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              <p><font color="#0000FF"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0000CC">volume 
                1, issue 25</font></b></font></p>
              <p><font color="#0000FF"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0000CC"> 
                </font></b></font></p>
              <p>  <p><font face="Courier New, Courier, mono"><b><font color="#339900" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Today 
                in loonygames:</font></b></font></p>

<P><font color="#000000" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">New!!</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> The Archives have been cleaned up, fead links fixed, and printable versions restored! Also, don't miss the new comments <a href="../../../index.html">on the front page</a>!</font></p>
              
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        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0022A8"><b><a target="" href="../../columns.1"><font size="-1">Pad 
          Happy</font></a><font size="-1">:</font></b></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="+3" color="#0022A8"><br>
          Licensed to Thrill?</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="+1" color="#0022A8"></font></p>
        <p align="RIGHT"><font color="#804000"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By 
          </font></b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <a href="mailto:nickf@saqnet.co.uk">Nick 
          Ferguson</a></font></font></p>
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        <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Sports sims 
          made EA what they are today, and the continued success of the <b>FIFA</b> 
          series over Konami’s vastly superior <b>ISS</b> games just goes to show 
          what an official license can do. In sports, more than anywhere else, 
          the license is king – just stick to realism (<b>Shaq-Fu</b>, anybody?) 
          and nobody will get hurt. It’s getting to the stage where publishers 
          will do anything to have an &quot;official&quot; product – how many 
          &quot;official&quot; games were there of the World Cup? (Sorry to keep 
          mentioning soccer, but what else do you expect from a European?) EA 
          even managed to get the &quot;official song of the World Cup&quot; into 
          their last game, which obviously gave the <b>FIFA</b> series’ gameplay 

          a much-needed boost. Hem.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Conversely, movie licenses 
          today could almost be seen as incidental. Games like <b>Metal Gear Solid</b> 
          and <b>Half-Life</b> show that developers now have the ability to tackle 
          the same territory as movies without the safety net of a specific license. 
          Technology can finally address the old criticism that a game on its 
          own cannot provide anything like the same level of tension, narrative, 
          or dramatic effect as a movie. CD-quality audio, realistic 3D environments 
          and increasingly ambitious designs are blurring the distinction between 
          that we play on our TVs at home, and what we watch munching popcorn 
          down at the multiplex. Heck, games like <b>Abe’s Exoddus</b> are getting 
          submitted for Oscar consideration!</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The benefits of a license 
          can be outweighed by the restrictions – LucasArts’ misjudged <b>Masters 
          of Teras Kasi</b> beat-em-up was sullied by the contrived plot necessary 
          to justify Leia fighting Luke. It’s easy enough to see how the <b>Goldeneye</b> 
          license gave Rare so many of their ideas (stealth, gadgets, semi-realism), 
          but the end result is a game so outstanding that the Bond tie-in becomes 
          largely incidental. The &quot;sequel&quot;, <b>Perfect Dark</b>, should 
          be all the more outstanding with the developers freed from the constraints 
          of a license. </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The current trend in licensing 
          isn’t to get the hot summer movies onto console as quickly possible 
          (where are the <i>Armageddon</i> and <i>Lost In Space</i> games?) but 
          to get those classic films that weren’t (or couldn’t be) done properly 
          in their time and have another go. Fox’s forthcoming <b>Aliens Vs Predator</b> 
          and Westwood’s <b>Blade Runner</b> take the basic &quot;universe&quot; 
          of their inspiration, and construct a suitable game world to explore. 
          Face it – the prospect of creeping around an abandoned atmosphere processor 
          is far more appealing in the age of Voodoo3. Another trend is to get 
          a license that doesn’t exactly scream &quot;HOT!&quot; and create a 
          great game from it; ironically, Acclaim’s <b>Turok</b> games (and their 
          forthcoming <b>Shadowman</b>) leap into my mind.</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Console gamers have to put 
          up with slightly less inventive licenses than their PC counterparts. 
          While the PC world was frothing excitedly over <b>X-Wing</b> and <b>Rebel 
          Assault</b>, I remember playing SNES <b>Super Star Wars</b> which managed 
          to be a great game, if only by completely ignoring the plot of the movie 
          (I don’t remember Luke running about the Jawa’s sandcrawler with a blaster, 
          do you?) Of course, console games have always been more simplistic - 
          <b>Super Star Wars</b> was essentially a side-scrolling platform romp 
          with a few immensely cool Mode 7 sections. Console cadets have been 
          on the receiving end of some of the worst licenses in history, from 
          <b>Independence Day</b>, through <b>Street Fighter: The Movie</b> (&quot;the 
          game of the movie of the game&quot; – what a sell!) all the way back 
          to <b>ET</b> on the VCS. But who can blame the developers? When you’re 
          selling to 8-year old kids, I guess hype and branding <i>is</i> king. 
          If you ever had a hissy-fit at your parents because you didn’t get the 
          Tickle-Me Elmo of your youth, it’s hypocritical to point the finger 
          at developers and say &quot;You made me play baaaad games!&quot; </font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thankfully, the consumer 
          is far more informed than ten, or even five years ago. Gamers have access 
          to countless magazines and web sites to tell them which games to buy, 
          and which to avoid like the plague. We’ve also seen the end of an era 
          of action movies (most of which starred Stallone or Schwarzenegger) 
          which effortlessly translated into shoot-em-up heaven. Similarly, the 
          demographic has expanded beyond that of testosterone-laden males (leaving 
          today’s gaming na&iuml;fs vulnerable to the likes of <b>Spiceworld</b> 
          and <b>Barbie Fashion Designer</b>). As the console gamers of yesterday 
          shaved their wispy ‘taches and sprouted into virile, PC-owning young 
          men, games companies face a decline in the percentage of games sold 
          to clueless parents and elderly relatives, and an increase in the percentage 
          of games sold to the groovy folk that actually play them. If nothing 
          else, this has acted as a significant shit-filter – if you’re gonna 
          license <i>Star Trek</i>, these days it’ll be the fan who watches the 
          show buying the game, not their mom - and if it stinks, they’re going 
          to remember!</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">A good license takes the 
          elements that made the original media successful and somehow adapts 
          them into new or established game genres in a way that heightens the 
          experience of the product. A bad license relies on associations with 
          the original media to bolster the experience of a substandard game. 
          When all’s said and done, a license can work. I’ve been playing a lot 
          of <b>Rogue Squadron</b> on the N64 recently and I have to admit, if 
          it wasn’t Star Wars, it would be an awful game. Purists might argue, 
          &quot;well, if you’re saying that, it IS an awful game!&quot; but I 
          have to disagree: <i>the Star Wars</i> orchestral score, hi-res spaceships 
          and authentic atmosphere all serve to elevate a distinctly average design. 
          Sorry, I guess I’m just a license whore.</font></p>
        <p align="right"><i><font size="-1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- 
          When not writing for <b>loonygames</b>, Nick does nifty Vader impressions 
          with a pint glass.</font></i></p>
        <p align="RIGHT">&nbsp;</p>
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      <p><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2"> </font></i><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2"><b>Credits:</b> 
        Pad Happy logo illustrated and is &copy; 1999 Dan Zalkus. Pad Happy is 
        &copy; 1999 Nick Ferguson. All other content is &copy; 1999 <a target="_self" href="http://www.loonyboi.com">loonyboi 
        productions</a>. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited, so 
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