Parallels, much?
May. 20th, 2012 05:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dmxratedA few decades ago, Atari was the king of the video game industry.
Until nearly a year ago, Pokemon had been my favorite video game series to default on when I needed something to play.
In the early 1980's, it hosted an epic competition known as SwordQuest, in which gamers would join a club, buy each of four elemental games as they came out, and strive to solve a puzzle and riddle, deriving clues from a comic book that came with each game, in hopes of winning a treasure of tremendous value and ultimately a sword of silver with the Atari logo.
Starting in October 2005, when this blog was only half a year old (and the actual date went unmarked), I started what would evolve into a Pokemon marathon, starting with the original Red. At the time, I was just playing the games for the sake of playing them, but within the next two years, due to some issues I had during that time with Sapphire (and Emerald, which I aborted an initial playthrough of), I started keeping records of Pokemon that I either let evolve or taught a TM or HM to, and it became a tradition since. While playing Pearl half a year later, I found out from the respective player's guide, about something called the Pal Park, which enables players to migrate Pokemon from any of the five games from Generation III. From this, I decided to go back after completing Pearl, and play FireRed, Ruby, and Emerald all the way through (I had already completed LeafGreen beforehand), before playing the yet-to-be-released Platinum and migrating six Pokemon from each Gen III game onto that game. Long story short, this evolved into plans to play all remaining four games of Gen IV after Pearl.
The contests for Earthworld and Fireworld went through without a hitch, with Steven Bell and Michael Rideout winning their respective prizes. Come Waterworld, the Video Game Market Crash of 1983 was already taking its toll, and Atari was about to go out of business. Thus, only the game was released, in limited quantities, without any comics or contest. Needless to say, Airworld never saw the light of day (at least not officially, though there are said to exist betas of the game).
As a whole, I had always enjoyed the games. However, at some point, the more I played them, and the more I read about on Bulbapedia, the more things I saw wrong with them. I even remember playing Silver back in December 2001, just shortly before receiving Crystal for Christmas that year, and I was constantly thinking "How many things are wrong with this game?"
I had already completed SoulSilver back in October 2010, and I do intend to finish Diamond, but only because I've done everything there is to do in the main part of Sinnoh, and now only have to do a few things in the Battle Zone before writing the record for that game. In Platinum, though, I only intend to play as far as until I establish a secret base underground, which will be determined by wherever I find the last randomly-placed trap before my trap bag is full, and will in turn determine where May will establish a base in Parasitic Trio. I have no real reason to bother playing HeartGold any further than I have (that is, having just cleared the first gym).
So, how did the game market crash those three decades ago? Many simplify things and blame it on the watered-down 2600 version of Pac-Man and the overproduction and suckitude of E.T., but the big picture is described on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_video_game_crash_of_1983
So, what do I see wrong with the Pokemon game series? If you're thinking the changes that came with Pokemon Black and White, you're wrong. While a few things have something to do with that, most of what I'm about to describe have been true since Gen I:
1) The non-existence of a "Light" type, which would be the true counter-element to Dark. I know "Psychic" is also directly counter to Dark, but Fire is counter to both Water and Ice. Especially egregious from Gen II onward, when Dark and Metal were introduced as types.
2) Worlds are centered around the player. For example, you can plant a berry anywhere, and no one can simply come around and take what you sow. (To be fair, though, it's only natural that the designers of these games are only thinking about how to make them fun for the players, rather than about realism.)
3) All four regions in Gens III and IV have the same first 50 TMs. Gen IV just stacks 42 more on top of the Gen III set. Gen V has all the same ones as Gen IV, plus more, although all the new ones mingle with the rest of them, instead of stacking further up. Not that that makes much of a difference...
4) In GSC, Love Balls work on same-gendered Pokemon instead of opposite-gendered ones like they're supposed to, due to a glitch. In HGSS, they only work on anything of the same species and opposite sex as you pit against, which only makes them nigh useless, meaning that the only real reason to collect Pink Apricorns is to make ApriJuice out of.
5) Pokemon cannot bring items with them when migrated b/w Gens IV and V. And why?
6) Because Gen V introduces a "new" set of TMs (which, like I said, is actually a renumbered set with new TMs fitted in). Like, couldn't the games just have blocked Pokemon carrying a TM disk like they do w/ those who know an HM?
7) On top of that, TMs in Gen V can now be used infinitely. If the dev team wanted to let players teach them as many times as desired, why wasn't this true since Gen I? Memory issue? Plus, this takes away from the games' challenge.
8) All berry trees in HGSS now yield apricorns, instead of the Gen-III-equivalent berries to each berry variety that existed in GSC.
9) Everything just feels lifeless. Who cares that a downloadable or transferrable Pokemon knows some special move? Nothing has any real personality to it, characters or Pokemon.
10) The need to trade Pokemon for complete Pokedexes. Of course, these games are meant to encourage socialization among players, which is why they put out two or three versions of each game, but this does not mesh well with my personality as an autistic introvert who would rather keep things simple and orderly.
