I’ve never had any first hand experience with the Nintendo Famicom, so I’m definitely not the best to talk about the console, but I feel I have felt its influence on gaming. The way the stories were presented, the graphics and the gameplay with its two buttons and D-pad controller, has made it something I admire. And I admit it did have its far share of awful games like any console has. The games from this machine are used on Youtube by many different gaming channels, for retrospects and reviews, either praising them, or condemning them. The Angry Video Game Nerd, Egoraptor, Spoony and Jontron to mention a few, often go back to the times of the SNES and NES to create their content. Often, they grew up with the console, playing many of its games, becoming collectors of the cartridges to preserve them. I want to discover if the games themselves, will still be enjoyable in the years to come, if they really are as timeless as I’ve heard them to be. This console would become the origin console for some of the longest running game franchises of our time, franchises such as; Castlevania, Mario, Legend of Zelda and Megaman, with many gamers having played these games and experienced its adventures. And this is what I’d like to talk about the most in this post, even though the console itself had a pretty interesting history as well.
The Nintendo Family Computer, often shortened to the Nintendo Famicom or just Famicom, was first released in 1983 on the 15th of July in Japan. It was marketed as a family console, while also in competition to SEGA. By the end of 1984 it became the best selling console within the country.
The Famicom came with two fixed controllers, with the second one having an inbuilt microphone. The front of the console was designed to connect accessories to enhance the gameplay of a few games, such as the Gun for Duck Hunt. The Famicon also had a large red knob on the top, used to slide game out of the cartridge slot, minimising the cartridge or the console itself being damaged.
The Famicom had its fair share of issues though. The cables that connected the controller to the console were quite short, meaning players had to sit fairly closer to the TV. Another issue which came with the earlier release of the console was it’s buttons, made out of rubber, the A and B button would wear down easily. The cartridges often glitches or stopped working as dirt would build up on the contacts. Nintendo did encourage users to clean them but the cartridges were often difficult to open.
The console’s appearance in the American market featured a rebrand to the whole console. Renamed ‘Nintendo Entertainment System’, the NES’ whole rebranding was based on the resorting consumer confidence in the video game market which occured via the Video Game Crash. To combat this, they didn’t exaggerate features on the box, and tried to make it look anything else but a games system. The console specification also was not exaggerated in anyway. Another part of the rebranding was that the NES was branded as a children’s console, instead of the family orientated console. With all these in safety nets in place, Nintendo eventuality went on to own the monopoly of the video game market for a long time.
As I spoke about at the beginning, I wanted to know why some NES games have stood the test of time. Games such as the Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Super Mario Bros. 3 and Castlevania, which are still held in high regard to this day. Playing some of games and watching Lets Plays, I believe it is all down to the story aspect and the gameplay. The story, on the surface, was simple, giving you enough reason to play, but gradually opening up throughout the game. But, taking the time to explore, you’ll be greeted with vague hints of exposition, such as in the Legend of Zelda. The land of Hyrule is almost completely devolved of humanity, as the land ravaged by monsters. The only form of human life you come across is in temple ruins, where you encounter an elderly man who will help you on your quest to restore the land. While searching the caves in the overworld will sometimes reveal merchants, or other elderly men and women willing to help. From this, the different players end up drawing similar, and at times, the same conclusion to you. For me, Hyrule was ravaged by a great evil, which you set out to destroy. The only existence of human life is the elderly, which would imply that they are the last remaining citizens of Hyrule, who have resorted to cave dwelling to escape Ganon.
Another game I particularly enjoyed playing was Castlevania, a linear side scroller which involved traversing Dracula’s Castle, in order to confront and defeat him. The game is known for being relentless; patterned enemies which deal heavy damage, having to find health by breaking certain walls, and having to start from the beginning of the level if you lost all of your lives in the three stages. But still, this game was fun, it was a challenge, it pushed you to try to get further and further into the game, overcoming all obstacles and monsters it could throw at you. The colours, and the intensiness of the gameplay, all produced a scary, unnerving feel. The bright, vivid colours, contrasted the dark subject matter in both the decaying environment, and tense atmosphere.
The cynic in me makes me think, there might be an overarching reason why the games had to be good, which leads back to the time of the Video Game Market Crash. As the market at the time was oversaturated with consoles, and pirated games, as well subpar ones. Consumer confidence was at an all time low. Nintendo succeeded in recovering this in their product. Having said that, that other part of me likes to think that its success was down to the fact that they perfected their craft.
Sources for this post:
http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/15/nintendo-famicom-30th-anniversary-nes/
http://famicomworld.com/system/
http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/12380/features/history-of-nintendo-famicom-nes/
http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/15/nintendo-famicom-30th-anniversary-nes/
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2011/09/21/ten-facts-about-the-great-video-game-crash-of-83
Tuesday 3 December 2013
Sunday 1 December 2013
Kind of Philosopical? I have no idea. An Early History of Computing.
