Everyone's doing it, why not me too? This will be broken into three categories which are "Art is Games, Games is Art Award for Design Brilliance", "I Didn't Want to Do That Award for Games that Changed my Mind", and finally the "I am a HUGE NERD Award for Making me Nerd Up."
And now....
ART IS GAMES, GAMES IS ART
Award for Design Brilliance
I like games. Specifically I like narrative in games, the plot is often more important to me than what I'm doing. It doesn't matter what the game wants me to do as long as it's in service to the games plot. Which is why I'm giving this award to a new franchise that I hope goes on and expands and becomes bigger and better while not letting go of those core tenets that made it so good and comic book chocolate delicious in the first place. Of course I'm talking about INFAMOUS.
INFAMOUS wins for a number of reasons, mostly it's narrative. While yes, the story is comic book retarded, the characters are contrived cliches, and the hero is doing his best gravel throat Christian Bale Batman impression it still succeeds. And why it succeeds is all design from the combat system to controls down to mission structure and how the levels are built is informed by the narrative. Video game character having been dying from touching water since the golden old days, but it now finally makes sense. Your character is electric, he has electricity coursing through him. So naturally if he falls into water which is highly conductive he'll electrocute himself to death. He can't ride in a car for the same reason.
But that's not my point, my point is the developers were thinking of reasons why things happen and excuses for video game-isms beyond "A Wizard Did It". The narrative informs the game play, and as well the game play informs the narrative. At one point you get a special ultra specific lightning strike that works like a sniper rifle. You use this to shoot down UAVs that are flying far away. I really liked INFAMOUS and it made me want to actually go back and finish the side missions not just because I got more experience that way but because they had neat bite sized little stories. INFAMOUS is how story should work in video games, or at least is one giant step in the right direction.
Runner up: Borderlands, who did not win because of their silly art style change and the fact that they had a story, a neat one, and then they cut it all out to put in more randomizing guns.
I DIDN'T WANT TO DO THAT
Award for Games that Changed my Mind
The thing about me is, I hate multiplayer games. I don't like hearing other people being retarded and running off at the mouth about nonsense, and telling me how high they are or how awesome the game is or how their parents don't let them stay up as late as they'd like. Mute that crap, or tell me where the people we have to kill are or where the flag carrier is. HOWEVER, rarely a game will come along that makes me want to play multiplayer, and invariably I end up not being able to play with anyone. MODERN WARFARE 2 is the game this year that makes me want to suffer the hell of other people. The idea of customizing my loadout to better shoot people in the face sounds delicious. In the end it's the customization that makes me want to play any multiplayer game.
MODERN WARFARE 2 reminds me of GUNZ, the way you are playing and suffering other people only to earn more space bucks to buy better and faster and awesomer guns. And you level up also! I love leveling up! I have a friend who tirelessly played the same four levels in order to get himself to the highest level possible in PHANTASY STAR ONLINE. This award is not being awarded because I like the multiplayer, no don't mistake me. This award is being given because I WANT to play the multiplayer, understand?
Runner Up: Killzone 2 Who did not win because you have to finish a round before the XP is given out. With other people Rage quitting leveling just becomes a chore.
I AM A HUGE NERD
Award for Making Me Nerd Up
Now I admit I am a nerd, but I'm not as much of one as other people. There are nerdy things I don't do, and want to do, and don't want to do. But anyone whose played a Final Fantasy game for any length of time and enjoyed it has thought in the secret back of their brain hidden away "I wonder what Dungeons and Dragons is like." Well, DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS 4th EDITION makes it easier than ever to find out. All year I've found myself checking their website everyday reading adventures and articles trying to learn as much as I can about the process simply so when the time comes to DM I'll have a brain full of tricks.
I'm not even playing in a group anymore but I still want to play. I've been writing adventures in notebooks and filling Doc files with little notes. DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS 4th EDITION is easier that ever, and still as dense as ever. Now I've read past editions, and the fact that the spell list is the entire back end of the book has always held me back. There's so much to know it becomes unknowable. And if you just play a melee class you end up just swinging a sword every turn. DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS 4th EDITION gets past that by integrating power into each class and having them be by level. Granted with all the expanded content if you compiled all the classes into one book that book would be roughly phone book sized, just with classes and no rules. But that's the fun! DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS 4th EDITION makes the needless complexity fun and easy to manage. That's a real accomplishment, and worth a Harleward any day.
Runner Up: Risen and the Gothic Series of games Dammit you Europeans and your hard line stance to PC gaming, stop being so interesting over there. Not even that the story to Gothic is even any good, it's the open ended gameplay that's so fun.
That's all I want to type, and it's more than anyone will read I'm sure. So that concludes this years HARLEWARDS. Tune in 2011 for the HARLEWARDS 2010 edition.
