If I Showed You This Picture Would You Be Teased?

Game marketing must be a fun "science". There must be a bunch of people who buy torn jeans, Calvin klein T-Shirts, and snort cocaine from snuff jars who just spend their time thinking up interesting things. These people work in the advertising industry. They talk about people as market segments, they want to appeal to your buying impulses and enjoy doing blow.

Blizzard must pay their ad agency too much. Because some 12 year old there said that it would be a good idea to post a picture that means nothing to 99 per cent of the world and we'll call it a teaser to an announcement. The picture, to the untrained eye, and I guess that would mean yours and mine, really means nothing. What it does mean is that all will be revealed this weekend. That's right. They post a picture and say there's a big announcement this weekend. Exciting stuff isn't it. I am enthralled.

There are other 12 year olds in the world. These 12 year olds are of the geeky variety and generally don't have much spare time on their hands because they are on the internet all the time, playing WOW and posting on game forums. These other 12 year olds look at this graphic and then analyse it. That's right. They pore over every single pixel until they have found some hidden clue which will uncover the true location of the ark of the covenant and through some sleight of hand reveal what the hidden announcement would be. Some person has analysed the runes in one of the pictures and determined that they are from Diablo and the announcement will be that of "Diablo 3".

Well, to start with, I love Diablo, but I wasn't teased by the graphic. Either make an announcement or don't make an announcement. Don't make an announcement that there will be an announcement because this could end up in an infinite run of announcements about announcements and the gaming industry is already boring enough. By releasing these graphics with so-called hidden meanings all you are doing is entertaining a number of people on the internet who already don't have a life. I think this is a sad way to tease people who probably need to get out of the house in the first place and meet other people. I don't believe that Blizzard are doing anything here but adding to the stereo type that geeky people really have no lives except to spend time on the internet and make greater profit for Blizzard by playing World of Warcraft.

Why don't you help these people to get a life rather than add to their already obsessive compulsive filled world? This, to me, seems nothing more than endless teasing.

So, just to be sure that everyone is aware, Blizzard have made an announcement that there will be an announcement this weekend. This teaser has occupied the minds of geeks all week with its endless teasing.

Activision Pumps Out The Hits

Activision will be pumping out another Call of Duty Game (World at War) by the end of their 2009 fiscal year. Gamers should be aware that this game will not be developed by the original creators of the Call of Duty franchise, Infinity Ward. This rendition of the game will be created by Treyarch who were responsible for Call of Duty 3 and numerous Spiderman games.

This is a growing trend in gaming. The publisher owns the game rights and farms out the game to whatever developer will create the game at the lowest cost. Providing the highest possible return on the fame of the game franchise. Call of Duty 3 was a soulless recreation of the franchise. It didn't add anything and besides a few "next generation" effects was a predominantly boring game. What I don't understand is that why does the modern corporate world trust their production values to the company that will do it at the lowest cost?

What are we going to see here? Another game pumped out using the Call of Duty 3 engine? A worn out story line with the only point of difference being that this game is set in the Pacific? Unfortunately, this won't be a release that I will be looking forward to. Brothers In Arms Hells Highway is the only other WW2 game which is on my list of things to buy. The Brothers In Arms franchise has been the best WW2 shooter to date and I don't believe this will disappoint. Call of Duty World at War on the other hand ... I think I'll give that one a miss.

Did Atari Call Shenanigans?

It is being reported this week that Atari are taking two German gaming web sites to court for posting early reviews of their upcoming product, Alone in the Dark.

This, in itself, would be controversial considering some alleged shenanigans going on within the gaming press about reviews being tainted by advertising dollars (aka Gamespot editor sacking). While these two websites (Gamereactor and 4players) have given the game Alone in the Dark low review scores. Gamereactor giving Alone in the Dark 3 out of 10 and 4players giving the game 68%. The Atari lawsuits are levelled at these websites because Atari did not issue them with prerelease review code of the game. It is alleged that these websites may or may not have acquired their review code of the game through other means.

