach?) by games like Death Stranding.
If anything, this current console generation (PS4/X1) has given enthusiasts all
the more reason to be skeptical. Whereas last generation was all about games
disappearing, this generation is all about delays. Uncharted
4, delayed. Horizon Zero Dawn,
delayed. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of
the Wild, delayed. Batman Arkham
Knight, No Man’s Sky, The Division, The Order 1886 – all delayed. If Death Stranding follows the precedent
set before it, a timely release seems unlikely.
Nathan Drake is looking down because he feels bad that Uncharted 4 got delayed so many times.
The most
important thing I want readers to take away from this is to always look for
release information when you see a game that excites you. When done well, early
game reveals will give the audience a tentative release window like Fall 2016,
or Spring 2017. Specific dates are obviously preferred, though rare when a game
is first shown off. Be wary of when a game just gives a year – this often means
that the project is early in its production and is therefore more likely to receive
a delay. And when you see no year, no window, no month, no day at all? Be hyper
critical. The trailer you saw was most likely a rough sketch, a concept, and
not an actual game (yet).
Perhaps Death Stranding is the exception. I’d
love for it to be. If Kojima Productions could make a stellar game and get it
out by early 2018 I would be ecstatic. Realistically, though, I cannot see that
happening. Reveals like these especially bother me when some
publishers/developers have proven that “late” reveal can work so well. Bethesda
stunned the world at E3 2015 when they showed Fallout 4 for the first time, and that the game would be out in a
matter of months. While the 6-month PR/marketing cycle cannot work for every
game (Fallout is a megaton exception
here), an 18-month one can. I urge publishers and developers to hold games back
until they are at most a year and a half away from release. It keeps excitement
high. It gives fans the time to engage and speculate and share their passion
with others. And it prevents people from wondering three plus years later why
they still can’t play Death Stranding.
Save your energy for games that are releasing sooner.
Don’t get
stranded by far future releases. Death
Stranding will be in our hands eventually. If you can, focus your energy on
the titles you know are coming soon. Everyone will be better for it.
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
E3 2016: Reflection, Games With The Biggest
Impact, and Game of the Show
Perspectives
In the weeks leading up to E3 2016 all you could
see online was doom and gloom, espousing the forthcoming death of the video
game industry’s biggest trade show. E3 2016 was a year of dramatic changes well
before the event even got underway. EA pulled out, opting to do their own
separate event for press and fans alike called EA Play. Activision and Disney
Interactive decided not to show any of their games on the convention floor. World of Tanks, infamous for their
lavish play area, also decided not to come to the show.
But E3 2016 was here to prove that E3 still
provides something unique and, while certainly in the process of evolving,
isn’t going anyway. This year brought a bevy of gargantuan game announcements
like God of War and Prey and Dead Rising 4. E3 2016 was
the place where Xbox announced that they seek to “end console generations...to
move beyond them” with Xbox One Project Scorpio. Sony made the internet erupt
in happiness with the reveal of Crash
Bandicoot’s long awaited return. And Nintendo proved it can still get
people excited as The Legend of Zelda:
Breath of the Wild was the most talked about game on social media around
the world.
The way the industry shares its new games has
been turned upside down over the past year or two. More fans than ever are
turning to “influencers” for their gaming news – like popular YouTubers or
Twitch streamers. The number of gaming conventions has risen astronomically, as
Penny Arcade Expos (PAX) continue to draw thousands of fans into their halls. Publishers,
even hardware manufacturers, have begun to realize that they no longer need to
communicate with their audience through old media like gaming websites (IGN,
Gamespot) or print media (USA Today). Video game makers can communicate
directly, or through influencers, and have their message received loud and
clear.
Further,
E3 2016’s attendance
went down for the first time in several years. As giants like EA and Sony
continue to have success with open to the pubic events like EA Play and
PlayStation Experience, the spectacle of E3 may continue to die down. Perhaps
the show floor will continue to shrink. Perhaps we see less new game
announcements at the marquee press briefings. But what won’t change is the
spirit of E3. The excitement so many of us feel in the days and weeks leading
up to the show. No other show elicits the kind of Christmas-morning-excitement
like E3 does. No other show gets people talking and sharing in the love of
great games like E3 does. We know that E3 will be around for at least another three yearsand that makes me so happy.
