PoE Awakening: initial thoughts

Path of Exile’s first expansion has been in development for a while now with access to the beta to those who wished to do so, but its retail release has just come up prompting me to go in and see what’s what.  Over the past couple years, PoE has been a game that has garnered a lot of enjoyment from me and being able to experience new maps, bosses and skills allows me to continue to find fresh pieces of content that keep me interested in the game’s overall lifespan.  Today I want to talk about my experiences; first as a player and secondly from a design perspective. 

Playtime Experience

To get the most out of this I decided to make a new character in the soft-core “Warbands” league which features randomly generated enemy groups designed via a particular element e.g. a flame war band using flame/ searing totems, fireballs and other similar skills.  I made a Scion with the old spectral throw with elemental damage (somewhat similar to buzzsaw to those playing) with some room for new gems to experiment with and quickly got back into playing a class that I enjoy right behind the Templar.  Right from act1, I was able to experience the great additions that were on offer as Nessa (the potion and misc vendor) has a second page that features a nice range of low-level skill / passive gems at a price that a newly made character can easily acquire.  Moving into the act itself, I very much appreciate the changes to the waypoints as I have found myself doing less of the ‘running around finding it’ this time around which in turn has speed up my interim gameplay and made my playtime feel much more streamlined.

When talking about the experience being streamlined, one cannot talk about it without mentioning the shift of maps as a whole through the acts.  Each act has had a map removed (Coves, Forest and connecting Sewer) where they didn’t suit any purpose but to get the player to an ‘active’ map (inactive meaning no quests or significant event) as well as significantly changing Act 2 in regards to Bandits / Vaal.  In this version, you can clear the bandit quest before you interact with the Vaal vessel as the Vaal ruins that featured before the Wetlands now go after it.  To me it feels a lot better to get the bandit quest done and then focus on the Vaal because sometimes I would get to the Wetlands and feel like I’m going backwards and forwards to achieve my goal.  In Act 3 not much has changed but having 1 less floor in the Lunaris temple makes it feel a lot better as floor 2 could drag a bit. 

The flaming lava-falls of Kaom's realm fit alongside the monsters that follow a similar characteristic.  Screenshot taken 20/7/2015

Act 4 is of course the new act and as of writing I am at the Harvest collecting the organs to meet the game’s new end-boss; Malachai, The Nightmare and hopefully succeed in a relativity short amount of time as I’m only on normal with this new Scion.  Leading up to this moment, act 4 has been very enjoyable as the enemies have made me more aware of my positioning and take more time to move out of the way of attacks and telegraphs.  Even in the first map (Aqueduct) the named ‘boss’ of the area is a large bird-like creature that body slams after a short period of flight constantly so it requires you to move around to use the available space to your advantage.  As you continue to progress through the acts, the bosses ramp this up with enemies like Kaom and Corrupted Piety engulfing large amounts of the ground in negative space (such as flames / poison / etc) giving me the feeling of being back in wow raiding with things such as the famous Helgen Dance in Naxx.  Throughout all of this I’ve had one death due to my own mistake but overall I feel like the difficultly is appropriate for the content and I look forward to trying these fights on the higher difficultly. 

The Aesthetics / Design

The corridors between arenas balance the frantic battles against its small stature.  Screenshot taken 20/7/2015

Act 4 has a brilliant mix of map design and monster design that are able to do a lot with spaces that on their own aren’t too interesting.  I say this because a number of the maps (Dried Lake, Daresso’s Dream, etc) are a collection of channels and arenas but are able to instill life into the space within the context of its setting (see this post for my thoughts on the subject).  The Dried Lake may not be much to look at, but the mix of enemies’ present give the narrative of a battlefield of time long passed all the more presence with a somewhat washed-out, grey beach alongside a couple huts.  The large monsters that are a collection of many skeletal archers are particularly great as you can see individual archers acting on their own to attack you, while being a part of a larger monster that is intent on killing you.  On top of this, the way it splinters when you kill it offloading a couple of the archers to act on their own is a nice little touch which turns an enemy that fits a basic ranged combat role into something with a bit more detail.

The Darkness of the mines hide a mass of monsters awaiting your arrival.  Screenshot taken 20/7/2015

 

On the subject of enemies, there are some great interactions throughout the act which make the maps feel more alive and combative.  To give an example, the stone men in the mines throw pieces of themselves at the player with the potential to be stunned / knocked back in a darkened environment that can make it difficult to distinguish type add to the aesthetic of a mine that has sealed to the world for a long time where corruption has taken its time to manifest in the inhabitants.  Another example can be found in Kaom’s realm, where a number of enemies attack underneath the ground through lava channels leaving a burning path for the player to either dodge or experience the effect of burning.  It fits into the background of lava flowing like water as well as getting the player ready for the later battle with Kaom which requires a lot of dodging lava fields and fireballs to get through alive.  Although these are great examples, what I feel encapsulates great design is through Daresso’s dream and the two maps that feature within it. 

Daresso's Dream and the pits make a small square space into something special.  Screenshot taken 20/7/2015

Daresso’s story of being this young lad brought into the world of battle is setup in a great way through these two maps because of the way the character narrates while you progress.  Daresso talks about his time becoming a fighter, entering the fighting pits and making his way up to the gladiatorial arenas while you progress through the same areas has allowed me to learn about his story where previously I may of quickly skipped it through dialogue.  His story is one that feels the most prominent in my mind when it comes to Path of Exile because I was able to play it and when a story can marry itself to gameplay in such a way I believe they can truly work wonders together.  The maps themselves maybe a couple arenas with connecting paths, but the arenas have character that makes it a great place to interact with.  The ‘dream’ map has these small, muddied pits that have wooden-spiked gates that trickle enemies into the space giving me the impression of a skirmish/ brawl whereas the gladiatorial arena has crowds, side entrances and trapdoors that all throw enemies into the battle as you make a name for yourself.  There are a few pillars dotted around to punctuate the arena floor, but that’s all it needs because the fight does all the talking.  Even with all this going on, the final battle with Daresso fits into his own battle for the King of Swords; having a much more intimate space as two combatants wait to see the first show doubt and strike hard. 

The gladiatorial arena is just a larger square but does a lot with the space provided.  Screenshot taken 20/7/2015 

Overall, the Awakening expansion for Path of Exile has been a great deal of fun to play which has allowed me to interact with parts of the game that I haven’t done so in the past.  The overall flow of the game feels better and the new act 4 has a great mixture of monsters, maps and boss fights to keep many a player interested up to the end credits and beyond.  I hope you give it a try and see how much is going on beyond the genre title of an Action RPG that is free without you feeling like you’re missing out if you choose not to purchase its micro transactions. 

Couple more weeks and I may try hardcore again….

Low-Performance PC Gaming

As I mentioned recently, my new job has open opportunities to be involved in new things and have a suitable level of disposable income.  The conventional side of my thoughts have expressed interest in things such as suitable accommodation, learning to drive or a potential holiday; but naturally the ever-present idea of a new PC build has made itself known.  It’s been 8 or so years since the last PC build (with a GFX card change and RAM stick addition) but the box’s age is definitely showing with many modern titles either not working or having very poor performance.  A title like The Witcher 3 is something I would love to be playing but with my old AMD dual-core CPU and ATI 4850HD the more likely result is a machine that gives up and explodes.  With all that being said, I would say that my time gaming on a low-performance PC has been an enjoyable experience has taught me a lot about the customisability that a platform like PC has to offer. 

To roughly break this down into three factors, I would say that they are “New games are still available”,  “Cost factors” and “Configure for performance”.

New games are still playable

The City of Novigrad in Witcher 3 looks great and I hope to play it in the future.  Image from Witcher.wikia.com accessed 13/07/2015

When you have new games like The Witcher 3, Dragon Age: Inquisition or Batman: Arkham Knight; it can difficult to stay positive when they all pass you buy with a Canyourunit Fail result very clearly showing your machine’s inferiority.  However, in this same time-frame we’ve also had such titles like Hotline Miami 2, This War of Mine, Shovel Knight and the wide selection of Tell-tale narrative games that continue to improve as time goes on.  These games are not without their interesting game mechanics, diverse aesthetics and narratives that look to discuss themes that aren’t always talked about in general media.  For example, This War of Mine is a game set during war time that puts you in the shoes of a civilian trying to survive the conflict; tasked with collecting supplies to sustain a small bombed settlement while dealing with the moral implications of survival in such an environment with a dark aesthetic to match. 