Coincidentally, this occurred within days of the pirated copy of the game being made available early through some torrent sites.

Is it fair to assume that maybe the "independant" journalism provided through gaming publications is somewhat tainted now? To me, the simplest solution to this issue is for game developers not to release crap games. If their game is crap then their game is crap. This is not the fault of the reviewer. They are only the messenger. This is squarely the fault of the game developer.

If I make myself dinner and it tastes like shit then do I go and blame the supermarket for my dinner? Do I blame the farmers for poor quality vegetables or the cows for the poor meat? No, I blame myself for being a shit cook.

The gaming industry is becoming an industry which promotes the notion that game developers' shit does not stink.

Da Man Backflip on Bioshock DRM

Gamers against Da Man have scored a minor victory today with the announcement that the Digital Rights Management (DRM) will be removed from Bioshock. The news was delivered via a 2K Games forum. And it reads from Community Manager, 2K Elizabeth:

“Good news! As promised, all activation restrictions, including install limits, have been removed from Bioshock PC as of today. You don't have to patch or install anything for this to go into effect for your copy of Bioshock – it's already done!

Enjoy your time in Rapture, and thank you for supporting Bioshock and the 2K teams”

Interesting news considering how much as been said of late about PC Game piracy. The recent collapse of Iron Lore Entertainment (creator of Titan Quest) was partly blamed on game piracy. Gamepro recently reported that PC game piracy could be as high as 70 – 80 per cent. This back down on the DRM of Bioshock has come after fierce debate has raged over the limitations of the DRM imposed on gamers for this particular game release. The DRM restricted the number of installs of the game. It also restricted use of the game if the computer with the game installed wasn't connected to the internet within a period of time (under 2 weeks).

It is a strange set of circumstances. Maybe there hasn't been anything as controversial with regards to DRM since the introduction of StarForce copy protection. One one hand publishers and developers are saying that piracy is killing the industry and yet they are removing the protection on a high selling game. To go from full protection to no protection is a little bit unusual.

Needless to say that the developers do listen to gamers ... eventually.

A New Place for Strange to Hide

The world really is a strange place ... is it not? As far as strange things go Trekkies are high on my list of 'strange' and so is wedgie proof underwear but of all things a Robotic Girlfriend. Surely, all things geek has not seen such a low light as this.

Of course, this is a Japanese creation. While there was once a saying, "Only in America," I think this could be changed to "Only in Japan". The Japanese would have to be the most delightfully eccentric place on earth.

The robot's name is EMA which is (of course) an acronym for Eternal Maiden Actualization. The machine will sense that there are people near it and offer them kisses. Just what every geek needs who lives out of home.

Minako Sakanoue, Sega Toys, said, "Strong, tough and battle-ready are some of the words often associated with robots, but we wanted to break that stereotype and provide a robot that's sweet and interactive."

Don't get too excited because if you buy this robot dinner you won't be inviting it up for coffee. First base is the limit with this miniature machine. Another down side is that the robot is only 38cm tall. Maybe this could become the replacement deviant machine for those who are fed up with using Jar Jar Binks as a dildo?

The Stork Fesses Up On Spore Creature Creator

In a David Attinborough presents kind of voice I would like to point out that the secrets behind the Spore Creature Creator have been revealed. That's right. EA have gone for a more organic feel to the creature creation process (As pictured). In breaking news it is said that EA will be adding the song "Ain't Nothing But Mammels" by the Bloodhound Gang to the Spore Creature Creator as a poignant reminder of where baby creatures come from and also as a means to add some mood music to the creative process. Let's face it. Getting it on in this way is all about the ambiance.

In actual fact EA aren't overly happy with people using their Spore Creature Creator to create creatures which are oversized and overcompensating likenesses of their own genitalia. Actually, EA are saying that no one's is as big as theirs, but you aren't allowed to show it to other people. It is being reported that EA are already banning accounts because people are using their software in an inappropriate manner.

