Gamesmaster: The Oral History- Book Review

Gamesmaster turns 30 this year and, to mark this occasion, a new book has been released about the making and evolution of the show.

The book is well made and has good paper stock, giving it a premium feel.

For the uninitiated, Gamesmaster was a challenges based show where gamers would compete with each other and challenges to earn the coveted 'Golden Joystick'. I watched the show religiously as a kid as it was the only gaming show available and was typically zeitgeisty. The show was very 'extreme' 90s, with all the positives and negatives of that era including lads, ladettes, booze, innuendo and casual sexism. Now, a lot of the stuff wouldn't fly today but it was of its time and so, reading about it whilst watching the show on YouTube has been a fascinating look back at this moment in time.

The book covers the heady highs, cratering lows and the redemptive arc of the show and main host, Dominik Diamond. The fact that they were able to get all the core people involved, including the Producers, Executives as well as Diamond, Dexter Fletcher and Dave Perry is amazing as there were quite a few egos on the show that caused friction but also gave the show its anarchic dangerous feel.

I also enjoyed reading about the process of deciding what theme each season would be, often a tiny budget meant the economy of design led to the set designer doing magic with very little. The Atlantis set for season 6 was the real standout and Dominik agrees in this book too.

The inclusion of photos, production sketches and other material really brings the stories to life and the anecdotes are amazing. The hedonism of the main players, young men who found success early and didn't always know how to cope with the attention and money, shows the pitfalls of fame and Dominik is very honest about his chemical demons.

The whole book was a fascinating read, but there were several sections in the book that really struck me, such as how much Dominik hated the red coat in season 2 and how it led to his decision to leave. Also, when he was brought back in season 4 after ailing ratings in season 3 when Dexter Fletcher took over, how he doubled his pay after they killed his character off at the start of season 3. I was fascinated to learn about season 7, which was commissioned after the memo saying the show was over was never read or sent. They had a grand send off in season 6 and had then scattered to the wind, only to be reunited once again for one last blowout.

It's a redemptive story of a plucky underdog of a show that could, a host who came from very little, found success unexpectedly then worked extremely hard to make the show better and, towards the end, all parties decided to have more fun and be less serious about it all.

I loved the book and consumed it within a few days. As a fan of Gamesmaster, it was insightful and often hilarious. The honesty and candidness of all involved makes this a fascinating and essential read.

Video Gaming in Saudi Arabia

Six weeks ago, my wife, children and I left the UK to live and work in Saudi Arabia. We were excited to leave but I was a bit concerned due to the fact that I thought that by going to Saudi Arabia I might have to put a lot of my pop-culture hobbies and interests behind me. Yes, it’s a first world problem for sure but from what I had heard and been led to believe, the availability of pop culture paraphernalia and video games was limited and, as an avid gamer, this could pose a huge problem for me.

Gaming is a huge part of who I am. I first discovered it when I was 6 and lived opposite a video rental store in East Ham, East London. The shop had a few arcade machines including the sit-down cocktail Pacman table, Space Invaders and some other ones which I can't remember. I fell in love with the colours, lights and sounds and blame it for getting me run-over when I was rushing with my pocket money across a busy street. Luckily, I only had a graze on my head and lived to tell the tale and play games.

I asked my parents for a computer but money was always tight so I had to content myself with playing my friends' computers. They had a ZX Spectrum and Spectrum +2 and the games wowed me but when my best friend got an NES for his 10th birthday my whole world changed- Nintendo was in my blood now. Together we would play our way through Double Dragon, Mario 1 and 3, Zelda, Micro Machines and many more. At the time I was playing my best friends NES, my parents bought an Amstrad CPC 464 with a green monochrome screen for my birthday. I loved the aged Amstrad machine, particularly enjoying Rainbow Islands, Bubble Bobble, the Dizzy games and Target Renegade, but wanted an upgrade and so worked hard on my car-washing round to purchase a Master System (as the NES was still very expensive). The Master System was a good machine but the NES was much better in terms of its gaming catalogue and so I still played it much more around my best friend’s house.

