Mass Effect 2 and Different Perspectives

During February, I was able to buy Mass Effect 2. I was luckily to own Mass Effect 1 and could therefore import my character and all the choices I made from the first game. Me and Bioware have a rocky relationship.

 Neverwinter Nights

I quite dislike Neverwinter Nights, but that might be because the game is mostly played from a bird's perspective. I think it is essential that when playing a story-heavy and character-heavy game, the camera should be set behind the character or even in the first-person - connecting you to the character instead of playing a far-away first-person narrator.

Mass Effect 2

When I look at some of my favourite games, I somewhat contradict myself. Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI are role-playing games where your connection to the characters is that of a fantasy/science-fiction narrator and since they are 2D games, there is no camera to speak of and everything is played out in overhead perspective. 

I could argue that the visual aesthetics of Western and Eastern role-playing games are quite different. The sprites of Eastern RPGs, especially Chrono Trigger, is pretty, colourful, difficult to dislike, and has much more squashed proportions, giving the illusion that the sprites are larger and therefore easier to connect with. The squashed 2D sprite style is usually known by the term Super Deformed (or SD for short). I am still contradicting myself, though.

Chrono Trigger

Coming back to Mass Effect 2, I enjoyed it much more than the first game, even though Mass Effect 2 is streamlined to the bone of its RPG characteristics. When I'm playing games, I always look at the way developers balance the gameplay and narrative aspects. For me, that is what allows or disallows games to be art. It is possible to use gameplay to build and inform the story of the game.

In Mass Effect 2's case, it manages to build a precarious balance - most of the time the streamlining allows the game to communicate the tenseness of the missions Shephard (the main character) and his team go on and increases the meaningfulness of communication between the various characters that populate the universe. Other times the balance just falls flat. This is very obvious in the downloadable mission: Kasumi: Stolen Memory. The mission sets Shepard in a Bond-like situation and environment. The tools used to fuel the battles in the game and the interaction with the world does not translate in this mission. Shepard openly explores secret sections of the building he/she is in, while people are basically watching (well, they are minding their own business, but still) and even gets into a fire-fight that almost everyone in the complex should be able to hear. The elements that makes the battles exciting, makes this mission boring. Mass Effect 2 is just not a stealth game, and that is alright. On the other hand, I'm looking forward to when genres aren't important anymore - where a world can be created where the avatar can use various skills and talents to explore and interact with the created world.

 To the left: Shephard and the right: Kasumi

The following paragraph contains spoilers:

The strength of Bioware games lies in their writing and characters. I really enjoyed discovering each character's background story, from walking through Jack's old room/cell to defending Tali in court. From these interactions with these characters you could deduce what sort of people (or aliens) these characters are. Even the virtual intelligence and pilot of your airship gets a chance to shine.

End of Spoilers

Tali from Mass Effect 2

You might be wondering what happened to my plan to play one game and report on it. Well, I scrapped that idea. Unfortunately, I don't have enough time or the patience. I still play Police Quest 1 now and then, though, and if I notice anything interesting, I will report on it.

Storyboards and Blogposts

This does not really have to do anything with games, but I recently wrote this piece for a subject at my college and I thought I would share with the rest of you. It is quite short since it is supposed a discussion posting. I have changed it a bit to suit the blog's focus.

Before I enrolled in Web Design Development at CIT, I studied Multimedia at university. During my studies, I learned the importance of storyboards and good planning. A potential idea can slowly begin to fade away and you subsequently lose the chance to share something that might have been important to someone. This is equally valid for writing a blog, since your discussion on art (even popular art), might have enriched someone's view on a topic. It is doubly important in the world of games.

Storyboards help to anchor your idea to the shores of the physical world. It can help you to see your vision in draft form, so that when you start to develop your project, you can envision which subjects have to be dealt with and have some idea where to start or what to do next. It will further give you, as writer and artist, a narrowed focus and with this vision you won’t stray off the path, trying to attempt the creation of creative coolness. This will allow the final project or documentation to actually make sense instead of being a mish-mash of ideas.

Even though the visual element of writing is buried within the minds and history of its readers and therefore it does exactly suit the features of storyboarding, but just by jotting a few ideas of paper to order ideas for a blog can go a long way in developing the initial draft of a blog post.

