Electronic Gaming and the Historian
By Historian Brewer
I've worked in the electronic gaming industry for almost two years now, and I'm finding it interesting how these games that I work on, or play in order to... um... keep up with the rest of the industry, (yeah, that's it) can actually relate to my life as a S-P-O-N-G-E Historian.
I'm afraid you're going to have to suffer through a bit of a forward before we get to the games. You see, there's a lot of controversy over the violence presented in the products my industry provides. Many... let's call them "Concerned Parental Groups" seem to be of the opinion that these games I'm going to talk about below will train you in the actual use of dangerous ordnance.
And I have to say that the first time I read that theory, I thought the "Concerned Parental Group" in question was full of the preverbal IT. Not since "Crystal Pepsi" had I heard such a ridiculous idea.
Clicking a mouse is not the same as pulling a trigger.
During the botched operation in Merced, Sernus asked me what conventional weaponry I would like to be armed with. I didn't think I should be armed with any conventional weaponry, so to be smarmy I told him that when I play Counterstrike I like to go with an MP5 semi-automatic and a Beretta, but when Fallout Tactics was running on my system I tended to favor the AK47 with a Mauser as backup. Imagine my surprise when he hands me a real live MP5.
I can now say from experience that your average SMG has a whole hell of a lot more kick back then ANY model of optic mouse out there. Yes kids, Mad Catz is ripping you off with their dual shock controller.
I remember thinking of those Concerned Parental Groups and muttering, "What a load of hooey!" as I desperately tried to keep the spray from listing up and off to the side because of the kick. It's also a damn site more difficult to reload... Either I wasn't pointing the gun far enough away from the screen... Or I've spent too much money playing the "House of the Dead" series at my local arcade.
But then... There was this moment... when the Dhole had busted through the front wall of the house... And it opened it's HUGE mouth... And began to take a deep breath, trying to suck us all in...
It reminded me of this one part of Parasite Eve II where I'd gotten stuck trying to kill this big garbage monster that was doing something similar. It's odd, under extreme duress, when you think you're about to die, how the mind gloms onto the simplest of things.
Long story short (too late) I remembered the tactic I had come up with to keep the thing from eating my character while I directed her to lob grenades into its mouth. Now granted, the tactic didn't work QUITE as well for me because, frankly, I'm not in as nearly as good a shape as Aya Brea (see Outdoor Games and the Historian) but it still bought me time while Frank got the grenades from the van.
So hey, maybe these Concerned Parental Groups are on to something...
Now if these Parental Groups are right, and playing these games DO provide training in all things violent and destructive, then that means that WE as S-P-O-N-G-E Historians need to play more games!
So lets take a look at a few.
SURVIVAL HORROR
"Alone in the Dark" series -
Notes: Four installments in the Series. Released in 1993, 1994, 1997, and 2001. Not to be confused with the movie starring Jack Palance or the children's book series of the same name.
Developed by: Infogrames
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Teaches: Critical thinking/problem solving, Combat with un/supernatural entities, "The right tool for the right job".
Thoughts:
Some people say that the Resident Evil series (see below) was the first of what is called the "Survival Horror" genre. In fact, Resident Evil merely coined the phrase and gave a name to the genre whose daddy is "Alone in the Dark". First released in 1993 and inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, "AitD" combined action (combat) and adventure (story development and puzzle solving) together in a then cutting edge graphics environment of fully 3D characters against beautiful prerendered backgrounds. All of the games center around Edward Carnby, a detective who is "destined to live a life tiptoeing around creepy shacks with only a 9mm and an industrial-strength flashlight to protect him".
"Resident Evil" series:
Notes: Four installments in the series currently. Released in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000.
Developed by: Capcom
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Teaches: Critical thinking/problem solving, Combat, Alertness, Resource Management, and "I think I'll check down that hall later."
Thoughts:
The first Resident Evil is not known to have the best voice acting in the history of console gaming... In fact... it's rather known for having some of the worst. But that didn't stop this Playstation game from scaring the beejeesus out of us and making the biggest, burliest guy I know scream like Chris Tucker in 5th Element. This whole series continues to hold up to the test of time and doesn't generally fail to deliver the heebeejeebees to all but the most jaded of horror fans. The games center around members of an elite division of the Raccoon City Police Department known as S.T.A.R.S. and a megacorp known as UMBRELLA. Resident Evil is the saga of science gone horribly wrong as Umbrella funded genetic experiments start turning nearly everybody except certain members of S.T.A.R.S. and their little sisters into flesh eating zombies and worse. The end result is hours upon hours of zombie shootin', statue pushin', herb pickin' fun!
"Parasite Eve" series:
Notes: Two installments in the Series. Released in 1998 and 2000.
Developed by: Squaresoft
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Teaches: Critical thinking/problem solving, Combat, Alertness, Resource Management, and "Killing things several hundred times bigger then you are".
