Review: Catherine

(All pictures are not owned by mean, also Spoiler Warnings)

Wow....just wow.

Just when you think Atlas can't top their already well acclaimed hits Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series, they come up with this game. Catherine is so far the best game I have played all year long and already on my top for Game of the Year. It's a dark puzzle solving erotic horror game that tests your mental abilities as well as your reaction and dealing with pressure.

And it's not just me that declares this game to be so great, the proof is already shown. This is the most rapid selling game in the US that Atlas has ever produce and considering the popularity of games like Persona 3 and 4, that's saying something.

So what makes this game your own personal dream come true? Allow me to explain.

1. Graphics

-Now for those of you who played Atlus's games before, chances are you now what the art work is most likely going to look like. For those of you who don't, Atlus likes to utilize cell shaded graphics while combing anime styled cutscenes. The mixing blend is so well done that it captures the amazing artwork that Japan (where Atlus is based in) is famous for. If you thought the graphics in the Persona games were amazing, then prepare to have your mind blown by Catherine's. Every body movement and face expression (Vincent's are hilarious and pure gold) are unique as that make the characters feel more life like. The amount of detail they put into thEdit HTMLis game is just amazing, but that's why I always trust Atlus because they put the quality of their game so high on the list.

But the best part of the graphics are the Nightmare Stages. This is where the game shines. Over nine levels of pure nightmarish and symbolic stages that each show the trials of Vincent and the sheep as they try to achieve "True Freedom". Not only are the blocks, enemies, and boss (you will be freaked out by them) well designed, but the backgrounds are just eye-dropping. My favorite levels are the Torture Chamber, Clock Tower, and Empireo. Each stage will feel different when you play it and if you look closely you'll see symbol isms of the various themes of the game that stand out.

So graphics? Hell yes.

2. Controls


-This is going to be short for one reason only: Simplest Gameplay Controls Ever! Okay maybe not ever, but you would have to be a complete moron to not understand the controls. You over all will just use the directional pad and two buttons. Yeah that's it.

-Okay maybe I should go more into more detail. You move around block by block with each push of the directional pad. In order to move a block you press one button while moving the directional pad. You then press the button again to release your hold. You can also hand on blocks and by pressing that same button you can let go and fall. Finally, there is a button that uses items, but you can only carry one.

-And that's it. Simplest control scheme ever for such a complex game. I go it all down on the first level and was fine afterwords. Doubt any of you will have problems either with the controls. But mastering them with the blocks is the difficult part.

3. Gameplay

-There is tons of long gameplay. The main game is split into two parts, the days and the Nightmare Stages. During the days your awake, you spend your time watching the main story and talking to characters. Like any Atlus game, their are going to be choices that will effect the story both in the gameplay and at certain points in the game. During your time at the Stray Sheep's Bar you can talk to various characters and answer their questions that will effect your morality meter. You also can hear more about the strange rumors and hints about the truth of the Nightmares (Try to figure it out who it is). What's also cool is that you'll receive text from both girls your dating and, depending on your answer, will affect your morality meter.

-Finally, there are three interesting things to do while in the bar. The first is the jutebox which plays music from all of Altus's previous games, so if you ever wanted to hear Nocturne's theme while having a cocktail, you can do so.The second is drinking. Drinking plays a really important roll in the game believe it or not. The more you drink (which is measured by the bottle interface on the lower left hand scree) the more you'll be able to run faster in the dream while also getting some quiz info on drinks such as cocktails, sake, whiskey, and beer.. Ah, alcohol. the cause and solution to all life's problems. Finally there is Rapunzel, the video game...in a video game. It's just like playing at the nightmare levels only instead of something chasing you, your limited in the amount of blocks you can move till you reach the top. Not only is it good practice for the Nightmare Stages, but it also is pretty addicting.

-After you spend time at the bar it's time for the true part of the game to begin., the Nightmare Stages. There levels require you to climb a wall of blocks before it all falls down and you fall to your death. You have no health bars, only "Mystic Pillows" as your lives. As long as you have one, you can continue the game. Along the way you will encoder various blocks that will either help you (like the spring block) or kill you (like the trap blocks). And not only do you have to worry about these blocks and the falling wall, but you have to watch out for Sheeps and Ants who will try to push you down to your doom. You can stop them by hitting these guys and using items can help you along the way. Each stage has a set of levels and once you bet a level you are then sent to the Resting Place before moving to the next one.

