"And you may find yourself, living in a shotgun shack"

Don't you love it, just bloody adore it, when you have a day off and you wake up naturally from a nightmare half an hour earlier than you would normally with an alarm on a workday?! Just fantastic isn't it not!?! HAHA

Hello, welcome fellow humans to my blog space, where I have returned to spell words, often incorrectly, and then string them together into somewhat coherent sentences in order to amuse/inform/confuse you all!

EXCELSIOR!

I am , as what many of you may like to refer to yourselves as, a Gamer. Well in the sense that I am someone whom likes to consume digital interactive media and arts, or games. I don't personally like the term myself but as there are not better substitutes it is what we must go with. I have played games since I were only a tiny and ignored tyke at the age of four years old. It all started with an Atari 2600 and slowly ballooned out from there. I was brought up by my mother exclusively, bullied by what had to be 99% of the local child based population for whatever reason could be invented.

We lived poor, my mother, who never had a job, often would blame me for her not having made it in life. "because you were born I didn't get to go to college and study or live my dreams". Over time she became lonely, equally bullied by neighbours and locals, bulling that I also felt overspill from, she also became bitter. That bitterness turned to heavy handedness and then physical or verbal abuse. My sister, seven years my junior, was fortunate enough to have actually missed out on this side of our mother. Due partly to being "wanted" from birth, another fact often presented to me, and because I was already there to take the brunt of her less pleasant moments.

By the time She hit 11 and I 18 our mother had passed away, never really reaching any of her life goals, driven mad by the life situation and the sickness that eventually claimed her.

I became my sisters guardian and raised her on no money for the next few years alone.

Through all this and much worse, on no money and with few friends, I continued to play video games. They were a lifeline and an obsession, something that were mine and tied deeply to my identity. We never honestly owned our consoles, at least not new. The Atari 2600 was borrowed from a friend. Our later bought N.E.S. from a catalogue (and probably never fully paid for), Snes, N64, Saturn. While I had these around in my house at times, we bought them second hand or traded other things for them. I have owned very few "new" things in my lifetime, certainly not until long after release or they were super cheaply available. Don't even get me started on pc gaming, I couldn't have even dared dream to own a pc at the time. let alone one good enough to actually play anything modern. As such I had to latch onto playing Sega Saturn Street Fighter Alpha 2 for hours on end in my room, alone.

I'll tell you, nothing sucks more than years playing a fighting game alone because you've no friends and realising everyone else actually had mate to play with and get good at a game against. Especially finding out by finally getting to play other fighting game fans and just being humiliated. Not that I wasn't used to humiliation by then.

None the less play these consoles and games I did. My last gift from my mother came when she traded a bundle of coupons and saved change for a Dreamcast at the local Woolworths. She didn't know she was sick at the time and would have passed away, at the tragically young age of 45, before Christmas rolled around and she could give it to me. I would love to say I have treasured that specific console until this day... but times were tough and there came a point where I had to sell much of what I owned just to get by.

As is the consistent in this depressing narrative, I found a way to continue playing games to some extent or another.

I could go on about the years of recovering after losing out on a secondary school education (I am entirely self taught at English writing. Hence this previous sentence!) The one failed relationship that turned into 3 years of abuse (received not given) and separation from my chance to bring up my own daughter (I wanted her and make sure she always knows when I can) and talk about a billion other small sob stories. But that's not the point of this blog.

The one through line has always been a love of video games, ALL video games, and a desire to share that love with others.

I didn't come to games media coverage until oddly late though. There had been one or two copies of nintendo based magazines in the early years, but not until my mid teens and odd pounds here and there that I could afford copies of CVG. Eventually moving onto EDGE magazine in late 1999 early 2000. I appreciated EDGE because it was unlike other magazines and any depictions of games on tv, it treated it's readers with some amount of respect. It was dense for a print publication and it didn't treat games solely as "jokey jokey fun fun, girls in tight tops, cartoon poops, Dominic Diamond saying the word pants!".

I've seen complaints from some in the games press in resent years that games coverage is all too po faced, but when you take into account the most predominant face of game on youtube is someone both obnoxious and tasteless, and as such our most forward facing representative of the medium available, I think maybe po faced is entirely needed. But all that is a topic is too much to go into now and a good one for discussion some other time. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate fun, and jokes, but acting as though there's not enough of that in games coverage these days is silly, especially when it's more the latter.

Anyway EDGE was a read, challenging for someone who like me had little practical education and inspiring. I may not have agreed with every opinion, review, or idea, but at least they were presented intelligently and with some depth. Or attempts at it anyway.