Let's move away from writing and look at the development of the imaginary worlds of games. During the development of any games, concept artists (and indie developers) have to draw hundreds of concept designs of characters, environments, and even gameplay functions. Using these designs, 3D artists and programmers can model a vast, believable, and breathtaking netherworld. Before 3Dimensionality made its appearance, 2D was king. Instead of creating models, artists would match the concept designs to the restrictions of computer and video game systems. Individual sprites were animated to give each character individuality and personality. Sometimes I miss 2D games...some people look down on old games, thinking that the graphics look horrible since they grew up with the polygonised worlds of the Playstation and Nintendo 64. If you look past the layer of blocky sprites, you might be able to witness the artistic merit of the graphics. Storyboards and character designs were just as important in the SUPER days of the NES, SNES, and Mega Drive (Genesis).

To find out more about the world of concept designs, I would recommend the following sites:

Creative Uncut
Amano's World

Jeux Diablo

Looking back to my previous post, I did promise to try to write every week. I like writing because I can express what I am thinking...but I'm not going to saddle you with excuses, so I'll just move to the part where I share my experiences with what I've played of Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel these last few weeks, which isn't much. I guess I've become spoiled with the auto saving system of Mass Effect 2 and the reach-a-certain-point-and-then-save systems of bygone consoles, because I didn't save in Police Quest . A few seconds later my avatar, Sonny Bonds, had a most horrendous car accident...I have to admit that I'm horrible virtual driver (although I'm not too bad at driving in real life, even though I do make a quite a few mistakes..hmmm-hmm). I luckily did make some notes before the accident, so I can share a few details. This does mean that I'll have to restart game, but I guess that's part of the fun...

 Police Quest Map

Image found here

Mild spoilers may follow...

After a colourful introduction filled to the brim with the colour blue and a larger-than-life badge that apparently houses the names of the all the people who was responsible for the Pursuit of the Death Angel, Sonny Bonds finds himself in the foyer of a police station. It is now up to you to decide what he has to do for the rest of the day. Does he take a shower for the whole day (while everyone in the bathroom stands completely still and the only sign of life is a 8-bit sprinkle of water - which was cutting edge for its time) and watch the whole go past him (because he apparently has something better to do than pursue the angel of death), or do his duty, follow the rules, and arrive on time for the briefing that's scheduled for 13:00. The other two options aren't really viable, because that ends the game and our insight into the life of Sonny Bonds. It is also wise not to over-abuse the Fast option, because that increases the speed of time as well (if only that worked in real life), also resulting in a missed briefing.

Before the Sergeant reminds you of your daily task, you can allow Sonny to delight in reading the morning newspaper (which include some quirky references to other Sierra games, including King's Quest). Apparently a dragon invaded Daventry (which is where King's Quest is set). I thought that was an ingenious way of marketing, which was also creatively implemented in the other Sierra games as well.

 The closest reference I could find - from Police Quest 2

Image found here

While I was listening to the Sergeant, I discovered something that I didn't know before - you take notes within the game (I usually wrote clues down on paper or use a walkthrough)! The notes feature also had solid foundation within the game's world - the notes would be written in Sonny Bond's  notebook (which I thought was pretty cool).

After the meeting it is time to hit the streets, but you can't just climb in the car and drive out of the parking lot. The car's tires might have a puncture and that could be catastrophic while following suspects. Imagine that Sonny is about to make the bust of the century, but a few seconds later, you find out that he has a flat tire. What will his superiors say when they find out you haven't done the required safety check...which is basically just a walk around the car. It's simple, but effective and it feels genuine. After the escaping the parking lot, you can drive around on the streets (yes, you do have to stop at a red traffic light and the road can be deadly), until dispatch asks for Bond's assistance with an apparent accident. And off we go...

 Police Quest accident

Image found here

Even though I lost all my progress, I enjoyed my nostalgic romp through Lytton. Police Quest opened my eyes to what computer games can achieve - it can create an entire fictional world that could be based on the rules of the real world and that a game host and build its story through traditional narrative techniques combined with gameplay mechanics.

It was also a rude awakening to how easy it was to die in 8-bit games, games definitely didn't hold your hand. If you didn't use the right syntax (with adventure games) or didn't save, then tough luck. I enjoyed and was irritated by all the police policies that had to be followed within the game. It gave some substance to the world, but if certain rule is missed or the player forgets about it, then it is game over.

I find it really difficult to complete adventure games without a walkthrough - puzzles are not usually that difficult, but the solution is sometimes so straight forward, that it is easy to miss or misunderstand the path to the solution (e.g. walking around a car to do a safety check).

Lastly, the title is an inside joke...

My Plans for the Blog and my Favourite Blogs

In order for me to transfer to most accurate information to my audience, I plan to replay the games that I want to discuss. Some of these games I haven't played in years (e.g. Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel) and others I have failed to finish even though I have tried so many times (e.g. Final Fantasy VI - which is my second favourite game) - relying on my memory is a bad idea, since false information tends to creep in (not intentionally). Therefore, my plan is to finish one game in one month and then once a week report my experiences. It might be something about what an accident freak I am in Police Quest or the use of symbology in Silent Hill. I'll try to not be too spoilerific.

