Framerate Debate - FPS and Objective Quality

            There’s a rather large debate going on recently though has been really going on for years, decades even, about games and their frame rates. 60 Frames Per Second recently has been getting probably the largest spotlight it ever has in the industry. Due to consumer demand, a lot of games have been even claiming “60 FPS!” as a major selling point. The industry seems to be pushing 60 FPS as a new industry standard and consumers are happy to have their voices heard.

            ...Though some might argue maybe too happy. I’m not exactly interested in pointing fingers, but there appears to be a few groups pushing the 60 FPS standard with more effort than ever before. Through a plethora of methods passionate fans are pushing harder than ever to get their precious frames. However, I can understand how some might be a bit concerned with this “framerate policing”.

            Now don’t get me wrong, typically I would say that 60 FPS would preferable to lower framerates, but I have no illusion that a game’s framerate is some sort of objective statement about its quality. There are plenty of games that suffer from low framerates and some that wouldn’t exactly gain anything from more frames. There are plenty of sub-60 FPS games that are fantastic, and some 60 FPS games that are just terrible. I can’t help but feel the people pushing the 60 FPS standard so aggressively are chasing some ghost of objective quality that just does not exist in the art form of video games.

            I can totally understand where the argument may stem from though. A higher framerate would make for smoother controls. A lot of games are action packed so every frame could make the difference between life and death. Higher framerates are probably most noticeably important in fighting games where single frame reactions and links between moves could mean the difference between victory or defeat. Though video games are a much bigger art form than twitch action games and not all of these really need the extra frames.

            The game industry at large has been pretty poor at communicating about this issue though. When fans would ask about sub-60 framerates the industry would come up with some really poor excuses. Though their actual reasoning is likely very simple. The industry pushed hard in the visuals. Picture perfect graphics, high poly counts, detailed textures, lighting and other effects, the list goes on. All of these graphical touches require system resources and they can easily improve these graphical elements at the cost of having to animate more frames. Simply put, the industry had much higher priority in graphics than it did framerate.

            Personally I don’t exactly agree with this reasoning a lot of the time. Most these graphical touches don’t exactly amount to anything substantial to me. When the industry wants to churn out bland, uninteresting, gritty, realistic looking games I can’t get too excited for what they care to do with the system resources they dedicate to graphics. In most cases I’d probably agree totally that the industry could ditch the realism and improve something, so why not the framerate.

            Though there are times where the resources used on graphics are actually put to good use. When all of the industry’s graphical tricks go into making a game look more beautiful and more artful, rather than gritty and real, I can sacrifice the frames. Some games might even need the lesser framerate to better fit its art-style. This is typical in games that try to emulate a specific style of animation like Claymation for example. Also, while I may disagree on the industry’s use of the term “CINEMATIC” is in fact an art-style. If the industry wasn’t trying to push really bland looking games I’d be in total agreement with them on this topic.

            None of this exactly matters to some games though. Some games gain nothing from having a higher framerate. When we are criticizing trivia games for not running at 60 FPS, the argument looks pretty silly. There’s no high paced life or death single frame reaction you’d need in a game that just doesn’t operate like that. Trivia games, puzzle games, adventure games, role-playing games, etc. operate much more slow and single frames just aren’t as important, and if those frames could be canned to better the game in areas that’s actually important than that’s better for the game.

            The framerate debate tends to fall more into a more tech obsessed side of gaming. Games that perform optimally and make the best use of their extremely expensive systems are better. This tech ideology in games is another ghost of objective quality that passionate fans seem to be chasing. Honestly, the framerate debate probably hurts the less tech savvy portions of gaming. The demand that games improve their framerate would make a lot more games tough to run on lower end systems. Designing the game for a lower, but playable framerate would be better for these fans. Of course, the tech fetishists of games likely wouldn’t care for poorer people playing on lesser systems.

            Objective quality in games is a lie. Objective quality in games is an illusion that the games industry and mainstream games press have created so consumers would see their games not as art, but products to be bought and consumed. I feel games criticism is definitely getting further away from this, but the over-passionate tech fetishists fans of games chasing the same ghosts of objective quality through framerate is not doing games criticism any help.  Framerate is an important part of videogames, but it’s not a measurement of quality. Criticisms about a game’s framerates should honestly be seen as a more case by case basis. Is this game’s framerate acceptable? Would this game gain anything from a higher framerate? What would this game lose in exchange for a higher framerate? There’s no universal answer to all these questions for every videogame, so why even pretend that 60 FPS should be a make-or-break feature on every game? There is no objective measurement for games. Objective quality is a lie we keep kidding ourselves is true.

