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CREATIVITY & CULTURE

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7 WEEKLY TOP 10 | REASONS GOING TO THE CINEMA BEATS WATCHING AT HOME [24-25]

1 A MESSAGE FROM OUR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF [4]

2 MEET OUR WRITERS [5-7]

3 THE VIRAL DROPLET [9-10]

4 REVIEWS [11-14]

5 THE SUNDANCE REPORT | FILMS TO CATCH [15-21]

9 THE TALKING HEADS | COLUMNS [30-33]

CONTENTS

6 WHAT WE KNOW | PREVIEWS [22-23]

8 A GUIDE TO INDIE GAMES [26-29]

THE V

IRAL DROPLE

T

[9-10

]

REVIEWS

[11-14]

THE SUND

ANCE REPORT

A MESSAGE FROM OUR

EDITOR IN CHIEF

MEET THE TEAM [4-6]

PREVIEWS WHAT WE KNOW

[19-20]

[26-29]

TA

LKIN

G

HE

AD

S

[30-33]

N

E

I

D I

G U I D E

T O

G A M E S

[26-29]

[24-25] WEEKLY TOP 5

ADVERT SPREAD

A MESSAGE FROM OUR EDITOR IN CHIEF

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MEET

T E JAMIE BELL

I am a young man from Oxford, and rather too posh for my own good. I am a Pokémon, Legend of Zelda, and Sonic nerd through & through, and always try my best to have a laugh & get an unbiased opinion out to the world, whether it be console

wars, game reviews, or advice. And ladies, I’m single.

CHRISTOPHER DALLEY I am currently a socially-awkward teenager studying Media at Abingdon & Witney college. I am a fan of ketchup, Luther, and the number 56. I enjoy listening to music and playing music. I am a stalwart of videogames as an art-form, and the right to arm bears. I am also an all-round better person than Jamie.

JAMES KING

THE

A M

JACK YEAMAN

HARRIET HAWKINS

ADVERT SPREAD

Has anyone ever started talking about some blog/ video/ article/ meme which sounds funny/ disgusting/

downright stupid, and of which you’ve not been informed of? EVER!? It could happen to YOU! Well, this here feature is for people like you, the people who just don’t have enough time to browse the vast interweb for blogs/ videos/ articles/ memes of dogs blowing off in stranger’s faces, or men in gimp-suits being chased down steep hills by wild bison. Or people who are just plain stink-ing lazy. Either way, when your media savvy friends start chatting about that new blog/ video/ article/ meme of a dog blowing off in a stranger’s face or a man in a gimp-suit being chased down a steep hill by wild bison, then you’ll be able to laugh/ chat along wholeheartedly instead of nodding and/ or chuckling while staring fixedly at the floor, which you deeply wish would just swallow you whole and choke you like a bitch. Like I said: It could happen to YOU!*

COMPILED AND WRITTEN

BY CHRISTOPHER DALLEY

AND JACK YEAMAN

BLOG THE ONLY MAGIC LEFT IS ART

For the art flatulent within you. TOMLIA, as I have just abbreviated, is a Tumblr blog which exhibits various works of art done by a vast range of artists. You don’t even have to have an analytical stance to enjoy the works, which include anything from prints, to photo-graphs, to oil paintings, to water-colours, to sketches, to collages. In fact, the range is so diverse, you’re almost certain to find something you really, really like. See also: Colossal

Watch. And laugh.

FENTON THE DOG! VIDEO

THE V

IRAL DROPLE

T -

http://www.etsy.com/listing/59360855/the-only-magic-left-is-art-3x3-stickers

This one’s a particular favourite of ours. It’s also pretty self-explanatory.

IDIOT ‘NERD’ GIRL MEME

I found these beauticious pieces of internet ass while sailing the turgid seas of Tumblr: travel posters for lazy people. I don’t know how the creator got the idea, but I don’t feel off calling it a stroke of genius. I picked the one on the left because it’s my favourite, but to be honest they’re all equally brilliant.

...THINGY THE ONLY MAGIC LEFT IS ART

REVIEWS

FILM

BY JACK YEAMAN

1 2

REVIEWS

MUSIC

BY CHRISTOPHER DALLEY

FUCKED UP YEAR OF THE TIGER

GORILLAZ DO YA’ THING

1 2

BURIAL KINDRED E.P.

