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Welcome to the sleep-deprived edition of the Community Spotlight. Skillful editors take my tired ramblings and turn them into quality articles so that you can understand what I write on days when language fails me and take-home exams are bleeding me dry.

Michael Epstein starts with his look into the Infinity Ward scandal and its effects on the Modern Warfare franchise. Mark T. Whitney is next, giving you the lowdown on Nolan North’s career and what you might have seen/heard him in.

Michael Bellmore’s account of his life in various game-themed vignettes is original and captivating, but prepare yourself for a wave of nostalgia to hit as he describes early life in arcades. Nick Giunta follows with his take on why it’s great that Battlefield: Bad Company 2 doesn't allow players to go prone while on stakeouts.

We close the Spotlight with a reminder of the long-running Meet the Mob series. If you’re new to Bitmob, check out some of the introduction articles written by your fellow community members and write your own. You’re part of the Bitmob universe so we’d like to know who you are.

Rome is Burning: Will the Infinity Ward Scandal Ruin Modern Warfare?
By Michael Epstein
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of weeks, you’re likely familiar with the scandal surrounding Infinity Ward and Activision. With legal actions proceeding the ousting of Infinity Ward founders Jason West and Vince Zampella, what could happen to the Modern Warfare franchise?

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Editor's note: Final Fantasy 13 has drawn a number of critics for straying from accepted role-playing-game dogma. Michael, however, is happy with these changes to the RPG formula, and he offers this defense of the game. How do you feel about Final Fantasy 13? -Jason

We’ve started off with a pretty decent first quarter of 2010: Mass Effect 2, Bayonetta, God of War 3, Heavy Rain, and Final Fantasy 13. All of them received fairly positive reviews, but this isn't necessarily the case for Final Fantasy 13.

Taking a quick glance at Metacritic, you can see that so far this is the poorest rated game in the mainline Final Fantasy series. It’s not to say that I think Final Fantasy 13 received bad scores; it’s just getting lower scores than it usually does. If you read some of my other articles, you’ll see I don’t care about scores, but when you look at the text of these reviews it’s just difficult to understand where the respective writers are coming up with some of these complaints. 

So why have people turned on Final Fantasy? Well, that’s up for debate.

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Editor's Note: Richard flexes his creative muscles here and tackles the topic of linear games from the perspective of a Roman Senator. I'm glad that this inventive piece found a home at Bitmob, and I'm interested to read what he comes up with next. - Jay

My fellow gamers, as the moon turns and the long foretold coming of the Thirteenth of the Fantasies Final draws nigh, one word has been spat like a curse across the realm. It is spoken of as the black death upon gaming's soul, festering away at all the good and leaving not but an untouchable rotted corpse. Like the word “witch,” the mere accusation spreads like wildfire and becomes truth amongst our community. And lo doth any hapless victim receive this title for they shall forever be burned within the flames and hatred of their once most faithful of supporters. Yet, I stand here today, in the Grand Hall of the Internet and surrounded by this most fickle of counsels, to defend this greatest of sins: Linearity.

At the birth of our kingdom, we were but a simple people, content to bounce our square balls and gather food from ghost-riddled caves. Yet, with time came complexity and with complexity, the birth of legends. Who here can forget the tales of the great Fixer-of-Pipes and his battles with the Reptile King? What child does not know of the adventures of the Blue Rodent and his Twin-Tailed companion? Do not forget my fellows, that even in that golden time, linearity was there. For both the Fixer-of-Pipes and the Blue Rodent could not move but right; forever right to victory. Lo! I hear you cry, “but what of the Hero of Hyrule and the Masked Hunter of Men?” Indeed, their legends can be told in many different ways. Yet, even their epics must be told in a certain order, lest they have not obtained the items with which to conquer their trials.

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Ahh...the Game Developers Choice Awards. They're kind of like the Oscars except nobody really cares which fashion designers the nominees are wearing. 

Uncharted 2 cleaned up at the GDC Awards last night with five trophies, including Game of the Year, Best Writing, Best Technology, Best Visual Arts, and Best Audio. Also during the ceremony, Will Wright (of The Sims fame) presented id Software's John Carmack (Doom, Wolfenstein 3D) with the Lifetime Achievement Award and did a presentation on "Why John Carmack Rocks." Boy, I'd hate to be the guy who has to tell James Cameron that Avatar: The Game didn't take home any awards. [GamePro]

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Editor's note: Heated debate is always more interesting, especially when you've got a dog in the fight. Suriel makes the case that more video game podcasts should strive to spark that kind of exchange between participants. I'd only add that these programs also drop the non-gaming banter in the beginning and get right to the topic I tuned in to hear. -Rob

When I listen to a podcast, I usually imagine myself in the room with the participants. I converse with them in my head, take their viewpoints to compare them with my own, and arrive at my own conclusion -- not unlike that which you might do with real-life group of friends.

I don't agree with everyone's point of view, but that's only to be expected. I usually enjoy the discussion more when I debate someone else's points than when I agree with his arguments.

This metaphysical experience works best when the breadth of perspectives that a podcast provides creates genuine discussion on a topic and when those opinions are as varied as possible. What I've found is that an assortment of expressed thoughts on a podcast is the exception rather than the norm.

