I’ve recently stalled in my writing here and it is because a very rather large event in my personal life combined with the fact I chose to keep playing games when I might have time to write about them. I do enjoy posting on this blog and hope to return to some kind of regular programming soon. In the meantime just visit the sites in my Blogroll. These blogs never fail in providing great insights into videogames and the culture surrounding them.
Seasons greetings
I cannot understate how important the Monteriggioni Villa is to my enjoyment of Assassin’s Creed 2. It provides a virtual home within the game. A place that anchors down all I have done and all I will do during my with Desmond as Ezio. My first encounter with the Villa and it’s surrounding wall town left me quite depressed about Ezio’s situation. Much had been lost at this point and I couldn’t help but notice the dilapidated building that was my base of operations. But Monteriggioni has developed alongside my own growth within the world that Ubisoft created.
All the items I gain in the game are linked back to this villa, on display to remind me of their existence whenever I return. My ever growing art collection is punctuated by largely empty rooms, set aside for weapons and armor. This reminds me of how I have chosen to progress in the game. The game has three collectibles items, feathers, codex pages and seals of your ancestor Assassin’s. It is not enough to simply retrieve them, they must be returned to the villa in order to contribute to that magical counter. I am reminded of the narrative justification for collecting feathers by the perpetually catatonic form of Ezio’s mother as I deposit them in her room. I am reminded of the importance of finding all the Codex pages, a feeling reinforced when I place them amongst those already gained and as the Assassin’s seals unlock the gate to the ultimate final reward I feel motivated to explore just one more tomb.
The Villa at Monteriggioni at it’s most simple is a virtual trophy room, one which continually reinforces a holistic recollection of my gaming experience. When I equip my Condottiero War Hammer and Iron chestguard I cannot help but remember the common sword and leather armor that served me well during my early days in Florence. My anticipation of gameplay to come is increased by the memory of gameplay now past. Beyond a trophy room it is a benign region of Ezio’s world that provides for moments of practice and experimentation. With each new building upgraded, I gain access to the treasure chests that taunt me through their presence on my map. I practice many a jumping puzzle before needing those skills for the real challenges that I face in the greater world. I refine my combat reflexes without consequence or fear. The need to return to the Villa to collect income means that whilst you might not need the safety net that it offers you are most definitely aware of it.
The open world genre can simultaneously intimidate and excite by the wealth of options for play that they offer. The inclusion of an area like the Monteriggioni Villa takes away much of the anxiety of being let loose in such a world that does not force you to participate in the authored narrative. It provides a virtual home, a safe place to exist in the world as well as an anchor for your memories of the game. This is a vital element that is missing in many open world games that often provide rich emergent experience but provide no means to hold onto them, leaving them to fade away with the next cool brush fire, assassination or car crash. When my time with Ezio is finished the Monteriggioni Villa and town are restored and alive with colour and movement. My trophy room has expanded out and every step through this place is a reminder of the things I have done and the fun I have had along the way.
I have a game recommendation for you dear reader. I know it might be hard to drag yourself away from your game of Left 4 Call of Assassin’s Age: Origins 2, trust me I am thankful that you even have the time to read these first couple of sentences. If you will indulge me further then take this piece of advice: give Devil’s Tuning Fork, the 30 minute play through it deserves. This free independent PC title reminds me of my experience with Mirror’s Edge because of two key similarities.
- Devil’s Tuning Fork is a first person game that does not need weapons to achieve it’s aim. It leverages the potential for engagement that a first person perspective holds without the explosions.
- The visual style of the game is intimately tied to the player’s engagement with the world.
In Devil’s Tuning Fork you are a child who is exploring his/her own coma state which you fall into at the outset. You must explore this space using a Tuning Fork to send out sound waves which move across all surfaces illuminating their moving textures briefly. It is a simple mechanic that creates some amazing visual set pieces all as a result of the your own actions. The sound waves have a functional purpose in lighting the path you must walk, highlighting false floors that cause you to fall and activating chimes that engage moving platforms allowing progress. Each soundwave reveals a dynamic moving world as if you are trying to kickstart your brain, to shake off the darkness of the coma. The moving walls when briefly illuminated are sometimes disorienting, giving a false sense of movement, the jarring moments as you try to force your way out of this mental prison.
The story elements are thin on the ground which combined with the visual effects provide a nice frame to fill in the gaps and make of this world what you wish. The crescendo of effects in a game such as Left 4 Call of Assassin’s Age: Origins 2 might result in a complex and visceral experience begging to be analyzed and thought about but I feel, dear reader, that a simple game with simple ideas can be a memorable one as well. Devil’s Tuning Fork is one such game, and it is not something I feel I will forget soon.
Take the time to explore Devil’s Tuning Fork, I am sure that there will always be time for Left 4 Call of Assassin’s Age: Origins 2.
Things have been a bit quiet on this project since the initial flurry of activity after my announcement. I was encouraged by people’s replies and looked forward to getting down to work once I started receiving submissions. However at this point submissions have been thin on the ground so I have been working away at whatever I can on my end. Once more submissions start coming in I will be able to dive into converting them into commentary tracks very quickly. I have recorded and set up my introductory track which will be positioned just outside Vault 101. It contains some basic information about the project and how the player might wish to engage with it. Obviously this information may change once more commentary tracks are included. I’m also constantly trying out new designs for the “commentary nodes”. I am trying to make them distinctive enough to draw attention to themselves as there would be little point having some great commentary in the world if it could not be found. Here are some examples.
The balloons seem like a good way to draw attention to the nodes during daytime with lighting effects serving a similar function in darker conditions. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions please feel free to contact me via email or in the comments section.
I am still very enthusiastic about this project and hope to be given the opportunity to work harder on it very soon. If you are interested in making a commentary track for the game all the information can be found on the Wasteland Commentaries page of this site.