All Your Base Are Belong to Us: How Fifty Years of Videogames Conquered Pop Culture (44 page)
Read All Your Base Are Belong to Us: How Fifty Years of Videogames Conquered Pop Culture Online
Authors: Harold Goldberg
As I write these words, many critics and pundits are rubbing their hands together in glee at reports that the videogame industry has been hit by the recent recession, and they are pouncing upon this news as another opportunity to denounce videogames as shallow playthings. But if you look at the history of popular art, this is hardly surprising. Novels were once forbidden and considered deleterious, leading Voltaire to pen a parody called “Concerning the Horrible Danger of Reading.” In the late 1800s, Anthony Comstock tried to ban everything from Whitman to Tolstoy, and critics were pooh-poohing the content within the popular penny dreadful novels. When movies became the sensation of the late 1800s, Maxim Gorky worried that in viewing them, “we will be increasingly less
able and less willing to grasp the everyday impressions of ordinary life.” When movies were finally considered worthy of being called art, the movie critics disparaged pop music from the likes of Elvis Presley and the Beatles. And when videogames came to the fore, all those established critics—book, movie, pop music—ridiculed this growing form of expression. That’s what critics do—they sniff, they rail, they bellow and try to snuff out whatever it is they vehemently disagree with. But Transformation 2.0 is just around the corner as more and more developers elevate their games to something that’s beyond action. Soon, there will come a time when the pundits can no longer hold their noses and shake their heads. Soon, they’ll forget their concentration on the stupid shovelware games. As they look to the new diversity that will flourish, they’ll no longer be able to deny that videogames are more than just toys.
Until then, those of you who love games will find the art of the game within yourselves. And until then, you’ll sure have fun playing, fighting ever more malevolent grues and traveling to new worlds on roller coaster rides that allow you quick and satisfying escape, and sometimes profound thought, and sometimes, as that non-gamer Coleridge wrote in 1817, the “willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith.”
Bring it on. Bring on more gems like Shadow Complex. Bring on 3-D without glasses. Bring on holographic gaming. Bring on the next generation of Will Wrights, Shigeru Miyamotos, and Houser Brothers—along with the startling, lambent genres they’ll create. Bring it on. Bring it on. As Nightmare growls so ravenously in SoulCalibur II, “My thirst is endless.”
*
Epic had come a long way since its early days in London, Ontario. Then, the young Bleszinski (with Arjan Brussee) was focused on making a kind of Rambo meets Mario platform game called Jazz Jackrabbit. But the game featuring the warhawk bunny wasn’t Bleszinski’s real calling. Gears of War was.
*
In fact, testing can get even creepier, with galvanic skin response testing. A company called EmSense specializes in wireless sensors to detect anything from sweat on the hands to increasing heart rate. They can measure your arousal level, your positive and negative emotions while playing, and the level of cognitive engagement with anything from the way you save games to your enjoyment of a harsh battle. If a gargantuan monster busts through a wall and the heart rate jumps twenty beats a minute, a developer might want to ratchet down the thrills to ten beats a minute for the sake of pacing. That’s really
Clockwork Orange
stuff.
I want to thank the highly intelligent and always witty Helen Pfeffer, who listened to me bitch about this book for nearly three years and helped me with the editing. My agent and pal Adam Chromy was in my corner even before this was a book proposal. Julian Pavia, my thoughtful, long note–penning editor at Random House, really gets games and pop culture. He truly understands writers. I also want to thank my good friend Steve Kent, whose
Ultimate History of Video Games
was an inspiration. To Trip Hawkins, the first who gave of his time, and to all the game makers who listened and opened up, and the publicists who helped to make many of the two hundred interviews happen, I am forever indebted. Jennifer Kolbe, Sam Houser, and Rockstar came through big-time in the end. To the New York Videogame Critics Circle and all the game writers and game players who believe that videogame journalism and culture are about more than shooting, next-generation technology, and leveling up, this book is for you.
All Your Base Are Belong to Us
is based on approximately two hundred interviews, along with three years of writing and research.
1
I’m referring to SoulCalibur for the Sega Dreamcast console, released by Namco in the United States in September 1999.
2
The videogame industry statistics cited are from the Entertainment Software Association, circa 2010.
3
The Pokémon-branded milk was from a Bangkok 7-Eleven store.
It was mixed with honey and tasted awful.
The chapter is based on twelve interviews conducted with William Higinbotham’s son, Bob Dvorak’s son, Ralph Baer, and past and current scientists and employees at Brookhaven National Laboratory.
1
The original Noughts and Crosses can be downloaded at
http://www.adit.co.uk/html/noughts_and_crosses.html
.
2
Goldman, Robert P., “Wonderful Willie from Brookhaven,”
Parade
, May 18, 1958, pages 15–18.
3
Higinbotham, W. A., The Brookhaven TV-Tennis Game, date unknown.