When the Megadrive came into the picture with Sonic, my friend got that for Christmas and again I played through many of the best games with him, including Streets of Rage 1 and 2, Aladdin and Street Fighter 2. These were the times of the console wars and you were either Sega or Nintendo but never both. I was definitely Sega but this changed when another friend of mine gave me his beat up old Gameboy. It was scratched up real bad and had no back for the battery casing but that didn't matter, I loved it! So between my fix of the Megadrive and Gameboy I was all set. Later on I would swap my Master System and library of games to get a second-hand Megadrive (I had to sell the shirt off my back to Rodney’s Books and Games for that!)

Rodney’s Books and Games was a staple of my weekend.

Rodney’s Books and Games was a staple of my weekend.

I missed out on the SNES as none of my close friends had it but I came back to it once the new console generation began. This was when Nintendo would become my gaming constant. I got the N64 second-hand and completed Zelda: The Ocarina of Time and Goldeneye. The N64 was awesome at the time but, due to the huge gaps between games, I also purchased a second-hand Playstation and loved that too- completing amongst others Final Fantasy 7, Syphon Filter and Parasite Eve II.

When the Gamecube came out in 2002 I bought it on the day of release with my brother, giddy from the money from my weekend jobs at Peacocks Clothing, a clothing chain, and a youth centre. It was the first ever console that I bought brand new and so it has a special place in my heart. Even though it had quite a small library it did have some of my favourite games ever including Zelda: Windwaker, Metroid Prime, Beyond Good and Evil and Resident Evil 4 (an exclusive at the time). As the consoles library dried up I purchased a second-hand Playstation 2 specifically to play Ico. The game had me intrigued and so I brought a shrink wrapped copy of that game and the console one Saturday after work at the youth centre and devoured the game in a few days. Of course I played loads of other PS2 games but Ico was my ‘in’, a strange ‘in’ to be sure.

I then bought the Xbox 360 in 2007 and loved that system; it's online service was amazing and I played some phenomenal games including Bioshock, Assassins Creed 2, Gears of War, Red Dead Redemption and Deadly Premonition. However I noticed something; all those achievements and the quest for useless XP points was getting in the way of the games for me. The simplicity of the games were being diluted with fetch-quests and the search for random doodads, a lot of the games coming out had no respect for my time and I started to dislike them for this; why did I need a 3 hour tutorial on how to move my character around a screen?

When the Wii was released, I was one of the lucky few who had pre-ordered from Game and got it on the day of release. The system was a revelation and yes I am one of those people who have the story of 'my parents never played any computer system but they did play Wii Sports.' The image of my dad playing tennis with my older brother by waggling the Wii-mote around is a happy memory for me and not at all as sinister or sordid as it sounds. The Wii had some amazing games including Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Muramasa: The Demon Sword, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 and Donkey Kong Country Returns but, as usual, the games dried up and the shovel-ware came in.

When we moved to South Woodford, my man-cave was pretty awesome!

When we moved to South Woodford, my man-cave was pretty awesome!

When my wife and I moved to Cambodia to teach for 2 years, she bought me a cracked Wii and I had over 200 games on it. She went away for a girlie weekend and found me in a catatonic state, sleep-deprived and I'm sure a bit smelly as I am a completist and had stayed up pretty much the whole weekend playing loads of the games worrying about how I would complete them all. That is obviously not a good state to be in and so I decided to relax about games and not get caught up in the whole 'complete everything' spiral. I went back to the Xbox 360 but was very picky in what I played as so many were very padded experiences; I started critical pathing some of the games which made them still very worthwhile in my opinion. I also only played the Wii games I was interested in and completed pretty much all the ones I had wanted.

I then bought a Wii U and even though it has been a commercial failure, it has had some phenomenal games; Bayonetta 2, Super Mario 3D World, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (which incidentally has one of the greatest soundtracks ever) and Rayman Legends. I even found myself more relaxed about my gaming habits and, again, only played the games that interested me and respected my time.

