Musings on the Battlefield: Aesthetics in Gaming, CHAIN LINK ADDICTION, and What's With SHIELDMAN?

Aesthetics. Look it up. Aesthetics are EVERYTHING to an FPS. Sure, back when all you had was DUKE NUKEM and BARNEY skins, the aesthetics (there’s that word again) may not have been great, but they weren’t bad.

Fast-forward twenty years (Jesus has it been that long?) and look what the gaming world has brought us: BIOSHOCK INFINITE, DESTINY, COD: GHOSTS (I should write a post about my thoughts on GHOSTS, and my disappointments), and BATTLEFIELD: DRAGON’S TEETH.

destructoid.com

Not bad for twenty+ years of software development. Like film, we are breaking new visual ground in gaming. The realism aside, it’s the breathtaking views that have been constructed, the entire AESTHETIC, that should finally have the old-guard artistic authorities take the blinders from their eyes and admit that THESE GAMES ARE WORKS OF ART JUST LIKE FILM.

digitaltrends.com

The snapshots you see are evidence that, though only MARGINALLY more realistic in their reproduction of things like biomechanics and the sensual aspects that make it possible for us to differentiate between a Halloween mask and a human face, these environments have transcended the drive towards realism and gone on to CREATE A HYPER-REALISM in ART and VIDEO that IMHO can be likened to GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM of the 20^th century.

It all goes back to aesthetics. Look it up.

Aesthetics

CHAIN LINK, or as I like to call it, 10 TIMES THE FUN BUT HALF THE POINTS, is a nifty little update to the traditional CONQUEST mode. In fact, let’s just call it what it is, CONQUEST ON METH (I figure they got science teachers making the stuff on TV these days so I must be in safe company).

@WarZoneSecure

Somehow they made CONQUEST FASTER without reducing the size of the maps or number of targets. And yet, it still feels really crowded, especially at the individual targets. 

Oh yeah, and let’s all welcome back Mr. and Mrs. Spawn Camping…we have… MISSED YOU.

Yep, the campers are back with a vengeance. But do not despair. The game is way too fast for one team to hold any position forever.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THE GAME IS ‘TOO FAST’?”

I can’t explain it and it would be futile to try. You have to play it. It’s similar to DOMINATION, but less like DEATHMATCH. LOL. Ok, that’s as nerdy as I am EVER going to get on this blog. The point is that you have to play it to understand what I mean by a “FASTER” version of CONQUEST.

If your team or YOU are competent, you should be able to take back a couple of positions. You’re still GOING TO LOSE. There are clans that have ALREADY become VERY FAMILIAR with the mode and maps, and they will tear your team to ribbons. I say that with a knowing smile on my face.

So far, I have only completed the mode in DRAGON’S TEETH and I like it, A LOT… of course there’s that problem with the points…THERE AREN’T ANY!

It’s the first time I feel like I am doing this for DICE’s amusement more than my own. Even with ASSAULT fully kitted, it’s hard to come by points if you are losing. That’s not like the old CONQUEST at ALL.

Winning isn’t necessarily a point rack either, though it is better.

AND DRAGON’S TEETH IS STILL GLITCHY. Just take a look at the pic. Twice my tank was stuck on the railing in SUNKEN DRAGON. STUCK ON THE RAILING.

I don't know. It's just "stuck".

And what is with that SHIELD (see title pic above)?

They should call that the WEAKEST LINK (sorry it was just sitting there and I had to). I actually saw some player get killed by SHIELDMAN. I had to get on my Bluetooth and tell the team, “JUST JUMP AROUND HIM AND CUT HIS THROAT.”

It’s that easy.

Every time I see them coming I head straight for their direction so I can TAKE THEIR TAGS.

There’s other minor issues that I have with the DLC, like that machine-gun R/C (hate that thing), but ALL IN ALL IT IS STILL WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION, if only to see how the Battlefield is evolving.

Next post I will share some tips on how to be a more successful vehicle driver: TANKS and JEEPS and BOATS. Until then, TAKE THAT BULLDOG AND MAKE IT SMOKE! And come find me at PSN>JOHNDAVIDFLORES

Musings on the Battlefield

Millennials and the Absurdity of Video Game Violence.

Today I begin a new post series in which I will share with you some of my gaming experiences and how I believe they reflect our early, 21st-century American culture and society. Yes, I will also share my thoughts on the current debate regarding the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms and gun violence in this country, as it relates to games which feature graphic gun violence like the Battlefield franchise (some may recall the controversy caused by the media over the fact that Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook murderer, was an avid "Combat Arms" player, I will address this and my thoughts on whether I believe that video games encourage gun violence in America).

I will also spend a considerable amount of space sharing with you tactics that I have used successfully and found to be very effective. Like, how to use a RHIB to destroy your opponent's position in Paracel Storm?

