ON THE GO: The Merits and Detriments of Mobile Gaming

   Ever since the Microvision was released in 1979,  video game developers have been trying to find a way to let customers take their games anywhere they want. Sadly, most handheld consoles were bulky, inefficient and difficult to handle. 

   However, when the iPhone was released in 2007, a reinvigoration of what is known as “mobile gaming” came to be. Inspired developers soon realize the true power of intuitive gaming in the palm of a hand. Let’s take a quick look at how games have changed and evolved on the mobile platform, as well as the Pros and Cons of mobile development 

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   Games for the iPhone and other smart devices have been around almost as long as the devices themselves. The first handful of games that were originally released, such as Angry Birds, were graphically and mechanically simple games that made use of the touch-sensetive screen and other tools found in a smartphone. Adding the camera into the mix only maximized the chances for gameplay innovation, and developers took this to heart when creating these fascinating interactive apps. For instance, the multiplayer experience Ingress used GPS tracking to bring the game to the real world, elevating multiplayer gaming by allowing players to collaborate in real life and focus on real-world landmarks.

In Ingress, players choose a faction and fight to obtain digital control over real-world landmarks. This requires the player take their device with them, necessitating a mobile format (Image courtesy of activewirehead.com)

 Local multiplayer is easier on mobile as well, what with Bluetooth and WiFi connections being expedient and easily used. Call of Duty: Zombies was an app that offered the Zombie Mode from previous titles to be accessible to all with a smartphone, while also allowing for others to join in through local connections. Even simple console/PC games like Rayman and Minecraft were able to be converted into apps, allowing fans to take their favorite titles wherever they went. 

   However, while most of these games were functional and somewhat cathartic, they were more casual in their execution and failed to offer anything by way of real story or narrative. Controls had to be displayed on-screen, obstructing the content with interfaces and other info. The screen itself is smaller than that of a TV or computer, so detail and visibility is reduced dramatically. Heavy screen and processor use devoured battery life, making gaming sessions short and less than fulfilling. All in all, early mobile gaming seemed somewhat shallow: Short, snack experiences with little to no impact in story or mechanics.

   Yet, what with recent devices now clocking in with 1-2 gigabytes of RAM, games have a little more room to grow and evolve with better graphics and mechanics. Moore’s Law has blessed smartphones with smaller and more powerful processors, and battery life is longer than ever before. This allows for bigger and more complex game files to be processed, including better graphics and environments. Many apps even support gaming peripheral for those that wish for a dedicated controller. 

A chart representing the increase of processor power of Apple's iPhone devices. (Image courtesy of Apple) 

   There’s no doubt that mobile gaming will only improve as the years go by. Already we have luminaries like The Room and Infinity Blade, games that boast console-grade graphics despite growing up on mobile platforms. Even conversions from console/PC to mobile is more sophisticated, allowing complex games like Transistor and Five Nights at Freddy’s to enter the app store. 

With stunning graphics and fluid animation, Infinity Blade boasts a console appearance while remaining in the pal of the player's hand (Image courtesy of videogamer.net)

   Mobile gaming also allows for some interesting artistic choices to be made in development. Device 6, a heavily text-based puzzle game, makes use of the touch and sound mechanics to manipulate puzzles and provide more ways to experience the rich story. Thomas Was Alone offered an engrossing story while remaining simple enough for new players to enjoy, essentially being a sliding-tile puzzle with an excellent narrative. 

Device 6 contained literary pages of text to offer the story, while requiring the player to scan the "environment" for clues to progress the story. One such puzzle is pictured above. (Image courtesy of simgo.com)

   With technology constantly marching towards improvement, mobile gaming will only get more intuitive and enjoyable. Perhaps in the future we should stop looking for innovations in labs and focus instead on what’s in our own pockets. 

   Have your own opinions on mobile gaming? Why not continue the discussion in the comments below, or at our Twitter @GamerGweek! 

   Written by Spence

Be A Pro Mode Update

So turns out the playing goalie on NHL16 due to all their more accurate movements, it complicates it and makes it somewhat harder. It is still a lot of fun tho. My team's record so far this season sits comfortably over .500 (14-6-4), which is good.
One of my favorite and most enjoyable feature of this game is the fighting, who doesn't love to see two goalies going at it on Center Ice. Everybody stops to watch, no matter what you were doing you are now about to experience one of the most entertaining and rare moments ever.