I’ve never been interested in modern history, finding more enjoyment in the mythological legends of heroes and gods. Stories and tales which have captured our imagination and continue to do so to this day. But now and again, I come across some parts of modern history that I’m fascinated by. What really grabbed me at first, was how early the conceptualisation of computers was occurring. It came as a surprise to me. The advancement of the industrial era lead to one of the first prototype of computers, the Difference Engine. In the mid 1800s the design of the difference engine was produced by Charles Babbage, it was the first conceptualised computer, designed to devise complex number equations and mathematical number charts, such as sine, and cosine tables.The machine would be able to press out its results on Plasticine which then could be used to create prints, while also creating an inked copy, so it could be checked to see if the device printed out correctly. The Difference Engine for a long time, only existed in it’s concept, due to the advancement of the machine at the time.
I felt I should talk about the Difference Engine, not only because of the advancement of it for that age, but the mirroring of computers from recent history and now. Computers everyday produce and solve complex algebra equations and calculation while loading, using and rendering in programs, and the calculator app is always a feature that appears on computers. With an edition of a printer, we pretty much at the core, have an complicated version of the Difference Engine.
With this the comparison, I realised that we look to the old, to see how we can advance the new, using ideas and concepts that had failed before, to see if it’s possible to make it happen with the knowledge and technical advancement we have now. We want to see how far we have advanced, how far we can take human imagination and invention. This isn’t the only realisation that occurred to me, but I’ll start with the next big creation.
The audio oscillator 200a appearance had a large time gap between its creation by HP in 1939 and the Difference Engine conceptualisation back in 1833. Technological and mechanical achievements were occurring within households and industry, as well as weaponry and tactics when World War 1 occurred. The Oscillator was the one of the first advancements in mechanical computing since the Difference Engine, becoming the first electrical computer device.
As World War 2 began, different electronical machines started being produced funded by the governments and its military in order to defeat its enemies. War tends to cause heavy advancements in elements such as different forms of weaponry, tactics and machinery, anything that would allow an advantage over the enemy. An arms race begins. Early machines involved creating code breaking equipment, and technology which could be used in extending the life of troops on the battlefields, such as flight simulators.
After war time, technology evolved to the point where it became cheap enough and small enough, to manufacture for personal use in homes. Filtering down from the government, to large corporations, and then to the smaller ones. During this time, the emergence of video games occurred. Device were created in order to amuse people with this cheapened technology, through experimentation and looking at other creations at that time. One such product of this, was the Cathode Ray Tube device. The games concept was based off World War 2 radar displays, where incoming enemies could be detected in any situation. The game itself was pretty much this, the player uses the knobs to move the light beams, which indicate the missiles, and the player attempts to hit the targets printed on clear screen overlays. Again, we find ourselves looking at elements and concepts that existed and reusing them for different uses or advancing them to make them more useful.
For this post, I felt that the elements learnt about philosophical side of this time period was more important than some of the technological advancements. I’ve learnt that looking back at the past, can provide a more updated version of an idea, perhaps an element emerging from that, which is only linked to it by the tiniest thread. But in the end, the core of this idea, originated from that old piece of history.
Sources for this post:
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/museum/earlyinstruments/0002/
http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/d/diffengi.htm
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects/computing_and_data_processing/1862-89.aspx
http://classicgames.about.com/od/classicvideogames101/p/CathodeDevice.htm
I felt I should talk about the Difference Engine, not only because of the advancement of it for that age, but the mirroring of computers from recent history and now. Computers everyday produce and solve complex algebra equations and calculation while loading, using and rendering in programs, and the calculator app is always a feature that appears on computers. With an edition of a printer, we pretty much at the core, have an complicated version of the Difference Engine.
With this the comparison, I realised that we look to the old, to see how we can advance the new, using ideas and concepts that had failed before, to see if it’s possible to make it happen with the knowledge and technical advancement we have now. We want to see how far we have advanced, how far we can take human imagination and invention. This isn’t the only realisation that occurred to me, but I’ll start with the next big creation.
The audio oscillator 200a appearance had a large time gap between its creation by HP in 1939 and the Difference Engine conceptualisation back in 1833. Technological and mechanical achievements were occurring within households and industry, as well as weaponry and tactics when World War 1 occurred. The Oscillator was the one of the first advancements in mechanical computing since the Difference Engine, becoming the first electrical computer device.
As World War 2 began, different electronical machines started being produced funded by the governments and its military in order to defeat its enemies. War tends to cause heavy advancements in elements such as different forms of weaponry, tactics and machinery, anything that would allow an advantage over the enemy. An arms race begins. Early machines involved creating code breaking equipment, and technology which could be used in extending the life of troops on the battlefields, such as flight simulators.