That brings us up to the present. My gaming life has been impacted over the years by the introduction of children into my life, but my interest in video games has not wavered. When coming to Saudi Arabia, I brought along my Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4. I play Nintendo games for the unique and refined experiences they provide. I've found that even though I have more responsibility in terms of finances and family, Nintendo has been a constant. It offers me hours of comfort and, pound or pound, has given me more joy than any other medium. I often get people asking me when I have the time to play games and the funny thing is that even though I don't have the time I used to have when I was in my adolescence or teens, I do have a spare couple of hours most evenings.

Most of my old gaming systems are in storage now.

Most of my old gaming systems are in storage now.

My daughters go to sleep at 7-ish most nights and my wife is close behind at 9:00, being a lark whilst I am most definitely an owl. This means I get a couple of hours gaming in most nights and over the past month I’ve spent the lion’s share of my gaming time on Skyrim, a game I’ve bought twice before (on the Xbox 360 and PS4) but never actually got around to playing before.

After a busy day at my school, we often go to the swimming pool for a bit, my daughters have dinner and a bath and then it’s bedtime for them. My wife and I have dinner and then we do a couple of hours school work (yup, I do school work at home most evenings now- my school has a heavy emphasis on planning.) I take a brain break (and body break from the heat) with a journey into Skyrim, a Norse-mythology inspired land full of tundra, lush woodlands and clear waters. Bethesda’s Skyrim has been available on most systems over the past few years and is not a Nintendo property but only with the portability and freedom of the Nintendo Switch have I actually got around to playing it. Okay, it’s not perfect and some quality of life patches which modders have created for the PC version aren’t available, but the fact that I can lay on my couch, legs in the air and headphones on and immerse myself in the world of dragons, vampires and mages has drawn me in. I have the PS4 with God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, Spiderman and a few other titles stored but it’s been all about Skyrim for me!

This is not to say that other video games are hard to find here in Saudi Arabia. Having been here for several weeks now, I can state that video games are definitely available and haven’t been restricted, at least from what I can see. I went to the Sony Store in a shopping centre and saw God of War heavily promoted with cracking GOW omega logo t-shirt; this was not what I had expected in a land apparently not big on visual entertainment and technology. So it seems that video games are here to stay for me and I look forward to many more years of uninterrupted gaming!

LINK- An English Geek in Saudi Arabia

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- Battle Angel Alita: And So It Ends

LINK- The Moomins 80's Soundtrack Vinyl Review

LINK- The Mysterious Cities of Gold Retro Soundtrack Review

LINK- Akira Soundtrack Vinyl Review

LINK- Manga Exhibition at the British Museum

Being An Elder Statesman of Gaming

Recently, I turned 38 and it dawned on me… I’m approaching 40 and what used to be called ‘middle-aged.’ Now amongst my father’s generation middle-aged meant they’d take up a hobby, usually golfing, tinkering with old cars or going through some form of a mid-life crisis but for me I’m not sure what it will entail.

As many people of my generation approach 40 we are less likely to own our own homes and so we have this weird stage of ‘man-baby’ males who are not on the properly ladder or even settled on what they want to do in life. I’m lucky as I’m a teacher and happy to be so (most of the time), married with a wife and two kids and I’m kinda on the property ladder. What middle-aged means to me is not new hobbies but an old one, the constant I’ve had since I was about 5 years old… gaming. I play a couple of hours of games most days and it shows no sign of abating. Even when people said that having children would put a dent in my gaming it really didn’t and hasn’t. Now I know this doesn’t reflect well on my parenting skills but I only play games when my wife and children are in bed and never during their waking day so it’s all good and healthy.

I have been reflecting though; will I be playing games when I’m proper old and crinkly? Will I plug in the Nintendo Holocube, Xbox Infinity, PlayStation 69 or Spectrum Revival II in my mancave and play some Final Fantasy 42, Zelda: The Kazoo of Space Time or Half Life 3. I don’t know but I hope so. However, I could become more reflective and look back and finally play the games of my formative years, Dizzy, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 or Mario Bros. 3. It’s what the older generation do isn’t it? Look back with nostalgia on past glories and milestones.