GONJASUFI MU.ZZ.LE

3 4

REVIEWS

GAMES

BY JAMIE BELL

1 2

SOULCALIBUR V ASURA’S WRATH

3 4

DEAR ESTHER NEVERDEAD

THE SUNDANCE REPORT

The Sundance festival has come and gone. It has left in its wake a slew of films, some great, some grating. The festival has in the past brought about recognition for such modern classics as Reservoir Dogs, Clerks, Blair Witch Project, Little Miss Sunshine, El Mariachi and… eh… Napoleon Dynamite. It is huge part of the film industry calendar, and whoever competes has the chance of achieving mas-sive Hollywood success and big, big pots of cash. Actually it’s not quite that glamorous, but it’s still a rather big deal. I mean people literally kill for the opportunity! Ok, that’s also a lie, but it’s still really important. N’ shit. Now, we’re not going to cover every single film we saw at the festival, nor are we going to list every film that was shown. That would be stupid. We’re just going to list our favourites. Enjoy.

CHRISTOPHER DALLEY

THE L

AW IN TH

ESE P

ARTS

BEASTS

OF THE S

OUTHER

N WILD

RED LI

GHTS

THE RAID

SIMON KILLER

INDI

E GA

ME:

THE

MOV

IE

THE RAID

WHAT IT’S ABOUT The Raid is an Indonesian / Welsh (yes Welsh) martial-arts action movie. The premise is beautiful in its simplicity: A SWAT team must fight their way to the top of a criminal-infested apartment complex to capture an infamous crime-lord. Hilarities ensue.

WHY YOU SHOULD SEE IT Watch the trailer. You’ll know.

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

WHAT IT’S ABOUT It is common knowledge among filmmakers that

while making your first feature, you should not work with children, water, or animals, as they are the hardest things to control on set. Well,

first-time director Behn Zeitlin has done all three in his debut Beasts Of The Southern Wild.

Faced with her father's fading health and envi-

ronmental changes that release an army of pre-historic creatures called aurochs, six-year-old

Hushpuppy leaves her Delta-community home in search of her mother. Yeah.

WHY YOU SHOULD SEE IT If that story description above sounded strange, that’s because it was. It is an impossible film to pigeon-hole; some call it a coming-of-age film,

others call it an eco-fantasy-drama. Either way, it’s stunning. It was the critical favourite of the festival, also winning the grand-jury dramatic

prize. You have very little reason not to see it.

RED LIGHTS

WHAT IT’S ABOUT The story follows Psychologist Margaret Mathe-son and her assistant (played by Sigourney Weaver and Cillian Murphy, respectively) as they investigate world-renowned psychic Simon Silver (played by an actually-giving-a-shit Rob-ert De Niro). Things get predictably paranormal.

WHY YOU SHOULD SEE IT Red Lights is a the third feature film from Rodri-go Cortes. That’s the guy behind the capitally claustrophobic Buried, one of 2010’s best films. If that doesn’t get you even slightly interested then you are… well, you’re wrong.

INDIE GAME: THE MOVIE

SIMON KILLER

THE LAW IN THESE PARTS

WHAT IT’S ABOUT Indie Game is a documentary about the process developing an independent game. `Really?’ you scoff, sarcastically. `Shut up’, I say. Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky follow and document the lives of four independent game designers as they toil away on their original creations. The subjects tell deeply personal stories, revealing their inspirations and fears to the filmmakers and the viewer.

WHY YOU SHOULD SEE IT Often bad games are savaged by critics with all the remorse and vigour of an angry, rabitious tiger. Once they see this, they may think twice before releasing their snark; the process of making a game is truly one of an emotional rollercoaster, one that deserves the utmost respect for even at-tempting. In short, a heart-rending and re-vealing look at the people behind a new cultural phenomenon.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT A insightful and thought-provoking look at the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip by Israeli military forces. The main question posed in this documentary by director Ra'an-an Alexandrowicz: Can a modern democracy impose a prolonged military occupation on another people while retaining it's core demo-cratic values?