Thoughts:
I could really tell you about the story of the Parasite Eve "milieu" but it would involve a science lesson about the nature of Mitochondria. I think I'll let "Baldric" at game-revolution.com tell you about it...
"For those of you who fell asleep in biology class, or were too busy looking at Tracy Zimmerman's legs, pay attention! Mitochondria were once independent one-celled organisms. At some point in the very distant past, they teamed up with another type of big lazy one-celled critters. The mitochondria were really good at making energy, (by changing ATP into ADP... you don't care) so in their new partnership they provided most of the energy, while the larger cell provided protection and food for both. This new combo proved unstoppable, and these new cell-teams took over the planet. Over tens of thousands of years, these dual-cells evolved into a single cell containing symbiotic mitochondria. Got it? In the psuedo-scientific plot of Parasite Eve, the mitochondria are sick of this setup. Why should they have to provide all the energy for the lazy oppressor cells? Mitochondria rights! We shall overcome! (ahem.. sorry). They have been secretly evolving for years, waiting for their chance to take over. "
Parasite Eve is a story about the enemy within, only in this case it's the enemy within your own body. Or rather the cells that make up your body, or more specifically, your mitochondria. Aya Brea, the main character, has been given special powers by her mitochondria instead of being made to spontaneously combust like everybody else who's cells have become self aware. This "Parasite Energy" can be used to heal, for protection, or to make things 'splode. The main antagonist, is a "woman" called Eve who's sort of like the Borg Queen of mitochondria... Trust me, this plays out much more interesting then it sounds.
FIRST PERSON SHOOTERS (FPS)
Counterstrike:
Notes: Actually a "mod" (modification) for the FPS "Half-Life" developed by Valve. Retail version released by Serria in 2001.
Developed by: "Gooseman"
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Teaches: Group tactics, Alertness, and "finding a server not over run by 13 year old screwheads who can't spell without using numbers in their words".
Thoughts:
Multiplayer online FPS doesn't get any better (or realistic) then Counterstrike. Players are separated into two teams (Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists), the idea being that each team works together to achieve a goal or to stop the other team from achieving their goal. That's really all there is to it. And that, I think, is the secret to its popularity.
When you're on a good server everything pretty much rocks, but if you're just starting out with this game... See if you can find a server that's more or less private.
Jeff Green of Computer Gaming World put the online Counterstrike experience best in this article:
http://www.computergaming.com/Greenspeak/203.html
And remember, there IS friendly fire.
"House of the Dead" series:
Notes: Two installments in the series, and one mod. Arcade series that has been ported to PC and console.
Developed by: Sega
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Teaches: Aim (and typing)
Thoughts:
Actually, this isn't an "FPS"... This is more like just an "S", though the view is in first person and you do shoot... Oh boy do you shoot.
The game moves the scene along for you so all you have to do is kill lots and lots of zombies. That's pretty much it. Cheesy story line, dorky voice actors, disgustingly cool-looking zombies, and lots and lots of shooting.
The first game was ported to the Sega Saturn with poor results graphically, but House of the Dead 2 on the Dreamcast is exactly like playing it at an arcade (as long as you have a gun peripheral for your Dreamcast).
What's the story you ask?
Who cares??? Go kill some zombies!
There is also a mod of House of the Dead 2 which is called "Typing of the Dead". Instead of shooting the zombies with a light gun, boxes appear by each monster. You then type out the text in the box to kill the monster. If you want to increase your typing speed and accuracy while keeping the world safe from the zombie menace... This is the game for you. (http://www.game-revolution.com/download/pc/action/typing_of%20_the_dead.htm)
STRATEGY
Fallout Tactics - Brotherhood of Steel:
Notes: Released in 2001. Actually a "spin off" from the two part RPG series "Fallout".
Developed by: MicroForte and 14 Degrees East
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Teaches: Tactics (duh) against superior numbers, resource management, "Cows and landmines don't mix."
Thoughts:
The "Fallout" milieu is a post-apocalyptic world where various groups of survivors struggle to . . . Well, survive. In Fallout Tactics you are a squad leader for the Brotherhood of Steel, a para-military group that's doing it's best to "liberate" the surrounding countryside from ignorance, fear, and bandits.
I really enjoyed Fallout Tactics both as a single and multiplayer experience. It's an interesting world, the game is quite customizable, and it's got a great sense of humor going for it. And then there's all the different kinds of equipment... Let's just say that playing this game and getting familiar will all the equipment you find in it made me a better Counterstrike player.
ANYWAY
Well, that's all I have time for this go around. I'm sure I'll think up at least a dozen more in the morning.
So go play games! Be more violent! (Towards malevolent supernatural entities anyway) And make sure you've got a comfy chair!
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