In
the end E3 2016, and all E3’s really, is about the games shown. From surprise
reveals to breathtaking gameplay demos for titles that have only been teased.
In honor of the spirit of E3, I have chosen 10 games that made the biggest
impact and one Game of the Show. These are all titles that made me excited for
the months and years to come. Without further ado, here are The Impact Factor’s
E3 2016 games with the biggest impact and Game of the Show!
Absolver
(by Sloclap)
Revealed just a few days before E3 2016, Absolver is a game that took me
completely by surprise. The game involves a smart combination of so many
disparate game elements that work in harmony. The team over at Sloclap have
adapted the methodical, thinking-man’s combat mechanics from Souls games and applied it to martial
arts. Absolver is an action RPG in which
planning your attacks, against AI or human alike, involves a deliberate dance
of parries, feints, custom combos and more. On top of all that, Absolver features a card-based
customization system that gets me even more excited. This a game to keep your eye
on.
Bound
(by Plastic Demo)
I
was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to play Bound at
PlayStation Experience last year. This small game from Polish developer Plastic
Demo continues to impress. The fluidity of the ballerina’s movements set in
stark contrast (and surprising harmony) with the game’s colorful polygonal
world is fantastic. It is abundantly clear from the moment you first lay eyes
on Bound that the developers have a unique vision for the game.
Thankfully I won’t have to wait much longer to try the game for myself as it
launches on PS4 August 2nd.
Detroit: Become Human
(by Quantic Dream)
Quantic
Dream and David Cage continue to create innovative gaming experiences you
cannot find anywhere else. I absolutely adored Heavy Rain and unlike
most others, I quite enjoyed my time with Beyond: Two Souls too. Detroit:
Become Human appears to be a return to form for Cage and team, however, as
its E3 trailer was one of the best at the show. Detroit: Become Human
looks to feature those same nerve-wracking split second decisions that can
indelibly alter the story you experience while playing. Set in a real city and
dealing with fascinating philosophical questions like “what makes someone
human,” Detroit: Become Human is a game I cannot wait to get my hands
on.
Dishonored 2
(by Arkane Studios)
Dishonored 2
is not a game I expected to impress me. I’ve never played the first game and I
cannot say that I’m the biggest fan of stealth. But here we are, and here Dishonored
2 is as one of my top ten games from the show. Arkane Studios looks to be
taking everything that people liked from the first game and improving upon it
in every way. The strategic use of powers, the fluidity of movement, the interruptible
narrative scenes, and the list goes on. Dishonored 2’s showing was so
good, it got me anxious to boot up my PS3 to play the original Dishonored.
That’s pretty impressive.
Eagle Flight
(by Ubisoft)
Virtual
reality has me excited. I’m chomping at the bit to purchase my PlayStation VR
headset. VR is nothing without fantastic games at & around launch, and Eagle
Flight has risen to the top of what I’m excited to try out in my new tech.
Ubisoft has expanded upon the game’s first reveal meaningfully, building a
world that looks both fun to explore in tranquility and a blast to zip through
in competitive capture the flag-like matches. While not the most groundbreaking
VR game, every time I saw Eagle Flight demoed I got a big smile on my
face. It just looks like so much fun.
God of War
(by Sony Santa Monica Studio)
Wow.
Just wow. It’s hard to (concisely) put into words what was shown on Sony’s E3
stage. God of War is a franchise I’ve always enjoyed, but never really
felt any closeness to. Kratos is a jerk, and the gameplay wasn’t much more than
gorey, fast, arcade fun. The reboot that Sony showed off, however, looks
tonally (nearly totally) different. The relationship between Kratos and his
son, the Norse setting, the more deliberate combat, the open-zones with
exploration, and the serious The Last of Us vibes all told me this new God
of War is something we’ve never seen before from Santa Monica Studios. I
cannot wait to learn more. I cannot believe I’m this excited for a God of
War game.