WHY YOU SHOULD SEE IT Well, it won the grand-jury prize for best doc-umentary. Meaning it’s good by consensus. Meaning you should see it.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT A dark paranoid thriller about the titular character, Simon Killer. Simon is, on the surface, a quiet New York graduate. Rel-atively normal. Beneath the surface, how-ever, is a calculating sociopath. Antonio Campos is in the directing chair. Campos is, incidentally, a member of the film-maker collective Borderline, who are behind last years hit, Martha Marcy May Marlene.

That should at least give you some idea of what you’re getting into.

WHY YOU SHOULD SEE IT Next to Beasts of The Southern, this has been the most buzzed-about on the festival run. Most people are viewing it as the Martha Marcy May Marlene of this year, (which, funnily enough, was in turn the Winter’s Bone of that year). Plus it’s really bloody good, basically.

PREVIEWS WHAT WE KNOW

WEEKLY TOP 5

THE ATMOSPHERE You queue to buy your tickets. A sense of

anticipation rises up within you. You order your tickets, and push the doors of the audito-rium apart, like the entrance to a majestic tem-ple. Everything is dark, and strangely muffled. Music plays faintly in the background. You take your seat and wait for awhile, breath bait-ed. You resist the urge to break into the snacks that you were ambushed with as you strolled into the cinema. The lights go down, and the curtains pull apart. You piss yourself.

1

IT’S MORE ‘ROMANTIC’ ‘You know why the term ‘going to the movies’ exists? Because it’s fucking right, that’s why. Do you know why nobody ever uses this term to de-scribe, say, a movie rental? Because where is the romance in going into Blockbusters and renting some piss-stained bargain-bin film with a side-order of warm coke? (hint: that was actually a trick ques-tion: there isn’t any!)

2

THE BIG SCREEN When you step into that auditorium, you really are

transported to another realm. The immersion is second-to-none; do you honestly think those critics would have been so ecstatic about Avatar if it weren’t for the fact that they saw it in a cinema? The cinema made it an experience. Obviously you can do your best to replicate it within the home environment, but then again, your screen doesn’t stretch the length of your entire bloody house... Unless it does, in which case you really should consider charity work.

3

REASONS WHY GOING TO THE CINEMA BEATS HOME VIEWING

THE QUALITY OF THE EXPERIENCE Again, this is something that cannot really be repli-cated in your living room. The auditorium is always the right heat and the room is filled with that relaxed vibe: the darkness, the quiet chatter, the anticipation. Sure, there is a chance that a bunch of prepubescent screamers completely ruin your evening, but that’s what ushers are for, isn’t it? Anyway, even if the movie’s crap, at least you can take solace in the fact that your seat was nice and comfy. Which brings us nicely onto our last point...

REASONS WHY GOING TO THE CINEMA BEATS HOME VIEWING

4

YOU THINK BEFORE YOU PURCHASE The thing with rentals is there is very little conse-

quence to getting it wrong. If the movie you rented was complete horse bollocks, at least it was cheap. It’s no huge loss; chances are it was so bad that there was some inherent entertainment value in it. This can hap-pen in the cinema, but you’ll most likely be thinking more about how much you actually spent on this piece of shit (a piece of shit that can only be viewed once, no less (without paying for another ticket (obviously))) and that can sort of put a dampener on the entire affair. You may see this as a bad thing, but think on it again: the more conscious you become on spending, the more likely you are to pick your film experience more careful-ly. Plus, the more you spend on it, the more likely you are to want to enjoy it.

5

The idea of developing your own game is nothing new; people have been slaving away on their home terminals since the late 1970’s. In fact, the very first games ever to be developed were actually done so independently. Space War! [pictured right], for example, was developed by MIT students Alan Kotok, Steve Russell and Martin Graetz, back in 1961, before the game-industry even existed. It consisted of two player-controlled ships manoeuvring around a central star, trying to destroy the other. During the age of the game industry, independent developers were forced to either build their own publishing company, find one willing to distribute their game, or distribute it in some form of freeware. It was done more as a hobby than a job. Software was even devel-oped for the C64 home computer, specifically for hobbyist game-makers with no programming knowledge, the most significant one being the Activision Gamemaker, (otherwise known as Gar-ry Kitchen’s Gamemaker). While most of the software has been lost over time, some are still usa-ble on an emulator.