The other thing that inspired me in the same sense was a website by the name of Gamespot. I have been around on Gamespot for all too long, with a couple of accounts. Actually for it just to be a couple of accounts is quite the feat as I tend to lose passwords or details and start again on many sites over the years, but just once on gamespot.

It too a while even then for me to actually create a first account. I remember though the release of THAT Kane and Lynch review and the somewhat related release of Jeff. Most vividly I remember the episode of On The Spot that came that following week. A large number of Gamespot guys all huddled together on the desk & couch to address the situation before the show started. I watched the shows long before then, but that episode is always a vivid memory.

So I had wanted to write about games for a long time. My first attempt was in 2001 when I happened to pass my first year at college and was awarded a book token for being top of my class... Yes I made sure to try and make up for my bad beginnings and actually got into a college. It was Art and Design, so the terrible english skills were less of an issue, but I wanted to make sure I at least attempted to do what had bothered my own mother for so long. Not out of spite but I suppose to break the cycle. Also I wanted to get into art to some extent afterwards. That went as well as can be expected in the long run, but again a story for another time.

I didn't have a PC, so I had to find another means of getting my voice out there. I managed to replace my previously sold dreamcast console, picking up a cheap dc keyboard for it second hand. I went to W.H. Smiths and picked up a book on HTML code. It was little more that babies first codebook, but it did the job at the time and I built a crappy website entirely in code on geocities.

It really was crappy and didn't last too long as geocities eventually shut down. oof.

But I continued to attempt to peruse the notion of writing and talking about video games. Eventually I formed a little podcast with some people I knew at work, moving onto writing for a handful of tiny websites over the years. Nearly all these websites all have once again closed down. My work, or my learning vanishing once again to time. At the same time I've watched younger and better get to work on Gamespot and other sites and projects. Deservedly becoming important voiced in their own rights.

Each year that passes I see this happen in different ways and I see my own window of opportunity shrinking. Frustrated because I know I have a distinct voice and ideas I would love to share, but deep understanding that it's hard to sell that of someone getting swiftly older and already thought of as not qualified enough by mainstream outlets. I still have the passion for these media, they still keep me going when things are dark and the lights are out, but I feel that a dream is too far out of reach and I could never catch the eye of an employer or even just readers and viewers when up against such talented people now.

I could keep attempting to build my own content, but I am always a couple of years behind at best with equipment. Could never afford a good camera or recording and editing gear. The popular taste is for video or audio now, so writing is less and less likely to make the cut. Especially my writing. So I feel lost, and stuck. I want to make something interesting, original, and hopefully good. I want to share my own distinct voice and ideas with people. I want to for the sake of making something people respect or even like and not for financial gain. But just how possible is that, and was I wrong to believe in such a silly idea for all those years.

I still love games and they do still keep me going when things are bad, but I'm not sure I believe in myself any more. Even though I desperately want to.

TODAY For 24 Hours, I’ll be streaming for EXTRA-LIFE 2016 . twitch.tv/seiibutsu12pm to 12pm . Donate over at http://www.extra-life.org/participant

Please share or donate if you can and feel free to give me a watch or two during.

Good afternoon fellow humans. good to see you all well, or if you are not well, ignore that and replace with intended messages that are motivating to you and well wishing for your hopeful eventual future recovery.

Great with all that out of the way.

This month or two has been rough. I had surgery in August, which took way too long to recover from. I fell behind in both my day job and my personal projects. Those mostly being writing for smaller websites and working on my own creative and factual projects.

I have also been waiting for some people to get back to me over a podcast project i'm attempting to get off the ground. This is proving to be a challenge. I think its because many people find it hard to take me seriously, or just have too much on their plates to get back to me. But it does make me sad that im stuck waiting, twiddling my thumbs somewhat.

Ive also become painfully addicted to dont starve. Which i hate. It's unrelentingly crewel and I just don't know how people managed to make headway in it before they looking things up in wiki pages. boggles my mind.

It's funny the cycles of time we pass through, moving constantly yet repeatedly arriving at the same spaces. I find myself going around in circles a lot these days.

I suspect its why I have found myself not really making as much of a mark in my life as I would have liked, but that's not for a lack of trying.

I'm currently writing off and on for a couple of websites at the moment - although the more professional looking one of the two has been the least communicative or professional - and getting into a slow walk of writing. This is beside my leaning into creative writing, with a short horror story and the start of an extended novel in the works.

Im also streaming on and off over the weeks running up to September 30th, when ill live stream for the whole day, Disney infinity 3.0/2.0 and maybe the first release. Ive been collecting those damn infinity figures (all 121 of them) and plan to stream levelling up the whole collection and playing all the DI games for Extra-Life 2016.

I am, as always, scripting a podcast too... this always ends poorly as I can never seem to find people interested in guesting or lending a voice to a project im working on. Without other peoples voices I am a little stalled in my ideas.