Horizon Zero Dawn
(by Guerrilla Games)
Horizon Zero Dawn
was my E3
2015 Game of the Show. E3 2016 further solidified my choice. Guerrilla
continues to impress with its new gameplay snapshot while simultaneously
bumming me out that I will have to wait until 2017 to finally play this great
looking open world action RPG. The world is beautiful. The relationship Aloy
has with the robotic dinosaur-like creatures is fascinating. It’s clear for the
first time that we’ll be taken on an epic journey to uncover the mysteries of this
far future Earth. Horizon Zero Dawn looks to be the next big thing, you
can quote me on that. The only reason Horizon Zero Dawn did not win The
Impact Factor’s Game of the Show for 2016 is because it won last year, thus
making it ineligible. Horizon Zero Dawn is a game tailor made for me and
I’m thrilled to finally know a bit more.
Pyre
(by Supergiant Games)
Supergiant
Games is making its weirdest and most ambitious game yet with Pyre.
First revealed at a recent PAX, Pyre is a beautiful synthesis of RPG
systems with fluid and strategic combat, a cast of colorful characters, and
Supergiant’s signature aesthetic. Bastion and Transistor are both
spectacular, and I am sure Pyre will be no different. I’m excited to see
how Supergiant once again creates a spectacular world as I journey through
purgatory with my group of exiles.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
(by Nintendo)
Saying
that Nintendo has had a rough past few years would be an understatement. The
Wii U has severely underperformed, Nintendo has lost all third-party support,
and even their console exclusives haven’t seemed to drum up a lot of hype. The
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild could be the turning point in their
fate, however. What a gorgeous, impressive experience Nintendo showed off. For
the first time in a long time, Breath of the Wild reimagines what a Zelda
game can be. The game is open world, with resource gathering, crafting,
side-quests, jumping, climbing, subtle narrative, and a story you can finish
without even completing all quests. On top of that, Breath of the Wild
repurposes aesthetic elements from other games I love, like Wind Waker
and Shadow of the Colossus, delivering a Zelda game I would have
never expected. I’ll wait for the NX version, but oh man does Breath of the
Wild get me excited.
We Happy Few
(by Compulsion Games)
Who
would have thought a relatively unknown game would be the video game highlight
of Xbox’s E3 2016 media briefing? I sure didn’t. But We Happy Few stole
the show. The game was given time to breathe on stage, running the audience
through the game’s systems and its dystopian / Orwellian world. The
environmental storytelling and intriguing premise are just two of the many
reasons I got excited to play We Happy Few. If I take my happy pills,
will that mean I get to play sooner?
E3 2016 Game of the Show
Persona 5
(by Atlas, P Studio)
Persona 5
looks incredible. My excitement has been slowly building ever since finishing Persona
4 Golden, but E3 2016 made it rise to a fever pitch. Everything about Persona
5 demonstrates just how much love and skill has been poured into the game.
From UI to the world to characters to animations to the series-famous &
delightfully weird personas themselves, Persona 5 gives everyone a
reason to be excited. For the first time, your protagonist is not a good guy,
but a thief and miscreant. Your goal is not to save the world, but rather save
yourself and stop the evil desires of people by stealing from their hearts. Tokyo
is realized more gorgeously than I’ve ever seen before in a game. Despite not
being hands on at the show, I found myself scouring the web to watch off-screen
gameplay footage. And it still looked incredible! Persona 5 has been one
of my most anticipated games for months, and Atlas with P Studio have given me
no reason to doubt myself about it. Persona 5 will take Japan by storm
in September, but I’ll begrudgingly wait until February 14th 2017
when it releases in North America to deep dive into the game. Congrats Persona
5, you’re The Impact Factor’s E3 2016 Game of the Show!
And that’s it! What are the E3 2016 games you
all thought had the biggest impact? Or will have the biggest impact in the
months and years to come? Did I miss a game you thought was special? Please let
me know! Feel free to leave a comment below or tweet@alexsamocha
Friday, June 17, 2016
News & Views
6/11/16-6/17/16
E3 2016 has
come and gone! It’s been an insane week full of great video game news. E3 is
changing, but it still gets my blood pumping and fuels my excitement for the
upcoming year in video games. If you haven’t already, please check out my in-the-moment reactions video to
each and every press conference.