IN THE BEGINNING

THE WHEELS BEGIN TO TURN

The hobbyist game-designer community continued to grow, with programs like RPGMaker and O.H.R.RPG.C.E building strong cult followings. However, the games made on these engines rarely received recognition outside of their core community, and sadly, this was the extent of

success for indie games at the time. All of that changed, however, in 2005, when certain commercial developers began billing themselves as specifically indie. In-particular among them was the Japanese game-designer Studio Pixel (Daisuke Amaya), developer of win-dows game Cave Story. Cave Story [pictured left] was released as freeware on the 20th of December, 2004. How-ever, the buzz started in earnest when it was translated into English by Shih Tzu, subse-

quently earning rave reviews from pundits for its engaging story and gameplay. It represent-ed the turning point in the publics perception of independently developed games; now people

knew about these bed-room based developers. Indie games were on their way to commercial recognition.

The world of Indie Game develop-ment is a world almost completely at odds

with the big AAA productions; creativity thrives and risks are taken within the Indie community, while the majority of big titles, while enjoyable and polished, are by-and-large creatively moribund. It is not uncommon for these big titles to borrow mechanics almost wholesale from others, and very rare that any mechanic utilised is com-pletely original. This is not the case with Indie games. Before I start gushing like a broken toilet bowl, however, let us take a look a look back to where it all started.

A GUIDE TO INDIE GAMES

W

S D A

CHRISTOPHER DALLEY

WHAT ARE YOU ON ABOUT?

If you are not familiar with the term ‘indie game’, then allow me to enlighten you on said subject. Indie games are independently developed games, plain and simple. This means the developer is not under the authority of a publisher, giving them free creative reign in any direction. While this may sound more attractive than working under publishing restrictions, note that many independent development teams are comprised of a small number of people, and so subsequently, the workload is increased for each individual. For the developers of these indie titles, their projects are always passion projects. They have to be; It is never certain as to whether it will find any sort of mainstream success. They must believe in their game and what they are doing.

Several events took place subsequently after the release of Cave Story which would lead to the ulti-mate mainstream rise of the indie game. Many gaming outlets began distributing independent titles, including now-household names such as Steam, and later on, platform services such as the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network. By the time of the mid-2000’s many developers had decided to make their games open-source (allowing players to change the source code of game, effec-tively enabling them to mod it), thus increasing the possible range of the audience. TIGSource, a website that followed the development and community of independent games, was started in 2007 by Jordan Magnuson. Indie games now had a voice. The first truly commercially successful indie game however, came in the form of Jonathan Blow’s Braid. The gameplay consisted of puzzle-solving and side-scroll platforming, while the narrative was just as puzzling. It was received with critical and commercial acclaim, becoming one of the best-selling XBLA games to date. Many consider the game a masterpiece of game-development in general, regardless of its status as an indie game, and it is frequently brought up in the games-as-art debate. Next came World of Goo [pictured right], a quirky puzzler from 2D boy. Originally released in 2008 as Wii-ware, the game has, in recent years, made it’s way onto PC and several mobile markets, including iOS and Android. Again, it was released to considerable critical and (admittedly rather later on) com-mercial success.

COMMERCIAL RECOGNITION

SO HERE WE STAND

You may not have noticed this, but some of today’s most successful games are, in fact, independ-ent titles. Don’t believe me? Well where do you think Angry Birds came from? Yes, well figured: It

came from and independent studio. Ever heard of Minecraft? You’d have to have been living under a proverbial rock not to notice that one. Well, Minecraft was developed by Mojang, a

development company who are, well guessed, independent. Here’s a couple more: Super Meat Boy, Tiny Wings, ’Splosion Man, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, N+, Outland... the list goes on. They may not all have been met with massive sales, but they have undeniably found a foothold. The latest trend among indie developers, arguably initiated by the aforementioned Minecraft,

is that of letting players in on the development process. Players are given the option to pur-chase a beta version of the game for a nominal fee, and all subsequent updates are then

released for free to those who already own a copy of the game. In essence, players get to see the game at every step of its development. This can be seen at work in titles such as Over-

growth. This era of video-games is an exciting one. The commercial viability of indie-games has in-

creased, for sure, but that does not mean the distribution system is perfect. Far from it, in fact;