Hell, if anyone reading this is interested in adding their voice and views to something different feel free to hit me up and we can talk.

It seems like it was only yesterday that I first started reading GameSpot, watching it's video content and spending time with the many friendly faces that filled its staff over the years. I wonder though how well I spent that time here and what I could have done to have been a more valuable part of the community and site itself.

I've wanted to write and talk about video games and interactive digital media for the longest time. My earliest venture was, to build a website in 99 and start posting reviews. This was especially difficult as firstly, I didn't own a computer at all and secondly, I had to build it with what I did have, A Sega Dreamcast console on dile-up... and no keyboard.

I distinctly remember taking a book token I had been given to the local WH Smiths and picking up a book on HTML coding in order to build the best website I could with the tools I had available. Inputting each line one letter at a time with the stuff and cumbersome Dreamcast D-Pad. Working for hours on each page until it was just right.

Like every website built on geocities back in the mid to late nineties, it was awful, but I didn't care that much, it was mine. The writing I was doing at that time was also totally terrible. My grammar knowledge was non-existent, much as it apparently remains now, and don't get me started on the spelling. I was on GameSpot from the very early days. I can't say iv'e been here since the start, but from as early as 98 I was visiting the site to keep up with new reviews and content. It was a chore then as it involved going out to the local library and using the free two hours internet time as efficiently as possible. It took a very long time for me to even sign up for an account. I suppose it all just felt a little pointless with the unstable internet and PC situation at the time.

This account right now is my second, but even the first account I made for the site came years into my being a fan. I'm a late bloomer.

All this time on the site, and wanting to be a writer myself, I never really gave the community the time I should have. This mostly stems from two things. My inherent fears of being in any social situation, real or online, and my obvious lack of an objectively good quality of education. School was near non-existent for me due to my personal life growing up. I always felt I would be an obvious imposter or intruder and therefore be the butt of jokes for it. Or worse still, disliked to the point of being bullied.

This lack of confidence and educational groundwork has also hamstrung me with regards to my goals of becoming a writer for a site like GameSpot too. Well, Gamespot was the only site I would have truly wanted to write for, but I was always just interested in writing for anyone who would take me. I was write to think this too, my writing ability was and may still be terrible.

After years of practice and working on several very small sites as a reviewer, editor and production manager (always for free) I feel much more confidant in my abilities as a writer, but I don't know that I could ever be seen as capable enough to work for any professional site. Even as a freelancer. My wonder was could I have been a better a member of the community all this time, stepped out of my social-hermit comfort zone a lot more often. This makes me feel like I let the site that has provided me with many good years and much inspiration down as a member of it's always very active community.

after so long I've gotten to know no one on the site outside of those who actually worked there. While I feel fortunate enough to have become friendly with one or two past Gamespot staff members on the fringes of twitter and the like, I wish I had built up the confidence in myself before now to be able to say I knew more of those who loved the site in the way I did and still do.

Yesterday I built a Mario maker level with a difference.

I've been making levels for a while, I came late to the Super Mario Maker party, as i do with most new games, and only really started making new stages in January. I wanted to pick up the game after seeing the giant bomb does Mario Maker stream a few weeks back and being inspired. I had visions of one of a kind levels I could make, things that were more individual. I've always been into one off ideas and concepts, experimenting with design and seeing what sticks. So my first few stages we're all very different. "hit and miss" you might call them.

Not too long ago I sent one of there older levels to Patrick Klepek , formerly of Giant Bomb, now working over at Kotaku and posting things on youtube/streaming on twitch. I chose to sent it in the post, yep the old school post way, because I knew it would get noticed. The internet has turned into a bit of a wind tunnel of voices, so it was an idea that would get my stage noticed. Did I mention I like one off ideas,(I have more heading his way for the future).

So I've been building levels for a while, throwing them at streamers and friends to see how they tackle them and learn what sticks. Until Yesterday morning, when I finally got around to playing the featured challenge stages. These are a range of specially built stages that often unlock Mario costumes for use in the original Super Mario Bros theme. For those who don't know, the Super Mario Bros theme has a one off item. The mystery mushroom grants Mario a random look each time it's collected. The more costumes you've unlocked the bigger a range of possible costumes it can randomly pull from. Mario can turn into anything from Yoshi to a question block. You can choose to set this mushroom to a single costume though. This can allow for more directly themed stages, such as a Donkey Kong Jr level, or playing as Sonic the Hedgehog in 1-1. Which is crazy.

Some of these costumes are unlocked through amiibo, but a select range are only available by completing 100 Mario challenges or individual stages. This is what I found myself aiming to do yesterday morning, running through Nintendo's curated stages to unlock a handful of one off costumes.