I think what it comes down to is would you show it to your mum? If you wouldn't show it to your mum then don't show it to complete strangers. The moral to the story being ... don't post it for other people to see. You are free to do what you would like in the privacy of your own home. EA will collect all of these naughty images and take them to a safe place where they can view them all (in a large room with only their closest friends) and determine if they are offensive. If they are deemed to be offensive then they will remove the offending graphic and add it to their own collection which they can use at their own leisure.


Thanks to Kotaku for the graphic.

Warren Spector says 100 Hour Single Player Games are bad ... mmmkay

Warren Spector is one of the old school developers. He has been in the industry for many years and has experienced development over a number of platforms. Gamasutra has published an extensive interview with the man inwhich he makes the statement, "One-hundred hour games are on the way out… How many of you have finished GTA?"

Of course, this creates a discussion topic which will be limited by two defining facts: (1) the increase in the number of casual gamers; and (2) the increase in the cost of game production. Unfortunately, people in the industry confuse these two problems with the notion that gamers don't complete long games which is completely bogus.

Two years after its release Oblivion is still going strong. You would assume that with the amount of play time available to gamers that this game would not have been completed by most. How do you then account for the high volume of expansion sales which have been made since the games release? With two lengthy expansions for the game which have sold well. To make the assumption that gamers don't play or finish long games is untrue. Consider Diablo 2 which was released eight years ago has just received another patch. To complete Diablo 2 under each difficulty would have taken quite some time (not 100 hours maybe but it would be up there). Yet, there are still many gamers still playing this game.

The cost of creating games has gone through the roof, this is an unfortunate fact of our capitalistic society. As a result developers want to spend less time and money developing content in order to maximise the return on their investment. Once again this does not mean that gamers do not finish long games.

Here is the complete quote from Gamasutra:

"Game costs are going to be $35-40 million, even $100 million, and the expectations are huge. You have to differentiate yourselves. One-hundred hour games are on the way out… How many of you have finished GTA? Two percent, probably. If we're spending $100 million on a game, we want you to see the last level!"

This is a problem within the gaming industry which discriminates the hard core, long term player in favour of the "casual" gaming market. Warren Spector is not the first person to say it and he certainly won't be the last. Look at the above quote where he says "Two percent, probably". He has manufactured a statistic for the purpose of making a quotable quote. He hasn't stated that it is, in fact, two per cent.

If this is the way the gaming industry is going. Unable to understand that there is more than just the "casual" gamer who purchases games then more serious gamers are going to start seriously lacking in content which suits their tastes. Statements such as the above by Warren Spector are just like saying that all gamers love playing Tetris. It is just untrue and a gross overstatement of a complicated and diverse marketplace.

Wear Your Undies On The Outside Of Your Pants: PC Gaming Alliance

Obviously there are a few industry types who think that PC Gaming might be in a bit of trouble. So much so that they have formed the PC Gaming Alliance. You would be mistaken in thinking that this might be the type of place that allows lycra body suits, capes and the wearing of undies on the outside of your pants. Although, maybe this is going to become the Halls of Justice for PC Gaming.

A press release from the group states:

"Global leaders of the PC gaming industry [Microsoft, Activision, Acer, AMD, Dell/Alienware, Epic Games, Intel, NVIDIA, Razer are all members] announced today the formation of the PC Gaming Alliance, a non-profit organization that unites hardware and software creators, game developers and publishers, and others committed to the PC gaming market with the common purpose of advancing the PC as a worldwide gaming platform."

It is interesting to note that not just software developers are pioneering the "Death of PC" cause. Hardware manufacturers with a vested interest in the industry are represented as well. Their press release states that PC Gaming is "one of the fastest-growing segments of the interactive entertainment market" which doesn't seem to agree with the declining figures of PC Game sales. One of their concerns is to make sure that there is accurate reporting from gaming industry journalists. Well, if PC Gaming is doing so well then why do they need to form this group to promote it?

