JinxRake said:
Finished reading the topic. Came to a few startling conclusions.
1. Some people have severe reading comprehension problems. My assumption is that it's due to a severe lack of reading as a whole, something more than messages on forums. Please start reading more books, it really helps to ameliorate symptoms of the "idiot" variety.
2. The "idiot plot" is something we should give a lot of thought to. Some people advocate for non-linear, open choice games but I disagree on that, and I'll use the Mass Effect series as a reference point. Not the best point of reference, but it'll have to do. [...]
In a way, giving the player complete control over your character is, in itself, the way of instituting the "idiot plot" (as I've seen some on you are fast to lash out: no, I am not calling gamers idiots). You cannot account for what every player will decide. Give most players too much freedom and some will find the experience too scattered for them. I've met people that couldn't get into Morrowind because they felt abandoned and without direction on that island, good as the story may have been.
So yes, we should really think about how we are to make a game character that is player driven, engaging, harboring his/her own personality, and yet still offer a degree of freedom to the player that would not contradict the core of the character or the whole story of the game. I think the main character from the Walking Dead games is PERFECT in this regard, same as with the father from Heavy Rain -I'm sorry, I'm really bad with names sometimes-. Both of them are completely player driven, put into extreme situations and, despite any input from the player, nothing they would do would seem to go against their core personality. And that's why we have gotten attached to them and we cared so much for them, because our decisions made them move along their stories and we have shaped them and their relationships with others, without compromising who theyactually, without actually breaking the game's immersion - and please don't bring up the Shaun glitch...it happens, it's humorous, but it's not relevant-.
The crutch is that both games had to sacrifice gameplay to be able to implement such characters.
As a fanbase, we should think about how such characters and such decisions can be translated from that genre of games into a more action oriented one, without seeming as silly as saintly Commander Shepard, diplomat and her of the galaxy, punching a reporter in the face. It's something Naughty Dog seems to have on their minds and we should hope they'll succeed in this.
3. [...] I've personally enjoyed the Uncharted games on just about any level. I like the characters and their interactions, I liked the settings, I like the sound work, I like the graphics and the set pieces. Uncharted is what it is and it's one of those cases where it's good as it is.
Let's hope The last of us is another step in another right direction.
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1st: I liked your post very much, but had to cut it down to the parts I like to comment on.
On. #1. LOL, So true.
#2. I saw it the same way, and I must confess that I didn't like Morrowind because it was way too open for me. It felt like I was in an empty MMO devoid of people for the 15 hours I played it. I couldn't find any real connection with any of the NPCs, no real plot that grabbed my attention, so I stopped playing it, and never looked back on that series (neither Oblivion or Skyrim got my attention)
#3. I've played Uncharted 1 & 2. I own 3, but have little interest to start it. For some reason, I don't find some of the mechanics all that fun. I'm talking about the Jumping from ledge to ledge, its not exciting for me. I do like some of the dialoge, but am not in love with the characters enough. There were some nice parts I rememberd fighting some creatures in this abandoned naval base. That was really interesting, but I still found the story a bit bland. I need to play 3 before I really make my mind up on this series. I just want to say, that I want to like it, but something doesn't really click for me yet, but thats just my opinion & taste, and we each have our own.
To sum it up, I too hope the best for Naughty Dog; I hope they can deliever on their dream & hard work. And it is not because they are a Sony exclusive developer, but because any company that can pull an oscar worthy story in today's 3d HD video games environment will truely change the way everyone sees video games.
