| Mazty said: The game doesn't allow you to fill in the blanks.... If I wanted to use my imagine to fill in the blanks, I would read a book etc. In a medium such as gaming, where you are meant to be part of a truly virtual world, to then say "Oh yeah, fill in the protaginist with your imagination" seems absurd and completely withdraws the person from the expereince, as they are having to literally make up parts of it. What I simply dislike about HL2 is that it feels schizophrenic. It wants you to be part of a different world, and then slaps you back into the real world if you try to treat the game as such. Thing with the CoD series, yes you never see your character(s), but that's because you are part of a bigger picture e.g. the world wars, whilst hopping all over the world. In a game where you are the classic cliche Rambo, I don't understand why they decided not to give the main character any identiy, and then were so highly praised for it. I'm playing through HL2 again to see if I missed something out last run through, but so far, no such luck. |
Well, yes it is linear, but the point of the mute protagonist is as I have said, to maintain that YOU are Gordon Freeman. You have the story unfold before your eyes as you decide to experience it. The story might be limited, but its the little things you notice in the game that make the story special. The whole point is that you don't have anything to serve as a reminder that you are playing the game. In games like KoToR, you're constantly reminded of the fact its a game by having the dialogue constantly asking for input, but that's fine, its an RPG where that is needed. In a FPS, where the action is far more intense, having that would break immersion.
And leaving things to your imagination is actually where a lt of the older games have their charm, especially in the RPG genre. Take games like Planescape Torment which is heralded as having the best writing in a game. The technical restriction of the time meant you had to use your imagination to fill in lots of blanks because the tech wasn't there to animate it. What Valve did was make you feel like you are Gordon freeman rather than a player that controls someone else with a seperate voice and seperate personality.
I'm not sure what you mean by schizophrenic, I always find myself immersed in the 1984 style world Valve created. Maybe you should go back and play HL Source, as that was set in more modern times before the Combine. Might be why you feel it's a different world but with elements in reality. Just note its a 1998 game.