With reports that PC Games only made up 14% of retail sales in the US (not including digital distribution statistics from the NPD group) then it would be fair to say that this market segment needs to grow or die. In reality, I don't think that PC Gaming will ever die. PC Gaming has out lasted every single console. The backwards compatibility with PC Gaming is far superior to any console on the market providing the PC with a massive gaming catalogue. With the similarities in platform between the PC and the Xbox 360 porting between the two is a commercial reality (if you know what you are doing ... so don't ask me).

If you would like to check out the PC Gaming Alliance Halls of Justice then just click on the link.

Endangered Species: The Cockosaurus

It doesn't take much for us, as a species, to be reduced to the most puerile level. Which does a lot to explain why dick and fart jokes are so funny, and let's face it, they are. As witnessed by this screen shot the yet to be released Spore has already seen a number of monsters created who have extremely large cocks. The cockosaurus, penis monster, peenisaurus, penis man to name just a few.

The Spore Creature Creator demo was leaked early and, as a result we are seeing well endowed creatures popping up all over the internet. Don't think that it is just our "modern" world which has this fascination with all things cock related. The ancient romans were also obsessed with the penis. Penises would feature on signs in public places, on trinkets, and other places in the ancient Roman world. We are not really innovators when it comes to fascination with genitalia.

The question that gamers should be asking is are these creatures compensating for something?

RIP XGN

Just a quick note to say, "RIP XGN". Xtreme Gamers Network or xgn.com.au (there are a few imitators but none are the same ... ) web site was hacked last week and at the moment is temporarily unavailable until further notice. The website has been running for a number of years now and was home to the Xtreme Teams. A prominent Australian Delta Force/Black Hawk Down/Joint Operations team. The site was created and hosted by Diggazz in conjunction with Gaming SA and Adam Internet.

Xtreme (~X~ or -X-) was the first online team that myself and my brother played in. At the time we were heavily involved in playing the Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising. Joint Operations was the alternative to Battlefield type games which provided a much larger playing area and larger hosted servers. Joint Operations was more popular overseas with matches being established between nations in the international community. There was a strong Australian community for the game with organized tournies.

For many years xgn.com.au was home. Over the last couple of years it has become home to many in the Australian Online Racing community.

Just a personal hello to all the guys in XGN who were part of one of the best Joint Operations Squads in Australia: Diggazz, DJ, Hootz, Rigi, Nos, Rone, Ayerton, Ure, Brit, Dark Knight (woops ... my bad), Clay, Ironspear, Havoc, Jo Blow and to all of the names I have forgotten.

Xtreme Teams will be continuing the Xtreme heritage. You can check out their website here. Many of the guys are still there so pop in and say hello.

When Is A Union Not A Union? When It is the ESA

You have to love Americans. With their idealistic capitalistic ways. There has been a lot of discussion about software developers leaving the ESA recently. Like most gamers you are probably looking at these news items and saying, "So what? Big deal." Which is a completely logical response. However, what are they actually talking about? For us non-yanks the ESA is the Entertainment Software Association. What gamers will probably know this organization for is that the ESA was responsible for the now non-gaming event called E3. Remember the E3 Girls? Well, that is another story.

E3 was responsible for raising a lot of revenue for the ESA. The ESA is the peak body (as we refer to them in Australia) responsible for providing industry representation to the government in representing issues related to the industry. Such as negotiating with regards to ratings. The ESA also maintains the American rating system for gaming (ESRB). Whereas in Australia it is run by a government department. Apparently, since the demise of the E3 function membership fees for the organization have increased in price. This amongst other things has prompted a number of prominent developers to leave the so-called "safety net" of the ESA. Most prominent being id software, Lucas Arts, and Activision.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't say I was a socialist, but an organization whose sole function is to create membership of like minded individuals or organizations in order to represent them to the higher powers of society (either an employer or the government) sounds very much like a union to me. So what if you call it a collective, or a trade association, or a lobby group, or a peak body. This is just the notion of a trade union dressed up under different language. Of course, Trade Unions are not good for workers because it means they can collectively bargain for their greatest asset (labour), but what is good for the goose isn't necessarily good for the gander. Many collectives operate around the world for many different reasons but don't tell me that they aren't another form of unionism coming from the economic power which despises everything socialist. Just because businesses make money and contribute to the capitalistic system doesn't mean they don't gather and lobby in collectives. Of course, employers don't want workers to be able to mobilize themselves and to be able to collectively bargain in things called unions because this gives too much power to the worker. However, when they need to do it themselves then this is perfectly alright.