During this I unlocked a specific costume that suddenly struck me with a one off idea.

This is a sprite of Arino KACHO, Host of Gamecenter CX. It features voice samples by the real man and behaves more or less as Mario would, all be it featuring the man himself singing along at the end of the stage when you finish a level.

When I unlocked this sprite though, I didn't see Arino KACHO, what I saw was mundanity. What I saw was just another human being, stood, silent in his smart work suit and tie. I saw humanity. I saw a story play out in my head that I had to attempt to see through if I could. It would eventually be told across two stages.

The first "Office worker wakes for work", involves the nameless office worker getting up from bed, walking into his kitchen, grabbing a bite to eat (a mushroom) and walking slowly through the street to work. That's it, an entirely mundane and uninteresting level. Which was more or less the entire point.

The second part "Office worker walks home alone" (at the time a reference to "A girl walks home alone at night" ... yes i am now a hipster ) is a much darker affair. One I put up at the end of my day last night. It involves the unnamed office worker walking home from work at night. As he exits the office he's struck by the sounds of ringing phones in his ears, and slowly struck with negative thoughts. Words in the air represent his inner monologue and state of mind, I attempted to use the games sound and visual effects rack to add to the characters mental state. The screen becoming dark and distorted. Eventually he comes to an office building and heads to the roof.

To complete the stage you have to, step off the edge of the building.

To upload every stage you have to be able to complete them, upon my uploading I was hit hard in the belly with an uncomfortable feeling. The story was super dark, perhaps it would be too dark for other players. Perhaps I only felt this way because I understood the narrative as its maker. I have tackled depression and suicidal thoughts in my day to day life, both directly and as a friend of others also struggling with the same problems. I want the level to be played and I am glad I made it, but its a delicate thing to tackle at the best of times and Mario Maker is surly heavy handed means to do so. Which is why I'm sharing the levels here for those interested to try. Tell me what what you think, share your views as I'd love to hear them. I hope the levels dont cause offense.

Part 1: Office worker wakes for work: 72A3-0000-01CE-9834

Part 2: Office worker walks home alone: 723D-0000-01CF-84E9

Thanks - Rob

guess what kids, this october ill be taking part in extra-life, so please go donate! (More soon) : http://www.extra-life.org/participant/robinsmith

This Post is originally available on wearearcade.com and i'm sharing it here to gather opinion and for a little bit of archival purposes.

WARNING THIS POST WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR BIOSHOCK INFINITE.

Now its important that I state up front that despite the possible negativity that may come across in my thoughts is in no means a reflection of how I feel about the overall quality Bioshock infinite, if anything Bioshock Infinite is a startling and stunning experience that is both the product of an astoundingly talented mind in the shame of the games director and writer Ken Levine but also of an incredibly talented team at irrational. Its also one of the early highlights of 2013 and this console generation.

Bioshock infinite is a game that you owe it to yourself to play through at least once.

Its also important to note, that I played through the game twice. Firstly through on normal to experience the story before spoilers ruined the experience for me and secondly in the unlocked 1999 mode.

My experiences through the game differed greatly both times although I  was experiencing exactly the same content, but more importantly my thoughts on the game as a whole did not changes at all. If anything they strengthened.

The problem is that Bioshock Infinite lacks something very small that the original Bioshock does not. Simply, glue.

While every element of Bioshock Infinite is connected by narrative themes, design, both visual and game design, story and messages the game has clear separate boundaries. While this does not make the game a less then enjoyable experience there is a sense of disappointment once its all over. One that says a lot more about the issues with games as a narrative medium on the whole as well as an entertainment format.

Bioshock is one world that is made up of three distinctly related yet also totally separate parts. Story, World narrative and Gameplay; these parts cross over each other, stacked like folded edges of an old box sometimes blurred but still obvious when you look.

The overriding feeling you get from Infinite is that its a mix of shooting gallery and interactive digital play.

 On two separate occasions I heard stories from people that painted a negative sounding reflection of the game experience.

The first from a work friend who after a large amount of time with the game said I really like it but the combat, it just doest feel fun. Its like a meat grinder. Wave after wave of enemy just come at you constantly.

While the combat in Infinite is acceptable and on paper has interesting and forward thinking mechanics this sense of a lack of depth cant just be brushed aside.

On my own first playthrough I felt this too, that the combat more often then not becomes a chore and not another interesting element that you look forward to. That even though this is a good story in a vivid and stunning world that the combat in the needless grind that you do to see the next bit of the play.

The other comment that stood out to me was from my partner, she shared the feeling of the game being a bit of a chore sometimes when it comes to the combat but what really struck her was the disparity between the experience she was expecting and what she got.

