The Cursed Game Conquered!

            While this is a story about my misadventures surrounding a videogame, you really don’t need to be even remotely interested in videogames to enjoy it. The following is an amusing account of how, after 14 years, I finally managed to beat Final Fantasy VIII, the game I was cursed to never know the ending of.

            It all started when my brother bought a Sony PlayStation from one of his friends in est. 1999. The two of us went out to buy ourselves some new games to play on this exciting new system (yes, I know that the PS2 came out the next year, but it was new for us, okay?). Being that we were the age we were, we were buying our games from whatever allowance we had managed to save up, so, naturally, we were getting used games because they’re so much cheaper.

            I don’t recall for certain what game or games my brother bought (probably racing games), but I bought two games: Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII. I’d heard that it was a well known series, and even played Final Fantasy III on my Super Nintendo, so I was excited to try them out. Unfortunately, as the gaming console belonged to my brother, my play time was limited.

            When I did play the games, I found I was not disappointed – the Final Fantasy series is well known for a reason. They’re good. And their graphics are always cutting edge for their times – particularly their videos and cut-scenes (short videos that interrupt the game to tell part of the story, for you non-gamer types). The other thing about them is that they’re long. This specific game had four discs, while your average game of the times had one.

            It turned out that my brother and I both liked Final Fantasy VIII, and we played through the story at about the same pace. It was when I had reached a cut-scene on disc 2 that the curse struck for the first time. The game froze. Right in the middle of the video. No matter how many times we tried to get past, or how many tricks for repairing scratched discs we tried, neither of us could get past that cut-scene.

            Well, our pockets being rather shallow, we figured that we had gotten what we deserved for buying a used game and gave up on it. We were disappointed, but there was nothing we could do.

            A couple years later, when my brother and I now co-owned a PlayStation2, I decided I was going to take another shot at playing Final Fantasy VIII. I knew disc 2 was damaged, but I hoped that the newer system could possibly get past the scratched part in the video. It was worth a try, and the video did get further this time, but still it froze.

            Luckily, I now had a paper route, so I went out and bought myself a new copy of the game! I then played past the video, and continued along my game. All was well – until one day...

            Our PlayStation was still in use, even though we had a PlayStation2 – after all, that way my brother and I could play games at the same time without annoying each other. With the new disc available, he’d started playing Final Fantasy VIII as well. But something went wrong. Somehow – we don’t know how – a small patch of the disc he was playing managed to melt itself onto the system. Frustrated, and really wanting to play his racing game, my brother forced the game out of the system and broke the disc. Would you care to guess which disc it was? That’s right. Disc 2.

            It shouldn't have been all that bad – after all, I could still continue playing on my other, rather scratched disc 2; it just meant that I wouldn't be able to play the game a second time and get past that video. Except that there was a slight problem with the old PlayStation memory cards (this was before the systems had their own memories) that would sometimes cause them to wipe themselves of their save files. Can you guess what I discovered the next time I went to play...? The curse had struck again.

            That was it, for me. I gave up on the game again and eventually forgave my brother for breaking the disc. Then, another two years later, I decided to try again...

            I went out to a pawn shop and bought another used copy of Final Fantasy VIII. It was worth a try, wasn’t it? When I got it home, I opened the case to take out disc 2 (I’d already played the game up to where it got stuck) and stared in disbelief. The case was for Final Fantasy VIII. Discs 1, 3 and 4 were all for Final Fantasy VIII. But disc 2, the only disc that I needed, the cursed disc, was from Final Fantasy VII.

            What was with this game!?!?

            I went straight back to the pawn shop and told them my story and they were kind enough to let me take a different copy of the game (we checked to make sure it had the right disc first). I took that disc home, put it into the system, and...! It froze in the middle of the video again. Seriously.

            But I wasn't giving up! I switched it for my other scratched and used disc and the video went a little further before freezing again, so I switched discs again! The video went a bit further, then froze again. One last switch and I was past the video of the cursed game! It was a wonderful feeling.