This War of Mine showcasing the other side of war.  Image from thiswarofmine.com accessed 13/07/2015

As well as games, game engines such as Unity have done a great of work to give developers a means to create games on a relativity slow budget and have available players from a similar column.  One of the most popular games (if one would use Twitch numbers) over the past year or so is Hearthstone which is a well-produced Unity-engine card game that even runs well on a phone; giving players an enjoyable, free to play experience that continues to create new content for people to enjoy. 

Cost factors

Hearthstone gives a great deal of enjoyable for no upfront cost and minimal performance requirements.  Image from us.battle.net accessed 13/07/2015

Continuing on from my Hearthstone example, the prevalence of free to play titles has greatly helped those on a small budget experience more games than ever before.  It is understandable that there are those who dislike the model citing games like Hearthstone, Dota2 or LoL where A player may spend over the amount of a AAA title and then some for a questionable amount of content (quantity and quality of course), but the model has seen great improvements over its short lifespan.  All the above examples, as well as Path of Exile and Warframe are free to play games I enjoy even on an old PC and with significant updates such as PoEs recent Awakening expansion (which introduced a new act, skill updates, item additions and more all for free) shows there are still great times to be had on a low spec machine.  To this day, my PC and its part replacements have cost a total of ~£300 and its current lifespan of ~8 years puts a rough annual cost of £37.50 which is on par with a console. 

Configure for performance

config files and registry tinkering allows for games old and new to run tailored to your needs.  Screenshot taken 13/07/2015

This I believe is the most prevalent factor in my time on a low-performance PC as it has allowed me to learn more about the finer details when it comes to playing games.  To many, configuring .ini files is extremely easy but if like me you never had to use them and stick with an in-game options menu it may seem like a daunting task to accomplish.  Over these past few years, I do take time to configure and tailor a game to my liking so that I get the right balance of performance (frame rate of at least 30 stable) and graphical quality which has meant that a game like Guild Wars 2 where I didn’t feel confident pvp’ing due to performance drops is now suitable for me as competitive game modes naturally need smoothness in performance.  This factor in my gaming life revolves around one particular example that I would like to discuss now:

The natural mod-ability of a game like Skyrim helped me play it when it seemed unlikely.  Screenshot accessed 13/07/2015

In November 2011, I was sitting in my bedroom at university late one night when Steam popped up saying that “The Elder Scroll 5: Skyrim was now available”.  At this time, I was using my laptop (the one I’m typing with now which overheats and its PSU is held with tape) and was well aware that it wouldn't do well with such a title, but reflectively clicked purchased anyway and awaited its download.  Upon entering the initial scene in the cart, I noticed a terrible frame rate of around 10 as well as input lag which quickly got me demoralised with the prospect I wouldn’t be able to play it for over a month until I had access to my PC (the one that was still kind of old at the time but not as bad as today).  At this point, it was 1 am and I decided that “no, I’m going to see what I can do with this” and trawled the internet for some solutions.  With the help of some forums and the PCgamingwiki page on Skyrim, I spent the next couple hour’s fine tuning my settings and testing that initial scene to see what performance I could grasp at with the modification of effects such as shadows and LOD; eventually finding a mod that looked to reduced graphical quality below the in-game minimal parameter.  By 3am, I had done my testing and now I was sitting at around 28fps which was as far as I could feasibly go without breaking things and found myself engrossed in a world right through to 10am when I decided it was time to go get breakfast.  Yes, I could have just waited until the Christmas holiday period and enjoy this game without all the hassle, but due to my perseverance /stubbornness to play this game, I was able to enjoy Skyrim in that initial period of exploration when something new is available and we’re all trying to figure out what’s over the next hilltop. 

So that’s what gaming on a rather old PC means to me.  Of course there are games that I would love to play now that aren’t available to me, but with the great selection on offer I don’t feel like I’m missing out or that I’m a second-class citizen.  When I do end up getting a new PC, I will of course love having the great looking graphics, quick load times and the likes but I know that if I’m not able to upgrade again for a while I can keep enjoying this medium of gaming and the experiences it provides. 

P.S. pcgamingwiki.com has been very useful over the last couple years.

