AotG TKF A certain point of view

By: 
Travis Fischer

When is a flaw not a flaw?
A recently released video game has people asking this question. "Yooka-Laylee" is a 3-D platformer created by the developers behind the genre-defining "Banjo-Kazooie." This spiritual sequel brings back everything gamers loved about late-90s 3-D platformers, a genre that has all but died out in recent years.
But the game also brings back things that gamers weren't so fond of., particularly its awkward camera controls. In a game based largely around making precise jumps, an unruly camera can turn simple hops into blind leaps of faith.
It's an issue that any gamer from the late-90s know all too well. As the industry transitioned from 2-D to 3-D, the most significant growing pain was learning how to maintain control of your character while also controlling the angle of the in-game camera. Often the two were intrinsically linked, which meant that a sudden change in perspective resulted in your character suddenly running or jumping in a different direction than intended.
One would think that in 2017 developers would have the technology and know-how to avoid such issues, and one would be right. Techniques in camera controls have come a long way in the twenty years that the genre has existed.
Yet there's an argument to be made that "Yooka-Laylee's" troubled controls aren't a flaw, but a feature. If one really wants that authentic late-90s 3-D platforming experience, then this game delivers, warts and all.
Which brings us back to the original question. Is it fair to criticize "Yooka-Laylee" for having bad camera controls if that was intentionally part of the design?
From the perspective of a gamer who was in their infancy at the same time as the 3-D platformer genre, "Yooka-Laylee's" camera may seem needlessly frustrating. An objective flaw that detracts from the experience of the game.
However, from the perspective of an older gamer with fond memories of "Mario 64" and "Banjo-Kazooie," fighting a fidgety camera is part of that nostalgic experience. And since these older gamers are the target audience, can you really complain about a game providing the experience it set out to create?
This type of thing occasionally comes up in other mediums. In Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's "Planet Terror," not only was the 2007 movie shot to look like it was made in the 1970s, but it even has an intentional "missing reel" that simulates a theater misplacing part of the film.
In music, the vinyl record market has made a resurgence. From an objective standpoint, digital music is cleaner and easier to use, but music lovers put up with the scratches and hassle of records for that "authentic" sound.
In any of these cases, the creation of an experience comes into conflict with what is generally considered to be objectively good or bad qualities. Generally speaking, it's objectively bad to omit 20 minutes of story from the middle of a movie, skipping directly to the third act. It's something you won't see in a typical romantic comedy or an animated musical.
If done unintentionally, it could mean the end of a filmmaker's career. When done intentionally, well, "Planet Terror" wasn't a huge success, but it was appreciated by the audience it was intended for.
Which is really the crux of the issue. It all boils down to how much should creator intent be weighed when making a critique.
One school of thought would say that the only objective way to critique something is to approach it from the perspective of a blank slate with no preconceptions. This ensures that the critique is applicable to the widest possible audience.
On the other hand, not everything has to be for everybody. A critique that takes artistic intent into account is going to be more useful to the product's target audience.
There's room for both types of review I suppose. Both views are valid in their own right, though, like "Yooka-Laylee" itself, the value of the critique is going to depend on audience.
Travis Fischer is a news writer for Mid-America Publishing and is intentionally not going to finish.

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