-The Resting Place is where you and every other guy out there (who look like Sheep) can rest for awhile before heading to the next level. Here you can save your game and talk to the sheep and learn techniques that can help you in dealing with the blocks. You can also buy items, answer questions to affect your morality, and just learn more about the game's story. But another hidden thing is the fact that you will see special looking sheep. These guys are people you'll meet at that bar and depending on how you respond to them you'll give them the courage to face their nightmares and survive or leave them in despair that will lead to their horrible deaths. When your ready to head to the next level, you enter the confessional where a mysterious angelic voices gives you a question that will effect your morality at a bigger scale then most questions do.

-Finally, at the end of each stage their is the boss. Each boss represents Vincent's fears and it will chase after you while doing all in it's power to stop you. All these bosses are High Octane Nightmare Fuel that will freak you out. It's so adrenaline to run away from these thing knowing they can kill you in a horrible fashion. The scariest one is the mutant robot baby, that is just a real nightmare for anybody! I mean it has a CHAINSAW FOR A HAND!

-But besides the main story there is also a another mode called "Babel" where two players can play on various stages to see who is the better one. So with this game, plus the sixty somewhat levels in Rapunzel (Plus the extra stages), and the levels in Babel will make sure your entertained for a long time.


-Overall, the game plays like a classic video game when you really thing about it and that's really cool. The gameplay is difficult and you will die a lot, but the feeling you get when you beat a level is just so satsifying.

-So the gameplay is beyond amazing, what about the story?

4. Story

-This really is a horror erotic story they got here. The story is that Vincent, a man in his early thirties, is being pressured by his girl friend Katherine, to get married. Vincent doesn't feel like marring her and is confused on what he should be doing. He also starts to hear rumors that if you fall in a dream you die in real life too and with the strange case of people appearing dead it makes others wonder if it's true. Before Vincent leave for home, he meets a strange but beautiful women named Catherine who, after drinking to much, sleeps with. This is when the nightmares begin. Now Vincent not only has to survive the nightmares, but also figure out what he should do with both Katherine, his girlfriend, and Catherine, a girl who is in love with him.

-The story has a creepy and mysterious tone that just makes you want to find out the ending. Vincent's journey into madness and love is just grade A work and the mystery behind the nightmares and strange Catherine give it a classic psychological horror feel. Though out the course of the game you'll be given a choice between two choices that will determine Vincent's morality measured by a meter. This will not only effect the ending, but Vincent's inner dialogue and attitude will change according to which side he's more on. One side is for the Lawful while the other is for the Chaotic. It's not to hard to figure out which is which and what choice will make you end up with what girl. Instead, play the game as if you were Vincent and choose the honest answers that you come up with, it's more fun that way. I got the normal Katherine ending when I played and I'm not surprised. There is no right or wrong way in this game, because the object is to "free" Vincent from his horrible life. The choice is either Katherine, Catherine, or neither.

-What's also present in the game are the themes. There are many kind of sexual, emotional, and moral based themes that are in the game. Such as is it wrong to be in a relationship that holds you do down? Should you follow what you want in life even if it might be morally wrong? Is marriage really okay? Things like that are what make the game great because it makes you ponder on what is really best for you and the person your in a relationship with.


5. Characters


-What I like about the characters is that each one has their own backstory. Besides Vincent, Katherine, and Catherine who are the main focus of the story, other such as Vincent's friends, the other sheep, and the bartender. They each have a story to tell and each one is written well that makes these secondary characters almost feel like main characters. So props for the writers!

-As for Vincent, the guy is your typical average man who I think most players will understand and get into very well. The real main characters of interest are Katherine and Catherine. Both of these girls are total opposite from each other, but they only have one thing common. Vincent. You'll have to decided which girl you want (or neither if you play your cards right) that you like. Katherine is your kind of women who likes to go steady with life and have things settled with actual effort and commitment through loyalty. Catherine is the kind of girl who likes to have fun and excitement in her life, plus she loves physical relationships. But they do have their downsides. Katherine is a control freak in a way and Catherine is psychotic and seductive. Your going to have to decided which girl you would rather live with and go from there.

OR

6. Sound


-The game features remixes of music done by famous artist such as Beethoven, Bach, Dvorak, Bizet, and Chopin. Each remix is well done and the music they use during the boss battles is enough to make you feel your blood pumping.

-The voice acting is done really well too. With voices done by Troy Baker, Laura Bailey, and Yuri Lowenthal, your going to get your money's worth.

