Feeding The Beast - Googles Stadia and the Netflix Model

Now that Google has made its intentions to become a major player within the gaming space with the launch of Stadia, its cloud based gaming platform complete with full streaming functionality, 4k at 60fps (disputed)  and other bold claims of any device from phone to TV how does it stack up?

How Can Stadia Succeed?

First off major I.P owners haven't rushed in to fill the catalogue straight away, rather they'll wait and see what the fuss is all about and then decide if their I.P fits the business model and how they can benefit from it or figure out if they have the technical attachment to make their brands work on the platform.

Google could, if it wanted, spend stupid amounts money in creating killer platform I.P it can use to show off Stadia, and buy studios but doesn't have to if larger I.P creates bespoke player experiences that differ from traditional console. In a similar way that Microsoft and Sony buys studios for own brand talent and I.P creation (Obsidian), Stadia will need to at least consider the same tactic. Jade Raymond and Phil Harrison both have the experience to help Google navigate the space where studio created I.P can flourish but it'll need to establish it's very own potent  brand I.P to bring in the masses by the millions. Much like Netflix has promoted its own brand through its original own I.P content with shows like Stranger Things, The Irishman and The Umbrella Academy, Russian Doll and Mindhunter, its content exclusives which can really help drive adoption.
Phil Harrison tends to jump ship pretty quickly so I can't really see him dedicating a long term commitment to Stadia, but I've been wrong before.

Amazon is another example and promotes its own powerhouse brand I.P with shows like The Grand Tour, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan etc, both services rely on a vast catalogue for consumers to browse and enjoy but in order to survive these streaming services know that its their own in-house original content that retains audiences and builds brand recognition and its an ongoing never ending battle as more services compete for our attention as consumers.
Stadia is an exciting proposal in gaming but its actual execution hasn't exactly gone to plan.

Stadias Catlogue - Buffet dining and discoverability

Stadia will suffer the same inevitable issues that the Apple Store, Google Play, Netflix and Steam all suffer, and that's  discoverability for individual titles, how smaller game developers utilizing Stadia can survive through a subscription based model. Truth be told there hasn't been a rush of developers getting content on Stadia which may mean there's a mix of premium and free to play content which may help the platform succeed but its got a long way to go yet.

What Stadia shouldn't be is an excuse to just fill it with ports of familiar franchises but rather explore new innovation with familiar I.P to create new player experiences.How this all affects larger brands and I.P that rely on higher priced retail models to pay for development, games like Assassins Creed and Grand Theft Auto spend vast sums of money on the development cycle which is recouped (hopefully) at launch is something that probably points to monetized DLC and added bolt on experiences. You pay your flat subscription fee to Stadia which gives you access to a decent sized chunk of say, the next Assassins Creed game but to fully explore the larger aspects of the game it'll charge you a fee to buy / access the larger experience which is designed to bring the revenue back to the developer.

The mere fact that Stadia can take a large triple A title like Assassins Creed Odyssey and stream it to a Chrome browser in 1080p on a simple laptop with no real loss of quality speaks for itself(done during test via Project Stream but reality has shown differing results). The aim for Stadia is to allow users to jump in and be playing a game within 5 seconds with no download, no patches, no delay, no update and no install, its a pretty big aim - but one where tech is inextricably being puled towards - in the age of technology we want faster connectivity, less downtime, we expect immediacy with technology and its no different where games are concerned and for Stadia its about reducing the friction of being excited about a game and actually playing it.Being able to play any game regardless of device across mobile, tablet, PC and TV with no need for a console and only a chromecast streamer via HDMi is insane tech but if its initial reviews are to be taken into account Stadia has a long way to go to fulfill that dream.

This technological leap, as much as it sounds quite bold is where console first party owners now need to take stock, updates are the absolute bane of any consoles owners life ( Call of Duty Modern Warfare PS4 update anyone?) so immediacy itself is a true console killer feature if ever there was one, and while Stadia hasn't immediately set the world on fire with its physical launch (as rough around the edges as it was) it's still a concept where the future of gaming is headed.

Boundary - Astronauts at War

Boundary - Tactical FPS Combat With Armed Astronauts

If you've ever played the Call of Duty series of games you may recall one particular mission in Call of Duty: Ghosts way back in 2013 that featured an armed hijack by 'Federation de las Americas' Astronauts who wanted to use ODIN, the Orbital Defense Initiative to bring destruction to several US cities, in the sequence astronauts Baker and Mosely sacrifice themselves to destroy ODIN and save Earth from more destruction.