This chapter is based in large part upon a full weekend spent with Ralph Baer at his home in New Hampshire. Baer’s basement was filled with memorabilia, including a toy shop and a working Odyssey. On the floor of his bedroom was a G4TV Legend of Videogames award.
The chapter is also informed by Mr. Baer’s autobiography,
Videogames: In the Beginning
(Rolenta Press, 2005) and by a second, currently unpublished, memoir.
Also interviewed for the chapter were Bill Harrison and Al Alcorn, along with three others who spoke on background.
SO EASY, A DRUNK COULD PLOY
AND
3.
HIGHEST HIGHS, LOWEST LOWS
Long interviews for these chapters were conducted with Al Alcorn, Ted Dabney, Mark Cerny, Todd Frye, Trip Hawkins, and others. An older interview with Nolan Bushnell was also used.
1
Loni Reeder’s three-page e-mail is dated December 28, 2005.
2
Bushnell’s memo was provided to me by Al Alcorn.
OF MONKEYS, MARIO, AND MIYAMOTO
Based on three interviews conducted over the years with Shigeru Miyamoto, as well as interviews with Henk Rogers, Trip Hawkins, Al Alcorn, Minoru Arakawa, Howard Phillips, and five others who spoke on background.
1
The quote “to escape the cycles of worries I had” is from a Miyamoto interview done by Nintendo of Japan’s president, Satoru Iwata.
http://us.wii.com/wii-fit/iwata_asks/vol1_page1.jsp
FALLING BLOCKS, RISING FORTUNES
Based on long interviews I had with Henk Rogers, early Nintendo maven and spokesperson Howard Phillips, Alexey Pajitnov, and Minoru Arakawa, and conversations with Jason Kapulka and others who spoke on background.
1
Russia was not an easy place to live while Pajitnov was growing up. See Hedrick Smith’s
The Russians
and
The New Russians
, both landmark tomes, to read more about the tenor of the times during the Soviet Union’s heyday and what came after.
2
Vadim Gerasimov tells his side of the Tetris story at length at
http://vadim.oversima.com/Tetris.htm
.
THE RISE OF ELECTRONIC ARTS
Based on interviews I conducted with Trip Hawkins, Ray Tobey, Mark Cerny, and Jason Rubin, as well as conversations with Steven L. Kent, Mike Harvey from
Nibble
magazine, the football players Ray Lewis and Daunte Culpepper, and others inside EA who spoke on condition of anonymity.
1
According to
USA Weekend
magazine (August 27, 2010), Madden NFL has earned more then $3 billion in revenue since 1988.
2
The
New York Times
’s Trip Gabriel estimated Hawkins’s financial worth in an article dated October 27, 1993.
GRUES, MYST, AND THE 7TH GUEST
Based on interviews and follow-ups conducted for the book with Graeme Devine, Rob Landeros, Ken Williams, and others who requested anonymity, along with older interviews with game writer Michelle Em, Rand Miller, and musician George “The Fat Man” Sanger, and conversations with journalist Geoff Keighley.
THE PLAYSTATION’S CRASH
Based on interviews conducted with Andy Gavin, Trip Hawkins, Mark Cerny, Jason Rubin, John Smedley, and various people at Sony who requested anonymity, as well as older interviews and conversations with Kaz Hirai, Ken Kutaragi, and Andrew House.
1
Though Kutaragi disdained the idea of a new mascot, the U.S. marketing team paid no attention. A
New York Times
article dated September 7, 1995, quoted a U.S. executive: “ ‘We’re going after males 12 to 24, too, with a skew toward the high end, so VMA is perfect for us,’ said William Herman, Sony Computer Entertainment’s vice president of marketing, referring to the awards show.” If Kutaragi had heard the age of twelve bandied about, he would have thrown a fit.
2
You can see the very mocking Crash Bandicoot commercial at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTi5EaocGaY
.
WHEN THE ADVENTURE ENDS
Based on long interviews with Ken and Roberta Williams. I also spoke with the PopCap guys, some of the Phantasmagoria team, and a few people who didn’t want to be named here. I also drew from older interviews with Roberta Williams and Al Lowe.
1
It wasn’t just Ken and Roberta who were fooled by CUC/
Cendant. Everyone believed the hype, from analysts who rated it a “strong buy,” to
Forbes
, which, in a May 23, 1997, headline, called the company “The Procter & Gamble of Video Games.”
EVERQUEST: ORCS, ELVES, AND A CAST OF THOUSANDS
Based on interviews with John Smedley, conversations with seven of my former Sony Online Entertainment compatriots, and an older conversation with Kelly Flock. I also talked briefly about EverQuest with the makers of World of Warcraft and two videogame analysts.
1
In the December 20, 1999, issue of
Time
, an unbylined “Best of Cybertech” story stated, “EverQuest’s superior software puts it sword and shield above the rest.”