While re-watching one of the trailers she just simply said. yes, this, this is what I was looking forward to and I got something else.

This is not a terrible issue, early demos and trailers are there to create a feel for the game were going to get. Yet I cant help but feel that developers, publishers and PR do not really look at the disparity between how a game is marketed and how its actually received or perceived during play.

Is it even important for them to have to stick to initial perceptions?

It is maybe time developers and publishers did stop and look at how the games they are promoting & creating are coming across. The issue with video games in general is that they are exclusive and nearly never inclusive. Irrational painted a picture of a deep and involving narrative about a beautiful and flawed world that appealed to a wide range of people. They sold an experience to as many people as they could because rightly so they want all those people to play that experience but then bore no though to people not enjoying the parts between.

My aforementioned partner is by no means new to games, FPS or the Bioshock series being somewhat of a fan of the first and even second title, but when I mentioned the issues she had with the game to another member of the games press they said more or less maybe its just because it was that they were not expecting the shooting in the game.

To an extent this is a logical reaction but it really shouldnt be. We as gamers and the games community on all sides are so used to the notion of people not being good at something and so it being their fault and not the games that we brush the issue off like it doesnt matter. When the very problem is preventing so many from experiencing the very games we are attempting to sell as immersive and artistic.

Going back to the issues of gameplay and this distinct division between gameplay and story. The sense of the game being an elaborate play is apt.

As I said before the games more combat orientated elements feel like they should work. In fact on small doses the combat is somewhat easier to get to grips with then it was in Bioshock. So where are the issues in this area?

Firstly and most obviously is the Serious Sam aspect to the common enemy, more often then not there is little tactical action to be had. Yes the game throws different types of enemies at you each with different weaknesses or attack powers but ultimately they all come more or less directly at you all guns or powers blazing. Victory and loss never feels interesting and more often then not cheap.

When you fall its not because you made a mistake or got outsmarted but more often then not you just couldnt move into cover fast enough as everyone stood or ran at you and shot over and over again.

There are moments that do impress combat wise, small snatches of the game where the combat is interesting but these are few and far between. Moments you would expect to be so are not as fun as one would at first hope.

The Handymen, while having a couple of interesting behaviors are some of the most infuriating enemy encounters in the game. Being as mindless as the smaller enemies you face for the most part. Leaping and sliding at you often times in near unavoidable attack animations. Being somehow faster and more damaging then any other enemy yet also near impervious to damage even on lower levels of challenge. Their only real mix up being to use the electrocute the skylines (another feature somewhat scaled back since the original trailers) every time you spend too long on them.

This would make for a fun experience because by enlarge the times you get to mix the skylines into your combat is quite fun; that is if it were not for the excessive speed the beasts show. Even once you manage to escape an area where fighting one head on would be a disaster and land in a temporary safe area, are you faced with one landing next to you, causing often impossible to avoid splash damage. What could be an interesting mix up to the combat turns into run shoot twice, run.

This would be all well and good, but theres no feeling of skill, a lack of accomplishment. On harder modes like 1999 I personally fought one for two hours before a fortunate in game glitch caused the handymans animation cycle to stall allowing me to dangle from a skyline and unload every weapon I had into him, three times.

The most disappointing encounter though was Lady Comstock, or what may or may not be a spectral ghost like take on her. These encounters were a chore that involved essentially infinitely spawning basic enemies that constantly got in your way while you battled a less then interesting boss character.

Yes people have rightly complained about the ending boss encounter to the original Bioshock but instead of thinking of a better solution to boss encounters irrational simplified it even more and made us fight it three times.

The tedium reaches a peak during the final moments though placing you in charge of protecting a vulnerable thing that you have manage while dealing with wave after wave of mindless enemies And heavy airships. For a game that we were promised we wouldnt have to worry about protecting out partner during the game proper. That this wasnt another escort mission to be presented with one at the very end of the game as its substitution for a boss encounter is ironic and even insulting.

Yes even this encounter sounds good on paper, the songbird character you though was going to be a threat actually becomes a weapon for you to use in battle. You get to command this powerful man/bird/cyborg/thing to attack those who would do you harm but the use of even this feature becomes underwhelming with its mapping to the x (or in ps3 square) button. Often the use of this commend isnt picked up, or is badly timed with Elizabeth offering important items like health or weapon ammo.

So in tense moments where you are taking damage, your airship and ward are taking damage and youre attempting to shoot another airship out of the sky you are instead interrupted with a longer then youd realise animation that takes up enough time for you to get shot down or the airship to also get shot down.

