In his article for the New Yorker, The Grammar of Fun: CliffyB and the world of the video game, Tom Bissell presents an extremely well thought out insight into the world of the hipster Cliffster (That's the Gears of war 2 director Cliff Blesinski for the rest of us). It's an exceptional article, you should read it. What was really amazing to me, was the tremendous care and sensibility Bissel extends to the video game genre with his essay, all the while retaining the enthusiasm of most blog site journalist. Hopefully, this kind of writing will continue to appear around the video game sector as video game culture slowly disseminates to the rest of the world. We need it. But you don't have to take my word for it...

The Grammar of Fun: CliffyB and the world of the video game

These days the thought of going to the local megaplex can indeed be perplexing. So the other day I decided to bypass the crowds occupying those vacuous movie halls and take an unscheduled trip to my local cinematheque. Here I was met with surly hello and a less-than-enthusiastic "What movie," but this was okay. In fact, it was excellent or at least better than the standard assembly line antics of the big theater queue. I felt a little inspired, as if the ticket man's performance was custom tailored. I proceeded to purchase refreshments, a medium popcorn and a small cherry coke. The man behind the counter (coincidentally also the owner) hurried me off to my theater (there are only two). I sat down about five rows from the back to prevent neck sprain, and anxiously awaited my movie. The name of the movie doesn't matter; frankly, I could have seen just about anything and I still would've had a good time. No, this trip to the theater was a chance for me to enjoy the whole experience of "going to the movies." This place had an old-fashioned attractiveness or charm to it. And yes, by charm, I mean the dusty drapery, the pieced-together carpeting, the loud projector etc. When the projectionist, also the owner, turned on the projector I noticed the image was off, half way off the screen by my estimate. But this was fine; through natural processes the problem was solved. About three minutes into the movie, one of the four other patrons in the theater finally decided to go tell the projectionist about the framing issue. Seconds later the image bounced and bobbled around the screen before ultimately landing in a spot that roughly fit on the screen. I imagined it was agreeable to all since no one complained. The flicker and pitter-patter of the projector was oddly comforting. It was a pretty quiet crowd, an older couple, a couple of loners and me. One of the other patrons did get up to use the restroom once, which is located inside the theater. How cool is that? Towards the end of the movie I noticed my soda was running out so I refilled-50 cents. As I left the theater I felt satisfied, as if I'd accomplished something by acknowledging the values embodied within the small local theater instead of bypassing them. Movies are an experience, albeit a rather passive one, but going to the movies is an experience too. There's excitement to be had. Be amazed!

First things first: I have not played Braid. I look forward to playing it soon. That being said...
On the drive to work today I was station surfing, because there is never anything good on, when I came across an NPR segment written by Heather Chaplin titled "Xbox's 'Braid' A Surprise Hit, For Surprising Reasons." I immediately thought two things: why was a video game getting media attention for anything other than violence and/or record breaking sales? And, damn I want to play Braid. So I listened. It was the usual outside perspective on video games with sound bites like, "Braid feels like a game that a grown-up can play" and "Blow [game designer] has violated one of the cardinal rules of game-making: that games have to be fun." I don't know if it was the apparent lack of respect to the video game medium as an art form, or the fact that NPR had decided to champion this game as one of the only sophisticated "grown-up" games that angered me the most. NPR, of course, was apt to point out how different this game is than others by comparing it to blood-busters like Gears of War and Halo 3. But here's the thing: Why is our definition of what can be considered an art-form in the video game medium so narrow? Apparently, a game has to be a philosophical journey to the abyss of sadness and self reflection to be labeled with the A-Bomb(you know what I mean). I guess I'm just a bit disappointed that the medium has failed to garner any serious critical praise or stricture for its content and/or sophistication. Whether it's blood-and-guts or spaceships-and-asteroids, games, like their entertainment counterparts i.e. movies, have content too. And it's about time we break out that toolbox (or maybe a different one) and start critiquing that content with the same analytical composure that we apply to other mediums. It's only fair.
NPR Article

If it were casted by Filmonic.
Here's the lineup.
My contribution:

A while ago, I decided that I wanted my bedroom to serve not only as a living quarter, but as a make shift home theater. In my apartment the ability to condense is a necessity; it's tiny in there(Really. It redefines the term Home Theater in a box.) After the last speaker was mounted, and my DVDs alphabetized, I noticed that my "theater" room still felt a bit empty. It wasn't until a friend of mine, who works at a local movie theater, started collecting what are known in the industry, as one sheets, that I noticed just how bare my walls were. These one sheets, which are more affectionately referred to as lobby cards (we've all seen them at our local cinemas adorning the corridors between that lead us from our refreshments to our seats), are hype-machines in a box. Framed behind glass and lit from behind, with golden rays mind you, these posters inspire and provoke curiosity among otherwise passive moviegoers. It's fun to take a closer look and marvel at the detail and fine Photoshop work. I have my own fledgeling, if ever expanding, collection started. As should anyone interested in recreating the feel of the cinema.
Some of my favorites:



25 best movie posters
Also, check out Posterwire

The format war is over! When Toshiba dropped the failing HD DVD format, nearly all of the platform's exclusive backers followed suite, and quickly abandoned ship(the only holdout being DreamWorks animation.) This final blow ended the nearly two-year long "next-gen" format war between war, between HD DVD and Sony backed Blu-Ray. Now Blu-Ray stands alone with no incentive to drop player prices or improve quality. Just think, what would the high def landscape look like if there had never been a war. Would Blu-Ray have ever had incentive to move past those horrible initial titles and improve image quality? The BD camp is still sorting out this whole Java mess(who knows anything about a "player profile?"). But for now, Sony stands victorious, clenched fist, over the recently deceased, rapidly decaying HD DVD. But wait just one minute. Bloomberg news reports:


"Relatively few consumers are planning to make the transition from DVDs to high-definition HD DVD or Blu-ray, according to a survey by NPD Group. The researchers said that among owners of HDTV sets, seven out of 10 say they see no need to purchase high-definition players, maintaining that they are satisfied with the quality of their current players. "one of the main challenges for the next-generation" format, NPD Group senior entertainment industry analyst Russ Crupnick told Bloomberg News, 'is you have a product out there that is pretty darn good in consumers' eyes.'"

The transition to hd media hasn't been a quick one, and the format war did nothing to help. But when Joe six pack is ready to make the switch, will Blu-Ray still be king of the mountain?