This is my character just feeding Jake Allen (St. Louis Blues goalie) some dinner. Even though this is one of the most fun features, you can't be fighting every game... Sure you can do it, but it affects your overall "grade". The coaches basically grade you every game in three different main categories, based on your grade you will either get another start or sit out for a couple games, which is ok. It's never the end of the world when that happens! They have a really "funny" way to let you know when you are sitting out...

It's a bad feeling, but unlike the real world you can just SIM right past it and get back to your net! 

One of the classic movements as a goalie is when you flash the leather and make an unreal windmill glove save. This game has no problem in allowing you to make those kind of saves. 

Come back next week to read about how I overcame my slump and managed to stay in the big leagues. 

Sloth King

Updated Gear Customizer

Hey guys, here is your long awaited gear update. In NHL16 you can create your own player wether it is a skater or a goalie. With this option it opens the door to a whole new world, the equipment world. I am going to be focusing my articles in goalie equipments, due to the fact that I am a goalie as well.

You can now use the most recent lines of every brand as well. They have released the CCM Premier line and it is out of this world amazing. The SubZero 3's from Brian's are also out there and they are a hell of a lot of fun to mess around with. In order to give my Be a Pro player a new look I spent over 3 hours just in the customizer messing around with all the different color options and different lines and brands. This were my two top options for my Chicago Blackhawks Color scheme. (You have to have matching colors... you just have to).

SubZero 3's

In this case it took me a while and I decided to do something no goalie has ever done for Chicago, to add yellow details. Even tho their primary colors are Red/White, they have some yellow in the feather and the face of their logo so I decided to try it out. However it wasn't my favorite look so I decided to go and keep the one below, the CCM Premiers. 

CCM Premiers

I decided to keep this one for now. To finish off with this post I am going to show you guys my actual equipment, the one I am using this season. My teams colors are similar to the Edmonton Oilers. 

I'm using the Bauer NXG with Vintage Sock Graphic and the CCM 760 stick. I created a whole new goalie to show this gear, without the Chicago Blackhawks jersey. That's why his overall statistics are so low, they haven't been tampered with yet. 

I will be showing off some of my new sets next time so make sure you come back to check them out!

Also, if any of my readers have any favorite team they'd like to see me do please comment below and I will make sure I get a couple sets done for you!

Sloth King

Maintaining Gaming Life

Hello my lovelies, BookLife here and giving you the latest summary of some of the games that I updated you on last time. 
Fairy Tales is an app where you are a wizard in training and are zapped into another world where you have to make someone happy by using magic.  Easier said then done when some people don't want your magic but want you.  Through the final test of your training, or the prologue, you get to pick a door based on the Prince charming that you want to be with in the end.  There's Seanwhite (male Snow White) a man who doesn't want the crown for his own gain and doesn't want to let you go even if he attracts all of women gender to fall in love with him. 
Cindo (male Cinderella) basic run of the story his mom dies after marrying his stepfather and two sons who make him their servant.  He is desperate to marry rich and powerful to get his life back even if it means to have two different personalities, kind and sweet versus proud, mean, sadist.  But after meeting you will he be willing to change?
Ocean (male Ariel) wants to know what its like to live on land like other mortals.  After almost being beached, you agree to help him gain his wish.  But there are evil forces working against you.  Can you help change his fate?  Or will he be lost to the witch forever?
Thumbelina (male Thumbelina, although there is no difference in their names so ya)  a thumb size man born in a flower has the power to give off a pheromone to entice women to his whim.  But even with all these women flocking to him like a chocolate shop, he doesn't seem to know what true love is.  Your different, even after you become shrunk down to his size you still don't fall for his sweet smelling charm.  You become his new interest, but can you help him find true love?
Gretel (male from Hansel and Gretel)  a novice in art, as is his brother Hansel, and an admirer of his father.  After you find him lost in a forest, he becomes embarrassed because you are so beautiful.  Shy but reliable, can you get him home safety?
So far I have chosen Seanwhite, or Sean, as my prince charming and he is such a cutie.  Although it is annoying how much of a womanizer he is, he is always true to you.

