The Religion of Release

The last game I truly anticipated with complete abandon was Black & White, and the lesson I learned from it was so sharp, so biting, that I've never anticipated games in quite the same way since. While I was enthusiastic about big name releases like Half Life 2, World of Warcraft, Halo 2, and most recently Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the anticipation has been tempered, and even openly restrained, with cynicism and a painful knowledge that despite moments of grace and brilliance, these are works of men and subject to the inherent fallibility with which we are all cursed. In short, I've become a gaming pessimist living by the credo that if I don't get my hopes up, then I'll never be disappointed. It occurs to me that this may be something of a tragedy.

As the days of Oblivion approached, I had plenty of time to watch the psychology of the fan and all of its subtle permutations. I watched with a brand of abject horror, as the most vocal and intense segment of the fanbase began to speak of the game almost reverently, with traits that seemed religious in nature. Thou shalt have no game above the one true Oblivion. Thou shalt not use thy lord Oblivion's name in vain. Thou shalt type in all capital letters and vulgar acronyms to really get thy point across. The most important element to this cult of Bethesda was what it most shared with religion, and that was unwavering faith on the part of its laity. Though these priests of Tamriel had never held the game, nor played it, nor been granted concrete evidence that this game would be as good as promised, their certainty was absolute.

I'd seen it before, and with disastrous results. I'd after all been a quiet acolyte of Black and White once, myself. And, I knew from experience that when you abandon yourself so completely to an unreleased game, you run the risk of having it all end in disappointment and resentment. Having put your faith in a game that ultimately proves to be fatally flawed is probably like being a devout Christian and having Jesus show up at the door, leave half empty glasses of conjured wine all over the house, record over everything you'd been saving on TiVo, and leave unceremoniously with all of your credit cards.

And, yet, there is joy too in the singular act of anticipating a game, regardless of its ultimate quality. It's easy to get burned by a bad game, and decide the hours you put in to reading previews, and looking at screenshots, and chatting about it on message boards, and anticipating its release were completely wasted, and as with anything when one takes the anticipation to an extreme that's probably true. But still, we wouldn't participate in the hype if it weren't fun in and of itself.

I remember an advertising campaign for Heinz that, to the best of my recollection, played back in the early 80s or late 70s in which you see a glass bottle of ketchup held over a tantalizing burger waiting to take the tomatoey goodness like a penitent sinner waiting to take communion. The wait seems, for the viewer, endless as you watch the thick and viscous sauce bulge slowly from the opening, held in place by surface tension that seems bolstered by some hyper-thin space-age polymer. And through this interminable wait, because there was a day when ketchup did not come in squeeze containers and an art to hitting a glass bottle in the sweet spot, Carley Simon is singing her hit song Anticipation.

Now we have plastic-squeeze ketchup delivery devices that distribute it evenly and quickly onto your burger, hot-dog, or in the worst cases eggs. We simply grab the bottle of ketchup, give it a good squeeze to taste, and proceed happily about our lives, never having to hit anything or pass the bottle around the table to the guy who says he knows just how to make the ketchup come out. And, yeah, sure getting on with the eating part is good enough on its own, but I kinda miss the, for lack of a better word, anticipation. Maybe Heinz's marketing firm was right; maybe waiting for ketchup is better than eating ketchup.

Ok, that may not have been their point, but it certainly can be an accurate description of other things which we anticipate. For example, waiting for Star Wars Episode I to be released was better than watching it. Waiting for Doom III was better than playing it. And, waiting for Black and White, was damn sure a lot better than actually playing it.

It would seem that sacrificing enthusiasm to save disappointment is an equally failing venture. It is the other extreme to which I've occasionally and more frequently fallen from those who proselytize the hype. I've become something of a pre-release atheist. My interest in coming titles, until I put them in my hands for careful study and empirical analysis, is usually one of a purely academic nature. I question everything, take nothing for granted, and damn sure am not interested in simply having faith. Show me the money, and then I'll spend it. Not the other way around, thank you very much, can I get an amen?

But, then a game like Oblivion comes along, a game that appears to match the quality promised. And, now, I almost wish I'd put in the time looking forward to it, because the only thing better than playing an amazing game is anticipating an amazing game and having it meet your impossible standards. Sure, we all know in our cynical hearts that it's a bunch of measured corporate propaganda delivered in large-scale tactical hype-strikes, but there's a good reason that so many people abandon themselves to the drunken ecstasy of hype. It feels good to believe in the coming of something great, even on the small-scale level of games, or music, or film, or book. It is strangely inclusive.

I loved the last days before a game I have anxiously awaited hits shelves, loved calling retailers the day before to see if maybe, just maybe, it's out early, basked in the single-minded drive to pick up the game, and, most of all, wallowed in that moment just after you've put the disc in the tray but before you've gotten to the first splash screen when the gaming universe bursts forth with unseen possibility "… is there anything better? Well, of course, the answer to that depends on the game. But, it's been a while since I did those things to that degree of optimism, and I miss it.

I'm happy as I put forward plentiful hours into Oblivion, satisfied that the game is crafted by loving and genius hands, but there's a strange emptiness in me as well when I think I have no game coming in the immediate future with which to obsess myself. For me, the fat dollop of ketchup has landed on my burger, and, sure, it tastes good, but there was a moment there when Carley was bawling out like a cat in a dishwasher, and that thick, red bulb of condiment defied gravity, and I guess maybe I wasn't paying attention to that the way I should have been.

- Elysium

Comments

Jacques wrote:

Better than the memory, better than the moment itself: the moment (dramatic pause) of anticipation!

Black and White opened my eyes too, since then I just can't help rationalizing every upcoming release. But it gets easier with experience to see through the BS and seperate the chaff from the weed. I hotly anticipated CivIV recently, and was not disappointed.

Live the dream, Elysium! And keep writing those fantastic articles. Damn...

Excellent article. You touched on this, but I think it bears repeating. To me, the hype game is all about gambling. The payoff is big in those rare cases where the game exceeds your hype. As junkies, we can only hope for the big score.

The last game I was truly hyped up about actually wildly exceeded my expectations. I won't say which game it is but I will say it sounds like 'Girl of Goreshaft'. I haven't really played another game since, and I wonder if it is that I don't want to let go of this feeling of non-disappointment.

*edit*
I just reread my post, and let me be the first to say ewwwwwww:

Me wrote:

'Girl of Goreshaft'

Great Article Elysium. For me it wasn't Black and White, it was MOO3 but ended up with the same results. Now I'm a cynic, but luckily don't miss all the hype around game releases too much because I just don't have the time to pay that much attention.

Of course, its great reading all the threads here by the people who really are waiting with baited breath for the great game to be released. So I guess I just try and live vicariously through the rest of you gamers.

Thx, now I can't stop thinking about a burger... I have not had one for so many years! I guess, I know what I'm having for lunch!

Great write!

or in the worst cases eggs

Ewwww.

Awsome article. While I'd like to become removed from the hype there always seems to be something to get excited about.

For example I'd suggest everyone get hyped up for Spore due out this fall. Several people (and not just EA) have described it as the best game ever. And from seeing some video that is over a year old I'd almost agree.

Wee... just got a hype shiver there.

...but there's a strange emptiness in me as well when I think I have no game coming in the immediate future with which to obsess myself.

Spore?

Meh, but that might have shades of Black & White attached for you, so maybe that's not a good suggestion.

Ely wrote:

It feels good to believe in the coming of something great, even on the small-scale level of games, or music, or film, or book.

Loathsome nails, meet thy headsmasher.

In college, I spent about 1000% more time reading and dreaming about Starcraft, then I ever did playing it. And that was a GOOD game.

Yeah, for a quite a while I made an attempt to be jaded and cynical, because I just couldn't stand another let down (Final Fantasy 8 and 9, I'm looking at you). These days, though, I allow myself to get excited about one or two games a year. Whether they pan out or not, the joy of anticipation that you have so eloquently described is something that I find to be good for the soul every once and a while.

It's one of the few times I ever get to feel like a kid at Christmas anymore, and I'll not give it up just because from time to time there are socks and underware waiting under the tree instead of a new bike.

(By the way, I'm pretty damn stoked about my new bike right now. )

I think that gamers who follow the medium closely find themselves immersed in two different worlds: the conceptual one of previews/hype, and the actual one that involves the finished games.

One problem is that as gamer's we've been conditioned (in part by the mainstream gaming press) to expect prerelease concepts to be flawlessly realized. And that's almost never the case. The fascinating features that get promoted in previews are rarely as well-executed as gamers would hope, due to all kinds of technical, logistical, and financial factors that are probably endemic to the medium. So we're forever destined to be disappointed.

I've learned to accept the fact that there's probably always going to be a gap between preview concept and release reality. It really only bothers me when developers/publishers flat-out promise particular features when clearly they don't have the means or intention to deliver them. There's no excuse for flat-out lying when you're marketing a game.

I still embrace pre-release hype over exciting ideas and features, I just temper that enthusiasm with the knowledge that the actual release may or may not live up to the concept. A recent Game Informer article on Bioshock, for example, has me absolutely thrilled about where the game's headed. I know that even Irrational probably won't be able to deliver on the lofty ambitions laid out in the preview, but I'm not going to let that diminish my excitement.

I guess for me, part of the fun is in seeing how well the final releases live up to the promises. It's like treasure hunting.

Unforseen_Power wrote:

For example I'd suggest everyone get hyped up for Spore due out this fall. Several people (and not just EA) have described it as the best game ever. And from seeing some video that is over a year old I'd almost agree.

Wee... just got a hype shiver there.

I'm going to pee in the pool, and then I'm going to suggest that Spore stands a good chance of being a disappointment along the lines of Black & White. Why, you ask? Not because I'm privy to any information that nobody else is, but because it fits a pattern. Revolutionary games often seem to lose in fun where they succeed in innovation. Trying too hard to be ambitious means that you're more likely to forget to put a game in there. Spore just seems so damned ambitious, if there is a truly fun game in there I'll be very pleasantly surprised.

Of course, this could all just be a defense mechanism to avoid disappointment.

I would comment on how brilliant your verbiage is, as usual...but you invoked Black and White...so now I am disturbed, disquieted, seething...for some of you may have been able to put the pain behind you, but some of us still have Peter Molineux voodoo dolls that must now be resurrected from their dusty boxes and given to the dog to chew.

I recently was burned by Star Wars:Empire at War. Decent game, not worth the anticipation.

The two I now turn my attention to are The Witcher and Neverwinter Nights 2. I hope that the group doing NWN 2 can capture the story telling magic that that group has had in the past. Especially since they do not have some artificial deadline to rush the game for.

I still enjoy the suprise by far to the anticipation. A pleasant suprise like Oblivion, which I was still excited about but secretly knew it'd end up as boring as Morrowind, is far more fun to me than something that I am certain will be great. When a game truly knocks it out of the park, I enjoy the feeling of sitting at home and suddenly realizing I'm playing a game that kicks ass.

I don't get hyped up for games anymore and haven't done so for a while. I guess knowledge of game engine principles has sped up my jadedness. All I see is sameness.

PyromanFO wrote:

I still enjoy the suprise by far to the anticipation. A pleasant suprise like Oblivion, which I was still excited about but secretly knew it'd end up as boring as Morrowind, is far more fun to me than something that I am certain will be great. When a game truly knocks it out of the park, I enjoy the feeling of sitting at home and suddenly realizing I'm playing a game that kicks ass.

Thats how I approach it. I like it when I play something with little expectations and have it completely blow me away, for example: Mercenaries.

I agree the best games are the ones that come out of seemingly nowhere and are awesome.. like Deus Ex.. I didnt really expect it to be great but man little did I know that day when I sat down to give it a whirl... or Diablo.. both did the same thing.. 10-12 hours later I'm like.. wow!