Whatever the case, I’m sure I’ll be a gamer until my (probably arthritic) body gives out or my spirit is crushed through the constant talk of Brexit… whichever comes first!

'From Bedroom to Billions' Review →

There has never been a detailed look at the UK gaming scene in the late 70's and 80's... until now that is! Anthony and Nicola Caulfield sought to gain funding through the major UK TV channels to rectify this but after being declined they went through the process of crowdfunding and smashed through their target on Indiegogo and Kickstarter. This was all a couple of years ago and since then I have been looking forward to this documentary as most of the gaming films are American and Japan-centric. In Britain we didn't have a gaming crash in 1983, in fact there was never a more vibrant time and I'm glad that this period has now been covered in the wonderful 'From Bedrooms to Billions'

The couple leave a message in their credits to those who doubted that there was a market for this documentary.

The couple leave a message in their credits to those who doubted that there was a market for this documentary.

In the words of creators Anthony and Nicola Caulfield;

'From Bedrooms to Billions' tells the story of how the creativity and vision of a relatively small number of individuals allowed the UK to play a key, pioneering role in the shaping of the billion dollar video games industry, which today dominates the modern world’s entertainment landscape.

Developments in computer technology in the UK of the late 70’s early 80’s  helped inspire a generation of small team enthusiasts, hobbyists, school kids, bedroom coders and entrepreneurs to make and release some truly classic games. From Bedrooms to Billions reveals some of the remarkable stories, struggles and successes that saw the UK video games industry go from quite literally nothing into a major force littered with original thinkers, innovators and eccentric characters.

At 2 and a half hours this documentary is long but still whips along at a brisk pace so time flies by. There is no narration  or voiceover but rather the interviews weave the story, being expertly edited and cut to create a flow and narrative. The film starts with the early days of the UK games industry, talking about the home coders who started selling their games through adverts placed in the back of magazines. It then moves on to discuss the various Micro Meets where groups would come together to share their work and ideas.

The second part of the film talks about gaming gaining traction and the rise of distributors like US Gold and Ocean. The interviews are insightful and honest and thoroughly engaging, of particular note is the interview with Matthew Smith, creator of Jet Set Willy and Manic Miner. He was burnt out and thoroughly depressed after producing two hits at such a young age, he didn't know how to handle the fame and expectations placed on him and candidly recalls the 80's being a terrible time for him. As a gamer with much nostalgia for the 80's this section of the documentary was very interesting as it explained the introduction of the middle men and emerging business orientated approach of the industry. This professionalisation led to bigger teams and higher budgets, including the introduction of film license tie-ins and rising advertising budgets. There was a reduction in lone programmers and for many interviewed was a sign of things changing for the worst.

The final part of the film talks about the rise of the 16-bit era and the end of the micro computers. With the rise in quality and the demands on cost and skills many lone programmers either left the business altogether or went to join the big teams in America or Canada. However rather than end on a sad note there is a denouement with the rise of mobile gaming and the indie scene. Ian Livingstone, creator of 'The Next Gen Report' explains how computing is now back in British education and there is an emerging programming scene once again. This hopeful note is a wonderful end to the documentary, as a teacher in a primary school in East London I hope to show some of this film to my class to inspire them to be producers rather than just consumers.

This documentary is a brilliant look into a special time in Britain, where there was a punk spirit and where people with imagination and a hard work ethic could achieve. Compared to 'Indie Game: The Movie' the interviewees seem less egotistical and self-absorbed, more honest and engaging. This is a wonderful movie and I highly recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in retro gaming.