Boundary, a brand new addition to the tactical FPS has just been announced for PS4 as an arcade tactical multiplayer FPS set in space with armed astronauts and is being developed by Chinese indie developer Surgical Scalpels. The game already boasts some stunning visuals and artwork that set the mood of the game and trailer is also very well done.

In one of the first reveal trailers the released we see  an astronaut navigating the outside of an orbiting space station facility utilizing a specially converted automatic machine pistol to shoot through solar panels at an enemy astronaut, the muffled sound and astronaut breathing effects really immerse the viewer. The premise of the game feels like its expanded an entire game inspired by COD Ghosts which featured some combat inside the space station but Surgical Scalpels looks to have expanded on the whole concept and added some great ideas into the mix.

Lighting and realism already look extremely good in the game and weaponry is inspired by real modern day military assault weapons. Astronauts utilize  large backpacks called EVA's to propel themselves in the zero gravity of space.

The visuals are sharp, light blooms and lens flares show the variables of light and deep shadows and reflected light provide some great contrast and mid tones to provide a great sense of depth. Visually its an extremely impressive looking game so far. Map size, from the videos I have seen combat is between very small groups of players,so it has a light MOBA design feel to it.

Fast kills are good for eSports from games by larger publishers  but a balance between fast kill maps and larger slower more tactical gun play are essential to retain players in Western markets - games that provide less than a 10-20 second in-games life expectancy before having to re-spawn back into a game tend to frustrate. It would be great to see this expand to an 8 vs 8 or 12 vs 12 setup.

The visual ideas behind Project Boundary for armed astronauts has been beautifully presented by Surgical Scalpels art and design team and are without question some of the best in video-games to date.

While the game might have taken inspiration from Call of Duty:Ghosts which is almost 6 years old - and to a vision that brings the Roger Moore 'Moonraker' space battle sequence to something more tactically deadly and realistic I'm actually surprised no other developer or publisher has jumped on this concept but its clear to see that Surgical Scalpels have a game with a lot of potential here for sure.

key to longevity and retaining players will be content, players love content that adds to the player experience, customization is key but enough content to start out with is important.  Demand for fresh content, perhaps as a well priced DLC that provides new maps, new weapons and suit upgrades and perhaps things like Special Forces space suits, would be awesome but its one for sci-fi fans to keep an eye on for sure.

The Warhammer 40K fan movie Everyone should watch

Astartes is the work of a contract 3D animator who has created the Warhammer 40K movie in his spare time -  the ultra short sequences take painstaking hours and months to put together but you can't fault the guys passion for this amazing project.
The ultimate goal is to have a 5 part series completed which tells the story of a ship to ship boarding and assault by Colonial Space Marines

The series is totally funded by Patreon and relies on zero influence or interaction with Games Workshop who I'm sure secretly admire the work, not to mention the deep found respect the animated sequences have for the Warhammer 40K franchise.

Check out the Channel here

Vader Versus Kenobi Re-imagined

if Star Wars has taught us anything, it's that it's unwise to mess around with the old ways and you always stay true to your fan base.

Taking on something milllions of people love and hold dear with a flippant "I can update this with something better' is usually a good way of destroying any semblance of credibility you might of have before people laugh you out of town.

However, when someone comes along and honors the traditions laid down before it, understands the nuances of what made it all so appealing and thoroughly understands the narrative then, and only then can you breath a sigh of relief.

Enter Star Wars SC 38 (the SC stands for 'scene') the pinnacle moment when Darth Vader and Obi Wan Kenobi clash sabres in Episode IV, Star Wars A New Hope on the Death Star.

This re-imagined masterpiece of VFX and live action stunt work is creating a ton of buzz online and rightly so, it takes the original concept of Vader and Kenobis showdown up to another level entirely. Face tracking, sound, Video effects and camera angles are all brought together to amazing effect to deliver the fight that should have been.

Why is is so good? - First off it understands the relationship between Vader and Kenobi, after Anakin's humiliating and excruciatingly painful defeat by Kenobi on Mustafar, Anakin becomes Vader. His only way to survive the crippling injuries and pain is to be forever entombed in a suit that delivers constant life support, his missing limbs replaced by advanced mechanical prosthetics. The pent up rage and anger that Vader has for Kenobi is interpreted beautifully and honors the fighting styles of Shien and Djem So or 'form V' as Star Wars purists would know it as, a combination of double handed gripped sabre combat with powerful attack and defensive parry's.

many would argue that Vader has always fought two handed, true, in the origianl trilogy he did, but Rogue One also hinted at a single handed style that combined force attacks with his left hand as it does in this latest SC 38 re-imagined clip. Since Anakins twizzle twirling showboating and brash open form of combat is clearly evident in the prequels it would be safe to assume that the raw angr that Vader exudes in this clip would see him revert back to an aggressive fighting style that brings a combination of single and double handed sabre moves to bear. 

