The summer is coming to a close. As autumn approaches, it invites us to look back on the bright days that have passed: the carefree joys shared on sun-soaked beaches; the humid, starlit nights when loves were born and lifelong bonds were forged; the unforgettable, life-changing month you spent on an organic farm in France, or whatever. It was a time of sweat-inducing heat, regular screen glare, and a few major AAA releases. It was absolute hell.
That’s not to say the whole season was a complete write-off. Aside from minor sporting events and the occasional annexation, some genuinely important video game related developments occurred over an otherwise pointless period of sunshine and merriment. E3, the year’s biggest hype-storm, went ahead with typical hoorah. A torrent of nerd-excitement was generated over the typical announcements: the stunningly pre-rendered Rainbow Six: Siege, the pretty much inevitable new Zelda, and something something Mass Effect. As with every E3, this one also had its fair share of controversy. The announcement of Assassin’s Creed Unity was met with cacophonic excitement, but it later became the focus of a level of outcry rarely received by the media darling when it was revealed that its co-operative mode populated exclusively by male characters.
The strength of this reaction reflects the increased volume with which the topic of social injustice is discussed in the dominantly white and male gaming culture. Also this summer there was the immense fallout of the announcement that a Finnish Hearthstone tournament would be gender-segregated, the excuse provided being that such a division would further legitimise eSports. The severely disconcerting suggestion that in order to improve the standing of eSports we should undo the small progress that has been made in gender diversifying the gaming community is a rather disheartening one, but it’s somewhat encouraging at least to see just how massive, immediate, and for once actually effective the public reaction to this was, causing a complete turnaround on the tournament organisers’ part within two days of the initial outrage. The Hearthstone controversy indicated just how backwards the video game industry can be, and how refreshingly powerful a unified gaming community can be in fixing that. It was also closely tied to the issue of legitimising the video game as a sport/art/entertainment medium that’s becoming more relevant with the passing of each of these summer breaks. As games break further into the mainstream, for the first time the worrying prospect is raised that this transition to significance might come with some disturbing baggage.
Aside from advertisements for games and controversies about games, some actual games were released this summer, and were possibly even played. There was a new Mario Kart, which fulfilled the basic requirements of being Mario Kart and was therefore astoundingly successful. Last year’s hype-giant Watch Dogs finally graced physical and virtual store shelves, with fans finally being able to find out whether it would turn out to be a gameplay revolution or a massive, falsely advertised disappointment; the latter, as it turns out. In addition, there was a smattering of smaller-scale offerings which no one played and no one will shut up about, including the retro-Action-RPG Divinity: Original Sin, puzzle-adventure-horrors-of-war-‘em-up Valiant Hearts, and neo-retro ditch-digging simulator Shovel Knight. All of these titles were both graceful masterpieces and masturbatory garbage, proving that if nothing else the indie market can at least produce passionate reactions.
And that just about covers the summer of games, as it was. Now we must prepare for darker days, colder nights, and the pre-Christmas release glut. As winter’s icy fingers reach forward to choke the last breath of warmth and joy from the world, we’ll have plenty to look forward to in new releases and additional justifications for spending entire days indoors. Coming up, there’s The Sims 4, Far Cry 4, Civilisation:Beyond Earth, and anything else that gave you that special itch from the E3 showroom floor. Speaking of Expos, there’ll also be Gamescom in Germany, the Tokyo Games Show, and PAX Australia over the coming months, sure to get us unreasonably excited for the next time winter rolls around. But let’s treasure this one while it lasts. A miserable season is on the horizon, and we should make the most of it.
