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You know you’re obsessed with video game bosses when this happens:





becomes…

In my last entry i told you about how much i’ve been enjoying Orange Box. A glorious game indeed. However… It’s on the backburner thanks to my new passion.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

To make a gaming generalisation… It’s rare to find a game that is as much fun single player as it is multiplayer or vice versa, but Call of Duty 4 is the exception to the rule. It’s tremendous in both regards. I have no idea which i’m enjoying more. Compare this to Half Life 2 on the PC, fabulous single player but i barely touched Half Life 2 Deathmatch. Or Halo 3, enjoyable (but stale) multiplayer with disappointing single player (i’m well aware that people won’t agree with me there, but i was really unimpressed with it).

The fourth iteration of the Call of Duty franchise, just like Call of Duty 3 before it, is a fantastic example of storytelling. Playing most first person shooters is much akin to Being John Malkovich. The silent-protagonist concept is useful in some games, helping support the players delusion that it could well be them in the game. But it never feels as immersive. CoD4, as i said, is a bit different. Little things like the way the camera moves when you slump onto the ground really put you there, and as a result CoD4 is very possibly the most realistic portrayal of warfare that we’ve experienced on a games console.

Multiplayer you say? Magnificent.

Some time ago myself and Shaun were discussing a game that he was working on. A multiplayer combat game in a similar vein to Worms. I suggested complicating it a little by allowing users to select a “Skill” for themselves. Skills would be things like running slightly faster, or reloading slightly faster. I come from a background of roleplaying games, so no character feels complete without personally selected skills, and it’s something that’s rarely implemented in shooters.

But they beat me to it, and to a far superior degree. Call of Duty 4’s multiplayer has an experience system. You gain points for killing your enemies (and rightly so), and gain levels. Proceeding up the ladder unlocks new weapons and gametypes. After a few quick initial level-ups you unlock the “Create a class” setting. This allows you to pick three skills for your character, they’re referred to as “Perks”. Perks can give you new equipment (C4, RPG7s), physical skills (increased health, faster reloading) and advantages (not appearing on the enemy’s radar is nice).

By allowing players to select their own perks they’ve effectively levelled the playing field. It’s easy to look at the situation and say “well all they’re doing there is making the good players even better - that’s not levelling the playing field”, but think about it this way - you might encounter an enemy who is a ridiculously good shot.. but if he can’t spot you coming up behind him you might win. You might encounter an enemy who has unlocked himself a great weapon.. but if you have more health than him you might win. They’ve given players a way to find their own skill. In games like Halo 3 online, if you’re not an accurate shot you’ll suffer. Not so in CoD4, you just find your own niche.

But it’s not just the perks that help with this. They haven’t just level it at experience and levels, they’ve added “Challenges”. The first challenge people will likely complete is killing a certain number of enemies with their favourite weapon. This unlocks a Red dot sight for the weapon, making it more effective. The next one is a bit more difficult, getting a certain number of headshots which gives you an ACOG scope. Basically they’re rewarding you, and at the same time making you more effective. They’re actually helping you play the game the way that you play the game. A character who loves the heavier weapons but still shoots accurately might love to unlock himself a stabiliser and scope for it.. But someone who just tends to spray and pray won’t unlock those features anytime soon, he’ll probably prefer to use his perks for other purposes.

You really feel comfortable playing CoD4, you can sculpt your character to a nearly unheard of degree for an FPS. Which is great.. but it’s not the best thing. The best thing is the replayability. You can keep changing things around, try new weapons or perks. You can even set up five classes, specifically designed for different types of gameplay.

I don’t see myself getting bored of this game anytime soon.

I watched an episode of the superb documentary series Future Weapons last night, which was showcasing some technology from the American Military’s Future Combat Systems program.

The whole series is really just an extension of the Shock and Awe principal, also known as Rapid Dominance (which, by the way, has a lot of parallels with my own personality). Showing technology to the masses is an obvious show of strength, it increases Americans faith in their military and instils fear in the enemy - look how potent our weapons are!!.

Future Combat Systems is the “future of warfare”, basically stocking out the battlefield with “intelligent” systems which can communicate with each other. No reason why the battlefield shouldn’t also enjoy the advent of ubiquitous computing. Gamers especially will be familiar with elements of the FCS program, such as the currently cancelled/suspended Land Warrior concept. Which is basically a soldier jacked into an intelligent battlefield.

As i’ve discussed with some of you in the past, the military actively pursues gamers. Evidenced by the America’s Army video game, and the recruitment of young gamers as pilots. Young people who already manifest some of the basic skills and training necessary. Who clearly demonstrate the ambition and interest. But that’s really a given, i’m interested in a slight aside.

I read an article some time ago about the development of an automated weapon system. When soldiers were asked their opinions on a control method - they responded that they’d most prefer a console joypad. I can’t entirely remember which particular brand but i believe it was a dual shock pad.

It makes sense because it’s a control medium that they’re very familiar with. Both from experiences before joining the forces, and their barracks/backhome game time. Aiming a missile remotely with a video monitor? Sure! I’ve done that loads of times on my Xbox.

You can see from the screengrab that this is exactly what i observed being used by the military. Specifically it’s a wired Xbox 360 controller.