News &
Views collects the week’s best video game writing and puts it into one convenient
place. An unfortunate downside of E3 is the reduction in new op-ed/essay-styled
video game writing, but there’s still plenty of great stuff the made its way to
webpages this week. Check out the links below for stories about the evolution
of E3, developing a game while dealing with a debilitating heart condition, and
how game devs are dealing with an all out fan revolt.
And of
course please check out the brand new episode of The Impact Factor podcast that
was posted today! You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, or if you prefer other methods,
check out our SoundCloud. We’re on YouTube too!
The Impact Factor Ep. 59: E3 2016 aka Revelations aka Norman Fetus Podcast Welcome to the 59th episode of The Impact Factor! The Impact Factor is what happens when two scientists, and two best friends, get together to talk about video games. Hosts Alex Samocha [biomedical scientist] and Charles Fliss [social scientist] sit down every week to discuss the week in gaming! Listen in for the news, views, and games that made the biggest impact!
In this episode Alex and Fliss talk aboutthe biggest E3 2016 news: Xbox One Project Scorpio, We Happy Few, For Honor, Eagle Flight, Tekken 7, Prey, God of War, Days Gone, Detroit: Become Human, VR, Horizon Zero Dawn, Persona 5, Crash Bandicoot and much more! E3 2016 Predictions Contest Scoreboard
You Kill My Brother by Go! Go! Go! Micro Invasion, East Jakarta Chiptunes Compilations. Freemusic Archive. (Attribution Noncommercial Share-Alike License) Transitions: News & Views and Perspectives transitions from victorcenusa, Freesound.org (Creative Commons 0 License) Experimental Methods transition from Sentuniman, Freesound.org (Attribution Noncommercial License)
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
E3 2016: Press Conference Reactions!
Video Article E3 2016 is finally upon us! As many of you know, each and every year I devote myself to following the biggest game announcements, demos and more. As always, I watched the press conferences with a keen eye. Check out my video below for off the cuff reactions to all of E3 2016's press briefings: EA, Bethesda, Xbox, PC Gaming, Ubisoft and Sony. In the video I discuss what was shown, how strong the lineup of games was, and the central message for each. Who did the best this year? What were some of the most exciting moments? You can find all of that out and more by watching below. Stay tuned to TIF for plenty more E3 2016 content!
Friday, May 27, 2016
The Impact Factor Ep. 56: Xbox Teraflopped Podcast Welcome to the 56th episode of The Impact Factor! The Impact Factor is what happens when two scientists, and two best friends, get together to talk about video games. Hosts Alex Samocha [biomedical scientist] and Charles Fliss [social scientist] sit down every week to discuss the week in gaming! Listen in for the news, views, and games that made the biggest impact!
YouTube page For articles and reviews from Alex, check out: www.theimpactfactor.blogspot.com For a blog about Japan, pop culture & more from Fliss, check out:
www.flissofthenorthstar.blogspot.com
Follow Alex @alexsamocha on Twitter. twitch.tv/megalodonphd Follow Fliss @thecfliss on Twitter. twitch.tv/flissofthenorthstar Intro song:
You Kill My Brother by Go! Go! Go! Micro Invasion, East Jakarta Chiptunes Compilations. Freemusic Archive. (Attribution Noncommercial Share-Alike License) Transitions: News & Views and Perspectives transitions from victorcenusa, Freesound.org (Creative Commons 0 License) Experimental Methods transition from Sentuniman, Freesound.org (Attribution Noncommercial License)
Friday, February 5, 2016
The Impact Factor Ep. 40: Not In A Psychopath Way Podcast Welcome to the 40th episode of The Impact Factor! The Impact Factor is what happens when two scientists, and two best friends, get together to talk about video games. Hosts Alex Samocha [biomedical scientist] and Charles Fliss [social scientist] sit down every week to discuss the week in gaming! Listen in for the news, views, and games that made the biggest impact!