Today, however, I would like to tell you a story about something that happened to me recently while I was playing RUSH mode in Dawnbreaker.

I was glitching hard when I spawned and found I had no control over my movement. Two of my team who were on microphones noticed me. From the sound I thought they were both in their early teens. For a few seconds, they laughed and talked about my pathetic state. Then finally one of them said, "Hey look! I just put a bunch of slams on him so when he moves 'BOOM'." It was easily one of the funniest moments I have ever had playing the game. "Why would they want to see me blow up?" I asked myself, "It's absurd." But that's the point. They know it is absurd.

Over the past half-decade, I have had numerous opportunities as both a student and a teacher, to observe and interact with what many have called the "millennial generations," (I prefer the designation I-Gen+). This includes the age range of the young men who wished, not only to witness but, to effect my explosive demise.

What I learned from my experiences is that the millennials' approach to violence in video games often reveals their famous (or infamous) love of irony, in other words, the kids understand that the gaming world is fake and, therefore, seek ways to exaggerate that absurdity by exploiting the unreality of the gaming environment. For example, in the Hainan Resort map there is a multi-story hotel right in the middle of the battlefield. In the hotel is an elevator that leads to the rooftop.

Just last month, I witnessed a group of young players fit two quads in the elevator, take them to the top, and then drive them off roof. Why? Again, because it is funny as shit, but more importantly it is because they are trying to find the limits of the irony and absurdity within the virtual reality that they play.

Another example, but this time from BF3. I had just spawned on the beach of Operation Firestorm and was heading for Alpha when I noticed two of my team standing face to face like they were having a virtual conversation. Suddenly, one of them began to toss C4 on the other's head and upper torso, turning his compatriot into a virtual suicide bomber. Afterwards, both rushed off together, happy as clams, towards the front lines.

What do this and the other experiences indicate about the millennials and the way they perceive the violence they experience in video games like Battlefield 3 and 4? I believe it suggests that they are not only capable of recognizing the differences between the virtual reality of the game and the world outside, but to demonstrate that recognition, they intentionally amplify the unreality in harmony with their well-known, ironic pre-disposition.

Furthermore, I believe it reveals the media's claims of a direct link between violent video games and millennial violence as incomplete and representative of a misinformed bias towards games like the Battlefield and Grand Theft Auto franchises.

Musings on the Battlefield: I am NOT insane. Why I have decided to give up my beloved Lancang Dam (for the time being). POST PATCH UPDATE!

So that patch thingy? Didn't help. Nope. 07/09/14.

So after weeks and weeks of avoiding Lancang entirely (I even dropped out if the map switched to LD), I finally decided that after this past week's 600+MB patch I would give it a go. Well, I hate to say it but, THE BOYCOTT LIVES ON! The pic above was only one of several moments where the game hung. Something that I will be writing a post about soon, once I figure out what the patch was supposed to do, other than give everyone more content (Dragon's Teeth)?

06/18/14

I am not a complainer by nature, especially when it comes to software. I know that most software comes out half-baked at the time of release, and that rule applies to all of it: OS, app, games, etc. It goes without saying, however, that in the last decade, release cycles have shrunk to the point that the problem of what I like to call "user-led debguging" has been exacerbated. The so-called "alpha-stage" of the S/W development cycle is a myth. What you see on the day of release is little more than an advanced Beta at best.

In other words, things are getting worse, not better. Take for instance BF4. I think I have demonstrated on this blog as well as in the number of hours that I have played the game, that it is my favorite franchise. But no matter how much I may praise its glories, it is only fair if I also point out its glaring weaknesses.

Case in point: the number of online updates. As a PS3 user, I know that there have been at least three since February, not including the DLCs (as expected, the Naval Strike DLC contained several bug fixes and code updates as well as new content). If online reports are accurate, the number of updates for the PC and PS4 have been two or even, threefold.

Then there's the server issues. My last count was four separate server "updates" and the game isn't even a year old. That means that the problem isn't only software, it's hardware as well, a cross-departmental miss.

But perhaps the most galling is the frequent and predictable glitching, when the game freezes and there is no recovery besides a hard boot of the device (I would love it if some angry PS3 user one day proved that BF4 damaged their PS3 due to all the hard reboots**). It is the glitching that continues to be the BF4 Achilles' heal.

Glitching or "freezing" is perhaps the oldest of software failures, and one of the most difficult to troubleshoot. Is it the customer environment or the software? Is it the network or the hardware? The areas of investigation are limitless, and even more so with a game like BF4 and its multiplayer mode.

Still, there comes a time when even the factory, level three support engineer, has to go back to the programmer and say, "This is us, not them." Which they have clearly done, forcing EA to respond with an apology and admission of the errors with the platform.