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Even though the logo clearly says "hum-triangle-n," I'm pretty sure that the game is called Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Video Blips:

• I'm sure that Deus Ex's Adam Jensen will be the first to tell you that having robot arms isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Maybe he should consider investing in plastic cups instead of glass. [GameTrailers]

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Editor's note: People often bandy about a somewhat amorphous term to describe video game fans and characters: "emo." What does it mean? I make immediate connections with the origins of the term: mid-'80's post-punk emotional hardcore bands like Embrace and Rites of Spring. Brian makes connections between the supposed affectations of people who are "emo" and the lack of sensitivity this may indicate toward mental illnesses such as Major Depressive Disorder or Social Anxiety Disorder. Whatever the case, I'm in full agreement that this is a somewhat loose, very ineffectual way of describing something. -James

Disturbing trends in game journalism are nothing new, but one annoys me more than most others -- the increased use of the term "emo." Since the start of the new millennium, the term "emo" has infected pop culture faster than Swine Flu swept PAX '09. When used in everyday discussion, it's often associated with people who appear to be unhappy and wear dark-colored clothing.

One definition at Urban Dictionary describes "emo": "An entire subculture of people (usually angsty teens) with a fake personality." Whether or not such people exist is debatable, but the term "angst" is nothing to laugh at. According to Dictionary.com, "angst" is when a person has "a feeling of dread, anxiety, or anguish." Certainly, having a small amount of these feelings is normal, but when they overwhelm an individual, it can endanger that person's existence.

I'm sure some people feel they have earned the title of "emo" -- although I have never met any -- by pretending to hate the world and acting depressed because they crave attention, but that doesn't mean we should use such a term lightly. As someone who frequents game sites, I've noticed that people throw the word about carelessly to describe certain characters and people who enjoy relatively niche genres. This is a shame, because not only does it misrepresent certain real-life and virtual individuals, but it also reveals the ignorance of much of the gaming community.

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The Geekbox — Episode 56 (2010-03-09)
Wherein we discuss live recordings, official Geekbox achievement contest updates, SyFy original movies, Lost 6×06, Burn Notice 3×16, Final Fantasy 13, RPG naming conventions, griefing on role-playing servers, Resident Evil, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (AKA “Welcome to 2007″), and cranky old podcasters. Starring Ryan Scott, Andrew Fitch, Anthony Gallegos, and Ryan Higgins.
Running Time: 1h 28m 57s

Zune link

Direct Download (right click to save as)

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My biggest interest in media studies is in understanding propaganda. Bioshock and Mega Man 10 tie together my passion for convincing the masses with suggestion and empowering imagery with video games. You can't deny the inspiring presentation of Solar Man in this poster [via TinyCartridge]:

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It seems America's competitive spirit extends to exorbitant spending on digital pixels.

News Blips:

GamesIndustry conducted a study that shows American gamers spent $3.8 billion on massively multiplayer games in 2009. Consumers spent nearly half the amount ($1.8 billion) on monthly subscription fees, with subsequently smaller spending on annual subscriptions and other forms of payment such as micro-transactions. Unsurprisingly, Blizzard's World of Warcraft reigns supreme; its players comprise the largest portion of the total player base (46 million) in the United States. That's odd -- I didn't know playing as an elf would be so lucrative.

Game-design guru Warren Spector (System Shock) has warned the industry against becoming too engrossed with motion control and other input methods. While not scorning outright the recent trend of motion control devices, Spector (who is currently working on Epic Mickey for the Wii) stresses the importance of maintaining perspective in the ever-broadening video game audience. "I don't know if we want to throw away our entire history because we want to use gestural controls. I hope we keep our perspective a little more rational." Spector's right: How am I going to enter my Konami codes on a silly nunchuck? [Gamasutra]

Industry analyst Michal Pachter portends the outcome of the Infinity Ward/Activision lawsuit.  While not going into specifics, Pachter expects the lawsuit to "progress to trial or settlement, with some compensation likely awarded." The Webush Morgan analyst admits that Activision could be in serious trouble if Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella decide to work for EA, which has recently revived the Medal of Honor franchise. I'm glad Pachter is here to tell us about how a lawsuit works. [IndustryGamers]

Developers of classic games have noted their preference for working on smaller, social-centric titles. Longtime designers and industry veterans (such as Richard Garriot of Ultima fame) have turned to smaller-scale projects -- like iPhone apps and Facebook games -- that resemble the creative mentality of gaming's halcyon days. “I remember, early in my career we would make a game in six months," said designer Brenda Brathwaite (Wizardry). "I love the idea of just putting a game together with a small group of people. I can’t imagine anything I’d rather do.” A return to smaller games is a nifty idea...but nothing will convince me to buy an iPhone. [Wired]

Got any hot news tips? Send 'em over to tips@bitmob.com.

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Can you decipher these uninspired, misinterpreted, or just plain messed-up video-game titles?

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I wonder if the vibrate feature in Sony's new controller can double as a back-massaging device, just like every other vibrating gadget.

Video Blips:

• Nothing pumps up the adrenaline like table tennis and fly swatting in this demo of the PlayStation Move. I'm still incredulous over its diffused shape and moogle-like sensor ball. [GameTrailers]

Continue after the break for an anthem-filled trailer of Green Day: Rock Band, some elf profiling in a commercial for Global Agenda, and a look at the webcomic-turned-platformer Blade Kitten.

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