Comments on: Let’s Write a Thesis! Games and the City

By: Another Erik

Another Erik — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:39:43 +0000

Max Payne?

By: Daniel

Daniel — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 03:31:58 +0000

I have to second the call for The Warriors. With my somewhat limited gaming experience it came to mind first, with the Eagles’ song “In the City” playing over the title screen. As Kevin said, though, there is the whole issue of the movie basis for the creepy (and sometimes cheesy) New York depiction.

By: Erik

Erik — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:21:47 +0000

What luck! The first half of Deus Ex is set in New York! Mostly in the slums and bum-towns. It even opens with the bombing of the Statue of Liberty!

Hmmmm. I guess you’ve probably already scanned this wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_games_set_in_New_York_City

But another title that leaps out at me is Def Jam: Fight for NY. All the action takes place in the ring, but the whole game is sort of a heavily-dramatized story based on East Coast big city hiphop culture, and the game only takes a couple sittings to beat, so it might be worth your time.

Parasite Eve is a Square survival horror RPG set in New York, so it’s got lots and lots to see and do. I’ve only watched someone else play a couple hours of it, and that was many many years ago, so I can’t vouch for it myself. But, I know it has a big following and also might be worth checking out.

By: ajnrules

ajnrules — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:03:36 +0000

I’m currently playing GTA III, so Liberty City’s a major part of my life atm. I’ll be interested in seeing what you can come up with.

Anyways, if you don’t mind including half-broken games, the latest Alone in the Dark games take place in Central Park. And who knows, there’s always the SimCity games.

By: Simon

Simon — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 01:44:00 +0000

Deus Ex: Invisible War so was not a horrible sequel.

There’s a pretty ridiculous Japanese conception of New York City, specifically Times Square and Liberty Island, in Ninja Gaiden 2 (the 360 one); when you talk about GTA’s New York you definitely need to mention the Mafia game that addresses New York in different a different era (earlier or simultaneous with the Godfather games which I never played – though I’d be down for playing it with you in the EGL since we have it for the 360). I’ll think more on dis.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:49:58 +0000

Bobby –

A good example of a game made with allusion and historical specificity in mind is THE WARRIORS. Of course, looking at this game might open up a can of worms in that you could move on to things like THE GODFATHER and other “adaptations” of filmic cities. Though adaptation studies is a good way to think about how meaning moves between texts.

Of course, making NYC your focus might be a problem similar to the one you mention at the top: the scope could still remain too big! NYC is one of the most endlessly visually represented cities in the world, and probably the most visually reproduced city in the United States outside of L.A.

By: Arrowbro

Arrowbro — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:28:08 +0000

Spiderman 2 uses NYC. Has all the important buildings, and you can climb on them and stuff. No interiors, though.

By: Drew Maier

Drew Maier — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:26:25 +0000

What’s up Bobby. I’d suggest Deus Ex (the first one, not the horrible sequel). It’s a bit old and takes a while to work through, but it takes place in dystopian NYC. Notable levels that I can still remember 8 years later are the Statue of Liberty, Battery Park, and the subway system. There weren’t as many NPCs as some other RPGs, but there were plenty of bums about.

And Gary the Banana sucks.