Wednesday 30 January 2008

Challenge or fun?

I have Sega Rally for both the 360 and the PSP. Now, Sega Rally is a brilliant game, however having both brings something to my attention (as, by now you've probably guessed, a lot of things do).

The 360 version's main aim is to challenge you. The tracks are tough, the AI is brutal, and if you're not careful, a slip on a corner can cost you an entire race. And that one slip can cost you a perfect championship, because you can't restart on a race. You need a lot of points to open the next championship up. I have loads of points in each of the Premier Championships but still need more because I still haven't unlocked the Final. It means I'll need nigh-on perfect races to unlock it.

However, the PSP version doesn't bother so much with challenging you. It adds a restart. The AI is a bit less hard, and a bit more forgiving, too. In one night I got every Championship in the Premier Class, including the final, because the point requirements are a lot less stringent. As a result the game is a lot more fun, a lot more pick-up-and-play, because one mistake doesn't mean you have to start again from the beginning.

Does this mean challenge isn't fun? Of course not. People thrive on challenge. If a game was too easy it wouldn't be any fun. But there is a line. Once crossed, challenge starts to become frustrating.

But then there are still people who enjoy those games. Devil May Cry, Geometry Wars, Ninja Gaiden, Ghouls n' Ghosts, MegaMan, and Contra. All of these have huge followings simply because they're hard-as-nails tough. Frustrating tough. They give a great sense of satisfaction if you manage to get to the end because you are the ultimate gamer. And why shouldn't it?

Still, all of these games are shunned by the rest of gaming society because they just want to play games that are fun. They don't like spending several hours trying to get past one level. Indeed, I've spent many hours trying to get past level one on Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, and I still can't do it. So I don't try any more. Neither does everyone else. And then we get told we're no good at games because we don't have the time nor the patience to memorize patterns, and button combinations, and level designs.

Why can't companies do what SEGA did, and release two versions of the game, even on different consoles, one, to satisfy the crowd which thrives on challenge, and another to satisfy those of us which just want some fun?

Tuesday 29 January 2008

What is it about writing that you love?

I was trying to explain to my friend, the Git, today about how, if you have a story planned out from beginning to end, that most of the joy of writing is lost. The enjoyment of watching something blossom from something that you started is what writing is about. Or, at least, that's what I believe.

The Git has a story in his head which he's been planning for years now. He knows the characters inside out, he knows the big events, he knows the small events and he even knows the mundane. He knows exactly where his story starts, where it will travel and where it will finish.

I fail to see how writing that story would be anything but a chore.

The joy of writing is the same that I suppose you would get from watching your child grow up. You can start with an idea so small, a character so insignificant, and whilst you're writing it can take on a mind of it's own. The story can travel in directions that you had no idea that it would take. The main character can evolve in a way completely different than what you had anticipated. You might even not have the same main character all of the way through. And this is wonderful. You start to get excited about where your story is going next, start to try and predict how your characters will react to different events. It's like reading a good book, only it's a creation of yours, a heady feeling even for the most stoic.

This is nowhere more apparent than on NaNoWriMo. The forums heave with people who, given their task of writing a 50,000 word novel in a month are continually shocked by what their stories and characters do. I remember one, who was writing a romance novel. Her female lead had decided that instead of being with the male lead, she instead wanted to bed her female best friend. You don't get that in a pre-planned idea.

Unfortunately, I didn't reach 50,000 words. I couldn't keep the pace up for more than a week. But even in that short amount of time my story was surprising me. My lead was far more bolshy than I originally dreamed her up to be. She met who I intended to be her rival far earlier than I had expected or planned for. They had far more sexual tension than I had intended and he was far more sly than I had thought up.

It made for a wonderful beginning to a story, which otherwise would have probably been tedious and dull writing (and reading) if I had planned it out beginning to end.

What do you write for if not enjoyment?

And do tell me what it is about writing that you love.