            So, I played through the game, quite enjoying it up until I reached the final battle. Now... the last battle in any Final Fantasy game is pretty intense, but the game designers outdid themselves this time. I’ll spare you the details and simply say that I was fighting this battle for over two hours before I died and got the dreaded Game Over. Needless to say, I was not happy. Still, to my credit, I tried the battle several more times before giving up this time round.

            I learned in later years that there were two major things that led to my downfall. The first was that the monsters in the game level up when your characters level up, which means that the more powerful you get, the harder the game is to play. The other was that, in Final Fantasy VIII, unless you really understand all the spells and various systems in the game – which for most people means having a walkthrough beside them – it’s next to impossible to actually beat the final boss.

            However, over the last couple weeks, I finally managed it! I’ll admit that I was looking up some of the more finicky parts of the game as I went along, and I definitely had a walkthrough open telling me roughly how to win the final battle – it should say something that the guide went along the lines of “Use these spells to boost the effectiveness of these attacks and hope for the best”. It was a long and grueling battle, but I won! And you know what? It was worth it.

            It was worth the time spent on the game. It was worth all the aggravation and frustration. It was worth buying three copies of the game. And, more than anything else, it was worth the wait. The ending video of the game brought a phenomenal and touching conclusion to the game’s story, which I never would have appreciated when I was younger. I also caught all kinds of amazing plot twists that I’d never noticed the previous times I played through the game.

            I've said before that playing a videogame is like controlling the main character of a book and this one is no exception. Incredible as the story in this game is (and as much as I want to “borrow” some of the plot twists), this is one case where I don’t think it could have been more effective as a book. Or a movie, for that matter. It’s small wonder that this game series is so popular. They just need to make the end battles a little less grueling.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

 

References and Originality

            One thing you should always remember about authors is that we are playful people and words are our favourite toys. We love to be sneaky and hide little secrets and references in our books, not to mention leaving a few puns lying around. My favourite  though, are the references. Most of these you won’t even notice unless you’re familiar with what they are about, but when you see them, they give you a good chuckle.

            The master of these references, of course, is Terry Pratchett. I firmly believe that no one can measure up to his satirical fantasy. I don’t think you can read a page without stumbling across some sort of obscure reference – the more I read, the more of them I catch and the more I marvel at his brilliance.

            In the three and a half books I've written, I've snuck in everything from Monty Python and Princess Bride quotes to references from Tolkien, Pratchett, Shakespeare and Dr Who (which I've only been watching for about a week) to internet memes. The more I write, the more ways I discover to sneakily hide references.

            I started thinking about these references (obviously, or else I wouldn't be talking about them) after coming across a reference to the lyrics of a Bon Jovi song in the book I'm currently reading (Vortex). I started to wonder why we hide these little tidbits in our books. I mean, obviously it’s fun, and it makes us feel special when someone likes our books enough to go digging through in search of everything we hid inside, but those couldn't be the only reasons.

            Then I realised that it’s our way of giving credit. In this day and age, there is virtually no originality. Not because we artists aren't as imaginative as we used to be, but simply because there is so much that has come before us. When I first read Eragon (a book written by someone close to my own age) I knew right away, without a doubt, that Christpher Paolini was a fan of Anne McCaffrey and Ursula K Le Guin. Whether it is intentional or not, authors will always have traces of whatever inspired them in their work. So, by sneaking our little references in, we are tipping our hats to those who inspired us and making ourselves feel better about using the turn of phrase that, strictly speaking, we didn't come up with.

            Since I mentioned the lack of originality in the world, I think I should elaborate on what I mean by that, as well as making it clear that it’s not a bad thing. We humans love to measure things and, while many would argue that art can’t be measured, we have managed to analyse books and say with certainty that there are only somewhere between 1 and 36 plotlines that exist in the world (the number depends on the system you are using to define the plots). If you look at the thousands of books, movies, video games and anything else requiring a plot that’s out there (like life), it’s obvious that these get used over and over again. How do we not notice?