Yet, despite EA's mea culpa, (a rare acknowledgement from a traditionally "take it or leave it" industry), there are lines that must be drawn if changes are to be made. And while my decision to stop playing Lancang Dam, a map I thoroughly enjoy, may be like a gnat buzzing in a giant's ear, "BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!" I say to the giants EA DICE and Activision!

"Why?" you ask, have I become so incensed? What could possibly have led me to this extreme course of action? Simple, I am not insane.

If "insanity" is defined as "the repetition of the same self-destructive behaviors in the hope of an improved outcome" then my answer is succinct and on point. In just the past month, I have played multiplayer-BF4 a dozen times or more. For some reason, the game has froze at nearly the same point, in the same vehicle, three times in just the past several weeks. That my friend is what you call "a pattern."

Prove it.

Done. Take a look at the above screen capture*. Note it is in Lancang Dam, near the western end of the map. I am in driving the tank. I glitched in the parking lot as the enemy with the bomb advanced. Now, take a look at the captures below.

06/13/14

06/12/14

They look very similar, because they are: same map, same area, same vehicle, almost same view. It's uncanny and interesting but it is also RIDICULOUS. From a programmer's standpoint, this pretty much eliminates my PS3 or network from being the source of the issue. In other words, it ain't me sister.

The irony of course is that I am still going to play the game, just not the map. That's the sad result of a market that has made its own bed. We would rather play a glitchy game now, than give the programmers time to put out a finished product later.

So while my stand may be only half-baked, it seems a perfect response to the half-baked world of contemporary gaming software. Take that you lot, "BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!"

*For other examples of when the game goes wrong, check here: BF4 glitch screenshots
**I was informed by a BF4 forum user that several have already demonstrated a link between a failure with their PS3 and BF4 requiring so many hard reboots.

Epic BF4 Glitch Screenshots

One of several pet peeves I have with the game is the fact that it hangs so often in multiplayer mode. For the past several months, I have taken screenshots of the game when it has frozen at times of greatest intensity. Here are the best, and worst, of the lot so far (I expect I will be adding more as time goes on):

So far, the worst of the glitches I have had this weekend during the 2x XP event. You have to appreciate how completely the game screwed me on this one. Not only was I  almost done capturing a flag, I was also just about to light up chameleon-boy here and revive my team. That's like a 1000 point reversal. Sweet pic though. (071314)

Operation Locker: I just threw my grenade which you can see hanging in mid-air. Awesome.

Dawnbreaker: just beautiful.

Operation Locker. The thrill of battle. After cutting down a bunch of bad guys I stopped to get some health when a malcontent behind me decided to throw his grenade. I doubt he got the kill.

Siege of Shanghai. Lining up a bad guy shooting his IGLA at my heli. I hate when moments like this happen.

Siege of Shanghai. I think he was too busy admiring the new paint on my shotty.

Operation Locker. Bottom floor of the main battlefield. I just got pummeled by the guy around the corner. Unfortunately, he is now tasting the flames from my incendiary.

One of my first and still my favorite. Operation Locker again. Note the shotgun shell flying by at my three o'clock. Nuff said.

Flood Zone. Me lighting up this guy hiding on the roof.

Siege of Shanghai. If you look at the map you will see that some moron decided to parachute right in the middle of me and my friend the helicopter.

Paracel Storm. Me about to feed bullets to my enemy (I have my sight right on the guy's head). 

Paracel Storm. They say "a picture's worth a thousand words."

Operation Locker (becoming a theme ain't it?). I just wiped out a bunch a bad guys and picked up the bomb.

Siege of Shanghai. My cannon is pointed at the enemies' exact location.

Lancang Dam. See the glowing bomb. See where I am and what I am riding. Times like these I wish I enjoyed sports games.

Lancang Dam. No. This is NOT the same photo as the one above. They are very similar. I had just put down the enemy boat, yes I said "boat", that was after I chewed through their tank. Now my gunner is onboard with the bomb. DAM LANCANG DAM.

Gulf of Oman. One of my favorites and the only shot of it glitching after I died. The reflections don't do the pic justice.

Another amazing capture of me and my friend Mr. Shotgun, bringing hell to the unbelievers. Unfortunately, the game is not a fan. Siege of Shanghai.

Flood Zone. I just buried one DEEP into this cow and was getting ready to let her have another when the game said "enough is enough."

Siege of Shanghai. I must have sounded like the Hulk when this happened, "ARRRGGGHHHHH!"

You have my permission to use any of my screen captures for personal, non-commercial purposes. For all other reasons, including charitable, I request that you attribute the work to John David Flores. Thanks. Don't forget, come find me at PSN>JOHNDAVIDFLORES and I will run you over with a quad.