The belly. It was always the belly. Drawing Sonic the Hedgehog
in my school book, trying my hardest to get it as accurate as possible, it was
always the belly that was the trickiest. Too curvy and Sonic looked podgy, too
slim and he looked like a 'hog with a drug problem.
Why the hell am I telling you about the fleshy tumpkins of
fictional blue hedgehogs? Well, because that childhood memory of trying so hard
to replicate my favourite character is burned into my brain and that speaks
volumes about how much that group of blue and red pixels meant to me.
We've all got our favourite computer game characters and we
especially hold on dearly to those plumbers, hedgehogs and monkeys... sorry,
donkeys that formed our early years of playing with computers. The colours, the
sound effects, the feeling of blowing on a Megadrive cartridge when Streets of
Rage wouldn't load properly. All these connections stay with us because our
tiny little brains are so eagerly soaking up all the stimuli we can get, especially
the wonderful worlds being presented to us in pixel form and this is what I'm
getting at (albeit in a waffling fashion), it's THAT connection that is our
responsibility now.
Us wanky media types in the games industry are the magic makers
now, it's OUR creations that will be recalled in a rose-tinted conversation in
20 years time, how incredible is that!? Just as I remember how exciting it was
to plug a 2nd controller into a NES to control the ducks in Duck Hunt, someone
in the future will be sharing their glee at having to pop their PS1 controller
into port 2 to beat Psycho Mantis on Metal Gear Solid. These moments stick in
peoples brains because their interactive art, they are narratives they feel a
part of, stories they helped unlock.
Now it isn't just triple-A games that this nostalgic badge of
honour is reserved for, for me it's the indie games right now that are creating
lasting memories. Just as my MGS memory is imprinted on my grey matter, so is
the first time I saw that bloody terrifying spider in Limbo or when I realised
perspective isn't all that it seems in Monument Valley. These games, these
interactive pieces of art not only satisfy my inner child for gameplay, their
aesthetics are so strong and unique that the way they look will be remembered
as much as the interactions in the games themselves.
So, what's your point I hear you ask!? Well, it's that now more
than ever we are incredibly fortunate to be the ones making long lasting
memories for people. The slew of stunning 'casual' games inspiring and
entertaining folk who wouldn't call themselves gamers is rising all the time,
from Badlands to Leo's Fortune, Journey to Flower.
There's never been a more exciting or more accessible time to
get into making the game you want to make, and to share it with people who want
something a little different. Looking at the amount of beautiful things on
offer today, I just can't wait to see what happens next.
You never know, scribbled facsimiles of your creations could be
adorning the school text books of the next generation...
This blog was written by Gav Strange from Aardman Studios. Gav will be talking about Super Sleep Fighter II in the Art track at Develop in Brighton on Wednesday 9 July.