OVERALL 5/5

This game is definitely something you should get. With hours upon hours of gameplay and amazing metaphorical level design this is a game that you'll play for a long time before you put it away.

We are Gamers and we are Legion.

Later

Communication is key

Perhaps one of the biggest things that people in the gaming industry should learn is communication. After all, when you got a production team you have to be able to understand one another. The lead designers, lead programmers, lead artists, lead QA's, and the producers are the ones who must learn communication the most. The team looks to them for their guidance and orders in making the game. It's up to them to make sure everybody is well informed at all times. Even the slightest of changes are important and if they aren't talked about, it could lead to some nasty aftermaths.

In an age where communication is possible through multiple means (Email, forum, Twitter, Skype) it shouldn't be hard to inform changes and new ideas to the team. Even if you have a few people missing in meetings for various reasons, you should also have a backup meeting for those people or give them the news personally in order to help them get back on track with others.

Now there are two kinds of communications I believe are important for any production team.

The first is team communication. This is when the team is communicating on matters of who does what, what needs to be done, who is working with who, and updates on the production. It's important that the production team has daily meetings, but it's also important that each field also has a separate meeting for themselves. Programmers should have a programmer meeting, artists have a artist meeting, designers have a designer meeting and so forth. This way everyone stays on top of what they are doing while also dealing situations with people who understand what they are talking about. That isn't to say that the others groups can't know what the other groups are talking about however. The team must work as a unit to make a game successful.

If the QA's find a bug in the game, they must tell the programmers. If the designers decide they want to make the game a more dark and gritter tone, they must tell the artists. So and so forth.

The second is personal communication. There are many kinds of people who work in a production team. Some people you might get along with and others you might not. What's important is that everybody respects and understands each other so they can work together. You should try to interact and talk with as many people in not only your group, but also other groups as well. Understanding each teammate helps you communicate on a better level  of professionalism. Now of course there will be people you won't get along with, but the last thing anybody wants is to have the team divided over an issue. It's better to be the better man and just only speak business with that person while trying to deal with them. If the issue is too much, you must speak with your lead to find a compromise that works for everyone.

Picking fights and grudges will only make the production suffer and nobody wants that.

The reason I am speaking of communication now is that last year during my production class, my last team and I had communication issues that lead to some disagreements and stress. Granted, we managed to fix those and get our game out in time yet I feel things could have gone better.

Another example is in the group I am working with now over a visual novel. Some of us don't communicate and that leads to confusion on who does what and when. Thankfully, were dealing with the issue right now and we've improved, but this is the second time I've seen communication being such an important deal.

And if Thomas Aquinas was right about anything it's that "The best way to learn is experience." 


And in my opinion, the best way to work with a team is through communcation.

Advice from a Guy Still Learning

Well, summer is almost over and that means I've got to head back to school soon. In case some of you don't know, I'm currently a student studying Game Design at Champlain College in Burlington, VT. However, this year I'll be studying a semester abroad in Montreal, Canada where I'll be actually learning from people who have worked in the industry before. Plus, Montreal is a huge city for the industry.

As I sit here preparing myself for the next year, I've looked back from my first year and see how much I knew back then about video games and how much I know now. And man did I know so little. Thankfully, I learned fast both in school and in my own free time to become more knowledgeable and understanding of the gaming world.

But I'm sure that some of you guys who read this blog are even thinking about being game designers yourselves and believe you can do well in the industry. If so, today this blog is for all you. The guys and girls who are in high school thinking of taking up a career in video games, but aren't sure where to begin.

Now this is not me saying what it takes to be a game designer, after all I'm still learning and I've only made a few games personally. This is just my personal advice to you guys that may help you get a better start on your path as game designers and your free to accept it or not.

Let's start.

1. Be sure you really want to be a game designer


This is a tough industry to get into from what I'm looking at and many companies want people who are passionate about what their doing. Don't try to take a career in this business if your just doing it because you think it will be an easy job or you can't think of anything else to do. Like any career you want to have your mind and heart set at 100 percent in order to achieve your goals. This business is not for the half-ass or the lazy bums out there. If your going to come into the industry and learn you need to bring your A-game all the time.

2. Learn about the industry


Video games are a business and as such there are terms, positions, regulations, and other aspects that your going to have to learn. Your going to need to learn the structure of a team and which position is which as well as their job. You need to learn the steps of pre-production, production, and post-production. And you have to know how the business side works. Your going to need to deal with the big suit men all the time and knowing a bit of what they do will help in a long run.