            Well, the reason we don’t notice is because we (well, most of us) aren't watching for it. The art of telling a story isn't in creating a plot that no one has considered before; it’s in telling the story in a way that entertains people. It’s nice if this is a new way, and even better if you can keep people guessing, but the true purpose is to entertain. So, it doesn't matter that every story has already been told, because it can always be told in a different way!

            What about those people who analyse everything and complain about the lack of originality? That’s their own problem. If they want to decide that every story where the villain is the protagonist’s father is a Star Wars rip off, anything with a portal to another world is Narnia and anything with any type of institution that teaches magic is Harry Potter, then they are welcome to be disappointed about the lack of originality. They should, however, take a moment to read the history books to see how often events of reality repeat. They should also look to see if anyone else has commented on the lack of originality, lest their complaint is not their original thought.

            To finish off, I shall impersonate the Doctor and say, live long and prosper with the force. Alas, poor Yorik, he got caught playing riddles in the dark and was slain by Sephiroth before he could collect all the Deathly Hallows! Now, where did I leave my holy hand grenade...? Like a boss!

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Books vs Video Games

            An argument has been popping up over and over for the last couple decades: books versus video games. The arguments go along these lines: Books have greater intellectual value, are thought provoking, influential on society, entertaining and they stimulate the imagination far more. Video games can improve hand-eye co-ordination and reflexes, be played socially, are interactive, entertaining and challenging. My question is, why are we comparing them?

            I've spent a lot of my life playing video games and reading and I love both forms of entertainment. Each has its merits and neither can really be compared to the other. Sure, they have similarities, but in my opinion they complement each other more than anything else.

            What got me thinking about this was when I started playing through Final Fantasy IX and Colleen, periodically looking up from whatever she was doing to watch the game, suddenly said, “This game’s a lot like reading a book!” My reply was, “Of course! Video games are the bridge between books and movies.” They really are. It’s like watching a book where you can take control of the characters.

            So why, if video games are a combination of two of the world’s most popular forms of entertainment, won’t they ever take over the entire entertainment industry? Because they can never replace either of them. Let’s take a comparison of books and movies as an example. When have you ever read a book, then gone to the movie and been entirely happy with what you saw? I can’t say I've ever heard anything other than “the book was better”. The reason for this is because there is just too much information in a book to translate into a movie; all that can be done is an interpretation of the book. The same is true of video games – they can fit in more information than movies, but never as much as books.

            At this point you might say, well, it sounds like books are better, to which I reply, no; they’re just different. Books rely on your imagination, which is great, but sometimes people actually want to see that amazing setting or action scene. Video games feel more like you’re doing something and take more concentration (unless you’re reading while there’s a lot of background noise or buzzing flies). The closest a book can get to giving you a choice is with those ‘choose your own adventure’ books and the only way a book can improve your reflexes is if you have a lot of flies you need to swat.

            You can say books deal with important topics – games frequently do, too. Most games deal with morality issues, I’ve played games dealing with handling finances, environmental issues, racism – just about anything books can cover. Books teach you things – if you play the right games, they do as well. It all comes down to choice; what you choose to play, what you choose to read, what you choose to read and play.

            As an author, I also have to look at plot lines and characters. Some of the characters I've become the most attached to are in games. Some of the greatest stories I've ever come across were in also in video games – they even inspire some of my own writing. I currently have the good fortune of working behind the scenes on a video game. I'm on the writing team for an upcoming game called Anaria Online and, let me tell you, it has been far more challenging to work out the plot lines for even a small portion of this game than it has to write three complete books. I’d go so far as to say that I'm becoming a far superior book writer through my work on this game.

            So, readers, before you harp on video games, I suggest educating yourselves. Sit down with a game (an RPG would be best, such as Final Fantasy or Assassins’ Creed) and play through it. Gamers, just read a book. Most of you have done it before, you just need to find one that you love to remind you how much you enjoy reading. Then we can just stop comparing these two wonderful entertainment mediums and perhaps find ways of making them work together even more than they already do.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.