First Steps Into Kanto - Special Thanks Satoru Iwata

I’ve wanted to write about this particular topic for a while, but now is arguably the most appropriate time to write about it. Pokémon Crystal is a very important game to me. It is the namesake of this blog. It is the game that got me into RPGs. It is a game that cemented Pokémon as one of my all-time favorite game series. It is, without hyperbole, my favorite videogame.

            With the recent passing of Satoru Iwata, I’ve been thinking a lot about Pokémon Crystal again. It is not exactly Iwata’s biggest game. In fact, Iwata is only credited as a Special Thanks in the credits of Pokémon Gold and Silver. However, Pokémon Crystal wouldn’t be half the game it is without Iwata.

            The story goes Iwata developed some file compression tools to help add more content into Pokémon Gold and Silver which would end up being the Kanto portion of the game. His brief involvement made the games almost literally twice the games they were originally planned to be. I am forever grateful for his involvement. However, the goal of this piece is not to dwell on Iwata’s passing. I want to talk about how I felt taking my first steps back into the Kanto region playing Pokémon Crystal.

First Step Into Kanto

            Typically when playing Pokémon your goal is to become the Pokémon Champion of your region. You travel the region, form of a team with the new region’s Pokémon, collect the 8 gym badges, and challenge the Elite Four and the Champion at the Pokémon League to earn the rank of Champion and complete the game. However, the Generation II series is a bit different thanks to the expanded content made possible thanks to Iwata. On your way to the Pokémon League to challenge the Johto Champion, you are stopped and told you took your first steps into Kanto. You are told to check your map. Suddenly a whole new map appears before you to explore. Once you become Pokémon Champion of Johto you are asked to challenge the Gym Leaders of the Kanto region, the region from the original Pokémon games. Suddenly the game now has a whole surprise second half, and the surprises just start there.

            Taking the first steps into Kanto was very special to me. I was young and witnessing the game suddenly unfold into twice its expected size blew my mind. That was just the start though. The first steps into Kanto were a big deal, but I was never prepared for what lay ahead in this familiar, but new frontier.

Misty Appearing Older Than She Did In Her Original Appearance in Pokemon Red, Blue, and Green

 

What Remains of the city of Cinnabar Island

Blaine's New Makeshift Gym In a Seafoam Island Cave

            The Generation II Pokémon games are a sequel. Time has passed in Kanto which has changed some parts of the familiar region dramatically. Familiar characters such as the old Gym Leaders have aged visually. One Gym Leader, Koga was promoted to an Elite Four member so the Fuchsia City Gym Leader position was replaced with Koga’s daughter Janine. The iconic Viridian Forest that many players remember from the originals is now reduced to a route of mere shrubs. In the time passed between games, Cinnabar Island was destroyed by volcanic eruptions. A whole town integral to the adventure in Kanto was now gone, and the Gym Leader Blaine moved his Gym into a cave in Seafoam Island. The final Gym of Viridian City was led by the leader of the antagonist group Team Rocket, Giovanni. However, Giovanni left the group between games along with his position as Viridian City Gym Leader. In a huge surprise, the new Viridian City Gym Leader was now the former Champion of Kanto and the rival character from the original Pokémon games, Blue.

            After defeating Blue and claiming your final badge in Kanto, the final challenge of the Generation II Pokémon games awaits in the mysterious Mt. Silver. You make your way through Mt. Silver to be greeted with one final challenge.

The Final Battle

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Red

            The final challenge is the Pokémon Champion of Kanto, the player character from the original Pokémon games, Pokémon Trainer Red. This final surprise was probably one of the most exciting finales to a game in my childhood. To end the long journey through Johto and the unexpected journey through Kanto against the character I played as in the original game was the stuff of dreams, but it was real and in my hands.

The battle is one of the hardest in the game with an unprecedented team of Pokémon near the 80 levels. The team is made of six Pokémon; Pikachu, Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, Espeon, and Snorlax. These Pokemon represent the journey of the first Pokémon game through the Kanto region. There are the four possible starters and cover mascots of the first generation titles. There’s an Espeon which is an evolved form of an Eevee you receive as a gift on your journey, and of course the Snorlax you find blocking your way that you awoke with the PokeFlute. The Espeon choice is particularly interesting as they could have gone with one of many of Eevee’s other evolutions, but went with Espeon. Likely this is the case because Red’s team already has most the other types covered and Psychic happens to be more advantageous than Umbreon’s Dark due to Snorlax being weak to Fighting, which Espeon counters. Espeon also evolves through Friendship which implies Red and Espeon have a strong bond. Also, Espeons are known to be very loyal to trainers they deem worthy, though this information was only stated in the game in the Generation III Pokedex.

