mgeorge on 13/10/2009 at 01:33
Quote Posted by Vivian
This is like when (annoying) people say 'there is no good music being made anymore!'. What you have is a combination of nostalgia and laziness. People are making all sorts of great stuff these days. Go find it and stop whining.
That's not my point. There's
always good music out there, always has been, and always will be. I do believe you have to dig a bit deeper for it nowadays than you did, say in the 70's, when bands like Yes, Kansas, Tull etc. were around, and accepted in the mainstream side by side with a lot of the fluff of the time as well. (so yes I am a crotchety old fuck)
But video games are a bit different in the fact they have only recently become a viable way of interactive fiction. However for something that's evolved as quickly as technology and especially computer technology, I still contend that things could be better. I mean if they made a game like SS2 over 10 years ago, why isn't there something equal to it now?
You guys may think there
are better games than SS2 or DE, but I've yet to find them personally. (nostalgia?, maybe, I don't think so). Again I guess it's all subjective. And I'm not really whining per say. I just want more.
However you guys are right. I'm sure devs and publishers don't want to invest money into games that are taking a chance, hence the reason it's mostly only indie games doing that.
So I'll shut the fuck up..... I don't want you guys picking on me any more. I'm very sensitive and it hurts my feelings.
Vivian on 13/10/2009 at 07:28
Oh god, dethtoll, you see what you've done?
june gloom on 13/10/2009 at 08:16
My work here is complete.
Koki on 13/10/2009 at 08:31
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
Although every concept has previously existed in some way the bringing it all together and refining it makes it original.
Oh.
Xenith on 13/10/2009 at 11:29
Quote:
You guys may think there are better games than SS2 or DE, but I've yet to find them personally. (nostalgia?, maybe, I don't think so)
Then play it over and over and over again like most other people that consider it to be the rpg, rts, fps, arcade, adventure and tabletop king of all. You're not going to find innovation if you're not looking for it, because it's not going to jump out in your face and say "Hey! I'm new! Check me out! You've never seen anything like me! 2nd person view how awes0me iz that!?".
Plus you have to settle for less most of the time. Heck I still with for a Kickmaster 2 NES game to come by when retro games will be cool again.
SubJeff on 13/10/2009 at 12:51
Quote Posted by Zygoptera
I haven't played Portal, but it sounds like a fairly original concept at least (unsurprisingly it had its genesis as an independent project, iirc).
See that's just it - is the concept original? The idea of Portals has existed in fantasy for decades, if not centuries. So its the manipulation of them that is original, in other the words the application of the concept.
Quote Posted by Zygoptera
I dealt with the gravity gun, it's pretty much the definition of iteration. HL2's plot though? Are you seriously suggesting it can be held up as an example of
originality (whether it is good or not being a separate question)?
I don't see how the gravity gun is unoriginal (if that is indeed what you mean be "definition of iteration"). Physics have existed in games for ages to a greater or lesser degree. It was the application of the concept in HL2 that I felt was original. I'd never used a toilet or a radiator as a weapon before, nor had I set fire to fuel barrels and then rolled them down a hill so tentacle monsters would grab them and be blown up.
And I think the plot is original. HL1's plot wasn't - the "dimension opened" thing had been done to death before then, in literature and gaming. Doom anyone?
But the way the enemy changed in HL2, the way your enemies from HL1 (Vorties) became allies and of course your new role as G-Man's emissary - all this was pretty fresh.
inselaffe on 13/10/2009 at 17:16
lol.
Renzatic on 13/10/2009 at 17:39
Quote Posted by SE
See that's just it - is the concept original? The idea of Portals has existed in fantasy for decades, if not centuries. So its the manipulation of them that is original, in other the words the application of the concept.
Yup. It's not what it's about, rather how it's about it. You can have two movies about the same basic thing, yet one is a grand classic and the other a pile of horribly acted hurrrrggg. Like would you put Invasion of the Body Snatchers in the same league as Independence Day simply because they're both about aliens taking over the world?
To use a game specific example here, we'll take Planescape Torment. If it came out nowadays, same story and all, would you groan, roll your eyes, and say "oh gawwwddd, not another one" when you hear that it's yet another game where the protagonist starts out with amnesia? Some of you probably would, and you'd be missing out on something great because it's based upon a plot detail that's been all but done to death these last few.
See, everything has a generic premise when it comes down to it. This is a fantasy game, this is a near future action RPG, blah blah. If that's all your taking into consideration, then yeah, there isn't much out there that will catch your interest. But when you consider that fantasy game is Ultima Underworld, or that action RPG is Deus Ex, then you see them less as bog standard genre pieces and more as unique games in their own right.
So once again, it's not what it's about, it's how it's about it, and what it does with it. Even the most bland sounding thing in the world can be awesome and original if it's done right.
june gloom on 13/10/2009 at 18:42
Quote Posted by inselaffe
lol.
I'm afraid to ask, but what are you lolling at?
inselaffe on 13/10/2009 at 19:42
Couldn't resist, could you? :angel:
