Zero Punction on Bioshock

[PlagueOfLocust]

twesterm said:

PlagueOfLocust said:

Edit - In fact, that's garbage. The story was in no way told entirely through cutscenes. Most of the story is learned from the environment, many aspects of which are not explicitly delivered to the player in any other way. The audio tapes and the posters are a major part of this, but even that is not the only way it's delivered. The story is told in more diverse ways, in fact, and has more layers to it than most if not all games before it. (Before this, how many first person shooters delivered their story through more than direct narration or cutscenes? What are we complaining about?) And the "cutscenes" did not feel like mere cutscenes, so much so that I was confused at first when you suggested there even were any in the game. "Interactive cutscene" is a bit of an oxymoron, especially when it feels as smooth as it does here.

Edit - Sorry, not even sure how this got posted again. Meant only to edit.

I could have sworn I said the story is told through cut scenes and audio diaries. No matter what path you choose the audio diaries are still the same, the environment doesn't change, and the cut scenes stay the same. The only thing that changes is you get encouraging words from Tenenbaum, the little sisters aren't afriad of you in the orphanage, and you get a different ending.

You did say that the story is told through cutscenes and audio diaries. I could have sworn that, after noting that you said this, I explained that these were not the only methods used (radio, posters, general environmental clues including specific corpse/item placement, etc), that the cutscenes did not feel like cutscenes, and that there are only two other games in gaming history that even use audio recordings to deliver part of the story and wondered why we're complaining that they somehow make the game's story limited. You also said that the cutscenes were lame (I simply disagree, and can't see how you came across that opinion), for whatever reason, which begs me to ask how you would have managed to convey a story without them. The designer has to give you a plot development without letting you get in the way of it, and it was all done convincingly unless you just generally aren't happy with anything in life. You'd rather find EVERYTHING out second-hand? The mixture of seeing things happening, hearing about things happening, hearing about things that have happened, seeing the suggestion that things have happened/are happening and getting clues about what could happen is more than you'll get anywhere else. Criticising Bioshock's story is a fool's errand. It's not even like it's done with mediocrity; the work put into it is staggering, and definitely above-average.

So "the only *thing* that changes is" ...more than one thing? ...You can't simply list the ways, and then pretend that the very fact that your list is finite has proven your point. The overall EFFECT that the items in your list delivers is what's important, and here it was immense. Each instance built on the last, was more moving as you went along. The Little Sisters became dear to me gradually throughout the game, and the ending sealed the deal. The whole, in this case, was far greater than the sum of its parts, and the developer clearly did something right to make it happen.

("I could have sworn"... no need to talk down to me. I haven't given you a legitimate reason to do so.)