Story News

Hey guys, dolls, and readers BookLife here just giving you an update on the new romantic sims and their spell binding stories.  So far I have downloaded five ninja stories (NinjaLove, Destiny Ninja, Destined to Love, Ninja Assassin, and Mononoke) six Once Upon a Time or princess stories with dashing princes (Niflheim, My Sweet Prince, Fairy Tales, Midnight Cinderelle, Once Upon a Fairy Love Tale, and Wizardess), one love triange story (Love Tangle), and one vampire story (Blood Roses).  There was another vampire romance sim but it was a BoyXBoy, let me know if you would like me to download it anyway just to see what its like.   So far my favorite has been the Niflhem and NinjaLove along with Cinderella, the characters are dashing and the art is beautiful You can look toward my earler post about Ninja Love but here are my descriptions about my other favorites so far.
In the beginning of Neflheim you are awakened from your deep sleep and don't know where you are, suddenly you realize that your sleeping in your own coffin and you've been dead for almost two hundred years!! Three gorgeous men come to wake you  up and take you to the king who wants to make you his bride.  Orlando, the kings right hand man, Philip, the romantic poet, and J.J., the scientist, there are also others that you can choose from.  The goal of the game like the others is to find happiness with your undead  prince. 
Cinderella is the story of you are a teacher in a village and are on a mission to get a special flower for your student that can only be found in the royal palace garden but your caught by the palace men and are then choosen to be the next princess and you have to choose your prince!  How scary! You find love the most unlikely placecs, for instance I'm finding love with my tutor Giles Christophe.
These are just a few of the summaries that are yet to come and for those of you who don't know these are FREE games that I am downloading on my phone.  Around the app is a red liner and in the bottom right is a white butterfly, if you download the white liner and red butterfly then you are paying for it but its alright if you want to. 
Also Neflheim just brought out a spin off for Valentines Day called Love Ya Mafia and Heart Collections Valentine Vibes. 
Here is a link were you can see some of the art for the games that I will be talking about.
https://www.google.com/search?q=ninjalove&biw=1708&bih=814&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiR36aui9rKAhUU2GMKHVdJCAkQ_AUIBygC&dpr=0.8#tbm=isch&q=shall+we+date+&imgrc=_

RETROSPECTIVE - Braid

   Video games, as I’m always eager to point out, are a form of art, and very few people have captured the spirit of this idea as well as Jonathan Blow. Blow is an independent developer with keen eye for nuanced story and complex, yet enjoyable game mechanics. His newest piece, titled “The Witness,” was released last week for the PlayStation 4 and Windows platform. This new title promises hours of peaceful exploration, elaborate yet intriguing puzzles, and pleasantly bright graphics for one to enjoy. 

A look at Blow's "The Witness," which contains some of the loveliest graphics and vistas that I've seen in a while, which beg to be explored. 

   For this article, however, I would like to offer a look back to Blow’s first title, Braid. Released in 2008, this small 2D platformer looked simple on the surface, but as the player plunges deeper into the story and gameplay a great deal of depth is revealed. Let’s take a look at what made this title truly great! 

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   First off, a brief description of how the game works. The story is about Tim, a pretty boy that has lost his princess and must go on a quest to recover her from an evil monster. If you think that sounded familiar, it’s probably because it’s an almost perfect description of a certain game Nintendo has been making for the past twenty years (There are even castles at the end of each stage, containing a character that states that he’s sorry, but “Your princess is in another castle." For crying out loud!) 

A reference to Mario, though that mushroom-addicted plumber could only dream of scenery this nice!

   However, this game is anything but derivative, which is evident by the way it plays its unique ideas skillfully. Honestly, the best way to describe a game such as this would be as a marriage of Mario & Doctor Who, or puzzle platforming combined with time manipulation mechanics. The Mario comparison becomes apparent from the outset, but the time manipulation is a bit more complex. In order to solve most puzzles in the game, the player is invited to hold down a set button to reverse time, which can be used to reverse mistakes and accidental deaths in manner reminiscent of Prince of Persia.
   This kind of easy-to-learn, hard-to-master gameplay mechanic mesh seamlessly with the rousing soundtrack and lovely graphics that make up the game’s bulk, offering a peaceful yet intelligent experience. However, despite how lovely the game looks and plays, I’d like to take a special moment to recognize the nuances of the story.

A quick glance at the graphic style. From this screenshot, we can also see examples of the enemies as well as the platform puzzles that the player is expected to overcome.

