The Creative Gene by Hideo Kojima- Book Review

Hideo Kojima is a videogame auteur, famous for creating the Metal Gear series as well as Death Stranding. He is quite a singular voice and his games wear their influences on their sleeves, from Snake in Metal Gear being an homage to Snake Plissken from John Carpenter's Escape From New York to the Diamond Dogs being a link to David Bowie's alter ego to even more esoteric references from various pop culture influences. To have a series of short essays that has the man talk about his influences as well as they became a formative part of his oeuvre is fascinating.

I have only played a few of Kojima's games but he casts a long shadow so I know a lot more about the man and his works than I normally would any other creative in my area of interest, even if only peripherally.

What you get here is a series is well written, eloquent essays which act as short form reviews about what makes the work so fascinating and formative. A lot of these pieces were written in the wake of the 3/11 earthquakes that devastated Japan so are rather wistful and timestamped but the main themes Kojima covers remain ever potent. There are many pieces but I particularly enjoyed his thought on these few:
- Woman of the Dunes by Kobo Abe, which I read in my teens and found strangely compelling, had me thinking about what we value in freedom.
- Inherit the Stars by James P. Hogan makes it sound like an impressive sci-fi with a intriguing central puzzle-box murder mystery which I have placed on my 'Wish' list.
- The Drifting Classroom by Kazuo Umezz is a Lord of the Flies type book where an earthquake separates a school from the mainland. Teachers and students break into factions as the social bonds that bind us snap. Kojima compares this dystopian vision with what occured on 3/11.
- Columbo: Publish or Perish was a novelisation of an episode from the first season of the show. Young teen Kojima picked it up on the way home from tutoring and it was the book that ignited his passion for reading.
- 2001 Nights by Yukinobu Hoshino attracted Kojima as it was a hard sci-fi manga that made him feel brave and strong. I own and have read the comic run and loved it.
- Blade Runner was a formative film for Kojima and is one of his top 10 films. He saw it as a teen and it blew his mind. When there was a re-release in cinemas to celebrate its 30th anniversary he felt ecstatic to be surrounded by fellow fans.
- Space Battleship Yamato was a revelation in Japan at the time and when the movie was released on the day of Kojima's father's funeral, he saw it in memory of him (not on that day, I mean that would be a bit wrong probably).
- His favourite film is 2001: A Space Odyssey and his favourite band is Joy Division.

What I found surprising is that he does not mention John Carpenter or Escape From New York... an oversight, surely.

Overall, I enjoyed the book as it offered a fascinating look behind the curtain, now I'd like to see a similar book by Swery (creator of Deadly Premonition) and Suda 51 (Grasshopper Manufacture). I don't really fancy one about Ken Levine though as I think I've got his influences figured- Ayn Rand. Called it!

Anyway, my reading pile of shame has just become a lot bigger but that's no bad thing when what I am reading is so thought-provoking.

Dear Ambivalence: The Mustachioed One, The Witches And The Suspended Body- Book Review

The title is a lot, but when the writer is Deadly Premonition creator Hidetaka ‘Swery’ Suehiro what did you expect? The distinctively quirky auteur has produced some intriguingly singular videogames include Deadly Premonition, D4, The MISSING, and The Good Life. His reputation for building interesting worlds filled with quirky characters with a somewhat irregular tone is known. As a pop culture and cult TV and film fan, his references hit hard and fast and so we get influences by David Lynch, The Cat People and a lot of general Americana.

This novel is not a slight undertaking, coming in at an impressive 484 pages. The blurb is peak Swery and pulls you in:

"When the naked, hairless, brutalized corpse of a young girl is discovered in the British countryside, everyone finds themselves asking the same question: Who did this, and why...?
Normally, this quiet idyllic town's policemen spend the bulk of their time chasing around lost sheep.
But then, one day, they found her... Elizabeth Cole. 17 years old, female... Hanging upside down from the town's symbolic elm tree... Dripping with morning dew, shaved completely hairless, missing every last one of her organs.
Witch hunts... Magic wands... Milk lorries... Nuts and coffee.
Neverending rumors... Inescapable sins.
Emily, a detective who was recently demoted from her post in London, teams up with a small moustachioed gentleman named Poco in order to bring the truth to light."