Two Champions challenge one another in the depths of Mt. Silver. Both Champions prepare their powerful teams for battle. Only one Champion will stand in the end as the victor, the superior champion between both Kanto and Johto, a true Pokémon Master. Three long journeys have built up to this, from Kanto to Johto and back to Kanto again. I feel that makes a more than fitting finale for such a long journey.

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            And just like that Pokémon Generation II ends.

Special Thanks

Satoru Iwata

(1959 – 2015)

The World I Live In: LGBT

            Likely if you are reading this you’ve seen my tweet regarding people’s ire for tumblr and hatred for queer, LGBT, or whatever your label of choice, people are so closely linked they might as well be one in the same. Personally I’m about sick of the discussion so I’m not interested in discussing it further here. Instead I want to chronicle some of my thoughts on an interesting response of the topic that has got me thinking. Now, the response shall remain totally anonymous as I don’t want anyone to be upset at this individual. I don’t even know them. I will likely never hear from them again. Though I do applaud them as they got me to think a lot about what I’ve said, even if I respectfully disagree.

            What world do I live in? I’ve been thinking a lot about that. I’ve been thinking a lot about this world I live in and how people like me are perceived and treated. Women are murdered and raped everyday just for being women. Lesbians, bisexuals, pansexuals, and the like get beaten and cast out of families everyday even after they’ve “won”. Though it is the treatment of trans people that weighs heavy on my mind tonight, and every night.

            “Queer People” I called them in my tweet. Queer people I find solidarity, though that choice of terminology was an issue. I understand the problematic history of the word “queer”. I understand to some it’s not a proud term. Though sadly to me, it’s probably the big catch-all term I find the most solidarity in.

            “LGBT” apparently the correct terminology I should have used. LGBT are the initials for the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender community. LGBT is a banner that instills a lot of pride for the downtrodden people of sexuality. They are a group that fights for equality against a grossly conservative, heteronormative world, the world that I live in.

            Sadly, in the world that I live in I cannot blindly take pride in the banner. I cannot march under the Rainbow Flag and act as if everything is okay. I cannot just act as if this LGBT community has my people under the T in their priorities. In LGBT, not all the letters are created equal. I take little pride or solidarity in the initials LGBT. Even as someone who falls under half of initials I cannot help but feel hopelessly alienated.

            Honestly, I strongly disagree with the idea that you can just initialize all the “important” identities into a neat little row. LGBT is quite a few identities too short. There are the extended versions like LGBTQ for people who identify under the problematic “queer” label or could be interpreted to include those “questioning”. LGBTQI is there for inclusivity of Intersex people. LGBTQIA is an extension to include asexual people. The list goes on, but I can’t help but feel for my friends and loved ones who get treated as “extensions” to the contemporary LGBT banner. The community just shrugs its shoulders and suggests if you were part of the “important” identities you would’ve made the initial cut. It all gets worse once you get to some downright insulting modifications to the banner like B for Bronies or A for Allies. Depressingly some people would accept those identities in before ones that my loved ones lay.

            Though even with just the contemporary four, LGBT, not all is fair. Trans people end up needing to fight to get any pull in LGBT spaces. Instead the T gets misgendered and abused. The T gets told that the cis people of the movement or even cis allies are more important. The T gets booed out of LGBT Pride Events for speaking their voice. The T is not equal, and I find it hard to find solidarity in that.

            The larger LGBT community is terribly transphobic too. It’s terrifying how many TERFs (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists) get accepted in the LGBT community. Cis members of the LGBT community have no idea of the struggles of the trans people they are supposed to be fighting for, and quite frankly many of them do not care. Yet whenever trans people gain any ground these same people get to pat themselves and their Rainbow Flag on a good job for our hard work trying to survive. To tell you the truth, the larger LGBT Pride community scares me.

            Now do not get me wrong here. I am not asking for trans people or their cis allies to boycott the LGBT banner. I understand as much as any other trans person that our options for pride and inclusivity can be depressingly low. If you can take pride in the LGBT banner and that works for you more than other labels like “Queer” then go right ahead. I personally just cannot find any solidarity in the banner. I do not wish it harm, on the contrary I wish for a day that LGBT spaces are safe and inclusive enough for trans people like me to take pride in the banner. Until then I guess I have to look for alternatives that work for me, alternatives that work in the world I live in.