LOSING THE PLOT Expectations in the realm of inter-active journalism are all wrong. Gameplay and presentation are valued over story-telling and it is common that a game will garner critical praise re-gardless of whether or not it features an engaging narrative. Nobody cared that Modern Warfare 2 & 3 were utter bollocks in the story department. Nobody gave much gravity to the fact that the entire Gears of War franchise featured characters so one-dimensional you couldn't see them from side-on*, despite their immense bulk. Nobody gives flying fish-sticks that Mario, Link and Gordon Free-man frequently get voted the best videogame charac-ters of all time, despite lacking that very thing: char-acter. There's barely even a line of dialogue between them! They may be iconic, but great characters they are not. At this point I should probably make it clear that games can certainly be enjoyable without a cohesive or decent story. It is absolutely fine to enjoy a game simply for the joy of collecting stars and dismember-ing faceless opponents. In fact, some games just try to be pure fun and they should be commended for that. Take Vanquish as a prime example: It featured some of the most insanely fast-paced and fun gameplay ever seen in a game, no exaggera-tion. The story, on the other hand, was cheesy, cli-chéd and wonderfully self-aware. It was about incred-ibly gruff, burly American super-soldiers fighting gi-gantic Russian robots (occasionally in space). You even had a designated button to light a smoke. In Vanquish, the tongue is visibly in the developers cheek. the story was meant to be rubbish and that was its strongest point. The thing is, if you were to compare Vanquish to Gears Of War, (another 3rd-person shooter) you'd find that it also features badly conceived characters and a poor script. You'd also find that none of that was intentional. It wasn't trying be trashy, it just was. Cliff Bleszinski promised a 'bigger, better, more ba-dass' continuation in Gears 2. What happened was everything got bigger and more badass. Not better. Players were given a treatment of massive, clumsy vehicle sequences and larger destruction, while the cliff-hanger of the first game, which seemed to hint at a more sinister and mysterious plot for its sequel, was squandered. The story for the first wasn't exactly much either, but at least it felt more grounded in its own gritty reality. Gears of War 2, quite literally, lost the plot. 1] This is what is known as a joke. You can, in fact, see them from side-on. It’s just that if I wrote that, it wouldn’t cohere with the rest of my sentence... actually, I could of just wrote ‘characters so one-dimensional, it’s a wonder you can see them from side-on’, so if you prefer this turn of phrase, please feel free to think it into place.

Now lets take a look at its Metacritic score... 93 percent. Not put off by the quality of its narrative, all critics seem to focus on the increased amounts of 'badass', basically commenting on how cool everything is, simi-lar to the way some critics positively compare Modern Warfare 2 to a Michael Bay-style action blockbuster (which to me would mean

'all flash, no substance'). You have to scroll to the bottom of the review list to actually find

critics who take into serious consideration the game's lax approach to storytelling; The folks over

at Wired featured a very critical review, part of which I will quote now for you: " I never got over the feeling that I was playing an extended Mountain Dew commercial. The characters are so uninspired you can almost predict their next response or action — usually some variation of a grim, determined assertion of their physical prowess. There’s a marked attempt to add some real emotion to the game, but it falls flat in the face of the game’s hyper-masculinity. And the love story that’s been tacked on reads like teen fan fiction, right down to the wall-punching angst and eventual grim conclusion. " Unfortunately most people were too busy shitting themselves over the chainsaw duels to worry about narrative quality. IGN even called the story 'engrossing'. Good joke. An even more hilarious instance of this lapse in criti-cal consensus, which elicited a rather large face-palm from me, was the wide-spread praise of Modern Warfare 3. They actually praised its single-player campaign; they kept on calling it 'wonderfully over-the-top', or some other assorted bullshit. By the time I'd scrolled to the bottom of the review list, my thumb and forefinger had become well-acquainted with the bridge of my nose. Look people, that game had not an ounce of self-awareness. If it did, it would have been released as DLC. It was not exciting; it was numbing, a bit like watching the A-Team tank scene on repeat: there's a point where it stops being funny and just ends up looking plain stupid. Obviously there are many games which are rightfully praised for their storyline. Titles like Bioshock and Shadow of the Colossus received heaps of critical acclaim for their inventive and well-executed stories. That is not a problem. The problem lies with critics who praise a game for good narrative where there is none or simply flat-out ignore a games inability to engage emotionally just because it KICKS ASS! So what's the point in the minority being vocal of the story if the overwhelming majority thinks gameplay and action are the be-all and end-all? The truth is: there isn't one. That's why it is imperative we place more importance on the quality of the storytelling within games. That imperative is actually becoming increasingly apparent as games are being recognised as a relevant art form; even Mr Ebert is going to have to throw in the towel soon and admit it. More purely story-driven games, such as Dear Esther and To the Moon, are now finding a larger audience amongst critics, and have become top-sellers on Steam and the like. With games like these, there is yet hope, even if most them will never achieve true mainstream success. The minority will, hopefully, no longer stay the minority. Hopefully.