On day of English language release, I bought the book and have been reading it as my October Halloween read. I can say that it is a very Swery book; the fact that the narrator is a cat took some getting used to but it works as a literary device.

It is a gripping and idiosyncratic journey with very heavy nods to Twin Peaks; a cop-with-a-chequered-past Detective Emily constantly grazing on nuts is much like FBI Agent Dale Cooper constantly commenting on coffee and cherry pie, acerbic pathologist Francis Mackenzie recalling snarky FBI Agent Albert Rosenfield and the mixed up secret life of the victim, Elizabeth, is much like the tragic secret life of Laura Palmer. Added to all this is the fascinating lore of the area referring to a haunting tragic history of an English village. It's all very well done but this is obviously an outsiders view of England as there are turns of phrase or details that don't quite sound right; it's a facsimile of England but it doesn't really matter as the central premise is so interesting.

Overall, I found the story to be interesting and engaging enough that I read it within a couple of days. It’s not as eloquent as the works of Sandor Mirai, nor is it as stylised as Haruki Murakami or as mind-bendingly humanist as David Mitchell’s work but it is typical Swery and for those who like his work, this is just fine!

Those Little Moments in Games

Many games nowadays are about spectacle, those amazingly honed set pieces that wouldn't look out of place in a Hollywood production. But what about those quiet more contemplative moments in games, moments that stay with you long after the end credits roll? Well I'm sure we all have them but these are some of my favourites in no particular order. If you can think of some more let me know. Oh and BTW Spoilers alert!

Red Dead Redemption- John Marston entering Mexico to that Jose Gonzales track. When I played the game the sun was slowly setting in the horizon and I had my horse at a gentle gallop to take in the beautiful scenery.

 

Superbrothers Swords and Sworcery- This game has many moments like sitting at the Moon Grotto or going to the Concert in the Woods but for me the ending as you float down the stream dead sticks out. Perhaps it would have been insincere to have the Sythian survive her wofeul erand.

 

Fallout 3- This is one of the most breathtaking moment I have ever experienced in a game. You open the vault door and with the sun blinding you, your eyes adjust to the light. Then you look out and you see the Washington Monument with huge chunks missing and the Capitol Building with part of the dome caved in- you realise just how fragile the world really is...


Assassins Creed 2- It's a-me Mario! Nuff said.

 

Ico- In a game about friendship and love the moment that most sticks with me is sitting down with Yorda. A moment of respite and peace in a hostile world.

 

Bioshock Infinite- This game upped the ante from the original Bioshock. The opening when you ascend into the sky and enter Columbia will stick with me for a long time. The scene with the candles and baptism is really spellbinding.


Journey- This game is full of moments but the ending where you die, just before reaching the mountains zenith is heartbreaking. However the journey is not over, you come back and travel the world as a spirit- this game is transcendant!

 

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons- This game is beautiful to look at, rather like those strange Eastern Block country animations and Jim Henson's The Storyteller style art prevalent in the late 70's and early 80's in particular. The ending is a real heartwrencher, I completed this game with my cousin and we both sat there in shock and full of despair. Get the tissues ready!

 

Final Fantasy 6- The opera scene where Celes poses as the Opera singer Maria and turns in a legendary performance. At the time this blew my mind!

 

Links Awakening- The Windfish waking up is a masterpiece on the Gameboy. This is one of my favourite Zelda moments of all time!

 

Monument Valley- In Monument Valley you'll guide Ida, the silent princess, through many levels that are filled with optical illusions, mysterious Crow people and more. You are all alone in this hostile world until you befriend a totem, then he dies.... slowly... in front of your eyes. Gaaaah the feels, the feels!

 

Proteus- This whole game is beautiful and full of wonderful imagery but I particularly remember the sunsets. Magical. In the video it starts at 12 minutes)


Okami- This is one of the most beautiful and underappreciated games of all time. The art style is unique and will never age but the thing that sticks with me is the marraige of the visuals to the sound, especially when the world is in bloom.

