8-Bit Gaming Conference - Review

Just arrived back last night from Ireland's first 8-Bit Gaming Conference in Griffith College. There was so much to see and do; my better half and I both really enjoyed it and are already looking forward to next year. The atmosphere was brilliant; there were so many gaming enthusiasts & we couldn't get over the amount of rare games & consoles on display.


During one of the panels, we got to hear about how the idea for the 8-Bit Conference came about from one of the organisers.  It was only really conceived a few months ago in a pub (he jokes 'as all good ideas are'). It came from a desire to organise a gaming related event. With a lot of work and little sleep, their idea became a reality.  It's hard to cover everything we got to see and do while at the conference but I will sum it up as best I can to try to do it justice.

The first area we entered was the Retro Gaming Museum, which was fantastic.  They had dedicated display cabinets for both Mario & Zelda, and some of the items featured were really rare.  I thought it was really awesome that they actually had copies of E.T. on the Atari 2600 - which reminds me I really must watch the documentary on Netflix, Atari: Game Over.


While they were many great retro consoles on display, a number of which you were also allowed to play my favorites had to be a rare SNES developer console and the Atari Lynx handheld console.  I was lucky enough to play a Japanese prototype version of Mario Kart on the SNES developer console, which was a lot of fun. The owner of the prototypes explained how these were sent, in various forms (complete, incomplete, slightly different to release versions) to journalists for gaming magazines in the 90s and 2000s. These prototypes and advance copies were often then sold and traded around into the hands of collectors. For me though, getting to play Donkey Kong on the Gameboy (hooked up to a big screen!) was probably the highlight for me and made me really want to buy a Gameboy again.

Next, we moved onto the Arcade Room - this was awesome!  They had a number of Arcade Machines set up and built by Mini Arcade Systems, an Irish company.  Not only did we get to play as many games as we wanted free of charge but they also had free sweets next to every machine.  Not surprisingly, we spent quite a bit of time here hunched over machines, despite being soaked through from being caught in the rain. We even missed the Sega Arcade panel because of it. We easily could have spent the rest of the day there, trying out many of the 800+ available games from Sega, Nintendo, and many more classic systems.


Three things became apparent after being in the Arcade Room. First, playing retro games on an old style bartop arcade machines is a lot of fun. Second, having a player 2 makes it even more fun. Third, we want to buy one of these machines as soon as possible - perhaps as a Valentines Day present to ourselves.

                                                             photo credit 8-Bit Gaming Conference

To be honest I was really happy just to have seen the Retro Museum & The Arcade Room but there was even more to enjoy.  There were multiple panels on retro gaming - the one we went to was on collectibles which was really interesting.  We not only got to hear from the event organiser but also from some avid collectors.  I really liked hearing from the guy who had his whole house dedicated to not only retro gaming collectibles but also his collection of literally hundreds of old CRT TV's & monitors - his reason being, you need a good display set up for the full retro gaming experience.  It was great how excited everyone was, and they were also seriously talking about putting together a gaming museum in Ireland which, in my opinion, would be epic.


On the second floor there was so much going on. There were some really good cosplayers including two people (dressed as Squall and Rinoa) who were there talking about Kupocon.  What is Kupocon I hear you ask?  It is a celebration of all things Final Fantasy including; games, music, special guests & more.  We will be attending next year in Birmingham as the London event has already sold out.  Outside of this, there were tournaments being held and retro games & consoles on sale along with lots of handcrafted items.

photo credit 8-Bit Gaming Conference

photo credit 8-Bit Gaming Conference

 photo credit 8-Bit Gaming Conference

Overall we had an awesome time and based on an interview done with the event organisers they are even looking at bringing it to Cork which would be awesome.  For any of you who missed out on it this year, I cannot recommend highly enough that you check it out next year.

Beginners Guide - Review

I am just back from the 8-Bit Gaming Conference in Dublin &  I have to say it was a lot of fun (might even do a review of it in the near future).  Even though I am little wrecked after traveling back I really wanted to get my final PC review of this year completed.  A short time ago, based on a recommendation, I decided to play the Stanley Parable (created by David Wreden) & being honest I was blown away by it.  I was informed recently he had made another game called The Beginners Guide, after enjoying his first game I thought why not give it a try.


Wine Gums are not the most exciting sweets in the world & if I was in a sweet shop (which I regularly am) it would not be my first choice.  That being said, I do like them - I consume one or two & think to myself 'yeah these are pretty good' & then proceed to have some more.  An entire bag later I think to myself 'damn I forgot how nice these are'. Playing The Beginners Guide I found myself asking was it like a bag of wine gums or is it more like a dip dab (a lollipop you lick & stick into a bag of lemon sherbert) - annoying to eat & generally frustrating?

Story 

The game starts with David Wreden narrating the game. He wants to showcase a number of games created by his friend Coda between 2008-2011.  None of these games were ever released & according to David, this was due to Coda feeling they were not good enough.  David seems concerned about Coda as he seems to have little to no confidence in his work & is also anxiety-ridden.  This is the basic premise of the story - David asks that you bear with him & that everything will make sense.


The story feels like David is simply trying to help his friend & hopefully by exposing his work to others it will help him build up his confidence.  I can't say too much without spoiling it for you - what I will say is that the story is both interesting & thought-provoking.

Visuals

The graphics are quite varied, Coda's early games are very basic but as the years progress this changes vastly.  The best example of this would be the first game you see which is similar to a map from the original Counter-Strike & then a later game about cleaning.  The cleaning game is set in a snow covered area & in the centre is a modern house.  When I stepped inside I was almost in shock as there was so much detail it really did look & feel, for lack of a better term, real.  Initially, I started out feeling the visuals were almost unimportant,  but they really are - just not for the normal reasons.  I know that statement may sound a little cryptic but it is all part of the experience this game has to offer & as such I am not going to spoil that.


Music 

There is not a lot of music in the game which is good because it would only serve as a distraction from David's narration & the story itself.  There are a number of atmospheric sounds used throughout Coda's games which are subtle & work well with what you are seeing.


The one standout song is played during the end credits called 'Turn Back' written by Halina Heron & performed by her & Ryan Roth.  Halina is a singer-songwriter from Canada, she has released a number of albums & EPs including; Moon Hunter OST, The Yawhg EP OST & Back Then.  I really liked The Moon Hunter OST, so much so that I am going to play the game next year because of it.
Ryan Roth also hails from Canada but unlike Halina focuses on very different genres of music, mostly electronic & ambient.  He has worked on other albums with Halina along with doing his own solo work including; The Yawhg EP OST, Moon Hunters OST, Good Snowmen Are Hard To Build OST & Shattered Planet OST.


While I do love a good musical score, the absence of one here I would mark as a positive rather than a negative.  The game wants you to focus on the story & ensures this happens by not offering you other distractions.

Gameplay

When it comes to games, I love talking about the gameplay.  I feel if the gameplay is poor then it is difficult for the other elements to cover for its shortcomings. The reverse is true that if the gameplay is good it can make up for other poorer elements.  The gameplay in The Beginners Guide could be described as an interactive story but really, if anything it is more like listening to a film or TV series commentary.  David Wreden's narration is powerful & creates an atmosphere like no other I have experienced.  The game made me challenge things I had only really thought of in a small way before. I struggled to review the gameplay but after a while, I realised it was because it was more like an emotional, thought-provoking experience than an actual game.  Considering how I feel about games this is a rather bold statement for me to make.


In my opinion, the only way you can truly understand The Beginners Guide is to experience it for yourself.  While that statement could be used to describe many games, I think after you play this one you will understand what I mean.




Final Thoughts

So after just over 2 hours, how did I feel?  Amazed, confused & intrigued.  It is very difficult for me to simply sum up my experience of the game like I would others.  The most basic way I can describe my time playing it is that I enjoyed it & the biggest recommendation I have would have for anyone reading this is to play it.  The time you spend with it will be short but I truly mean it when I say it will be very worthwhile.  This is the second game this year I am awarding 5 out of 5