I try to sit back and think about what my ideal superpowers might be. It’s really like when you’re in grade school and your friends ask you if you could have one superpower, which one would it be? And then your brain goes through this incredible cycle of which power can you get that will encompass more powers than it sounds like on the outside? Almost like what is the most clever and universal? I remember other kids saying super strength or a healing Factor just like Wolverine and I thought, well that’s just the tip of the iceberg right? My answer was primarily the Hulk or Magneto. Hulk’s powers are pretty straightforward right, unending strength, that goes beyond super strength. Sounds great on paper, but people will ask what’s the deal with getting Magneto’s power? Well, turns out that everything is affected by magnetism by some degree, right? Not just most metals, but motors, computer chips, pacemakers, and the last of this quick list but not least the Earth’s magnetism. Just about everything can be manipulated by some form of magnetism. And the point of that is, my superpower choice is the best. Obviously. But that’s not what this is about. I’m kind of trailing off into superheroes because I saw the trailer for the new Robocop game. And I know what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong. RoboCop is in fact a superhero.
Here’s a Reddit thread on the subject
And here is an old GameSpot discussion
And another from RoboCoparchives.com
RoboCop being a superhero is a question that goes back quite a ways, and I try not to forget to mention it as almost a kind of brain teaser when it comes to my friends and their grasp of philosophical questions revolving around being a nerd.
Moving on.
The reason I bring this up though is because there is a new Robocop video game where it’s mostly a simulation of Robocop. I’m using the word simulation because I don’t know, or rather I can’t tell the difference between what would be considered a game and what would be considered a simulation. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, but I think it’s different to ask that question in today’s video game landscape. Consider the app based games where skill doesn’t seem like a factor, and it’s more so juggling alarms. Do this when this is ready, you can’t get a better one of those until you get enough of these… It’s just waiting and tapping at the right time. Not to say there’s anything wrong with that, but they are also filed under the headline of a game.
Going through the mass of comments to see what people think about the video clip, and it’s a very interesting discussion. You’ve got people on one side that say, “where is the challenge”, which is valid. I mean that’s what video games typically are right? It’s this whole series of puzzles that essentially reflects a game. Basically there’s some kind of challenge for the participants. Say Mortal Kombat, the character on the left wants to beat the character on the right to death and vice-a-versa. Therein lies the challenge. Typically there’s not an option for the characters to hug it out, reflect on their actions, quit the death match tournament and get hired at Wendy’s so they can retire at 70. So there’s a challenge, winning, in this case using physical violence better than the other participant. Usually at whatever cost. But then you’ve got the other side. The side that I’m on, and the side that I think makes a valid point. What if we don’t want a challenge? I’m watching the playthrough of the game, thinking to myself, in the RoboCop’s world, maybe in the traditional sense, what what is honestly a challenge for RoboCop? Nothing physical, that’s for sure. The correct answer though is bureaucracy.
Think back to the first RoboCop film, it’s really is ascension to understanding the structure of the corporate world and how it affects the underfunded and exploited public level where RoboCop resides. Not only does the corporate world exploit the public through the police department, but they also fund the criminals to keep the balance. Most popular video games aren’t based on how well you perform in the midst of bureaucracy and how well you’re able to manipulate the public trust via the police department or criminality for your own game. The only game that comes close to that would maybe be Civilization. The point of Civ is existing and competing with other civilizations, sometimes going to war, sometimes signing treaties, but most of the time dominating. Little bits of bureaucracy here and there, but definitely not puppeting the public and definitely not the main focus. But in popular video games, say any Mario game, Grand Theft Auto, World of Warcraft (outside of guild drama), Modern Warfare, PGA Tour 2K23, and basically anything else you can think of, bureaucracy and public trust is not what the focus is. And especially in this gameplay footage.
So what else is there to make a game about when considering RoboCop? Because as we’ve discussed RoboCop is basically super human. Sure, he’s got chunks of his physical humanity but he’s mostly wrapped in metal and motors. So I’m looking at the game and for me, who is a big fan of Robocop, I look at this game like it’s a simulator. Because if RoboCop’s greatest enemy is bureaucracy, but it’s not a factor in this game, and physically in a world of squishy humans nothing can really stop the mind of a man inside of a robot with armor plating…well then to me It’s a simulation of what it’s like to be RoboCop. Not actually a game. I think that’s fair to assume.
Watch the whole video and you can see there’s no significant physical challenge for RoboCop here. (I’m going to go and pretend that they don’t feature the ED-209 which was the joke of an upgrade to RoboCop featured in the first movie because you don’t see it in the trailer) Yeah, it does look like he’s collecting information or clues to hunt down the bad guy, occasionally collecting evidence, talking to suspects and quickly sorting through a priority of enemies when they approach with automatic weapons. But other than physically manhandling his assailants, how can you translate bureaucracy in a video game. And a better question, would that be fun? I don’t know, I guess I’ve never played a game where you take down the system other than with a firearm and superpowers. The formula that this Robocop game is based on is not new, and it’s not even very polished compared to some of the other options you have in popular video games.
Reverting back to the important question though, is it challenging? Does it need to be? If it does matter, does that equal more enjoyment or fun and therefore more game sales? Historically I would say yes, more fun, and more enjoying me means more game sales. But would have enjoyment has taken a different turn?. But what if people don’t want that challenge because the challenge doesn’t always equal fun? What if they just want to be RoboCop for a short amount of time. Almost like role-playing as a robotic police officer.
Let’s gloss over fandom in video games. What’s your favorite franchise? Is it Game of Thrones, a Marvel something, or even pro wrestling? Think about how fandom has expanded in the last decade, between Comic Cons, streaming services, feature length films, social media following all these things, there are so many fans that in some cases are are just die hard about seeing their favorite franchise on the screen it begs the question: does it matter if a game/movie is technically good (in a historical sense) anymore? I guess what I’m trying to ask is that where we’re at, has fandom superseded quality? And I say that because looking at popular movies it doesn’t seem like they’re going to stop making whatever franchise of whatever superhero anytime soon. It doesn’t matter how many times they fail, they just keep coming back. Superman, Batman, Spider-Man. Not to say that any of them are true failures, but they have had their share of flops in terms of films and video games. But do those flops even matter to the the bulk of fans anymore? Is it just enough to see your favorite superhero do what he does best. Does Superman need to solve a big mystery that unravels in a way that he learns something about his past which in turn helps him save the future? Or does he just need to go around beating up the bad guys and looking awesome while doing so? Leveraging that over to video games, does it matter that a Robocop game creates a world in where he has no equal and it’s only a matter of time and not skill to complete the game?
So, having seen that trailer for the new Robocop game, is it a game or is it a simulation? And if it’s not a game, does it matter?