11) Some stuff only exists in the game code to obtain from external sources. (And yeah, I know, the reason for this is so that Nintendo can make side-deals with other businesses for mutual promotion.)
12) The fact that certain Legendary Pokemon are banned from all Battle Towers, Frontiers, and Subways, while others are permitted there. Even if the reason was to test your real skills as a Trainer, and because all players will have access to them (which is exactly what I'm talking about with #2), that would make more sense if all legendaries were banned.
13) There are as many Pokemon with a 7/1 male/female ratio as there are equally-gendered ones, but none with a 1/7 M/F ratio.
14) I know inanimate objects can't reproduce in real life, but if a Geodude can do so, why shouldn't a Magnemite be able to? Not like rocks can fornicate and reproduce in real life either, and yet there's an egg group called "Mineral".
15) The ability to clone Pokemon (since day one).
16) Why can a lot of Pokemon only have one ability or the other? Biologically, they should have both.
17) The fact that e-Reader berries were very inconsistent in use, and you can only have one variety at a time.
18) Why are only certain "cute" Pokemon allowed in Amity Square, but not others like Togepi, Jirachi, or even Clefairy's pre-evolved form Cleffa? Add to that the fact that the Sinnoh starters are only allowed there in Platinum, in which their evolved forms also are. (Infernape? Cute? Yeah, sure...)
19) Certain "breedable" moves can only be known by bred Pokemon if the father is a given species in particular. No, it's not enough that the father simply knows the move in question, nor am I gonna bother naming examples. Just look up any Pokemon species or move on Bulbapedia, and you'll see what I'm talking about.
With the Crash came the end of game production for the Atari 2600, and of Atari's glory days. Not long after, though, Nintendo arose as the new head of the video game industry, after launching the Family Computer in Japan and the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America, and releasing far more intricate games for those twin systems than the 2600 or any of its competitors could hope to run. Atari still competed in the game and console business, but only as a shadow of its former self, going out once and for all with the death of its last console, the Jaguar... until Infogrames bought it out in 2001 and renamed itself the new Atari.
Now that I've mostly put the games behind me, here is the very first chapter of the real thing: Parasitic Trio!!! (Jake, thanks for all your effort in writing what I've written, much more elaborately!)
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8133320/1/Parasitic_Trio_Ellens_Quest
For the record, I've already read through the player's guides for Pokemon Black and White, and I still intend to buy the guides for the upcoming Black 2 and White 2 and any games due to come out further in the future. However, I'm only talking about the guides, not the games themselves.
Until nearly a year ago, Pokemon had been my favorite video game series to default on when I needed something to play.
In the early 1980's, it hosted an epic competition known as SwordQuest, in which gamers would join a club, buy each of four elemental games as they came out, and strive to solve a puzzle and riddle, deriving clues from a comic book that came with each game, in hopes of winning a treasure of tremendous value and ultimately a sword of silver with the Atari logo.
Starting in October 2005, when this blog was only half a year old (and the actual date went unmarked), I started what would evolve into a Pokemon marathon, starting with the original Red. At the time, I was just playing the games for the sake of playing them, but within the next two years, due to some issues I had during that time with Sapphire (and Emerald, which I aborted an initial playthrough of), I started keeping records of Pokemon that I either let evolve or taught a TM or HM to, and it became a tradition since. While playing Pearl half a year later, I found out from the respective player's guide, about something called the Pal Park, which enables players to migrate Pokemon from any of the five games from Generation III. From this, I decided to go back after completing Pearl, and play FireRed, Ruby, and Emerald all the way through (I had already completed LeafGreen beforehand), before playing the yet-to-be-released Platinum and migrating six Pokemon from each Gen III game onto that game. Long story short, this evolved into plans to play all remaining four games of Gen IV after Pearl.
The contests for Earthworld and Fireworld went through without a hitch, with Steven Bell and Michael Rideout winning their respective prizes. Come Waterworld, the Video Game Market Crash of 1983 was already taking its toll, and Atari was about to go out of business. Thus, only the game was released, in limited quantities, without any comics or contest. Needless to say, Airworld never saw the light of day (at least not officially, though there are said to exist betas of the game).
As a whole, I had always enjoyed the games. However, at some point, the more I played them, and the more I read about on Bulbapedia, the more things I saw wrong with them. I even remember playing Silver back in December 2001, just shortly before receiving Crystal for Christmas that year, and I was constantly thinking "How many things are wrong with this game?"
I had already completed SoulSilver back in October 2010, and I do intend to finish Diamond, but only because I've done everything there is to do in the main part of Sinnoh, and now only have to do a few things in the Battle Zone before writing the record for that game. In Platinum, though, I only intend to play as far as until I establish a secret base underground, which will be determined by wherever I find the last randomly-placed trap before my trap bag is full, and will in turn determine where May will establish a base in Parasitic Trio. I have no real reason to bother playing HeartGold any further than I have (that is, having just cleared the first gym).