Arenas, Museums and Space

The length of my commute over the past few weeks have been a process of theory vs. reality.  The theory being I can get work done to and from work but the reality is having to catch connecting services and not being able to sit during peak time.  Because of this, I have thought up a new process that involves reading on the Sunday; mulling it over during Monday and putting it to paper (physical or electronic) that evening.  Hopefully this will produce content that’s on time and interesting but of course time will tell.  Anyway, I recently found myself going over some old essays and I would like to talk about one of them today.

Although I do talk a lot about ‘space’ when it comes to architectural theory, I feel it’s a nice branching topic of discussion that has a varied number of applications.  One such way is Bataille’s piece on architecture (excerpt from my old copy of Rethinking Architecture) which corresponds with this concept in an interesting way.  He talks of architecture being an expression of society through the view of official characters such as palaces and cathedrals as they impose and create a social environment that reflects their grandeur.  His comment on the duality of man and architecture reflects this saying:

…if you attack architecture, whose monumental productions are now the true masters across the land, gathering the servile multitudes in their shadow, enforcing admiration and astonishment, order and constraint, you are in some way attacking man.

The Atrium at the Tate Modern has always been a rather bear-bones environment, but it has seen host to a great number of cultural installations.  Image from http://www.wikipedia.org/ accessed 06/07/2015

His later piece on the ‘museum’ has a similar connotation in that museums are an embodiment of societies desire to contemplate and observe in which visitors are exposed to what we can be throughout the ages.  The museum presented as a ‘container’ to the ‘content’ that the visitor interacts with keeps it as a piece of architecture reflect a particular social environment (knowledge and culture predominately) as the people flow through the exhibits to reach a point where they feel more informed, culturally rounded or (as Bataille puts it) ‘visibly animated’.  To me, this correlates strongly with my previous discussions on ‘space’ and ‘place’ as the museum and its exhibits live within these two phrases; as the museum hosts the collection while the content flourishes within a relevant place before the content is refreshed.  Whether the museum is in a historic grade one listed building overlooking a grand estate or a refurbished factory, the collection (its content) is what makes a museum, a museum.  We have places like the Tower of London but we also have the Tate and together they are able to attract large numbers of visitors who are looking for a cultural experience while they visit.  It is with this thought that games in some situations follow this theory through the concept of the ‘arena’. 

Chest-high walls among a set-piece that is design for conflict.  Image from http://wikigameguides.com/ accessed 06/07/2015

In a large number of action titles, you will be moving along a path and come across a space specifically design for a set piece to happen in.  An example of this can be Gears of War, where the abundance of chest-high walls will usually signify the approach of an incoming battle.  The player moves into this space aware of what they are looking to experience, readying their senses and acting accordingly.  They battle through this set-piece then find themselves moving along another path into the next conflict which will most likely follow the same pattern, regardless of size or prestige shifts between them.  Other examples such as a large open space with weapons littered around to signify an incoming boss battle or the more direct transitions in a game like Painkiller which feature an ongoing series of checkpoints can differ massively architecturally, but still give a similar impression to the player.  It shows that the environment can be a grand vista of physics and high-end graphical effects or simply rendered street but as long as the content aligns with the player’s desire for an experience in a well versed way it can be a great thing.  Referring back to Painkiller, some the environments may look quite simple, but its deliverance of content puts it low on the player’s priority of thoughts. 

Painkiller primarily is a series of arenas, but focuses heavily on combat to create an experience the player is looking for.  Image from http://www.nvidia.co.uk/ accessed 06/07/2015

To conclude, architecture can be a grand monument as much as a hovel but creation of an experience is what makes it truly shine.  Games do this brilliantly and it shows that chest-high wall galleries can be fun if the experience is attuned alongside it.  A game where the world around me is exploding into a million little events like Bulletstorm or Wolfenstein: the New Order can give me the same feeling of an experience as a puzzle in Antechamber due to their means of presenting the game-play to the player.  

References:

*Bataille G Archtiecture as shown in Leach, N. Rethinking Architecture(2008).  Routledge, London p.p. 20-23

Lion’s Arch Rebuilt, Guild Wars 2

Last month, I discussed my thoughts on the redevelopment of Lion’s Arch as it stood in an awkward state of ruins and fortifications awaiting a shiny new look via the in-game organisation called “The Consortium”.  One month on and we able to see how those pieces of scaffolding and concept drawings have to come to life alongside a significant change to gameplay via the implementation of the specialisation system and build creator.  As a quick note, I very much like this system (even if I was a little confused at first) and have been trying out some builds I haven’t touched in quite some time. 