2
Shawn Woolley’s sad story is dramatically portrayed by Lazlow (who would go on to work for Rockstar Games) in the May 2003 issue of
Playboy
.
THE EVERQUEST KILLER
Based on interviews with Chris Metzen, Michael Morhaime, Frank Pearce, Rob Pardo, John Smedley, and others.
1
The complete WoW episode of
South Park
is still worth watching at
http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/1008
.
BIOSHOCK: ART FOR GAME’S SAKE
Based on lengthy interviews with Ken Levine, Tom Bass, Susan Lewis, and Sarah Anderson, and conversations with Warren Spector, Hermen Hulst, journalist/editor Ricardo Torres, Geoff Keighley, and employees at Take-Two Interactive and Irrational Games.
1
Seth Scheisel’s piece in the October 31, 2007, edition of the
New York Times
went on to report glowingly that Ratchet and Clank Future was “so lushly compelling that you find yourself just staring at the screen, as if it were a movie.”
2
Brilliant game designer Warren Spector also worked on Thief: The Dark Project.
THOSE MOVIES SUCK
Based on older interviews with Hironobi Sakaguchi, Frank Darabont, and John Milius, as well as recent interviews with members of Blizzard Entertainment, M. Night Shyamalan, and members of the game and movie industries who wished to remain anonymous.
1
Kenneth Turan’s
Los Angeles Times
review of
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
was published on July 11, 2001.
UNDER THE GUN: THE KIDS IN THE SANDBOX
AND
15.
ROCKSTAR GETS PILLORIED
Both are based in large part on interviews with Sam Houser.
It was difficult to get to Rockstar. Four months of requests to the PR department went unnoticed. It sends a clear message: Rockstar prefers to make games, not talk about them. But they needed to be in this book, so I kept trying. I sent my last book,
My Life Among the Serial Killers
, to Sam and Dan Houser, who passed it on to Rockstar’s terrific Jennifer Kolbe, who became my champion. After some months of postponement during the crunch time for Red Dead Redemption, a very gracious Sam Houser came through with seven hours of interviews.
These chapters are also based on conversations with others who have worked with Rockstar, and members of the Halo team and the original Doom team.
1
Sam Houser was right to be annoyed about State of Emergency. According to PSXextreme, the game did garner the most buzz and awards at E3, 2001. When it was released, however, it garnered middling reviews and was often returned to stores because of bugs.
http://www.psxextreme.com/scripts/reviews2/review.asp?revID=128
2
Truman Capote,
In Cold Blood
(Random House, 1965), page 5.
3
Senator Lieberman’s quote is from
Forbes
via Reuters, “Lieberman Denounces ‘Grand Theft Auto’ Video Game,” January 25, 2004.
4
Senator Clinton announced her stance regarding the game on July 13, 2005. The words reverberated throughout the media and on videogame sites like GameSpot.
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/07/13/news_6129021.html
.
5
The Coke commercial is utterly brilliant and worth watching a few times.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wt5FiZQrgM
THE POPCAP GUYS AND THE FAMILY JEWELS
This chapter is based on interviews with Jason Kapulka, John Vechey, and Brian Fiete and a conversation with David Roberts, along with others at PopCap.
THE THEORIST GOES GLOBAL
The chapter is based in large part on interviews with Will Wright and Jeff Braun, who were very generous with their time. It also draws from interviews with Shigeru Miyamoto, various members of the Sims and Spore teams, an older conversation with Peter Molyneaux, and an e-mail conversation with Bill Barol.
1
Bill Barol, “Big Fun in a Small Town,”
Newsweek
, May 29, 1989, PG. 64.
2
Martin Gardner’s “Mathematical Games” columns from
Scientific American
from 1956 to 1980 are collected on a 4,500-page CD-ROM that consolidates his fifteen books, published by the Mathematical Association of America (May 2005).
WII NATION
Based on three interviews over the years with Shigeru Miyamoto, interviews with Howard Phillips, Trip Hawkins, and Will Wright, a conversation with Reggie Fils-Aime, older interviews with Perrin Kaplan and George Harrison, and a brief personal encounter with Lindsay Lohan. I also had conversations with other members of Nintendo of America who prefer to remain anonymous, and spoke with some people who worked with Nintendo as third-party licensees.
1
Dean Takahashi’s groundbreaking VentureBeat series on the Microsoft console is called “Xbox 360 Defects: An Inside History
of Microsoft’s Video Game Console Woes,” and it began online on September 5, 2008.
2
The Nintendo statistics are from Nintendo of America.
THE FUTURE
Based on interviews with Donald Mustard, Laura Mustard, Mike Capps, Mark Coates, analyst Billy Pidgeon, Cevat Yerli, Sam Houser, Will Wright, Hermen Hulst, members of the New York Videogame Critics Circle, and older interviews with game executives Peter Moore, Shane Kim, Ed Fries, and J. Allard, and writer/game director Amy Hennig.