In this episode Alex and Fliss talk about Lawbreakers, ESPN, PS4 & XOne sales, E3, Bethesda, DOOM, DICE, Hearthstone MEGA news, eSports, The Order: 1886, Fat Princess Adventures, and much more! Brian Kibler's Hearthstone Standard Format Thoughts
Follow Alex @alexsamocha on Twitter. twitch.tv/megalodonphd Follow Fliss @thecfliss on Twitter. twitch.tv/flissofthenorthstar Intro song:
You Kill My Brother by Go! Go! Go! Micro Invasion, East Jakarta Chiptunes Compilations. Freemusic Archive. (Attribution Noncommercial Share-Alike License) freemusicarchive.org/music/Indonesi…s_Compilation/ Transitions: News & Views and Perspectives transitions from victorcenusa, Freesound.org (Creative Commons 0 License) freesound.org/people/victorcenusa/sounds/148785/ freesound.org/people/victorcenusa/sounds/148784/ Experimental Methods transition from Sentuniman, Freesound.org (Attribution Noncommercial License) freesound.org/people/Setuniman/sounds/143994/
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Nuclear Bomb: The Fallout Effect
Article
Abstract: Fallout 4 was one of the year’s most anticipated games before it
was even officially announced. The game profoundly commanded the narrative of
the industry: fans and critics alike. Fallout
is part of a small, elite group of IPs that are able to elicit a reaction
so strong it defines the present and future of gaming. But why Fallout? What made these IPs so
impactful? I argue it comes down to four things: peerlessness, developer trust,
chronology, and nostalgia.
Not many
games are the biggest release of the year before they’re even officially
announced. In fact, the number of titles could probably be counted on one hand.
The thought of one of these games gets critics giddy, YouTubers shouting from
the mountaintops, and fans foaming at the mouth. It’s a strange and fascinating
phenomenon of the video game industry. A select few titles hit like a nuclear
bomb. Only a few IPs can elicit such an effect. 2015 saw the release of one of
these infamous titles: Fallout 4.
Fallout 4 is a game everyone saw coming.
Bethesda Softworks had been quiet for quite some time following the release of
their previous title, Skyrim.
Speculation, and excitement, had been running rampant in the months (even
years) leading up to the game’s official teaser. You had forums claiming they
found websites about the game, alleged former Bethesda employees ‘leaking’
information, and fake screenshot after fake screenshot. So it should come as no
surprise that Fallout 4 was a hit
before anything was even shown. The moment that the “Please Stand By” site was
posted, everyone already knew what
his or her most anticipated game of the year was. No contest.
'Please Stand By': Fallout is going to be foremost in your mind
from June through the end of the year.
This
excitement dominated the narrative of the industry’s biggest event: the
Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). It was no small feat. In my several years
of follow E3 coverage, the ‘biggest’ game is almost always some surprise
announcement. Like Watch Dogs or The Division from E3’s past. Or if we
took at look at this year’s E3, a game like the Final Fantasy 7 Remake or Horizon
Zero Dawn. But that was not the case this year. Fallout 4 dominated. Fallout
4 released their first trailer two weeks before the show. It showed fans
exactly what they wanted to see: the game was more of the Fallout they know and love. By the time E3 2015 got rolling, Fallout 4 was (mostly) a known entity. The
game was shown off in a substantial way at Bethesda’s Sunday night press conference.
The on-stage demo showcased improvements to the base game systems, new gameplay
modes, improved graphical fidelity, and the semi-unexpected confirmation that Fallout 4 would release this fall. When
it came time to give conference awards, Fallout
4 cleaned up shop. In spite of not announcing the game at the event, and
showing what everyone pretty much expected, Fallout
4 ignited an excitement that only a precious few IPs can muster.
E3's game of the show could have easily been Horizon or The Last Guardian or FF7 Remake. But for most, it was Fallout 4.
The Fallout effect continued well into the
Fall as we neared the game’s November 10th release. New releases
were big, but none of them were Fallout. You found this everywhere.