The Asuran Gateways have a new plaza for players to look and interact with.  Screenshot taken 28/6/2015

Anyway, onto talking about the rebuild.

The harbor features a large sculpture of a lobster/ shellfish much like other important landmarks in LA.  Screenshot taken 28/6/2015 

Lion’s Arch new look is something that holds a great deal of aesthetical beauty and strength while maintaining its impression as a maritime-focused settlement.  It has a collection of aquatic-themed sculptures defining each section of the city such as trade skills, banks and harbour that use a combination of polished white stone and jade-like glass with minor details adorned with gems e.g. the squid’s eyes by the banker across from the mystic forge.  The residents have a nice mixture of timber framed lodges and stone-clad houses which fit nicely into the maritime feeling in particular with some of the timber buildings being built from a ship’s hull (or at least designed to look like it was).  The fortress gives the impression of a formidable position as it continues the stone masonry creating high walls punctuated by a collection of canons finished in metal and gold that tie into the Lion’s Guard regalia which gives credence to one NPC’s line saying that “Lion’s Arch is the safest place to be these days”.  Outside of this, a tall lighthouse sits on the edge of the city as its bold rays of light circle around its central point giving the people of LA a means to help those looking to dock and be more aware than ever when a threat is upon them.  Overall, it is a significant increase in size and bulk that is somewhat different to how I believe it would work out. 

A combination of wood and stone give LA a particular feeling.  Screenshot taken 28/6/2015

LA being this ‘pirate state’ originally fit into its aesthetic with a selection of shacks, wooden structures and makeshift architecture from boats alongside a bazaar-like trade district.  This is why in my earlier post, I wished for a North-African souk/bazaar feeling as I feel it would instil a feeling of business and life into the area.  That’s not to say that the current trade district doesn’t have the potential to be loud under its glass sea-life canopy, I just hope that place gets to be a bit chaotic from time to time; with NPCs peddling their goods and players running around achieving their goals for the day.  This follows into my thoughts about the landscape of the main areas in LA which feature an ordered array of houses and offices against a white stone formation.  This place to me feels like it’s been ‘colonized’ akin to the British Empire days where places like the West Indies would have their ports and architecture heavily influenced by their ruler’s design.  Although at first I was on the fence about the look, I feel that it does make sense when one considers the story, as LA has become a place that has seen its fair share of conflict and an external organisation (Consortium) has paid for its reconstruction.  So, by welcoming our new overlords, I’d like to talk about what I enjoy about the new LA. 

The spaces feel properly landscaped making open spaces feel relevant against the urban feel.  Screenshot taken 28/6/2015

Lion’s Arch is a lovely piece of landscaping which looks to create a good mix of tall structures, residential blocks, green spaces and artistic sculptures that all fit into the overall aesthetic.  It does a great job of bringing together an urban environment within a rural setting which the racial cities haven’t really experimented with to this degree.  I believe it’s something that is very much similar when we look at the development of town planning in the 20^th century with Garden Cities and New Towns. 

The Garden City and its concept of urban living in a rural environment.  Image from http://www.morrissociety.org/ accessed 29/6/2015

Ebenezer Howard’s vision for a Garden city was created towards the end of the Victorian age where the desire for industrialisation was closely followed by the increase of designated parkland and green-spaces as concepts like ‘jogging for pleasure / fitness’ started to become more apparent.  The idea of having factories fitting into a backdrop of rolling fields and wooded areas was commonly seen in concept work, finding its way into a couple real world examples with Letchworth and Welwyn in the late 1800s / early 1900s in England.  Garden Cities found a new lease of life after the Second World War due to the creation of New Towns with my home town, Harlow, being developed from 1947 onwards.  The ability for services, shops, residential blocks and communal spaces of an urban design being wrapped in a mixture of green verges, fields and forests is something I’ve greatly appreciated during my time living in this environment.  The fact that I can sit in the town centre and see 2 wooded areas, rolling hills and horses trotting around a field is something I’ve rarely experience elsewhere when it comes to a town and / or city.  Taking some time to review the new specialisation system made me have a similar feeling sitting on a landscaped piece of grass with a tall urban city present around me. 