CHRISTOPHER DALLEY

SONIC INSANITY So I’ve been told to do some sort of column about whatever, so here goes. November of last year was a crazy mass of great new games: Assassins Creed: Revelations, Skyrim and Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, etcetera, ad nau-seam. But one game which I believe was overlooked was ‘Sonic Generations’, one of my favourites of entire year. It was a game harking back to all the main titles over the years, featuring 9 levels each pulled from old games. It was a great title, full of nostalgia, and I highly enjoyed it. Since its release, I’ve gotten back into the Sonic series, and on-and-off been playing through all the old games; Sonic 1 and 2, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, and Sonic Heroes. Then we come to the sketchy part of the list. Sonic heroes is marked as the beginning of the downfall of sonic games, it wasn’t bad, but certainly not the best. The next on the list (I skipped Shadow the Hedgehog for obvious reasons) was Sonic the Hedgehog, better known as Sonic ’06. This is where I stopped playing sonic as a kid, and I couldn’t have timed it better: Sonic ’06 is renowned as the worst Sonic game yet. It was like somebody had haphaz-ardly thrown our beloved anthropomorphic hedge-hogs into a Final Fantasy game, except with a seem-ingly-childlike plot. I decided to be brave (I don’t know why), and face it head on, buying ’06, & promptly starting to play, full of worry that I’d just wasted £10 on a 6 year old pile of crap. This is where I start to question my sanity. I enjoyed it. It’s not up to the standards of adventure 1 & 2, don’t get me wrong, but if you can get past the odd setting, creepy human egg man, a princess with a blue hedgehog fetish, and the hillocks (I wouldn’t say mountains) of glitches , it’s a legitimately good game. The story is compelling, the game play is fast (at times) and the music is to die for; Sonic has always been known for its excellent music, and ’06 certainly delivers.

One of the best parts of the game was the same system from all 3D Sonic games, being able to play as multiple characters, they all more or less have their own unique plots, but are beautifully intertwined, giving you moments in the Sonic episode then Silver will turn up & do something that makes no sense when you first play it, but

when you reach that point as Silver, it all becomes clear. The only major issue with the

plot I raise is the path of the Blue Chaos Emer-ald; I’ll go into it without too many spoilers. Elise

(the furry princess) gives Sonic the Emerald; Sonic then later gives it to Eggman, who then puts it in a robot, which is destroyed by Silver, who gets the emerald; Silver goes back in time 10 years, and gives it to child Elise. Elise then keeps it as a lucky charm for 10 years. Then gives it to Sonic who gives it to Eggman who puts it in a robot which is destroyed by Silver who gives it to Elise 10 years before who gives it to Sonic who- WAIT A MINUTE! Stupid time paradox’s aside, it is actually an OK game, which is why I am currently questioning my sanity. I like this game which is known for being the worst there is! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!? So I’m now going insane, and will be stop playing Sonic Unleashed until my brain pulls itself back together. For now I’m going to numb the pain with copious amounts of Mass Effect 3.

JAMIE BELL

The boy stepped over the threshold

Onto another land, into another world A waving, sloping ocean of long grass blades, the earth lying in slumberous mounds. The wind

came sweeping above the hillocks, and the blades bowed before its passing, as if it were the rallying of a vast array of troops.

Another Sun hung In another

sky

A waving, sloping ocean of long grass blades, the earth lying in slumberous mounds. The wind

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