Silent Hill 3
Image found here

The games that I am planning to discuss are the following (arranged chronologically according to when I played the games):

• Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel
• King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!
• Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
• Heart of Darkness
• Curse of Monkey Island
• Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
• Lunar: The Silver Star
• Final Fantasy VI
• Chrono Trigger
• Dragon Quest V
• Bahamut Lagoon
• Legend of Mana
• Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
• The Longest Journey
• Metal Gear Solid
• Resident Evil 4
• Final Fantasy XII
• ICO
• Shadow of the Colossus
• Half-Life 2
• Silent Hill
• Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
• Silent Hill 3
• Persona 4
• Final Fantasy IX
• Mass Effect 2

Note that this list may change and I doubt seriously that I'll get to everything, but I am going to try.

Final Fantasy VI

Image found here

I have mentioned above that haven't finished Final Fantasy VI and the same is true of other games I've played.. I guess one of the reasons that I haven't finish the games that I cherish is because I'm not really good at games. How ironic! If I were to register myself for a gaming tournament, I would probably end last or less than last. What I value in games is how the narrative and gameplay works together to create a compelling experience. I have touched on this issue in my previous post, but here is another example. 

Here be minor spoilers...

One example is in Silent Hill. The main character, Harry Mason, visits Alchemilla Hospital and uses the elevator to travel to the fourth floor and when he reaches the said floor, the hospital transforms into a hellish otherworld where nurses wants nothing more than wanting to hear Harry Mason breath his last breath. In Japanese, one form of the word four (shi - し) is the pronounced and romanjised the same way as the word for death. By using the  elevator to go to the fourth floor (gameplay), the world and death and sorrow, the otherworld, is activated (narrative).

End of spoilers...

I would like to share which blogs have inspired me through the years and which still means a lot to me.


Charles Martin - A percussionist who uses technology to further our perception of time and reality. Not only can we observe his and his group's (Last Man to Die) performances, but we can also take part in the performance - applying the interactivity which has traditionally applied to video games to the art performance scene. Some of his projects include a heart-beat monitor and a table that can detect movement (and which accordingly changes the flow of music in a performance).

Gamespite - Moderated, edited and partially written by Jeremy Parish, an editor of the best video game site on the internet, 1UP. The articles reveal an extensive knowledge of games, including their mechanics and narrative, and allow us to again to experience why we loved these games - eternally captured in words.


Pretty Sure I'm Right - This  well-written blog contains various reviews on books, films, games, and music. It is updated frequently and always contains interesting comments on what is being reviewed. The writer's dedication is comparable to a professional review site.


Retronauts - 1UP's blog on games of retro nature. Hosted by Jeremy Parish and his dedicated team of Retronauts. 

Rohan Thomson Pictures - The blog of the photographer, Rohan Thomson, who allows us to share his viewpoint on the world and allows his subjects to reach their full potential. His blog publishes projects that he has undertaken during the month and contains interesting subjects like a National Folk Festival or an Air Balloon ride.

Saturday's Specimen - Chrissy shares the creative craft and fashion projects she's undertaken.  She can take almost any material and add some stylish buttons or a zip or two and create a work of art. She also reports about her trip to Japan and all the interesting shops  she has visited with Charles (including Victorian Maiden), the writer of Charles Martin, which is described above.

Sexy Videogameland - Puts the sexy in video games...it is not how it sounds. Sexy Videogameland is a professionally blog written by Leigh Alexander who isn't afraid to discuss controversial subjects with a objective eye and always looks at ways the medium can move forward beyond space marines and high fantasy. 


Star Crossed Anime Blog - An anime blog that reviews each series that it tackles in an in-depth manner. It further contains features that discusses the writer's favourite anime of the decade, of a particular season or genre, and of all time. Very interesting to read.


The Grind - 1UP's blog dedicated to RPG's. Join Kat Bailey and Jeremy Parish in a journey full of detailed world maps of far-away lands and tearful stories. To struggle against these lands' hard times, these warriors describe their horrowing experiences of fights against giant snake-turtles and cacti attacks with 1000's of needles.