(Right) Harlow Town centre (Left) green hills and woods.  Image from Google maps c.October 2014.  Image accessed 29/6/2015

Overall, I would say I’m happy with the design of the new Lion’s Arch.  It fits into the new identity of the city and it’s created some nice new vistas (visually not mechanically) which make for some lovely screenshots.  That being said, I still would like to see a bit more NPC life being brought into the place which potentially could be solved with some living world updates or short-term celebrations being held in LA. 

A spot to watch the world go past while I figure out my new engineer build.  Screenshot taken 28/6/2015

As a rough end-point, I’d say the patch is pretty cool and the Karka exterminate collection has created a nice incentive for people to explore the new city while gaining a very useful item in return.  If you’ve played GW2 in the past, it’s a pretty cool time to return.  

Blog: New Ventures and General Thoughts

These last couple weeks have been a bit all over the place for good reasons.  After a year and a bit of doing primarily freelance work I got offered a job which I am enjoying a great deal.  It has allowed me continue my work within the heritage sector while continuing to grow my people skills; of which I’m interacting with from lots of different national backgrounds.  In essence, this work is very similar to my small local museum, just on a much larger scale. 

This job has required me to commute for a relatively large distance (~3 hours a day) but it has allowed me to have time to think about new topics and ways to discuss ideas through the duality of architecture and video games.  Well, I would say that but there has been a couple other things on my mind thou.  First of all, I have ~160 years of maritime history to learn alongside local history which has occupied a decent amount of time and secondly I’ve kind of been tripping over thoughts I’ve already brought up.  To give an example, commuting has got me thinking about the occupation of space in transit which I’ve pretty much talked about 3-4 times at this rate so it’d probably be best to leave that alone for a while.  So what I thought I would do is give a couple ideas I’m working on with some brief notes and we’ll go from there.  As the title suggests, think of this as a typical blog over regular stuff.

Facades

I’m currently working in the area of Greenwich which has some great pieces of architecture nestled within its borough.  One piece I have a particular interest in is the maritime museum which has a fantastic façade with its pronounced pillars and wings accenting the main building.  This got me thinking about two things: the grand buildings made in games full of design and intricacy that are primarily used to wow the audience and the everyday building that fills sandbox city games like grand theft auto.  I’m more inclined to talk about the everyday buildings but I need to play some recent titles like GTAV or Watch_dogs to build up a better assessment. 

Transitions

This one is a bit more abstract but pretty much I’m thinking about the process of moving from one space to another.  This was somewhat influenced by the recent play through of Dark Souls by Extra Credits as the game does doors pretty well with its overbearing doors requiring effort from the player to open.  I’ve got a selection of games I would like to talk about this so I will probably be looking to do this next. 

Layered design

In terms of video games, it would probably be better to say “verticality” but I felt that would associate the subject with tall structures.  What I was thinking about was the different between architecture being built on top of each other and the spaces in-between them, creating new experiences.  This was inspired from my travels on the Docklands Light Railway which tends to travel on a multi-layered track which is visible to the everyday traveller.  A game like Deus-ex: Human Revolution comes to mind when talking about this as its hub towns feature a great deal of these concepts, but as with these other subjects I would like to get some more knowledge of the subject. 

So that’s everything to do with me at the moment.  Things have been really busy recently and I wanted to write something to make sure I didn’t just stay mute for two weeks.  Hopefully this will give an insight into my thought process and see what’s to come.  

Archiving and Video Games: Thoughts on Preservation

The topic of video game archiving has become a recent piece for discussion due to unfortunate events surrounding PT and the attempts to remove it from existence.  With many games moving to a digital-only platform or having servers running integral parts of an experience, it is only understandable that people would discuss how such items are being kept in archive for the purpose of maintaining this medium’s history.  Being someone who has worked in the museum space for the last couple years as well as academic research during my uni education, this is naturally a subject I feel strongly about.  We can travel to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa alongside an array of sculptures and other art pieces, but where can we go to experience the original Pong?  Places like the National Video Game Arcade in Nottingham are working towards this but we’re still in our relative infancy. 