What does this mean for Software developers in the US? It is entirely possible that candidates for the US Senate and House of Representatives may not receive as much in political donations this year. That is for sure. Obviously, those developers who are pulling their support question the value for money of their union membership. The union leaders are providing enough manipulation for their members and the members are revolting. It won't really affect the incomes that developers make and certainly the ESA won't be labelled as a union on any other web site. You can be certain that there is going to be a moment when all of these businesses kiss and make up with the ESA when they have sorted out their grievances and, once again, the rest of the gaming world will say a collective "big deal".

If you are interested to learn about some of the ways that an organization such as the ESA influences politicians through political donation (this is the Western term for legitimized bribery) then check out this piece on Team Xbox which ran today. It outlines how the ESA had passed on nearly a quarter of a million dollars to politicians in the first quarter. What kind of clout does this really give the developers? How much money does it take to buy political influence?

UberDeveloper On Its Way

The heat is on within the gaming industry to become the first UberDeveloper. To qualify as an UberDeveloper then you have to reach a number of very simple criteria.

(1) Have no competition. An UberDeveloper does not survive by being the best. It survives by buying out the competition so that it does not have to compete in the marketplace for the best product. Microsoft lead the way as direct proof that this really works and is a legitimate businesss philosophy. Consumers don't need more choice. They need less choice. Let's face it, corporations don't think that consumers are very smart. They certainly don't think that consumers make the best choices when it comes to purchasing a product. Without having any competition then corporations can take away the need for consumers to make any choice. This is the ideal capitalistic reality. A place without competition where consumers are forced to purchase their product.

(2) Creating product for the lowest common denominator. Being an UberDeveloper without any competition then you don't have to spend as much time and money developing a product. Because there is no competition they don't have to worry about other product clouding sales of their own product so they can develop with the lowest common denominator in mind.

(3) Do not listen to your customers. This concept integrates perfectly with our world view which is based around survival of the fittest. Because you are the UberDeveloper then you no longer have to listen to your customers. As the only surviver in the industry then you are living proof that your formula is the best. Listening to customers will only give way to an inferior product. UberDevelopers don't get to the top by listening to customers. They got their by ignoring them and pressing on nonetheless.

(4) Release annual updates of games which are sold at full price and labelled as a new game. Because there is no competition you can release whatever you want, whenever you want and charge how much you want. This is the real beauty of the UberDeveloper. It will mean more choise, more often (roughly translated "this means more profit for shareholders more often").

(5) Now that you own all of the franchises then release the one the costs the least amount to make supplied by the lowest bidder. Release the product that takes the least time to finish. Has the smallest amount of content to prevent large scale consumer revolt and requires the most amount of "Expansion" to maximise on total profit.

Bring on the UberDeveloper.

Scientific Study Of Gaming Business Model Supports Surprising Results

A recent study performed by the RU Heinous Think Tank has made some surprising speculative theories in regards to the gaming business model. The study itself considered two important factors in relation to changes with gaming delivery. Firstly, the increasing cost of the cover price of games. Secondly, the reduction in average hours of single player content.

"We are tracking an exciting trend in gaming which will ultimately allow developers to release games with absolutely no content at maximum profit. Therefore maximizing their returns completely. We anticipate that with the growth of online delivery that gamers are going to be able to purchase games filled with nothing even faster than before," Stanley Finch said on behalf of the RU Heinous Think Tank.

The study has tracked changes in delivery and pricing of games since the creation of the industry only thirty years ago. They have then compiled this data and then extrapolated it with consideration given to one primary factor: the average play time until game completion.