Critics would say how much they loved playing Metal Gear Solid V or Until
Dawn, but in the very next breath mention how they’re still eagerly
awaiting Fallout. Some of the fall’s
biggest releases have been swallowed whole by the excitement surrounding Fallout. Despite great review scores for
several of this year’s marquee titles, all had remarkably short news cycles
following (and even leading up to) their release. Halo 5, despite being the first new Halo game in 3 years, had excitement that lasted about a week or
two. Treyarch’s sequel to one of the most beloved Call of Duty games, Black Ops
3, had little to no time in the spotlight. Rise of the Tomb Raider struggled to get even let fans know the
game had shipped. And that’s all because of Fallout
4. 2015 has been one of the best
years in gaming in recent memory, and even still, many of the great games that
came out can’t escape the power of Fallout.
The power of a game that shipped 12 million units in one day. A game that sold nearly
2
milliondigital copies in three
days.
It's competition may be as strong as a Deathclaw, but Fallout 4 has power armor
and a mini gun. It's opponents didn't stand a chance.
No matter
how I think about it, the hype for games like Fallout 4 is a strange phenomenon. As I alluded to in the opening
of the article, only a few handful of IPs are able to command this kind of all
encompassing attention. Some would argue the franchises that have this impact
are subjective. I can agree to a certain extent. I’d argue, however, that there
are a precious few IPs that are objectively ‘nuclear bombs.’ Namely: Fallout, Grand Theft Auto, and The
Legend of Zelda. Small spin-offs aside, each new entry into these three
franchises drums up a fervor that’s unmatched in the industry. The create a
kind of excitement that fuels massive surges to console purchases, break sales
records, or are the largest entertainment release of the year. But why these
three? It’s a question that I couldn’t get out of my head in the weeks leading
up to Fallout 4’s release. Why does a
new GTA or Zelda or Fallout dominate
so much of the games conversation? Why are the fans of these franchises so
passionate, so vocal, and so large in number? Why couldn’t I stop myself from
feeding into this hype cycle?
Mini nuke? Nah. Just Fallout 4 hitting stores.
After much
reflection, I came up with four reasons why I think Fallout, and it’s group of elite peers, are ‘nuclear bombs.’ I’ll
touch on each briefly.
Peerlessness
Want to
know the number one reason why I was (and am) so excited for Fallout 4? Because no other game I’ve played
can provide me with the same kind of experience. Many other games have tried,
but none have been able to create as compelling a setting, as content dense a
map, and as rich an open world as Bethesda RPG’s. Fallout has no competition for the type of experience it provides
to you. The skill with which the team at Bethesda puts their games together is
incredible. They are able to create worlds that you want to get lost in. Every
piece of content in their immense games feels meaningful. The world is filled
with secrets both obvious and obscure, both exciting and tragic. Fallout allows you to role-play to the
fullest extent. You have full control of all character customization, skills,
stats, morality, weapon preferences, armor, and many more.
I have
mixed feelings about open world games, generally. So many open worlds are
bland, lifeless. Exploring and playing them often feels like an excise in
tedium. One of my chief complaints about ‘bad’ open world games is locomotion:
how fun it is to get from point A to B is paramount. That’s because the space
between A and B is usually devoid of interest. Fallout 4, and Bethesda RPG’s generally, make every single square
inch of their world worth spending time in. You’ll find hidden stories, great
loot, new allies, and more. No other open world game, even some of the best (The Witcher 3 or Infamous) can replicate this feeling. Every aspect of Fallout synergizes to create an
unmatched experience.
Many have tried, but there's nothing quite like Fallout.
Developer Trust
The fervor
for Fallout 4 began as early as it
did because the game’s developer, Bethesda Softworks, has a long and (mostly)
spotless history of great games. Developer trust is a significant part of why Fallout is part of such an elite group
of franchises in the gaming industry. To put it simply: you know exactly what
to expect when you boot up your copy of Fallout
4. You can trust the game will be massive, content rich, gripping. Most
importantly, you know that it will match or exceed the quality of previous
entries. Bethesda hasn’t released a bad Fallout.
