DISPATCHES AUGUST

What about Bob?

Robert Frazer’s angry dismissal of my blithe dismissal made me curious. Firstly, I agree with Robert’s point about digital landlordism. I don’t actually own much of my games library, because Nintendo and Microsoft can do whatever they want with it at any time. They can modify it without my consent or even knowledge. And I don’t have the freedom to sell it as I would wish. I think this move to digital should be questioned and critiqued because it is at the confluence of so many issues. Robert’s reference to ownership is one of them, and I am in complete agreement with his misgivings. This is another issue around games preservation which is something that this publication does commendable work to unpick, along with important figures such as Frank Cifaldi.

My thoughts are contradictory. On a practical note, I don’t want to own every piece of media I consume. I’m happy not owning a copy of every TV programme I watch or every radio programme I listen to. I am also comfortable with renting media when that agreement has been made explicit and understood. In the same way I used to use my Blockbuster video card to hire videos, I am comfortable using Game Pass (of which I wouldn’t be averse to a year’s free subscription) as a way of ‘renting’ games. To me, this deal I have made with Microsoft is transparent and understood. I know I don’t own the games I play, and I am reconciled to the fact they may leave the service. Where I agree with Robert is that I am very uncomfortable with issues of ownership that feel murky and are sometimes deliberately obfuscated.

My final point is that digital-only allows for a much richer and diverse ecosystem of videogames to emerge. I’m currently enjoying playing Kentucky Route Zero, which was released episodically for years. Would the developers have been able to achieve this if they had to incur the prohibitive costs of releasing each chapter physically? Probably not. I’m not saying we have got it right. And my feelings on this are changing. But I suppose that’s the point of this Dialogue section. So I’d be fascinated to read others’ opinions on this.

Joe Crook

Yep, surely anything that facilitates the existence of games such as Kentucky Route Zero can’t be all bad. And since it fits into the discussion so appropriately, we hope you’ll get plenty from a year’s worth of

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

“Digital-only allows for a richer and more diverse ecosystem of videogames to emerge”

Get smart

Playing Politics (E359) was a really encouraging read, particularly after a week in which much of the world’s gaming media stuck their necks on the line by highlighting the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and were then hung out to dry by their conglomerate owners. Media is only one part of the industry, of course, but you made the key point that “those in power remain invested in the status quo, as long as it’s viable”, and it may be an issue that as political debate becomes more polarised, developers will have a fight on their hands to get their content accepted by nervous publishers.

One of the reasons why this hasn’t come to a head before, I think, is that a lot of developers do still pull their punches and tell the stories of marginalised people or groups within society with intentionally broad strokes. And there have been some games that have done this brilliantly – Kentucky Route Zero, for instance, on the politics of debt, and Papers, Please on the ethics of immigration controls. The nonspecific elements of such games are around

relatability, I guess, but it’d be nice to have a Ken Loach of game narrative design who could inspire a generation of activists with whatever the gaming equivalent is of a kitchen-sink drama. Part of the reason I thought Life Is Strange 2 deserved more praise than it received was because it did stick its head above the parapet and probably alienated some of its audience in the process – it wasn’t talking about some generic dystopia set in the future but instead set itself up against an agenda which was apparently supported at last count by almost half the American electorate, and used tangible objects such as Trump’s Mexican border wall to do that.

Still, what the recent controversy around the Gaza appeals has shown is that if there is an appetite from gamers to deal with these issues in the real world, there’s probably an appetite, too, to see them addressed within games themselves. The medium can be such a compelling way of getting a message across. Gaming should be about bringing people together, of course, but a few more polemics challenging actual nefarious institutions wouldn’t go amiss. Mark Whitfield

Now you’ve got us fixated on that kitchensink idea. I, Nathan Drake, perhaps? Pauline, Peach And Mario Too? Ah, maybe not.

Passion play

If there’s one positive to take out of the past year, it’s that our work-life balance will forever be improved by remote working. We can swap business wear for our favourite onesie and wake up five minutes before the first meeting of the day instead of doing the dreaded rush-hour commute. The game industry has followed suit, but I also hope that this line of thinking can be translated to conventions such as Gamescom.

I’ve been to my fair share, and despite the usual joke of thousands of sweaty fans packed in like sardines, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed each one. That being said, I’d like to see a choice in the future. The social buzz when attending these events with likeminded people can’t be overstated, but they’re often expensive to get to. Take EGX in the UK, for example – it’s now a fair trip for those in the north or the Midlands since its recent move to London from Birmingham. Let’s assume we’re a few years down the line, and picking the option to attend virtually would mean you can play all that’s on the convention floor from the comfort of your home on your new streaming-capable console. Attendances would soar, games at smaller booths would garner more attention, and I’d get to stay in my onesie for another day.

It’s a great feeling knowing you’ve played a demo of the latest game as the hype builds. Making conventions accessible to more fans might even elevate that feeling within the gaming contingent. We could all benefit if conventions were opened up, rather than remaining exclusive to those able to foot the cost of the journey for that sweet sneak peek. Zak Evans

Hey, if your proposal makes Gamescom just a few per cent more bearable, count us in.

The limits of control

With the spate of games centred on loops – Hades, Returnal and the upcoming Deathloop, most obviously – it feels like games are finally confronting and, with some success, resolving a tension that exists within game structure: the loops that are the core of almost every game and the narratives they tell. Failures in games tend to be brushed off as non-canon hypotheticals to be ignored, or in Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time, slyly referenced (“No no, that didn’t happen,” the narrator says, as I fudge a wall-jump and fall to my – his – death once again).

Conversely, narratives in games can struggle with second acts. There’s something contradictory about game stories where the protagonist finds themselves at their low point, but to get there, you have to succeed by playing the game well. Games that enshrine their gameplay loops into canon solve both issues. Every time Zagreus finds himself back in front of his dad or Selene is at the crash site again, they and I have shared in the struggle. In turn, when we finally succeed, it feels all the more impactful.

Of course, not every game can or should be a quasi-Groundhog Day-style story of being trapped in endless torment – we’ve probably had enough of that through lockdown – but there’s something exciting about games embracing what makes them distinct and telling stories to match.

David Merrett

Yes, that’s perhaps part of the reason Roguelikes have become so popular of late – though we do wonder if, post-lockdown, they’ll deliver quite such a potent hit of catharsis. Brilliant though it is, would Hades have emerged as the defining videogame of 2020 had we not all been stuck in perpetual, repetitive loops of our own?

Nothing lasts forever

As a long-time reader, Andrew Fisher’s letter in E359 struck a chord. I was lucky enough to pick up a backlog of issues from 2013 to the very first issue back in 1993 to go with my own copies. It’s been fascinating reading odd issues from over the years capturing a snapshot of what was happening. Yes, there are retro sites and videos, but there’s something about reading physical media with commentary from that time that evokes much more of a response. (Though some of it is bittersweet, reading previews of cancelled games or developer profiles of long-shuttered companies.) Especially after the past year we’ve been through, receiving a copy of Edge through the post with those glorious covers to match the content inside is a warm slice of normality. I feel if this was to all eventually turn digital, some of that magic will be lost. Nic Totten

And of course we’re back to digital versus physical again. Over to you, Robert.