"We faced a difficult set of circumstances. If you go back to the beginning of gaming then you will find that a lot of games were infinite. They would go on until you ran out of lives. Essentially, what you have here is gaming endorsing the Socialist view of the world. Where someone gets something for practically nothing. Over time gaming has broken free of its socialist beginnings and embraced the capitalist model. This is where we have to push the industry. People have to pay a lot of money and get the best quality nothing that money can buy. We believe that within no time at all gamers will be paying a premium price for a quality game that can be completed in a matter of seconds. From there it will be a short step to the perfect business model for gaming manufacturers," Stanley Finch said.

Based on the current study it is anticipated that gamers could be paying this top dollar premium for games within the next five to ten years. Within five years the average single player gaming time will drop down to less than five hours and cover prices will double. Following on from their data extrapolation it is entirely possible that with the release of episodic content that within ten years gaming time could drop down to below an hour per episode with up to ten years development time. The study anticipates that by this time gamers may pay up to $1000 for this kind of episodic content. From there we have just reached the tip of the iceberg with gaming times dropping dramatically from there. By the time we reach 2025 gaming times could be as low as a minute with prices up to $10,000 per game. The researchers at RU Heinous Think Tank say that "these are definitely exciting times for gaming".

"Some uninformed soothsayers say that this is a growing problem within the gaming industry. But we currently do not believe that developers are actually making enough money for their games. Extended development times mean that developers have to sacrifice too much in order to create their product. We believe that gamers should pay an absolute premium for such a product and our study supports this."

The RU Heinous Think Tank is responsible for a number of exciting studies in to the gaming industry, including: Gamers Diets and the long term side effects of DVD Consumption, and Stamping out Socialism from Gaming A Study in to NeoConservative Trends in Gaming.

And the Beer Goggles Award Goes To ...

There has been a lot written about GTA IV. Maybe a little too much. There has been too much back patting. Too much love. Too much critical acclaim (I mean it only comes from gaming jounalists ... lap up the love Rockstar). There has been a scandal due to a website being given an exclusivity period with its review and an extremely "half hearted" cash for comments claim from their peers. There has been the specials once again IGN was the master of the GTA IV special. There have been the perfect review scores. 10 out of 10 being a common factor in the reviewing process (although kudos for IGN Australia who held off and provided a 9.8 out of 10 ... I mean what's in .2 of a review anyway).

However, I have to award GTA IV with the "Beer Goggles Award" for the year. For two specific reasons. Firstly, when I play the game I find things are slightly out of focus. Some have commented (but not criticized ... I mean how dare we criticize such gaming celebrity as Rockstar) on the use of filters in order to create the visual effects in game. Secondly, for brain washing the entire community of gaming journalists. Who failed to criticize the game en masse. It was as if the entire gaming world was wearing beer goggles for several weeks prior to and after the game being released.

There have been other games which would have nearly qualified for the Beer Goggles Award, but I don't think that a game has really captured the gaming world in the same way. As for visuals then The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess is definitely up there. How do you qualify a game for an award such as this? It is simple. If it requires beer goggles for the gamer to attain a fine focus on the graphical content then a game qualifies. There are times during GTA IV when the game world goes to dusk and you are driving under an elevated railway that the graphics take a bit of a dip. Of course, playing the game with beer goggles would have meant that all of the driving would have been drunk driving and provided the bleeding hearts with a reason to cry yet again. To me the game looks much better with beer goggles. The repetition is not so bad. The characters a little more Hollywood and the game a little more challenging. Because of all things, let's face it, GTA IV is not challenging.

On to the beer goggles of the gaming journalistic community. There was another game which nearly qualified for the beer goggles award for journalists. This game was a little release called Assassin's Creed. Great game. Great visuals (no beer goggles required there). But no one in the esteemed community of gaming journalists thought that this game was just a little bit repetitive. A little bit boring. Once you have done the first assassination then you will find that pretty much every other one is exactly the same. Yes, you can unlock bits of city and you can walk around in ultra realistic fashion but that was about it. It was as though the entire community of gaming journalists were wearing beer goggles when it came time to review the game and forgot to mention that the game itself is extremely boring. Beautiful but boring. It was like going to the pub. Picking up the hottest girl there and realizing that she was born without a brain. Great for one night but not good for ongoing conversation and relationship building. GTA IV too seems to have created a collective silence from gaming journalists. Great game. Shame about the coverage.