Amy Adams, Disney and Blogs

This weekend I watched a film that really made an impression on me, and that film is Julie and Julia. The first film I watched which starred Amy Adams was Enchanted. I grew up with The Little Mermaid (which I saw at a drive-through in 1989), Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan (we watched Hook and Peter Pan an hour apart from each other), and Aladdin, and so I loved how they fused the romantic comedy genre with what Disney did in the old days and it really worked (unlike Kingdom Hearts - yay, for not creating worlds structured like rooms), and I think Amy Adams did an excellent job portraying a Disney princess trapped in the real world. Julie and Julia on the other hand it also about being trapped, but in a positive way. Trapped in a passion for cooking, writing, and about blogs. By allowing yourself to see and experience another world in the real world, you can learn new things about yourself, discover that you can do things that you never believed is possible or walk a path that you thought you would walk in another couple of years (or ever) and then share it with people. :) No, this blog is not about Amy Adams or old Disney movies. This paragraph merely described why I created the blog, and that is to offer my perspective or insight into something I've had a passion for since I was 8 years old - stories/narratives.

Amy Adams
Image found here

But first, I should introduce myself. My name is Heinrich van der Berg (yup, those last three words is my surname and which literally means "from the Mountain"). I studied Multimedia for four years and at present, I'm studying web design so that I can supplement my skills. Hopefully, this blog will look a bit more artistic in a few weeks. I also have a website that you can find here (WARNING: The website is 27 mb large and so it may give you a bit of trouble if you have a slow connection, or even if you have fast connection. I'm thinking of splitting the website into smaller chunks, so that it is easier to access) and a deviantArt account.

Moon by Heinrich van der Berg

You are welcome to check them out if you want. I would have never have studied Multimedia if it wasn't for certain video game, called Lunar: The Silver Star [which was released for Sega-CD/Mega-CD and from which this blog's title derives its name from (one-half of it anyway - the word lunar is associated with the moon)]. Yes, this blog is about stories, but I'm going try to limit this blog's scope to games - both console and computer games.

Lunar: The Silver Star
Image found here

My love for games did neither start with games' crutch of killing things nor Lunar: The Silver Star (the game still had a big influence on my outlook on games, which I will hopefully discuss in a later post), but with the Adventure genre, specifically Sierra's Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel. When I'm talking about Adventure games, I don't mean Action-Adventure games (e.g. The Legend of Zelda) or Role-Playing Games (e.g. Final Fantasy or the Elder Scrolls series), but about games that focuses on solving puzzles in order to move the story along, but the puzzles is not the main feature of these games, the story is. The puzzles are deeply ingrained into a story. When someone is calling you on the phone, you pick-up the phone, but the phone itself isn't important. It is merely a tool for you to have an enjoyable (or unpleasant) conversation with the person on the other side of the line and in the same way the puzzles is present to create a world (and characters within this world) to interact with. A more technical explanation can be found on Wikipedia...namely, here.

Police Quest featured main character, Officer Sonny Bonds, who investigates a drug lord, called the Death Angel. As Officer Bonds, you need to follow the police rules, like following certain steps before leaving the police station and these police rules (and even the combination to your locker at the police station) were described inside a copyright measure...the manual. You see, if you pirated by copying the stiffies/floppies from a friend and you didn't think of making copies of the pages of the manual, you were not able to advance in the game. This might have irritated a couple of pirates, since the internet was not a worldwide phenomenon like today and manuals were not easy to obtain, except if you went back to your friend. By using the manual the fill the player's blank [e.g. the combination of the locker (VGA version)], the game director didn't have to depend on one of gaming's biggest crutches, the character having amnesia. By reading the manual, the information of the police rules and the locker's combination was transformed into the player's knowledge, just as it is knowledge in Officer Sonny Bond's head.

Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel
Image found here

Here be minor spoilers...

After managing to escape the confines of the police station, you can drive around the town of Lytton, arresting drunkards (don't forget to cuff his hands behind his back or you might have a headache), help to get rid of troublesome bikies, and solve the case of the Death Angel...James Bond style.

Minor spoilers stops...

When I first played it, it was a revelation...I was used to platform games (e.g. Commander Keen and Saboteur 2) and racing games (e.g. Grand Prix Circuit) and these games were all about the gameplay (don't get me wrong, they were fun to play), but with Police Quest, you could play a character - inhabit someone's life in a realistic, but fictional world, almost like the holodeck in Star Trek: The Next Generation (only much more low-key). After Police Quest, it would be a few years before I could again play a game that manage this sort of presentation, which was also a game from Sierra - King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder! I think I will discuss this game on a later date.

I hope you enjoyed my introduction on which I hope will be a continuing blog about the games that influenced my life and reveal the further meaning of the blog's title. Being trapped in a new world of adventure isn't so bad, since you might find a trap door that leads to new horisons...

---OPEN DOOR