   Despite the slight annoyance that comes when narrative is shown in blocks rather than weaved into gameplay, there’s a depth and complexity that was hard to match within the game’s text boxes. As mentioned before, the initial scenario is as box standard as one can get: Love Interest is in trouble, rescue Love Interest. After reading through the provided text, however, the player will soon understand that Tim had been making poor choices with his life, causing his relationship with the Princess to crumble with every passing day. Without wishing to spoil the ending, (I heartily recommend this game, so I shan’t give all of the plot specifics) the previous events of the game begin to fall into place and form a desperate picture of who Tim really is, and how his mind works. You get to see how truly flawed he is as he struggles to comprehend his own wrongdoings and obsession with turning back the past. It made me take a look at how I view the world, and left me emotionally drained and satisfied by the time the credits began to roll.

   With all of the pieces slipping neatly into place, Braid is easily one of the best indie games in recent past for its innovative gameplay alone. With the story being the true icing on this contemplative cake, you’ll wish you could reverse time to play it again and again. 

   Want to discuss the merits of Braid, and what your own interpretation was of the main points? Feel free to continue the discussion in the comments below, or on Twitter @GamerGweek ! 

   Written by Spence

STORY MODE: How Video Games Can Tell a Unique Story

   Ever since Mario set off to save his princess, video games have offered something previously unheard of in popular culture: Interactive Storytelling, or a story that the audience has a direct impact on. This method has been handled a great many different ways, and I’d like to talk about a few in the following article.

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   With a great many different games slated to be released this year, each has something new to offer in terms of entertainment: Gameplay, artwork, music and story. In a great deal of these releases, I’d argue that the story elements of a game are one of the most important elements, with the obvious exception being the gameplay mechanics themselves. The story is what can redeem an ugly-looking or difficult-to-play game, while an absent or poorly thought out story can be the final nail in an otherwise functional game’s coffin. Granted, there are games that function perfectly without a story, such as Minecraft and Cut The Rope, but story-based games can offer a far more memorable experience, allowing for the introduction of new ideas. Let’s take a look at how games can enhance storytelling as a medium and what video games are able to do that is impossible for other media to achieved.

   First and foremost, a game’s story provides valuable context to the tasks players are expected to preform. For example, Valve’s “Portal 2” gave the player clear motivation through a simple storyline, (You’re trapped in a  facility with something trying to kill you, get out!) and then built the complexity from that point onwards, allowing the player to understand the situation and react in a manner that was natural. Conversely, “Mirror’s Edge” lacked a strong motivation behind what it expected the player to do, therefor failing to hold my interest. This ambiguity was what ruined an otherwise impressive game for me, when a little context would have gone a long way.

A shot from Portal 2, where the player is confronted by GLaDOS, the game's antagonist. Knowing what you've done to anger her and how powerful she really is makes this a tense scene indeed. (Image courtesy of mobygames.com)

   Games can also allow for a player’s choices influence the story itself. These choices can be small, such as what a character says to another, or they can have a major impact on the endgame itself. A good example of was a moment in “Bastion” where the player is given the choice to either reverse a major calamity, (and risk it happening all over again) or escape your ruined home to start anew. Should the player replay the game after they choose to reverse the calamity, the narrator will reference the previous playthrough, claiming that he thought he already told you pieces of important information. This thought that stories can remember what you’ve done is something never utilized before by traditional media. 

A shot from Bastion, showing the major choice to be found at the end of the game. Choosing either will impact how the game is played later, thereby showing how content can be changed by the player.

   Lastly, games offer a far more immersive experience than films can due to their interactive nature. While watching a horror film may induce feelings of foreboding and fear, preforming the actions yourself forces you to invest much more in the story and actions of the game, therefore deepening the physical and emotional impact a game may offer. In my opinion, a game like Undertale is a perfect example of interactive story that really draws the player in. The story involves a central concept, (You’ve fallen into a chasm, get home!) and builds around that as the player moves further. The player will understand each character’s motivations and hopes, making the ending simultaneously frightening, saddening and heart-warming as they feel for the characters. 

A shot from Undertale, where the player is forced to leave a character they have grown to love. Truly getting to know the character made this a heartbreaking scene for the player.

   Being a believer that games are art, I’ve often heard the argument of, “Why did it have to be a game? Couldn’t it have been a film or a novel?” My response will always be that, since the player is able to perform the actions needed to continue the story, the player will have far more investment in the consequences than if they had watched a single path unfold. Some stories, such as Undertale, just wouldn’t be the same if the audience was unable to make the really difficult choices that come later in the game. 
   This, I believe, is what makes games special. With their ability to tell stories unlike anything ever seen before, video games will always be important for what they have to say, as well as how they play. 

   If you want to discuss your favorite video game story, feel free to do so in the comments below, or at our Twitter, @GamerGweek!

   Written by Spence