It’s being used to control an iRobot FCS SUGV. The SUGV is a reconnaissance robot, which is controlled remotely by a soldier (with a joypad, apparently) and used to explore and investigate locations that may be unsafe for the soldier and his group to enter. It’s a tracked vehicle with a camera platform that can be raised and lowered.

I wonder if they’ll still be using the 360 pad when it’s deployed in the field, or if it was simply being used as an early test. Although it’s a superb controller, i’d hardly call it rugged.

In the same episode they cover a vehicle called the Crusher which is an all terrain vehicle (for want of a stronger term). It too is controlled by a remote soldier, and also uses hardware familiar to the gamer.

A steering wheel, complete with pedals. Now that may well be a piece of bespoke hardware, i’m not familiar with steering wheel controllers, but the size and colour scheme say video game peripheral to me.

I can imagine that it’s difficult for the average Joe to wrap his head around controlling something that isn’t there. Using only a tiny screen for display, and relying on controls that always feel like there’s something missing (where’s the rest of the car gone??). But that’s everyday play to a gamer.

We’re used to taking a concept, and applying a physical control to it. Making a skateboarder move his feet by using the motion of a pair of small joysticks, or flying a plane using a few keys on a keyboard. For a gamer the relationship between physical action and desired result is a strong one, so no wonder the military wants us.

Now as soon as they apply the hack-and-slash game mechanic to real warfare, i’m in!

So i’m kind of glad i wrote the previous entry. If nothing else, i got to read over my assumptions after progressing further in the game. It’s always fun to see how close you were.

The plan was to avoid the game until the weekend struck again, i have too much to do and can’t really afford to obsess over games. I intended to write another entry with further observations and assumptions, and i wasn’t really in a hurry to do it… But it turns out that i’m sick. It’s just a cold, but it feels like it’s going to put me out of action for a while. If i end up having to take tomorrow off work i know i’ll find myself entering Rapture for some more action. Which means i need to get this entry penned, no point writing about my assumptions when i’m tainted by hindsight.

In the last entry i discussed Atlas. I have nothing further to say about him, so i’ll go with the character that’s currently preying on my mind. As before, i’ll try to leave out any plot spoilers but i will talk about characters and basic events so skip this entry if you don’t want to know.

<SPOILERS>

Tenenbaum: Different person, or different personality

Your first “encounter” with Tenenbaum isn’t through conversation with her, you find mention of her in peoples audio diaries as well as locating her own personal recordings.

Her accent appears to be German, and it seems that she spent time in a Nazi Concentration Camp during the war. One of her diaries mentions her willingness to help the German scientists, much to their disbelief. This alludes that she is actually Jewish, and a prisoner of the camp. Tenenbaum states that despite her situation, she believed that the “techniques” should be carried out correctly. This haunting notion gives us an immediate feel of her character. Dark, disjointed, disloyal and dangerous are all words beginning with D that might describe her. We immediately label Tenenbaum as being sociopathic, and barely human. The Germans on the other hand refer to her as ‘Das Wunderkind’. Heh.

Our first real contact with Tenenbaum comes when we are first presented with an unprotected Little Sister. She implores you not to kill the child. Instead giving you a Plasmid which you can use to save her. She is honest about the fact that doing so will not allow you to reap the benefits of harvesting Adam, but to make up for it she offers to help you in any way she can.

Tenenbaums apparent protectiveness of the Little Sister would be an easy concept to accept. If nothing else her maternal instincts make it a fairly natural assumption. But, intrepid explorers can locate a diary (if memory serves, recorded by Suchong - the third person self referencing geneticist) which presents the player with the notion that Tenenbaum has absolutely no problem harvesting (effectively killing) the Little Sisters.

So what happened? It’s hard to get a feel for the passage of time in Bioshock. I’m not sure of the period covering this apparent personality change in Tenenbaum, but i’m fairly sure it’s h not long. So what caused her to turn around? It seems that she helped execute her people during the war.. then apparently invented the Little Sisters, had no problem killing them.. But suddenly she wants them to be kept alive?

Later in the game you get to “meet” with Tenenbaum, before she sends you off on your mission. Much like Atlas her instructions seem to benefit you. It seems that she wants to help, and if you play the game in a similar way to me it’s fairly easy to accept. You help her - she helps you. Unlike Atlas she is rather rude at times.

That is, until she gives you a ridiculous sounding plan. You’re stuck in an area you can’t leave. The door you want to pass through can only be opened by a Little Sister. Tenenbaum informs you that the only way to proceed is to be a Big Daddy. Only then will the Little Sister listen to you.

Okay. Sure. But she’s been having the Little Sisters do things for me in the past.. why can’t she just ask one to help you now?

Again, like Atlas, she does not give the player a choice. She gives the player an order. Become a Big Daddy. It is not explained whether or not the process is reversible. The vocal cord alteration machine i used certainly didn’t LOOK reversible.

The quesiton is.. what’s in it for her if i turn into a Big Daddy? Does she think the added power will help me defeat my enemy? Does she think that it will turn me into her slave (perhaps controlling the Little Sisters will enable her, in turn, to control me?)? Or does she think that as a Big Daddy i will stay with her children, protect them?

Who knows.

My most pressing question is on a slightly different vibe though. I found a diary by Suchong which infers that Tenenbaum is dead. Did she die? Did she fake her death? If it’s the former.. who exactly is this person “helping” me?