Probably the biggest disappointment comes from the boys of silence. An enemy type that if implemented as originally planned would have really reinvented the way you played the game. As it is they are relegated to a small section at the end of the game, now behaving like explosive takes on the original games cameras. The first encounter with one is actually unavoidable, leaving you as to wondering what you have done wrong. Couple this with the now inconsequential design to the character and you are left feeling like these distinct creatures were left in the game because, well itd be a shame to waste them right?

They are an element that once again, serves a use, yet still feel like wasted potential. Another part of the game we could have been miss-sold on.

So we should step away from the combat of the game and look instead to the other factors. Like I said before Infinite feels like a really interesting play, set in a stunningly well put together world that you are rewarded with for enduring the combat.

While the combat has a contextual reason for being there both with regards to the story and the world narrative, it doesnt feel connected. The strongest moments you experience in Bioshock Infinite take place during its opening moments. From the second you read the quite on screen at the start to the questions already swilling in your head as you climb the lighthouse, ascend into the physical heavens and land on Columbia you are taken for a stunning visual ride. The world is glorious and striking to behold, your early steps out into the streets and shops of the city really help to paint a picture of a world brighter and darker then any other. All the way through until the narratively important raffle scene the game is a ride that just works as a coherent whole. Even after making your first; in your mind important; choice of many important choices and you face the local police force the game feels coherent and strong.

Its the moments immediately after the first battle where the game splits almost instantly into three distinct parts.

The worlds narrative backdrop of social and political strife is always there but feels more and more weak over time. The vox populi and their struggles go from interesting narrative, to ok subplot to eventually basic mindless bad guys to kill.

Yes theres an initially strong narrative reason for the characters to exist, but the second you step into alternate realities twice over the potential depth to the world and its peoples struggles are gone.

The world narrative affects the game visually and physically but without really having a deep bearing on the story.

The choices you are promised, or at least teased with at the start of the game and ultimately in early trailers for the game turn out to be devoid of gravitas. You choose a or b and later you still get some equipment.

What we get in reality is a series of well visualised scenes that we get to shoot people in or watch the story from. The story marches on regardless, and while the scenes, story and world narrative have moments of great strength they remain un realised potential.

Now this leads to the ultimate question with regards to the story we are partaking in, do we really have any bearing on that? We know that through the game we have had no effect at all on the world narrative so haw about the somewhat smaller story narrative.

Well the impact we have here is even less then that which we have on the rest of the world. Instead of being a powerhouse of storytelling in the gaming medium Bioshock Infinite is an interactive play. We can jump, move around and look at different scenes from different angles but the story rolls on regardless.

This is true of other games but here the critical and player reaction initially seems to paint the game as one that really spoke on behalf of the medium as a tool for storytelling. When really its using old tools in a very traditional way.

For real examples of the medium as a tool for the potential for storytelling you need to look at games like Journey and Papa & Yo. Both tell a story, but in a way thats distinctly impossible in any other art form or medium.

While Papo & Yo is flawed in its conventional gaming elements its points of narrative invention and subtext are astoundingly important for the medium. There are moments that require you to impact them in order for them to in turn impact on you.

Journey is distinctively different from Papo, almost totally devoid of traditional storytelling but managing to through carefully paced and though out gameplay moments convey a story to you that is at all times the same and individual from those of other players.

While Infinite tells a stunning and thoughtful sci-fi adventure romp, its still something that could potentially be told in any other format.

The problem isnt that Bioshock Infinite is a bad game, it's quite the opposite it's a fun whole that makes you want to come back for more. 1999 mode is a worthy challenge that actually makes you take more time over the combat and turns most of the combat into something close to a tactical experience. Bar a few Handymen and Ghosts.

I actually had more fun on my second time through, collecting all the hidden items, spotting like secrets and easter eggs, taking each moment as its own. You could view this as a consequence of finally freeing myself of the story. Having seen it in its entirety the game was no longer something in the way of the story but instead a fun and simplistic draw. I could come up with good tactics to use against my endless attackers.

In the end 1999 mode my second time through was both more enjoyable and much easier to take on. It was more fun.

The problem is that this simple revelation could be speaking volumes about the game as a whole and in turn how we still view games based on hype, production and topic.

So tonight I finally sat down and watched Rampage by Uwe Boll.

Yes that Uwe Boll.

anyway I wanted to write something on the film and chose to use a movie review website to do so. But sadly my writing went a little long and ive been unable to post in there. I choose instead to post it here. With Mr.Bolls previous connection to terrible Game to Film adaptations and the issues of gun violence and game violence all being fresh in the public eye of late I felt it would be an appropreate place to post this. Forgive me if i go on a bit or ramble a little. This is all just as I thought it.

Uwe Boll, for people like me simply bringing up the name of the often derived and detested director can bring a wave of expectations.