3. Listen to news about the industry.


It's best to know what's going on in your industry. What's the top game? What are the reviews? What are the top executives of the industry saying? Is there a new engine out? You don't want to look ignorant of the video gaming world so it's best to learn the latest news and if possible discuss it so you can get use to talking about it with others. Sites like Kotaku and Gamasutra are good places to start.

4. Learn about the history of video games


Video games have their own history that has expanded from the sixties to the present today. It's great to learn about the first video games, Atari, the arcade era, the video game crash, the Nintendo revival, when certain genres first made their  appearances, the famous people of the industry such as Clifford "CliffyB" Bleszinski, Shigeru Miyamoto, Will Wright, John Carmack and John Romero, and many more. It's not only a great way to learn something new, but it will help understand why this once great hobby turned into the multi-billion industry it is today.

4. You are not making games for yourself


You do not make a video game for yourself! You make it for audiences! I want to make games that make people feel something as well as make them feel entertained in various ways. I love making people smile, laugh, cry, and excited when I write and I want to do the same thing with video games. Your making games for various kinds of people who are of different tastes, cultures, and ages so your going to have to expand your horizons a bit. If you want to make games only you will like, your not going to last long. Be more open minded and learn about the different audiences that exist so you can understand better what kind of game you can make for them.

5. Be patient.


Chances are, unless your really talented or lucky, the average game designer will not get the dream job they want until ten years in the industry. I want to be a lead designer one day, but I won't be that as soon as I graduate. There are tons of people more experienced then you or I and don't be surprised if your going to be a QA or a freelancer for the first two years. I'm going to have to climb the ropes and so will you. Some of you maybe talented enough to get ahead of the game, but either way you must be patient.

6. Learn from others


Now I'm not the best in the world when it comes to video games. There are tons of people out there who are better then me and some of them are younger. I've got one friend who not only can give you a UDK level in less then 24 hours and make it look like Epic made the game, but he's also been offered to be a level designer before he went to college. And there is one friend of mine still in high school who has so much potential to be a great designer that I want to see him succeeded. I learn from them, but others also learn from me. A few people have told me that they've learned how to make better story and character concepts from me as well as mix mechanics with story elements to make an intriguing gameplay. Sure in the end all of us will be competing for a job, but that doesn't mean we can't learn from one another.


7. Watch, read, and listen to various kinds of media.


Anime, TV shows, movies, books, and of course video games. Watching different kinds of media can give you inspiration for your games as well as ideas on what certain audiences like. Many great games were inspired from various other forms of entertainment. Look at Bioshock which takes Ayn Rand's philosophy Objectivism and make it the main element of the game. Shin Megami Tensei takes a load of mythology, religion and moral aspects in their games. And Kotor couldn't have been done without watching Star Wars. It's these things that may make your game successful so experiment with different medias.

8. Learn Flash  


Flash is a very popular multimedia software that is used to make games all the time. Not only can you create art in it, but you can also code in it as well. It's one of the more popular ways of learning video games and one of the more simplistic ones. There are other ways to learn such as Java and C++, but trust me when I say that Flash is a much better process. Sure we designers aren't programmers, but it doesn't hurt to know at least basic coding. And if you are good at both coding and designing, then you just upped your chances a lot as many companies love designers who can program.

9. Learn an engine 


There are various game engines out there and while some are not allowed for use to the public there are a few that anybody can buy and experiment with. UDK is the most popular one and many industries use it all the time. You can learn how to make levels, mechanics, physics, and scripting in game engines and this is very important to learn for a designer. Try to make a few racing or shooting games with the engines and post them online for others to judge. It will give you good experience and help you learn on what your good at as well as what you need to improve.

10. MAKE GAMES NOW!!!


This cannot be stressed enough. The most important thing to do now is to make games at this very  moment. It doesn't matter if it's pen and paper games or electronic games, you must start making them now. The industry is looking for people who not only know their stuff, but are also well experienced in making games. Start making games on your own, but then try to make games with other people in order to learn about communication and teamwork. The more experienced you are on both sides the more your chances are at getting hired. You don't also have to make epic masterpieces, but try to make them stand out. That way when you show them your resume, you can include the ones that really did well with various players and they'll see how well you are at your work.

That's all I got for now. Maybe I'll give more advice sometime in the future. Either way, I hope this helps some of you and I hope you think hard about what you want to do for your future.

We are Gamers and we are Legion.

Later