After war time, technology evolved to the point where it became cheap enough and small enough, to manufacture for personal use in homes. Filtering down from the government, to large corporations, and then to the smaller ones. During this time, the emergence of video games occurred. Device were created in order to amuse people with this cheapened technology, through experimentation and looking at other creations at that time. One such product of this, was the Cathode Ray Tube device. The games concept was based off World War 2 radar displays, where incoming enemies could be detected in any situation. The game itself was pretty much this, the player uses the knobs to move the light beams, which indicate the missiles, and the player attempts to hit the targets printed on clear screen overlays. Again, we find ourselves looking at elements and concepts that existed and reusing them for different uses or advancing them to make them more useful.
For this post, I felt that the elements learnt about philosophical side of this time period was more important than some of the technological advancements. I’ve learnt that looking back at the past, can provide a more updated version of an idea, perhaps an element emerging from that, which is only linked to it by the tiniest thread. But in the end, the core of this idea, originated from that old piece of history.
Sources for this post:
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/museum/earlyinstruments/0002/
http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/d/diffengi.htm
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects/computing_and_data_processing/1862-89.aspx
http://classicgames.about.com/od/classicvideogames101/p/CathodeDevice.htm
Monday 14 October 2013
An Introduction
I’m never good when it comes to these things. I always wonder what I can write about myself. What sounds interesting about me? Are things I’m talking about too personal? Is what I’m writing gripping? At this point, I’ve already written this beginning part six times. I don’t know where to start, or what to tell you. All I do know, is that I want to show my personality and passion within these blogs, without it sounding self-loathing, or ‘I’m not interesting enough’. The truth is, I don’t think I’m interesting because everyone else usually has a more exciting story to tell about heroism and adventures, and then... well then there’s me.
I'm Hannah, but you’ve probably already read the bio bit on this blog. I’m from the North West of England. And like everyone else on the course I’m taking, Game Art Design, I like art and video games. Spoiler! I've played video games and drawn from a very young age, so art has always been something I tried to improve on, both in my spare time and through education. I got an A* in graphic design and a C in Art in GCSE. I went on to do Product Design in sixth form, only to come out with an AS level of C. I then dropped out, and went to college to do a BTEC Graphic Design Extended Dipolma. I came out with three distinction stars. But during this time in college, a lot about me changed. I became more confident, met people I never want to lose contact with, participated in fairs selling postcards I made and now, generally being able to speak my mind. This may seem petty to you, something you wouldn't call "achievements", but as I find myself sitting here, typing this out, two years ago, if you told me I would be in University, living in a flat with people I've only known for three weeks, and have met people that share such similar likes and dislikes to me, I would have thought you were out of your mind. And that's a fraction of my life, the short story about me. The longer story will come out in time, smaller bits may filter into this blog, but for now, that's really all you need to know about me.
But, I will leave you with one more thing; a dream. Well, I would like to call it a goal, but I feel it’s too far away from me at the moment, maybe someday in the future I could call it that. My dream was too become an artist... and a forensic scientist, but that didn’t happen.
I want to forge a world, a world full of people, a world full of environments, a world full of animals, politics, plants. I want to make beauty, I want to make horror, I want to make a scene where you could look far into the horizon and see the world created, open up.
At the moment, I feel pretty unremarkable, but I really want my art to be the opposite.
I'm Hannah, but you’ve probably already read the bio bit on this blog. I’m from the North West of England. And like everyone else on the course I’m taking, Game Art Design, I like art and video games. Spoiler! I've played video games and drawn from a very young age, so art has always been something I tried to improve on, both in my spare time and through education. I got an A* in graphic design and a C in Art in GCSE. I went on to do Product Design in sixth form, only to come out with an AS level of C. I then dropped out, and went to college to do a BTEC Graphic Design Extended Dipolma. I came out with three distinction stars. But during this time in college, a lot about me changed. I became more confident, met people I never want to lose contact with, participated in fairs selling postcards I made and now, generally being able to speak my mind. This may seem petty to you, something you wouldn't call "achievements", but as I find myself sitting here, typing this out, two years ago, if you told me I would be in University, living in a flat with people I've only known for three weeks, and have met people that share such similar likes and dislikes to me, I would have thought you were out of your mind. And that's a fraction of my life, the short story about me. The longer story will come out in time, smaller bits may filter into this blog, but for now, that's really all you need to know about me.
But, I will leave you with one more thing; a dream. Well, I would like to call it a goal, but I feel it’s too far away from me at the moment, maybe someday in the future I could call it that. My dream was too become an artist... and a forensic scientist, but that didn’t happen.
I want to forge a world, a world full of people, a world full of environments, a world full of animals, politics, plants. I want to make beauty, I want to make horror, I want to make a scene where you could look far into the horizon and see the world created, open up.
At the moment, I feel pretty unremarkable, but I really want my art to be the opposite.
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