The clip was created by FXitinPost. be sure to check out ihis YouTube channel dedicated to creating unique story-driven visual effects and action short films. Check out www.fxitinpost.com for more information.

 

TRIPLE FRONTIER – GREAT PREMISE, POOR QUALITY CONTROL

Netflix’s Military Heist Almost Delivers it’s Payday

Plot: Former Special Forces operatives reunite to plan a heist in a sparsely populated multi-border zone of South America. For the first time in their prestigious careers, these unsung heroes undertake this dangerous mission for themselves instead of their country.

Triple Frontier is proof enough that ensemble casts can’t always save a movie, the names were big enough -   Bigelow, Boal, Affleck and Isaac. Bigelow and Boal had delivered the slow burn thriller Zero Dark Thirty and Bigelow had also shown great handling skills on Hurt Locker. Hell, even her 1991 heist thriller Point Break with the late great Patrick Swayze and a young Keanu Reeves proved she could throw a ball around with the big guys in Hollywood.

Additional cast nods go to Pedro Pascal (Narcos), Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) and Garrett Hedlund (Tron Legacy)

The problem with Triple Frontier is that once the energy in the movie gathers pace, it quickly drops off and the viewer is left wanting more, or at least expecting something to happen which never does which in effect chops the balls off the movies pace. Don’t get me wrong, Boals script is pretty good, Bigelow’s producer skills are also as you’d expect top notch, the photography in the film is phenomenal and sound delivered via dolby 5.1 is superb, but this ensemble cast, top writer and producer team are all wasted on the final quality control that could have delivered a real Netflix killer thriller.

Overall Triple threat is a very watchable thriller,in fact its one of the better Netflix efforts of recent times, however as the majority of over a thousand comments on the Facebook trailer advert will reveal it left people wanting and expecting a lot more than it eventually delivered. Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool, we share promote, recommend and help support things we like with the viral nature of social media. Netflix uses social media buzz as essential feedback on what is gaining traction and which is losing traction with its audience (its partly the reason Daredevil was canned) From my own perspective there are three major pacing issues with Triple Frontier, the very slow burn start in getting the guys together takes about 15 mins too long. The heist on the drug lords hideout itself which had the softly, softly raid pulled off with a nicely done stealth approach could have cranked up the suspense another notch with some great tactical gun play and a bit more against the clock suspense. Lastly a final gunfight in the mountains could have given us the outgunned last stand, Lone Survivor thrill we were all expecting. 

Except it didn’t, none of this materialized, which was surprising given the nature of the movie and location, a last big finish here with an escape that was the fight of their lives could have really helped the movie with a final car chase boat chase setup that finished it off. Cranking this up could still have retained the movies messaging that the bond of brotherhood and doing the right thing mean more than greed and the goal itself, in the movie the team make some very questionable choices that change your perception of them (particularly Afflecks character), ultimately they are punished for those choices, and some would say deservedly so, but the bum note that the movie delivers cheats the audience who wanted the win and are instead left feeling like the investment they made into watching the film didn’t deliver the payoff. Netflix’s marketing for the movie gave us a trailer that suggested more, that this was a special forces heist movie with plenty of action with a great cast. It does have these elements and the helicopter sequence is pretty dramatic -  just not in the quantity or quality it should have.

Triple Frontier fell short, it fell frustratingly short actually, this despite the fact that the production qualities and cast were up there matching a major financed movie and cinema release. As a subscriber it still provided a pretty decent movie, I feel with Netflix I do get my money’s worth most of the time but it’s when movies like this that can really help push the Netflix brand and appeal have the opposite effect on social media because the production faults and pacing issues let the overall viewer experience falter.

Looking at the films troubled past at getting off the ground since 2010, Johnny Depp, Tom Hanks, Will Smith, Channing Tatum and Tom Hardy were all names attached at one point or another, when Paramount  pulled out it pretty much tossed the film into the wind for Netflix to snap up. Affleck left the production then rejoined but not before Mark Whalburg sniffed around the project. With a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 72% it’s held up pretty well considering its troubled past.

Netflix can and will bounce back, I’d like to see more movies where they’re looking for projects that invest in good writers like Mark Boal (Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty) and Katherine Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty, Point break, Hurt Locker) with the credible acting talents of good Hollywood and TV actors like Oscar Isaac, Pedro Pascal and Ben Affleck.

Triple Threat is a good thriller, just not a great thriller, it’s watchable and gives us a cast we can root for with a solid enough script and great production values let down by some questionable pacing decisions and lack of climatic resolve by writer and director J. C Chandor.