What I would like to talk about today is my experience within the museum world to give a rough assessment of the process of archiving and the unique factors that video games have.  I would treat this as an overview and encourage readers to look more into the subject as there are people who have been involved in this area for a lot longer than me.  As well as this, I do work in a relativity small archive (around 30,000 items) so larger organisations will have different practices. 

With all that out of the way, let’s talk about archiving:

Process

An object is brought to the museum for the purpose of donation.  This could be from lots of different people such as members of the public, local business, local council, etc.  A conversation is brought up about its relevance to local history to which if it feels suitable a formal contract is signed setting out a number of pointers: a) the object is to be kept on site for the purpose of the museum (information, education, entertainment) b) the object may feature within a collection that maybe shared with another museum c) the owner can reserve the right to access of the object if necessary.  Once this has been done, the object is then reviewed by an archivist who looks to identify, mark and tag the object while adding a physical and electronic data mark into the museum’s archive.  This is also known as ‘Accessioning’.  Once the object has been accessioned, the object is then stored in a suitable location depending on things such as material (metals and cloths being such items that need particular environments) where it is kept until it is requested again. 

Usage

Items within the museum can be used in a number of different ways such as:
*Internal exhibitions on a particular subject
*External exhibitions where another organisation would like to use a selection of items for their exhibition.  This can be done as either individual items to improve an already existing exhibition or as a whole collection much like a ‘tour’
*Information requests where a person (or persons) request to view an object for the purpose of information.  Examples of this can be researchers reviewing accounts of an event, architects looking over building plans or an enthusiast piecing together a story. 

Much like the initial accessioning, this process requires that the object is cared for and that all forms of data (physical / electronic) are updated to reflect its current state. 

Accessibility

Getting back to the point of video games, accessibility is of course an issue that surrounds a wide array of items kept in museums.  Having a piece of history on an old format that requires an old system for it to work naturally has its issues when it comes to accessing it.  I have recently been working with VHS and Betamax tapes in which half the struggle is finding ways to play it properly.  There are of course ways to convert these items to CD / digital formats, but having access to those means can sometimes be tricky.  Now consider a piece of digital media with an internal server to run some of the processes and you can quickly see how accessibility in this state may only be possible in a fairly rare occasion.  The thing is thou, it would potentially take a lot of work and be accessible to a couple sites in the world, but then we into the subject of ‘legal accessibility’.

When I say ‘legal’ I don’t mean the question of whether it is legal to do such a thing, but the subject of going through the above processes with an organisation like Konami (the holders of PT).  With my initial example, the holder is aware that said item in the hands of the museum becomes the ownership of a) the museum and b) the town in which it resides (in my case).  This object is not for profit, but for the subject of historical preservation, knowledge and explanation for as long as it resides within the museum.  When you have an organisation that has attempted to remove all accounts of this title from history, presenting it for archiving for the purpose of accessibility and knowledge naturally conflicts with their approach. 

There is also the subject of cost.  Many museums are run by charities and funded thanks to the work of project investors such as the Heritage Lottery Fund (in the UK at least) so for an archive to have the funds to go to Konami and ‘purchase’ the ability to archive PT for the accessibility of future generations seems like a difficult situation. 

In an age where nothing truly dies due to the internet, we are dealing with a genuine issue surrounding the preservation of video game history for generations to come.  The question of “will I be able to play PT in 50 years” is an important one as other forms of media like audio recordings, film, art and the likes have found their place in the museums throughout our world.  Personally, I don’t feel it’s a subject of potential, but time as video games continue to become a significant piece of culture and gain a word on the international stage of preservation.  If I was to suggest something, it would be the creation of video game archiving board that look to preserve our history much like the RIBA or National Trust for Architecture or Horticulture; finding ways to keep the skills alive and relevant for years to come. 

If you are interested in this subject, I would recommend having a look at the Nottingham game arcade or the recent video game Hall of Fame as they discuss relativity recent developments and hold a great deal more experience than I do.  Regardless, I hope you found this interesting.

