i just wanted to take a quick moment after reading the two most recent posts to say how interesting i find it that, in a game that is largely linear - it's not a sandbox at all - we've managed to approach things very differently. Granted, some of that is set up by the choice system of the game, but i'm really talking about our different combat styles. HotFuj talks about his controlling Big Daddies and manipulating splicers. I certainly have those plasmids and thought they were a neat idea but found them largely useless because i'm just not encountering Big Daddies enough to justify that slot being taken. Wallaby talked about the kinesis and rag doll physics. Don't get me wrong, i used them, noted them and then quickly swapped out that plasmid because i didn't feel like searching for gas tanks to toss around when i needed something more inherently offensive.
For better or worse, the choices we make on that fundamental level really changes the gameplay, potentially more than even the Harvest vs Rescue choice and i have a level of fascination about that from a game-producer standpoint. These guys are creating a shared experience, much like a movie, but it has the added layer of how the individual approaches it. It's not even about BioShock so much as it's about the nature of interactive entertainment (two-way) vs traditional entertainment (one-way). Gamers always know it's there on some subconscious level but this blog is a satisfying way of setting aside the time to devote focused thought at the paradigm.
Wallaby's feelings about him aside, a while ago (about a month before Beyond: Two Souls launched) i had a nice long talk with David Cage about the future of gaming. I was surprised by his reluctance to acknowledge the similarities and influences between Cinema and Video Games, especially because his work seems to be largely cinematic and Beyond was featuring two well known actors providing both voice and their likenesses directly translated into a game. In dancing around this comparison, i asked him "Since movies were originally shared in a communal setting (a theater) and then shrunk down for individual consumption in a living room, do you ever think that video games which are made for the living room can ever go the opposite direction and be shared at once with many people in a theater?"
His answer was somewhat evasive mainly, i think, because it's an interesting idea without a simple solution. Online multiplayer and co-op seemed to be the current answer that video games are giving to that question but its a fun little brain exercise to think: What kind of game could be brought to a group of, say 50, people all at once in a single location and how would you do it?
Next checkpoint sounds good, Wallaby. My week is a bit hectic with yet another console launch and i have the added bonus of being a groomsman in a wedding on Saturday too. I'll do my best to reach the checkpoint with everyone.
On a completely unrelated note: I've been playing Forza5 all morning and have finally raced enough to send my Drivatar out into the world. Yup, there is currently an artificial version of my own intelligence racing against other journalists and beta testers and microsoft officials while i sit here and blog. It is simultaneously a source of pride and deep concern to know that, even on this extremely superficial level, my consciousness is existing in some virtual world without my knowledge of what it's doing. Welcome to the future.
-joker
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