Game Masters: Robert Florence on gaming's past and present

Christmas is supposed to be a time of reflection, a time to be thankful for what you have and those you have to share it with. However, for many of us it is, or at least was, a time for getting the latest spanking-new consoles and must-have games, a period where spending time with friends was interchangeable with cuffing them at Super Mario Kart. It’s this latter take on the Yuletide season that writer, comedian and noted game enthusiast Robert Florence is tackling with Rab’s Video Game Christmas Morning as part of the Game Masters exhibition this month.

“I pretty much remember Christmases by the games I got from Santa,” begins Rab on the genesis for his one-off show. “I remember the big Commodore Amiga Batman pack I got one year. That's a really strong memory, one I'll be talking about for sure.” However, those who don’t know their 8-bits from their Nintendo 64s needn’t be put off by the nerd alert likely ringing in their heads already. “It won't be all references to obscure stuff that only I remember,” Rab assures us. “I won't be tearing up at the memory of Gribbly's Day Out while people look on in bemusement. My hope is that everybody will get something out of it.”

Despite the obvious retro bent, Rab is keen to avoid the pratfalls many vintage game enthusiasts invariably find themselves in. “I'm not one of these 'games were better back in the day' people,” he says. “Games are better now. But they were great back then too and they informed where we've arrived at. I have a Gameboy Micro with me all the time. I play the Sega Saturn at least once a week and even my old 3DO gets an airing here and there. It's constant but I think it gives you a better appreciation for how amazing games are these days.”

This will form the backbone of the show and of the Game Masters exhibition in general, that of the ongoing influence and penetration of video games into mainstream culture. “I think games pretty much belong to everyone now,” muses Rab. “I don't really see 'gaming' as separate from the day-to-day experience of most people in 2014. I think games are still, on the whole, bad at telling stories, but they're great at offering experiences. Anyone who played the Silent Hills 'P.T.' demo this year will tell you that it was one of the scariest things they've ever experienced. Games are good at that kind of thing – shocking and surprising people.”

“I'm not one of these 'games were better back in the day' people. Games are better now. But they were great back then too" - Robert Florence

There may well be a few surprises at the Video Game Christmas Morning, but as might be expected of the Burnistoun star and former videoGaiden presenter, formalities round at Rab’s gaff will be relaxed. “Couple of couches, Christmas tree all lit up, some footage of old games, some audience interaction and nostalgia,” he says of his loose plans. “Maybe we'll even sing some Christmas Carols.” However, whilst presentation may be fluid, Rab seems set on the shows content. “It'll be a celebration of the fact that games just keep getting better,” he restates. “The indie scene is strong right now, delivering lots of fun-first designs and more experimental stuff with heavier themes. The mainstream games are under more and more pressure to deliver value. It's all good.”

It ties in nicely with what Rab sees as the overall ethos of the Game Masters exhibition, as a way to inform us of our innate playtime needs and desires. “I think it will be a wonderful thing to help people understand exactly how video games became such an integral part of our normal daily lives,” he proposes. “The line between Space Invaders and Candy Crush is not a particularly long or tangled one. It's great to know the history of these things, and to understand that video games aren't anything gimmicky or niche, but actually an inevitable extension of technological progress. People want to play games and will find ways of playing them. It's as simple as that.”

Age and growing responsibilities may have robbed many of us of some of that cherished playtime, cross-legged in front of the TV, joypad in hand, but Rab’s Video Game Christmas Morning is set to remind us that while video games may not just be for Christmas, Christmas is most definitely a time for video games.

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With a host of old school arcade cabinets at Game Masters, Rab chooses his top three games worthy of sacrificing your lunch money to play

SPACE INVADERS

It was by no means the first arcade game as is sometimes thought, nor was there a shortage of 100-yen coins as is often retold, but 1978’s Space Invaders was certainly the first game to gain global popularity. On the surface it’s a simple, yet addictive arcade shooter but Rab isn’t so easily fooled. “It's about life, really, isn't it?” he suggests. “The way time seems to speed up the longer you stay alive. The way doom descends towards you, inevitable and hypnotic. The way your shields get broken down by time and experience. Every time you play Space Invaders is like approaching it with fresh eyes. It's like reincarnation.”

ASTEROIDS

Most of us can probably attribute our passage into video games to an older sibling, a friend or maybe even a parent. For Rab, a big boy did it then ran away. “One of my earliest memories is stepping into an arcade and hearing the sound of Asteroids. A ghostly, futuristic sound. Then on seeing it flickering in front of me, I must have stood in a trance for ten minutes. Until this big boy gave me a coin to play it. ‘There you go, wee man.' I'll never forget that. A stranger, an older kid, probably without many coins of his own: ‘There you go, wee man’. And with that, I was into video games for life.

DONKEY KONG

Yeah, so The Last of Us had a mature and well-written story but do you really play games for their stories? Rab isn’t so sure. “As much as I bang on about wanting better storytelling in games, I think that Donkey Kong proves that the key element of a video game is the climb itself,” he suggests. “What's involved in that climb? Between bottom and top, start and finish, what happens? How do you get there? How much fun is in the A to B? In the case of Donkey Kong, it's all fun. A true test of skill. A climb so competitive that people have spent their adult lives perfecting it. Human beings are brilliant, aren't they? To devote your life to conquering a digital monkey is a beautiful thing.”

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