Bethesda hasn’t pulled the wool over fan’s eyes with a suboptimal game. Every
Bethesda RPG, every modern Fallout game,
has that same stamp of quality. This is where so many other IPs are unable to
achieve the notoriety that Fallout or
GTA or Zelda have been able to achieve. One bad game release, or even one
particularly egregious element in an otherwise great game, can sink the
franchise. As a quick example: Mass
Effect. Despite BioWare creating an extraordinary new series, missteps with
the third game’s ending and issues plaguing some of the studio’s other releases
resulted in the erosion of trust. Though excitement is still high for Mass Effect Andromeda, it hasn’t and
won’t reach the same levels as Fallout 4.
The developer trust isn’t there. I felt justified in my excitement for Fallout 4 because I had confidence it
would achieve the same level of excellence as Fallout 3 or Skyrim. And,
in my 15 or so hours that I’ve been able to play so far, I can confidently say
that my assumption was right. Bethesda doesn’t release bad games.
You see this logo? You can be confident in knowing that the experience will meet expectations.
Chronology
Want to
play a new Fallout game? A new GTA or Zelda? You’re going to have to wait. But in the case of these IPs,
that’s a very good thing. There are many games that, in my opinion, are as good
or better than Fallout games. There
isn’t a Fallout title in my top ten
games of all time. I can say without exaggeration, however, that Fallout 4 was my most anticipated game
of the year ever since it was announced. It had been so long since I’ve played Fallout. It’s been seven years since the last game in the series. Fallout 3 released when I was a freshman in college; Fallout 4 released during my fourth year
in graduate school. That’s a long time. A lot has happened. It’s given me (and
others) the time and space needed to gain perspective, distance myself from my
time with the previous game, and fuel my hunger for more of the same. Just like
developer trust, an ideal chronology is another element that many other IPs
fail at achieving. Despite the wide-spread critical acclaim and fan excitement
for Assassin’s Creed 2, the yearly
releases of sequels has driven excitement into the dirt. People still play and
enjoy Assassin’s Creed, sure, but
it’s hard to argue that people are that excited
to get their hands on the latest version. Bethesda, Rockstar and Nintendo all
take their time with new mainline entries to Fallout, GTA and Zelda respectively. Distance makes the
heart grow fonder. And in games, time is distance.
New Fallout games are few and far between. Perhaps the rest are still locked
up in the Vault.
Nostalgia
Nostalgia’s
role in building these megaliths of the gaming industry is a complicated one.
Certainly a much larger subject than can be covered in one short paragraph
here. Though, it matters, and I wanted to mention it briefly. Nostalgia acts as
a combination of peerlessness, developer trust and chronology. The
groundbreaking GTA3, A Link to the Past and / or Ocarina of Time were formative
experiences for so many gamers. Playing a new entry in these franchises calls
back to the time you spent with previous entries—a time that, for so many,
defined who you were or how you thought as a gamer. Fallout is interesting when considering nostalgia. Fallout and Fallout 2 were huge, certainly, but don’t command the same sort of
import as early GTA or Zelda titles. But Fallout 3 was so profoundly impactful it’s created its own type of
nostalgia. Fallout 3 created a new
era of fans talking about how fantastic the game was, how much it did well and
how it was an experience unlike any other. That’s created a ravenous, nostalgic
void for Fallout 4’s release. People
are excited either because they played Fallout
3 and thought it was great or, for many others, because they heard how great Fallout 3 was and want to finally enjoy the franchise for
themselves. Fallout 3 was that
flashpoint—the game itself didn’t sell well at launch, but gained momentum over
time. Regardless, a culture of longing for previous entries is essential in
forming the kind of craze I’m writing about it. Nostalgia is a powerful
motivator.
I feel a twinge of 'nostalgia' for Diamond City already. Fallout makes a deep connection
with the player almost immediately.
_____________________________
What do you
think? What are the reasons you think franchises like Fallout and Grand Theft Auto and
The Legend of Zelda make such an
enormous impact on the industry? What other IPs do you think are peerless, are
emblematic of developer trust, have a compelling release chronology and make
you nostalgic? I’d love to know. In the meantime, I think it’s time to get back
to playing Fallout 4.