These are deeply seeded in the consciousness of all those whom have heard of the man, widely know for having a predication towards acquiring the rights to games and crafting less then stellar films from them. Normally upsetting both those who care about the original game and those hoping to see a good movie; instead coming away with a bad taste in their mouths having wasted money and a couple of hours on something less than entertaining.

Thats not to say that Uwe hasnt been capable of showing some potential in his past work; his directional take on the Postal series of games is actually quietly respected for attempting a more satirical edge. The film was still quite poor, but it showed both an effort on Bolls part to try something more suited to his directorial style and a growth in hit skills as a director in general.

Rampage is the point in which the director that was always hidden away in Boll finally shows his face. The problem is knowing if this was intentional or just entirely by accident.

After the terrible events of both the shooting of over 50 people in a Colorado movie theatre and the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting last year the whole issue of mass public shootings and their effects is on everyones minds. Its effecting possible changes to American politics and questions with regards to what causes young men and women to commit such crimes is at the forefront.

Video games or more correctly violent video games are a hotbed of discussion. Real people are feeling affected by gun laws, the loss of life and questioning the effects of violent imagery now more then ever.

So coming back to Rampage is now more of a delicate choice. Doubly so when we take into account the man directing and writing this film is so deeply connected to video games.

As such the question is an important one. Why has Owe Boll directed a film with such a difficult subject matter? What is he attempting to say, of anything? Most importantly does he say it well enough to be seen saying anything at all?

The film itself is a low budget dissection of a young mans life during a two day period. Starting at the end of the rampage in question we see him quietly burning a bag of items, unknown at this point, and see him reflecting on whats just happened.

Very quickly the film snaps back two days and we are presented with a quiet, if intense man working out in his bedroom. The film quietly shows him at home with his parents and presents us with our first startling image. Normality.

What is a very naturalistic scene plays out between parents and son and everyone heads off to work.

We see a very normal day play out with only little hints at potentially questionable mental problems in our lead. Arguments arise in coffee shops and work, but these feel entirely normal, something we could see and likely have seen in any other shop at some time or another.

The day plays out and everything is still very normal. Obviously we know its not and we look, we look very closely to see what it is that tips this seemingly normal young man over the edge.

Intercut with all the daytime scenes are flashes of the events to come more and more precursors to violence. In another directors hands this could be used well to make us question the reality of the protagonists state of mind. Better still though they could just not be used at all.

But they are and we are forced constantly to be reminded of the monstrous acts to come, tricked into wondering why.

Brendan Fletcher is striking in the role; just natural enough to feel believable jet unbalanced enough to give us hints of the monster inside. Yet this directorial choice takes away from that subtlety.

The night we watch as he quietly gets his tools ready and plans for the day ahead. We are presented with something clear, a planned event, something thats clearly been on his mind for a while and can be seen as a statement on the creation of a killer. That its not one thing suddenly flicking a switch but instead more often then not a clearly thought out choice.

What follows next is about forty minuets of a man in homemade armour killing innocent people. This is both where Uwes directing style and the films low budget really help sell the startling nature of what takes place.

Whats really interesting and eventually disappointing is how quickly the following massacre scenes go from challenging to shallow.

The opening event is involves a van full of explosives being remotely driven into the local police station. An event that is supposed to come across and both well thought out, cunning and tactical is soured by the use of a remote detonator containing an LED display featuring the words game over.

This almost immediately dispels all of the potential in the serious nature of the films subject matter. Almost.

On reflection though this feels almost like a knowing nod to all those who questioned Uwe Bolls previous directorial works. A statement saying this is the point where I give you the middle finger and show you what I can really do.

What follows next is a prolonged space of time where a man walks slowly down a shopping street and shoots people with apparently no cause at all. In this moment Uwe pulls a surprising trump card out; he shows his real directorial potential.

The camera immediately cuts to a shot of the killer, full screen, in mask. His victims are not seen killed and he becomes faceless. Theres no chance to glamorise the actions of a madman, to create an idol for people to replicate. Instead a massage is shoved right into our faces.

Reason has no baring here because this could be anyone and we all could have a thousand reasons. This could be a double edged sword though, allowing someone to choose to visualise themselves in the role of this killer.

Still the real question is whether or not this shot is deliberate statement or accident created by a director both saving money and looking for a camera angle that looks cool?

Is this showing Uwe Boll has directorial merit or is he just attempting to shock? Sadly as the film progresses we veer into schlocky territory. Humour quietly starts seeping into the events taking place, more likely than not with a level of deliberate deliverance.

One scene in a bingo hall in particular is appears to be played only for laughs. Eventually by the script end were presented with a simplistic crime flick. Killer instead using the events to cover his own robbery of the local bank and frame it on his politically active friend.

