Gaming thoughts of the day

[Bluecast]

Gaming is just fucking awesome. That's the thought of the day.

[Yokosuka Martian]

We should have a Shenmue Dojo xbox live party soon

[Bluecast]

[Thief]

[Sonikku]

Kingdom Hearts collection $11.99 each.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6879262018

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6879200412

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6879262021

[Jokatech19]

feels good to nail a new addition in Legend of Dragoon. esp a hard one like Madness Hero

[Bluecast]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK6_QvdxyXQ[/youtube]

[Who Really Cares?]

Great article on The Walking Dead game

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013- ... rd-choices

Don't read unless you have finished it.

[Tuffty]

^ A great article. The smaller, more personal consequences were a lot more important to me than writing my own ending. It probably wouldn't have worked as well if the writing and characters weren't so strong, but as it happens both were generally brilliant. My nerves were shredded making some of those decisions.

On a different subject, I kind of want to go off a little on something that has kind of irritated me a little. It's when narrative goes against gameplay, specifically in cases of origin stories and when gameplay goes against what the narrative has setup. I realised this when playing Assassin's Creed 3, when Connor goes out to find the Assassin mentor so he can be trained in the art of assassination. To me it implies that Connor is there to learn and in time he will be skilled in combat and all that jazz. Except, when you're actually playing the game, the story dictates that you have to fight these guards before the mentor will accept you, and Connor doesn't need any training at all. You are just as experienced if you know the combat mechanics that you can dispatch the guards with all the ease of a master assassin anyway.

It's even worse in AC2. At least there is some justification in that Connor at that age is also an experienced huntsman, with the stamina and physique of someone living in the wilderness. In the beginnning of AC2, Ezio is a playboy who never fought in his life. Now before he even dons the robes you're saying that he can kill guards in sword combat? Same with Jason in Far Cry 3, a spoilt rich kid is now experienced in all kinds of handling firearms and killing guards with ease from the very beginning. This new Devil May Cry is meant to tell Dante's origin story, about the man before his demon skills have fully formed, but you know, still looks like an all powerful unstoppable demon killing machine to me.

See to me, I think there is more worth in playing as someone who isn't all powerful from the get go. In those scenarios I described with AC, I'd rather that the character just get beaten up or wounded, with no chance to defend yourself. Make that be a harsh lesson he learns and be part of his character development. Have the game then progress and so you learn how to block, to counter etc and take fulfillment in seeing your character start as someone who can barely swing a sword, into someone who can kill guards with alarming efficiency. Same with a FPS, I wouldn't mind it if, while playing as someone who the narrative dictates has never used a gun in their life, to make it so the aim wasn't perfect from the beginning. That the hands shake and then gradually get more steady as you progress.

I get the argument as well that you don't want to play as a weak character from the beginning and ultimately these contradictions don't detract much from my overall enjoyment of a game. It's just something that I rarely see developers do right when telling someone's origin story and in making a character's progression become somewhat believable.

[OL]

Funny thing is, they've pretty much done that very thing in the past. I remember in Maximum Carnage on the Genesis and SNES, the end of the first stage actually dictates that Spider-Man get his ass kicked, all for the progression of the story. So no matter how well you play, there's no way to actually win at that part.
I feel like I've seen it elsewhere too, probably during the 16-bit era again, but I can't remember where exactly.

To be fair in Ezio's case though, he was a total ruffian before donning the hood. He was a playboy, sure, but he was also essentially the leader of a street gang, which would likely give him at least some experience in combat (not to mention his father being an Assassin himself, so you never know if he maybe had some amount of fencing practice in the past). Plus it's understood that, in the case of Ezio and Connor both, their actions during gameplay are being controlled by Desmond, so naturally they'll come across as being more skilled than they likely would have been if the story were strictly about them.
And in Far Cry 3, if you've ever read anything from the writer, it's intended in kind of an artsy-fartsy way that the player is actually a "character" in the game, and that they're the main reason why combat comes so naturally to Jason.

Still, those are all just excuses. I agree that if a story is about someone's beginnings, there should be some failings along the way. It's only natural. The gameplay should jibe with the character.

[Segata Sanshiro Jr.]

Killer 7 does it.

[Rakim]

Funny thing is, they've pretty much done that very thing in the past. I remember in Maximum Carnage on the Genesis and SNES, the end of the first stage actually dictates that Spider-Man get his ass kicked, all for the progression of the story. So no matter how well you play, there's no way to actually win at that part.
I feel like I've seen it elsewhere too, probably during the 16-bit era again, but I can't remember where exactly.

I think I know who did it:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFjuPbCShBw[/youtube]

[Bluecast]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dWsjodvxk4[/youtube]

Fat white man rapping? What could go wrong? ..erm nothing actually he's really good

[MiTT3NZ]

Shenmue II. Twice.

And no, Ryudo. Just no. It's worse than those YouTube rappers n Weird Al.

[Samanosuke Akechi]

Looks like Ninja Gaiden Sigma 3 is coming.Which shouldn't be a surprise to no one.I'll probably end up buying it if it's like Razors Edge.

http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/201 ... next-year/