MGS4 to have 90 minute long cutscenes?

[shio]

rocketpig said:

Torillian said:

rocketpig said:

Torillian said:
y'know though....some people really enjoy cut scenes and would prefer not to see them go extinct just because some of you guys deem it beneath you. Hell I watched tons of Xenosaga without playing, and I loved it.

The point isn't that they should go away, the point is that taking up half of an interactive game with them is unacceptable in this day and age. Technology has improved to the point where engine-based scenes that allow player interaction are becoming the norm and are actually moving the industry forward in ways that movies could never do.

But what you find unacceptable, I'm actually looking forward to. If you don't want a bunch of cutscenes in your games then I have no issue with that, and suggest you don't play MGS, but just because you can do something differently doesn't mean you should. As long as there are people like me who look forward to these types of games and actually enjoy them, then there will be a market for these cutscene heavy games and you won't see them die off.

Hell I don't see this as much worse than your average RPG, and it'll probably have more involved gameplay than most turnbased RPG's.

The big difference in turnbased RPGs is that to involve the player in a scene, it would completely disjoint the gameplay. RPGs aren't very immersive because of this and are enjoyed in a different level. Action games are different. The player is more immersed in the environment and it makes more sense to add another layer of immersion with interactivity and limited cutscenes.

Besides, it's not like I'm the only one who feels this way. Kojima's budgets for these games have continued to skyrocket and MGS sales have continued to dwindle with each installment. I chalk that up to western developers like BioWare and Rockstar taking more advantage of the medium and frankly, they're leaving developers like Kojima Productions in their wake.

 You mixed things: Action-centric games are actually the ones that use, and are more excused on using cutscenes, because they are usually light on story and do not need to utilize methods on incorporating it on gameplay as muc, which would also help the action gameplay be completely by itself, which is OK.

Story-Heavy or Story-centric games (such as RPGs and Adventures), those are the ones that really need to put the story inside the gameplay. That's why many of them use outlets such as:

- NPC Interaction, a great way for interactive dialogue scenes, and leaving the player in full control.

- Optional content, necessary to spread the story without losing any amount. It would also give the player the choice to how much he wants to play it. It's also a great way to increase replay value.

- Story-specific gameplay, which is about features that are very story-related, but it's not optional and impacts the gameplay heavily. One example is Planescape: Torment's main character, the Nameless One, an 'immortal' which loses his identity and memory every times he dies. When the player(in control of Nameless One) dies, he doesn't lose the game, but he re-awakens with his entire memory removed. What better way to explain death, rebirth and immortality than to actually experience it in the game

 

Adventure games, the most story-centric genre, don't have many cutscenes, believe it or not. They instead use ALOT of NPC interaction to keep the story going. Perfect example: Grim Fandango, an 18hours Adventure and only has like 30min of cutscenes in the entire game.

As for RPGs: Fallout 1&2 (everything optional, amazing stories), Planescape: Torment (best story ever), Baldur's Gate 2 (Bioware's finest).

 

Funny you mentioned Bioware, when they are actually using Less interactivity in their games than before (and are nowhere near as good as their early times). Kotor and Mass Effect were extremely linear (ME not as much), and there was much less optional content and NPC interaction than Bladur's Gate 2. Let's hope Dragon Age won't be like them, and be more like BG2.

 

MGS4 and JRPGs are the aberrations of the Story-Centric games since they support heavily cutscenes, and that directly contradicts the Industry norm. But they're from japanese developers, so it's not surprising.

 

DTG said:

shio said:

DTG said:

starcraft said:

Oyvoyvoyv said:
Why do you complain? This is taking story to the next level, if you dislike story, buy the mindless shooter games, they outnumber games like this by at least 5:1.

The best games integrate most of their story into the gameplay, ala Bioshock.

 

I disagree. Bioshock has nowhere near the scope of storyline MGS games have. You cannot integrate story into gameplay, it is impossible because it can only make for a superficial narrative. You can imply certain themes and ideas but not tell an actual word by word story. Nor can you impart a well argued social and political commentary that is so integral to MGS games through gameplay. Bioshock failed miserably when it came to delivering a truly mature storyline. It juggled with some philosophical ideas that the writers tried to raise yet it failed to explore any of them in any meaningful manner, percisely because there was not enough storyline behind it to provide substance.

Planescape: Torment almost completely integrates the story in the gameplay, and Planescape has the best story in videogaming history. Hell Fallout 1&2 have their stories fully integrated in the gameplay, and those stories are some of the best ever.

 

 

Planescape has an 800.000 word script. How can you say that it integrates it into its gameplay? The whole game is more like an interactive novel.

 Read my comments above.