 

Thomas Was Alone- This game has some wonderful dialogue but Level 7.9 has some of the most honest writing in gaming; "James still felt weird, but he realised that everyone else was too. They were a crew of weirdos." It's difficult to convey the humanity of this game, especially because everyone in it is a quadrilateral, but trust me, it will get to you and make you think about friendships,  relationships and your past and formative years. It's that good!


Deadly Premonition- Out of all the games this was the one that will stick with me forever due to the pure weirdness and brutality of the deaths. For those who don't know a homicidal maniac known as the 'Raincoat Killer' is murdering people ritualistically. there are many horrible deaths but this one of Becky Ames is tempered with moments of beauty as she becomes a Goddess. A twisted masterpiece that needs to be played, especially for those who are fans of Twin Peaks and David Lynch.

So these are the moments of gaming that will stick with me, not all are wonderfully cheerful but they do have a beauty to them that I like. So are there parts of a game that will stay with you?

Keeper of Classic Gaming

As a teacher and a parent many feel that it is my role to impart my knowledge and wisdom to the younger generation. However I got to a-thinking, apart from being older than those I teach what gives me the right to feel that what I say is correct or the choices I present are the correct ones for my wards? Rather shouldn't I help to educate the children so that they can make informed choices independently? These are profound questions which came from a very 'unprofound' place; gaming. What games should I introduce to my nephew as he gained an interest in gaming? My brother asked me to introduce his son to gaming as he had shown a keen interest in the PSP he had been playing.

Now being the Keeper of the Gateway to Classic Gaming, who am I to decide what games he should play? Of course I want him to experience stone-cold classics like Pacman, Sonic and Super Mario Bros. but maybe he should have a chance to experience gaming organically. This could include 'bad' games, like Dragons Lair on the NES or ET on the Atari.

In my formative years I played lots of 'bad' games but isn't taste objective? One only has to look online to find difference of opinion on just about anything. A prime example would be Deadly Premonition, I absolutely loved this game and in my opinion it was one of the best games of the last generation however in much of the gaming media the game was slated for being shonky and awkward. It was one of the most divisive games of the last generation garnering 10/10 on Destructoid whilst also gaining 2/10 on IGN.

Children are explorers, they like to find things out for themselves and decide what they like and don't like. I am not the Keeper of the Gateway of Classic Gaming, rather I am an observer and adviser. If the children ask me what games to play I can advise but I should not impose my tastes on them... let them explore and find their own interests organically.

Gaming vs Life

Something crystalized for me the other day whilst reading an online game review ... I'm getting old. Now this isn't a piece about gaming no longer being for me or my interest waning, in fact the opposite is true. There are more games of interest to me than ever before, even with the Summer 2014 gaming drought. The simple fact is that I don't have the time I used to have to enjoy my hobby. As a teacher I work from 6am to 6:30pm, often preparing work for the next day. After that I spend time catching up with my wife and as she's an early bird I often have an hour or two before bedtime. It's a case of splitting time between reading books and comics, working on this website or consuming media such as films or documentaries. We are living in a golden age of television, podcasts, comics and animation, splitting my time between all of these is difficult.

In the last year I've blazed through and completed Deadly Premonition, Tomb Raider, Devil May Cry, Dishonoured, Thomas Was Alone, Bioshock Infinite, Monument Valley, Gone Home, Broken Sword 5, Red Dead Redemption and Child of Light. I've played but as yet have a few games I'm still working through and it may sound strange but I have had some sleepless nights fretting that I wouldn't work through my gaming pile of shame, games that define a generation and are must plays. First world problems for sure!


I've been working through and been successful but now with impending fatherhood 3 months or so away it may be that generation is the point where I become less plugged in to gaming. I'll still play games of course but I may have to become very selective about the titles I choose. Most games are now 30 plus hours and getting bigger and longer, I would love to work through No Mans Sky but with the scope and scale I'm not sure I'll have the time to enjoy all that it has to offer. I feel I may have to play the games which are more contained and episodic, as in the hour I may get free during weekdays the feeling of progress will feel much greater than if I were to play a MMORPG or a long game. Well, time will tell!