Storytelling With Games- by Anjum Razaq

The ability to create stories is an innate human trait. It is this evolutionary predisposition that has allowed humanity to have shared experiences, be it for education, entertainment or for self-preservation. Storytelling includes many aspects including religious and secular teaching, philosophy, gossip, poetry, myths, traditions, propaganda, scientific writings, speeches, news, articles, advertisements, plays, movies, television stories, songs, and also sadly lying. We consume stories voraciously through various forms and media.

Storytellers, especially the good ones, can enter into our imagination and interact with our deepest human emotions. They can inspire us to strive for greatness or motivate us to do great evil. They can make us happy, angry or sad. They can make us laugh or cry. Storytelling and human emotion are closely linked, starting at infancy, they strongly influence every aspect of our life.

Computer games are a relatively new media and there are storytelling elements contained within. Using computer games we can immerse ourselves in these stories and worlds, interacting with the storytelling. We can become active participants rather than passive observers. However whilst it is possible to tell stories in computer games, the nature of interactivity raises the question of whether they do so effectively. As games have grown increasingly sophisticated, so too has the methodology and purpose of their narrative. However computer games are set by rules; your character has a limited set of behaviours he can follow due to the nature of programming. The restrictions are in place due to computational powers but also due to the need to drive the story forward. Often the story in computer games is superfluous, often based around the game play mechanics and characters; a branching database of options and permutations on the decisions made within the game. This is in contrast to something like Dungeons and Dragons, where the Games Master (using the rulebook) can create scenarios ad infinitum.

To truly tell a good story in games the games mechanics have to be built in conjunction with the scenarios; a marriage of narrative and gameplay. Stories are fixed designed experiences whilst computer games let players change things, even when it’s simply walking across an island like in Dear Esther. Eschewing traditional gameplay mechanics this interactive world immerses and engages the player through the use of amazing visuals, beautiful audio and wonderful prose. What I have learnt through game based learning is that neither the game nor the story contained within, are that important but rather it is how you use the game.

As a teacher we can use games to provide children with a deep emotional and exciting experience. We do not have to use the whole game but sections. Whilst the narrative contained within the game itself may not be that exciting, children with their innate skills to weave stories may make an infinitely more nuanced story. Computer games allow the pupils to become stimulated in the same way text and film can, but have a benefit over these other media in that they can interact with these worlds. If we want to go left we can, the world is literally our oyster, full of endless possibilities and the children know this. It taps into their innate ability to tell stories but provides a rich context for doing so. This is not new, games have been used as a contextual hub for learning in many schools I know across the UK and there are many individuals who have done sterling work in the area, including Consolarium, Tim Rylands, Ollie Bray and the Redbridge Games Network, and many many others. However in Cambodia, where much of the educated people were wiped out in Year Zero by the Khmer Rouge this is a revelation. Computer games are still seen as a childish tool or as quick timewasters but I have used many games as a stimulus for writing. Here are the lists of games we have used and how we have used them:

Ico is one of my favourite games of all time. The art style is amazing and the storyline, whilst kept to a minimum deals with loneliness, companionship, hope and loss. The lead characters speak in a made up language but through their actions and behaviour you can elicit the emotions.

Format: PS2 and PS3  

Another masterpiece from the creators of Ico. SOTC was one of the only games to make me deeply sad about the tragic journey of a character. This is a great game to use for teaching myths and legends and deals with true love, hope, fear, death and salvation.

Format: PS2 and PS3 

An atmospheric and simple looking game which has mystery at its core. It has a sense of wonder, fear and sadness as you guide a young boy through a variety of dark landscapes including a forest, industrial town and factories. The game is a not appropriate for younger children but can be used (at least the first few minutes) as a story starter or stimulus.

Format: Xbox 360

 Journey is a stunning looking game which was many people’s Game of the Year in 2012 (mine as well). The sense of wonder is kept up through the mystery of the pilgrimage. It deals with a personal journey, companionship, death and beyond. 

Format: PS3

Dear Esther is a stunning game with beautiful graphics and a sense of wonder at its core. It sets you as a man on a journey from one side of the island to the other, towards the bright light of the lighthouse. How and why you are on the island is a mystery.