We go from startling and striking filmmaking to simplistic if relatively capable crime thriller. In this moment whatever message Uwe wanted to say is lost.

That is until films end where a final scene unfolds. Killer in camera we have a statement to the world, that he sees himself as an aid to the people on the earth. Doing a service for all the people of the earth by cutting down the numbers of people alive. Extending the planets recourses via human culling essentially.

In this the question is raised again, is or was Uwe Boll attempting to say something at all and does he even know himself?

In the few interviews Boll did for the film he showed little reference to the issues of violence in American culture or games. Maybe he really did have no message at all, no questions to ask or maybe he just wanted to leave it up to those who view his film to decide.

While Rampage is not a masterwork it is likely Uwe Bolls best work and its a film that does ask questions of us. Its portrayal of horrendous events are not pleasant to watch and are certainly not traditionally entertaining but this is a film that should be seen. Its important to remember that not all films should be entertaining to be worth our time and that even a mediocre director might be able to move us, for better or worse.

I realise that this is likely to go down like a lead balloon but I'm going to roll on down this path anyway.

So first up, I do not condone theft of any kind, if you want something in life you should earn it to some extent or you should make it yourself. I think thats only fair and while I realise this may put someone as talentless and with as interesting a history as me on quite shaky ground, I stand by this as an ideal.

Now its true that downloading something thats not yours is stealing, without a doubt, game and console emulation has always been a sticky area. A legal muddy zone has always existed around the notion of emulation with regards to games and while downloading something you dont own is wrong unless given away free its not often something you hear stories on.

Not often is it that a gamer is held up in court over charges related to downloading copies of a game.

There seems to be this split notion of what us gamers think. One camp only sees it as outright wrong and would look upon people emulating with distain.

Theres the other camp that see the downloading of games as entirely justified and will be willing to do it wholesale.

You never hear from the middle ground that might see a means to an end with a good reasonable level of choice, but Nope, its one extreme or the other.

Now in the past I have taken part in downloading and emulation of games and consoles, something that might be seen as illegal. I didnt do this because I felt entitled or to play the latest releases for free. Even if I had wanted to I wouldnt have had a pc good enough for that.

I also didnt do it because I wanted to play games I didnt have a console for as over the years I more or less had everything I could have wanted. Some games, like sonic the hedgehog for mega drive, I got suckered into paying for 5 times over on different consoles.

So why did I do it?

Its important to see now that I now dont see it as a good thing I downloaded games I had access to, or games I didnt have for the systems I did. I also want to say I dont want to say here that downloading games is the right thing to do.

I think that an issue with this topic is, people see the one idea in a lumped topic.

Emulation is the same a piracy, is the same as stealing and downloading games.

Im saying here that its probably a good thing we emulate and probably should encourage it.

But

Only of games consoles.

To help explain where Im going with this rambling mess I want to tell you about my girlfriend. She works in retail, a high street specialist that mostly deals in games and consoles. Where I also work part time.

The other day one of our co-workers had a young relative come in store and sit in our staff room a while as he needed babysitting for a while. This boy was of single digit age and was getting quietly bored. In a moment of kindness my lovely girlfriend offered this small boy her gameboy advance and copy of pokemon yellow.

Hed never heard of Pokemon Yellow before and didnt know how to use the gameboy advance.

Ill let that sink in a moment..

Yes were all old now.

Anyway the point this leads to is, we all love a darling that is ageing much faster then most. Games we may have played five years ago are already becoming forgotten or unknown by new generations who otherwise would have loved them ten years ago. Games of 20 years or older are becoming less and less prevalent in their original working condition and many collectors are holding tighter and tighter holds on their collections. One day there will be a world where there are no more working pokemon yellow cartages or even working gameboy advances.

Now console emulation, official emulation is a good thing, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft all have examples of older games available for download to some extent or another. And services like steam offer options for classics on pc.

But all of these options are still limited in scope and flawed in design. Be that poor pricing, flawed emulation or DRM limitations.

Now as Ive said several times, Im not calling for everyone to go out and download games today. But emulation libraries or archives for all video and computer games should be an option supported by the major companies. Our personal history and heritage should be preserved and in a way that allows all older games to be experienced by the public whenever possible.

Also PC users should freely and openly be able to download emulators for any console they like. Not games, but consoles.

I own a dreamcast and games on disk, I shouldnt be made to feel bad to desire the ability to still play those games if my dreamcast breaks down beyond repair and I cant replace it. After all I do still own the game.

I think emulation has the potential to be an honestly vital thing for the games industry and we should spend less time huffing at those who partake in it and find more ways to use it for the good of games history as a whole.

And now I shall return back to my hole in the ground.