I blame the internet mostly.. much like many things.. too much information isnt always a good thing.

except sex.. man.. I miss that.

except sex.. man.. I miss that.

Heh, wrong release.

As long as humans continue to make games they will always be flawed.

Swat wrote:

As long as humans continue to make games they will always be flawed.

This is why we need Cylon-manufactured games.

KaterinLHC wrote:
Swat wrote:

As long as humans continue to make games they will always be flawed.

This is why we need Cylon-manufactured games.

Which will inevitably turn against us? I think not!

You have to be skeptical. If the designers took the time to put everything they promised into a game, they'd be making Duke Nukem Forever. And speaking of that, is there any way that game can live up to expectations?

As for Oblivion, I know they promised some outrageuous AI for even run of the mill NPC's. I still expect what they do to be scripted. True freeform AI in this day will lead you to some whacky results (ie. Sims 2).

I expect this game to be similar to Gothic 2 with prettier graphics. I like a game that lets you wander around and explore, but also has some basic overriding plot or quest to solve. I have not heard anything that leads me to believe this game is any different. Unfortunately my game is in UPS limbo.

Fletcher wrote:
KaterinLHC wrote:
Swat wrote:

As long as humans continue to make games they will always be flawed.

This is why we need Cylon-manufactured games.

Which will inevitably turn against us? I think not!

What about if they turn against us while being incredibly sexy? I think I might be able to live with that.

Dear Elyshuium,

You shur do rite purdy.

Lawyeron wrote:

You have to be skeptical. If the designers took the time to put everything they promised into a game, they'd be making Duke Nukem Forever. And speaking of that, is there any way that game can live up to expectations?

Does anyone here have positive expectations of DNF?

Oh, and well done Elysium.

zeroKFE wrote:
Fletcher wrote:
KaterinLHC wrote:
Swat wrote:

As long as humans continue to make games they will always be flawed.

This is why we need Cylon-manufactured games.

Which will inevitably turn against us? I think not!

What about if they turn against us while being incredibly sexy? I think I might be able to live with that.

You'd sell out the entire human race for some high-class robot 'tang? You bastard. You filthy, Cylon-loving bastard.

Game previews are fun. It's just not the same with a movie or book or music album. You can't preview a story without giving it away, so movie and book previews just don't do it for me. I don't find it very interesting to see a small picture of a spaceship or troll they plan on putting in the movie, or reading 4 pages from a new book. And you can't really preview music, once you've heard it, you've heard it!

Games are totally different. I like hearing how all the buildings are destructable in the lastest FPS, or that the next BF takes place in the future. I like to hear Will Wright's concept for Spore, even before I play it. Part of gaming is understanding the concepts of the game, and "playing" with those ideas like a kid. If I see a screenshot, even if I see a video, it's not the same as holding the controller in my hand and manipulating the game myself. So previews offer their own kind of joy for me, provided they aren't cheap attempts at marketing like I read on IGN every so often.

Elysium wrote:

We simply grab the bottle of ketchup, give it a good squeeze to taste, and proceed happily about our lives, never having to hit anything or pass the bottle around the table to the guy who says he knows just how to make the ketchup come out.

Everyone knows you have to hold the bottle at an angle, and hit the "57" logo etched into the glass to make it come out. That's why Heintz put the logo there; it's a target.

Elysium wrote:

I kinda miss the, for lack of a better word, anticipation.

Suspense. I think the word you were looking for was suspense. That's what is so intoxicating. It's the build up.

Waiting to see if a hyped game is crap is probably more akin to waiting to see if a cheerleader gets slashed in a horror movie then the ketchup.

You know the ketchup is going to be good.

The word on the 'net for Gothic III is that it's better than Oblivion.

Oh, and thanks for the ear worm....

Anticipation, anticipay-yay-tion
You're making me wait.
You're keeping me way-yay-yay-yay-yaiting....

Must fight back with the usual defense

I like to be in America.
Okay by me in America.
Everything free in America.
For a small fee in America....