Format: PC 

 

There are many other games I have used as writing stimulus and I will present the work here. Are there any games you use which lend themselves to being a stimulus for writing?

The Golden Age Of Gaming- by Anjum Razaq

We are currently living in the Golden Age of gaming. This may seem like a strange statement to make as this current generation of consoles lumbers on but I stand by that statement. The golden age of gaming has been ushered in not by triple AAA titles or by the many numbered sequals but rather by the thriving indie scene. Now I’m no Indie loving ‘scenster’ but you would be hard pressed to argue against the fact that the most original and innovative games have come from the Indie scene this generation. There are numerous reasons for this but one of the key ones is that this generation of consoles has been going for nearly a decade and in an unstable economic climate with mass game studio closures many big studios are playing it safe with updates on well known and profitable franchises instead of investing in creating new IP’s (Intellectual Property i.e. new games). This has led to a creative void in mainstream gaming and a renaissance in the Indie scene.

There are a variety of reasons I believe that we are in the golden age of gaming, but I think foremost is the low entry point to produce games now. With the popularity of the internet, online tutorials and free game engines available it has never been easier to make the game you have been thinking of. In the past to produce a game would have taken a lot of coding knowledge and some investment in high end software and hardware. Now with this hurdle removed everyone can make games using tools such as Unreal Engine, Cry Engine, Unity and much more.

The internet has democtratised the way people present and advertise their products. In the past there would have been much money spent on getting promotional material out there just to get your game recognised but with blogs, forums and gaming sites you don’t always need expensive marketing as word of mouth and fandom will make sure that the cream of the gaming crop always rises to the top. With a variety of ways to share files such as Steam, PSN and Xbox Live it has never been easier to get your game out there to the masses.

Also with the advent of Kickstarter (a funding platform for creative projects) it is now relatively easy to get crowd sourced funding to create the projects you want. It is ironic that one of the most supported crowd sourced projects is the Ouya (a sub $99 hackable computer which actively encourages playing around with the software), further democratises the game producing arena. The Ouya has shipped this week and it will be interesting to see the feedback from the supporters of this Kickstarter.

This is an exciting time indeed to be a gamer and indeed a teacher as it now means that I and the children I teach can be producers of games as well as consumers. To celebrate this exciting time in gaming I have provided links to a few of the games I like. These are all freeware indie games and can be enjoyed by most, however please check through the games yourself as I haven't completed all of them. Also Slender is definitely not for children, even though I bet many will have played it (the myth has become something of a phenomenon), Click on the images to be directed to the download pages. Enjoy!

Spelunky, a great roguelike game that has been updated for the XBLA. This is the original that has been free for years. ​

Spelunky, a great roguelike game that has been updated for the XBLA. This is the original that has been free for years. ​

​Love is a game made by one man with a vision. A free MMORPG, this game is a beautiful piece of work.

​Love is a game made by one man with a vision. A free MMORPG, this game is a beautiful piece of work.

Slender is an atmospheric game ​with a simple premise, collect 8 pieces of paper... but this seemingly simple task is harder than it seems. NOT SUITABLE FOR YOUNGER PLAYERS.

Slender is an atmospheric game ​with a simple premise, collect 8 pieces of paper... but this seemingly simple task is harder than it seems. NOT SUITABLE FOR YOUNGER PLAYERS.

Cave Story is a masterpiece of design. This is an amazing game in the 'Metroidvania'style (fighting, exploring, upgrading, backtracking, finding new areas etc). ​

Cave Story is a masterpiece of design. This is an amazing game in the 'Metroidvania'style (fighting, exploring, upgrading, backtracking, finding new areas etc). ​

Eternal Daughter is a simple action-adventure game reminescent to NES games of old. Enjoy!​

Eternal Daughter is a simple action-adventure game reminescent to NES games of old. Enjoy!​

La Mulana is a simple exploration game placing you as an Indiana Jones type character... a really wonderful game!

La Mulana is a simple exploration game placing you as an Indiana Jones type character... a really wonderful game!