You know you need beer goggles to play a game when everything is slightly out of focus when you play sober. While in an intoxicated state the beer goggles provide a finer focus to the game. Taking those slightly out of focus visuals and placing them back in to focus.

For the full HD experience then gaming journalists around the world recommend playing GTA IV with beer goggles.

What's Your Gaming Gateway Drug?

Gamer's don't tend to be overly sentimental types. In fact, I think that it is easiest to stereotype gamers as your more superficial type of individuals. If you think about it, and you probably haven't, gamers are always looking for games that are better looking than the previous generation. Often, as it is with todays gaming business model, there tends to be less time spent on making gaming a cerebral experience and more time spent making them look better. Surely, this qualifies the gaming industry as being focussed on those more superficial aspects of life, because ugly lefties are continually telling us that beauty is only skin deep.

Having been a superficial gamer for a while and keeping the recent Kotaku news item in mind about the PSP I played that game which I consider to be my gateway gaming drug ... Elevator Action.

Elevator Action wasn't the first game that I played. If my memory is correct we had an Atari 2600 for quite some time before I played Elevator Action. We had a lot of games on the Atari including Pitfall, the unfortunate ET game and the sadly addictive Miner 2049er. After the Atari we were told that the Commodore C16 was replacing the Commodore 64 by a dodgy salesperson in Myers. This meant that we were stuck with an inferior gaming system for some time before we could afford the legendary C64. Somewhere in between I played the arcade game Elevator Action.

Elevator Action is a very simple platform game. You start at the top of the building equipped with a pistol and devestating jump. You have to descend all the way to the bottom of the building and as you go you have to unlock specially marked doors to advance to the next building. As you opened more buildings the levels became more difficult. An extremely simple concept. There wasn't a complicated back story to the game. There was not a distressed princess being held captive by an oversized gorilla. The world wasn't going to end if you didn't achieve your goal. The only place where I knew the game existed was at roller skating joint in the town near us. I didn't particularly spend any time going on arcade crawls as we weren't allowed as kids to go to these "seedy" places which were arcades. Generally noted for being good places to score drugs at the time. This didn't really change where I lived until Timezone was opened locally and presented a "family focussed" arcade. The other more dingy places still ran for many years afterwards but never managed to clean up their images. Because I knew the game was located at the roller skating place and this was a family sanctioned establishment I was always asking if I could go roller skating.

This was really the start of a minor obsession with video games. During this entire time my love of Elevator Action has not faded. I would never say that I was an expert or master of the game. Far from it. I purchased Taito Legends on the PC just because it contained Elevator Action. A small bonus is that this collection also includes the original Space Invaders. I always install Taito Legends on a new notebook when I get it and Elevator Action is the game that I turn to when I just want to have some fun playing a game.

Gamers talk a lot about 'replayability' adding value to the purchase price of a game but I don't necessarily agree. Of all the many games that I have played and finished during my lifetime there are not many that I have gone back to and replayed. Fallout 2, Diablo 2, Titan Quest, Halo (the original), are just a few. How many gamers actually go back and replay games?

There is no denying that we often sugar coat our childhood. Those things which we loved as children seem to have been better than they actually were. As though childhood itself provided the necessary rose coloured glasses to make life seem that little bit better than it actually was. However, I still enjoy playing Elevator Action. There is no pretension to what the game actually is. For me this is the game which started the addiction many years ago. Like many junkies it is difficult to get the same sort of hit from gaming. The high is not as high and you feel as though you play the games just to bring some normality back to your life. The technology used to create your drug of choice has become better but somehow the effects don't last as long.