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Shadow Idol: On chasing the unattainable.
Apr. 3rd, 2014 10:34 pmSuper Mario Brothers, in addition to being a trope namer for many things, including the subject of this particular entry (In Another Castle), can, like many old-school arcade games, provide us with insight into our lives. It (and all of the various reimaginings of its core gameplay mechanic, including Mega Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Great Gianna Sisters, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and so many more) presents us with a simple challenge - get to point B from point A, collecting treasures, avoiding or defeating enemies, and exploring the world for secrets. For a beginning player, mastery of being able to run and jump at the same time (or similar move-and-action controls) is the building block of the experience. Many players don't get into entire genres of games because they don't have the time to invest in learning the coordination. (Myself, I'm a horrible twin-stick shooter, so console FPS is outside my strengths.)
These days, it seems that the genre of casual games has appeared to appeal to the people who aren't able to get into the "hardcore" disciplines of platformers, real-time strategy games, first-person shooters, and multi-hundreds-of-hours RPGs and MMOs. I say seems because interactive fiction, visual novels, quiz games, and plenty of other "casual" games have existed for just as long as platformers and the rest. I played several incarnations of Jeopardy! alongside Hunt The Wumpus in addition to Atari games like Secret Quest and Breakout, for example. (And the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy celebrated the 30th year of its interactive fiction this year...while Nintendo released the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Brothers a few years ago. So yes, there's lots of overlap.)
For platformers and beat-em-ups and shooters, the gameplay mechanics are usually the same - start simple, with only a few opponents that can be defeated by basic means, then ramp up the difficulty by introducing new ways of defeating things to deal with bigger grouping and new types of enemies, as well as puzzle-type segments where areas can be cleared through specific sequences of actions. All in pursuit of a goal, which can be as simple as "rescue the princess" or as complex as "stop inter-world conflict through gunplay and intrigue". Where games get interesting is that they like to dangle the goal right in front of you, right before pulling it away from you. Having beaten the level boss, you head into the capture room...
"Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!"
And thus, the adventure continues, because the Big Bad was just here, or you've been chasing the wrong lead, or while you were out, the forces of darkness came in and stole your love interest. Or because the President has been kidnapped by ninjas, and you didn't really think that you were Bad Enough to just go rescue him straightaway, did you?
Here's the other thing - I actually haven't received that specific message about princesses being elsewhere, because as soon as I knew how to get them, I hit the warp zones, since they allowed me to make the most progress in the shortest amount of time. (And on old Nintendo consoles, as I found out trying to play my way through Ninja Gaiden III, if you wait too long, the console starts to act up and make your game unplayable) I also had the power of the Game Genie, a cheat device that would allow me to alter values in the game memory so that I could have infinite lives, energy, or power-ups. (Having come to the consoles very late, I could take advantage of cheap things.) Being able to use both of those things was no guarantee of victory, but it certainly helped take any pressure off in terms of having all progress reset at the next game over.
As one might guess, the enjoyment of the game and the way it is played change based on whether you have access to cheat devices or guides to help you through the game. One life lost is more important when you have two than when you have ninety-nine. Or when you have infinite lives and health. Regrettably, we have yet to figure out the invincibility cheat, but I think some people have the infinite resources cheat.
All this is to say that every person has a preferred playstyle for games, and a preferred genre or five to play that speaks to them and their skills. I think many people have that same idea for the life they would like to live, but unfortunately, we don't get nearly enough practice at the skills and scenarios that life throws at us to be able to play our preferred game, and many of us start without the benefit of resources or the cheat codes that let us get more. And without access to our stat sheets - apparently, all our values are hidden.
So, I can only offer the following benediction: may the things you seek actually be in the other castle.
These days, it seems that the genre of casual games has appeared to appeal to the people who aren't able to get into the "hardcore" disciplines of platformers, real-time strategy games, first-person shooters, and multi-hundreds-of-hours RPGs and MMOs. I say seems because interactive fiction, visual novels, quiz games, and plenty of other "casual" games have existed for just as long as platformers and the rest. I played several incarnations of Jeopardy! alongside Hunt The Wumpus in addition to Atari games like Secret Quest and Breakout, for example. (And the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy celebrated the 30th year of its interactive fiction this year...while Nintendo released the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Brothers a few years ago. So yes, there's lots of overlap.)
For platformers and beat-em-ups and shooters, the gameplay mechanics are usually the same - start simple, with only a few opponents that can be defeated by basic means, then ramp up the difficulty by introducing new ways of defeating things to deal with bigger grouping and new types of enemies, as well as puzzle-type segments where areas can be cleared through specific sequences of actions. All in pursuit of a goal, which can be as simple as "rescue the princess" or as complex as "stop inter-world conflict through gunplay and intrigue". Where games get interesting is that they like to dangle the goal right in front of you, right before pulling it away from you. Having beaten the level boss, you head into the capture room...
"Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!"
And thus, the adventure continues, because the Big Bad was just here, or you've been chasing the wrong lead, or while you were out, the forces of darkness came in and stole your love interest. Or because the President has been kidnapped by ninjas, and you didn't really think that you were Bad Enough to just go rescue him straightaway, did you?
Here's the other thing - I actually haven't received that specific message about princesses being elsewhere, because as soon as I knew how to get them, I hit the warp zones, since they allowed me to make the most progress in the shortest amount of time. (And on old Nintendo consoles, as I found out trying to play my way through Ninja Gaiden III, if you wait too long, the console starts to act up and make your game unplayable) I also had the power of the Game Genie, a cheat device that would allow me to alter values in the game memory so that I could have infinite lives, energy, or power-ups. (Having come to the consoles very late, I could take advantage of cheap things.) Being able to use both of those things was no guarantee of victory, but it certainly helped take any pressure off in terms of having all progress reset at the next game over.
As one might guess, the enjoyment of the game and the way it is played change based on whether you have access to cheat devices or guides to help you through the game. One life lost is more important when you have two than when you have ninety-nine. Or when you have infinite lives and health. Regrettably, we have yet to figure out the invincibility cheat, but I think some people have the infinite resources cheat.
All this is to say that every person has a preferred playstyle for games, and a preferred genre or five to play that speaks to them and their skills. I think many people have that same idea for the life they would like to live, but unfortunately, we don't get nearly enough practice at the skills and scenarios that life throws at us to be able to play our preferred game, and many of us start without the benefit of resources or the cheat codes that let us get more. And without access to our stat sheets - apparently, all our values are hidden.
So, I can only offer the following benediction: may the things you seek actually be in the other castle.