So, how did the game market crash those three decades ago? Many simplify things and blame it on the watered-down 2600 version of Pac-Man and the overproduction and suckitude of E.T., but the big picture is described on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_video_game_crash_of_1983
So, what do I see wrong with the Pokemon game series? If you're thinking the changes that came with Pokemon Black and White, you're wrong. While a few things have something to do with that, most of what I'm about to describe have been true since Gen I:
1) The non-existence of a "Light" type, which would be the true counter-element to Dark. I know "Psychic" is also directly counter to Dark, but Fire is counter to both Water and Ice. Especially egregious from Gen II onward, when Dark and Metal were introduced as types.
2) Worlds are centered around the player. For example, you can plant a berry anywhere, and no one can simply come around and take what you sow. (To be fair, though, it's only natural that the designers of these games are only thinking about how to make them fun for the players, rather than about realism.)
3) All four regions in Gens III and IV have the same first 50 TMs. Gen IV just stacks 42 more on top of the Gen III set. Gen V has all the same ones as Gen IV, plus more, although all the new ones mingle with the rest of them, instead of stacking further up. Not that that makes much of a difference...
4) In GSC, Love Balls work on same-gendered Pokemon instead of opposite-gendered ones like they're supposed to, due to a glitch. In HGSS, they only work on anything of the same species and opposite sex as you pit against, which only makes them nigh useless, meaning that the only real reason to collect Pink Apricorns is to make ApriJuice out of.
5) Pokemon cannot bring items with them when migrated b/w Gens IV and V. And why?
6) Because Gen V introduces a "new" set of TMs (which, like I said, is actually a renumbered set with new TMs fitted in). Like, couldn't the games just have blocked Pokemon carrying a TM disk like they do w/ those who know an HM?
7) On top of that, TMs in Gen V can now be used infinitely. If the dev team wanted to let players teach them as many times as desired, why wasn't this true since Gen I? Memory issue? Plus, this takes away from the games' challenge.
8) All berry trees in HGSS now yield apricorns, instead of the Gen-III-equivalent berries to each berry variety that existed in GSC.
9) Everything just feels lifeless. Who cares that a downloadable or transferrable Pokemon knows some special move? Nothing has any real personality to it, characters or Pokemon.
10) The need to trade Pokemon for complete Pokedexes. Of course, these games are meant to encourage socialization among players, which is why they put out two or three versions of each game, but this does not mesh well with my personality as an autistic introvert who would rather keep things simple and orderly.
11) Some stuff only exists in the game code to obtain from external sources. (And yeah, I know, the reason for this is so that Nintendo can make side-deals with other businesses for mutual promotion.)
12) The fact that certain Legendary Pokemon are banned from all Battle Towers, Frontiers, and Subways, while others are permitted there. Even if the reason was to test your real skills as a Trainer, and because all players will have access to them (which is exactly what I'm talking about with #2), that would make more sense if all legendaries were banned.
13) There are as many Pokemon with a 7/1 male/female ratio as there are equally-gendered ones, but none with a 1/7 M/F ratio.
14) I know inanimate objects can't reproduce in real life, but if a Geodude can do so, why shouldn't a Magnemite be able to? Not like rocks can fornicate and reproduce in real life either, and yet there's an egg group called "Mineral".
15) The ability to clone Pokemon (since day one).
16) Why can a lot of Pokemon only have one ability or the other? Biologically, they should have both.
17) The fact that e-Reader berries were very inconsistent in use, and you can only have one variety at a time.
18) Why are only certain "cute" Pokemon allowed in Amity Square, but not others like Togepi, Jirachi, or even Clefairy's pre-evolved form Cleffa? Add to that the fact that the Sinnoh starters are only allowed there in Platinum, in which their evolved forms also are. (Infernape? Cute? Yeah, sure...)
19) Certain "breedable" moves can only be known by bred Pokemon if the father is a given species in particular. No, it's not enough that the father simply knows the move in question, nor am I gonna bother naming examples. Just look up any Pokemon species or move on Bulbapedia, and you'll see what I'm talking about.
With the Crash came the end of game production for the Atari 2600, and of Atari's glory days. Not long after, though, Nintendo arose as the new head of the video game industry, after launching the Family Computer in Japan and the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America, and releasing far more intricate games for those twin systems than the 2600 or any of its competitors could hope to run. Atari still competed in the game and console business, but only as a shadow of its former self, going out once and for all with the death of its last console, the Jaguar... until Infogrames bought it out in 2001 and renamed itself the new Atari.
Now that I've mostly put the games behind me, here is the very first chapter of the real thing: Parasitic Trio!!! (Jake, thanks for all your effort in writing what I've written, much more elaborately!)
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8133320/1/Parasitic_Trio_Ellens_Quest
For the record, I've already read through the player's guides for Pokemon Black and White, and I still intend to buy the guides for the upcoming Black 2 and White 2 and any games due to come out further in the future. However, I'm only talking about the guides, not the games themselves.