End note: visit your local museum! They’re great and you might just find out something about your past while you’re there = )

Esports and Architecture: The Stadium

Over the past week or so, I’ve been watching the Dota 2 International qualifiers as teams compete to grab hold of the few open spots for the main event in August.  As I write this, NA’VI are up against Vega Squadron with it being 0-1 to Vega in a best of 5 for the European spot and it’s anyone game.  I don’t have a side that I’m particularly rooting for but personally I feel that it’s gonna be 3-2 to NA’VI; due to their experience of dealing with high-pressure situations. 

The upcoming International 5 showcases the increased popularity of Esports.  Image from blog.dota2.com accessed 01/06/2015

I have been watching ‘Esports’ for the past 10 or so years with games such as CS 1.6, CS:GO, WoW Arena, HotS, HoN, Dota (2) and so on.  I have always enjoyed watching competitive play and as games became a big part of my leisure time, it was somewhat natural to levitate towards watching it over conventional sports such as football or rugby.  Over this time, it has gone from strength to strength; due to the ability to easily stream with services like twitch and VoDs from YouTube; quick information access from social media and well-organised websites dedicated to presenting the news; the rise of financial support for the scene and greater level of production value being put into physical events (LANs).  Even if you didn’t have any interest in ‘Esports’, it is clear that its growth is significant and its viewer base is only going to get bigger. 

Wembley Stadium ready to show a football match.  Image from Wikipedia accessed 01/06/2015 

With all that said, there has always been the discussion of whether such a thing as a video game can be considered a sport.  There are of course many views that feel strongly one way or another, but for me I’d like to discuss this from an architectural point of view, using the stadium as a vector point.  I feel it has a way of showing how similar we are and how competitive gaming as a large-scale event visually correlates with a conventional sport event. 

Wembley changes from a football ground to a concert event.  Image from Wikipedia access 01/06/2015

The stadium itself is quite simple in its own way; with its design focusing on giving a group of people a place to come together and experience an event together with relative ease and comfort.  Regardless of whether it’s a massive venue like Wembley or a local football ground with a couple of stands; it can accommodate different events by adapting itself to suit the needs presented.  To use Wembley as an example, it is used as a football pitch for big events such as the FA cup final, but it also has music concerts for bands like AC/DC or Foo Fighters.  Structurally, the stadium hasn’t changed beyond a temporary floor and stage in the space where a pitch would be, but beyond that everything is pretty much the same.  Visitors come with their tickets in hand; clothing and banners representing their support for a group through colours and logos; and cheer / scold on the action taken by those performing.  I have talked a lot in the past about how architecture is not the bricks and mortar but the experience that people feel in a place and by taking these experiences felt during a stadium event, one can see how ‘Esports’ also create architecture by giving people the ability to come together and have these mutual feelings akin to a football supporter seeing their favourite team play. 

The International #2 (2012).  Image from Wikipedia accessed on 01/06/2015

Going back to The International, for the past 3 years the finals have been held in Seattle to a host of thousands of people in person cheering for their teams.  During the Ti2-3 era, it was played at the Benaroya Hall, but recently it has been relocated to the Key Arena which in its time has hosted musical acts, basketball games and special interest events.  The International is a high quality event with match analysis, high profile commentators and multi-pov streams alongside a user-based compendium that gives people a program-like digital book to place their predictions and receive rewards while increasing the overall prize pool.  The arena itself features a large audience who dress in their teams’ colour; hold banners showing their favourite player / team / anecdote while pennants relating to the teams sit high up in the space which are lit-up according to their progress through the tournament.  The commentators sit to the side with their thoughts broadcasted over the PA system, while a large projection gives viewers the ability to either focus on the whole picture or a particular players pov.  The audience gasps and applauds as a play is made or a hero is picked much like a goal or skilled cross in football or the start of a song for a band.  The stadium remains the same, but with some minor changes it gives all these people the ability to experience these emotions which in turn, what makes a building architecture in my view. 

The International 4 showcases the difference 2 years makes.  Image from Reddit accessed 01/06/2015

I haven’t been able to attend any of these types of events yet, but I am very much looking forward to being able to in the future.  It doesn’t really matter if you believe that video games are/not a sport, but the stadium gives us the ability to enjoy our competitive activity and the potential for a roller-coaster of emotions that come with it. 

Update on Dota 2: 1-1 but it’s looking like NA’VI are going to take game 3.  If they take this it looks like it could be 3-1 final score but we shall see.