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Mister Toups Hates your favorite videogame
Joined: 26 Jan 2005 Posts: 1693 Location: Lafayette, LA
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Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 1:56 pm Post subject: rule of rose impressions |
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I don't know if any of you have been following Rule of Rose or not, but click the link and check out the trailer and tell me that it doesn't look awesome. Just try. You can't.
Anyway, I played the Chinese import with Shaper and Dalenixon the other night, and these are my impressions:
1) This is definitely the most uh, populated survival horror game I've ever played. Though you do occasionally encounter enemies, in the amount of time we played, we encounter about a dozen or so NPC's that are just sort of hanging about. None of them explain anything, of course, and they are generally unfriendly/unpleasant/quite rude. But they aren't introduced with cutscenes or anything; sometimes you'll enter a room and there will be a few people mucking about.
2) It REALLY reminds me of The Room, so much so that I feel like it must share some of that game's development team, and maybe even use that game's engine. The way it handles puzzles is similar, and it seems like it might even have a similar structure. It controls the same way, right down to the camera controls (when you're in a hallway, pressing L2 will flip the camera around the character so you can see the other direction). Beyond that it even seems to have similar atmosphere.
3) The dog character is really well implemented so far. As it is, you can take ANY item in your inventory and give it to him to smell, and he'll try to lead you to find anything related to it. I could see it becoming annoying, but so far it's been useful and intuitive. I'm not sure if he actually participates in combat or not... I'd rather he not, to be honest.
4) It's actually a LOT creepier than I was expecting it to be.
FFDog-esque videos of our playthrough frothcoming! _________________ where were you when nana komatsu got a wii? |
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seryogin JRPG Kommissar
Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 886 Location: Occupied Stalingrad
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Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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I watched the trailer and it doesn't make me want to play it. It looks like a bad horror movie with plenty of lollicon bondage to satisfy Mr. Toups' monstrous appetites. _________________
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Shapermc Hot Sake!
Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:04 am Post subject: |
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seryogin wrote: | I watched the trailer and it doesn't make me want to play it. It looks like a bad horror movie with plenty of lollicon bondage to satisfy Mr. Toups' monstrous appetites. |
Well, after doing some research it turns out that the kids in this have had problems with their parents being abusive towards them and one of the girls had... something awful done to her by the super intendant at the school(?). It handles these things supprisingly well. _________________ “The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932
"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!" |
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dessgeega loves your favorite videogame
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 6563 Location: bohan
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:10 am Post subject: |
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i'm pretty curious about this game after seeing the trailer.
scary children are totally the scariest.
and a horror environment that is actually populated sounds pretty interesting! _________________
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seryogin JRPG Kommissar
Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 886 Location: Occupied Stalingrad
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:57 am Post subject: |
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Shapermc wrote: | seryogin wrote: | I watched the trailer and it doesn't make me want to play it. It looks like a bad horror movie with plenty of lollicon bondage to satisfy Mr. Toups' monstrous appetites. |
Well, after doing some research it turns out that the kids in this have had problems with their parents being abusive towards them and one of the girls had... something awful done to her by the super intendant at the school(?). It handles these things supprisingly well. |
I'd still rather play a survival horror game that stars Andrew Toups trying to navigate the dull horror that is his life.
EDIT: I think this is actually a pretty cool idea. Try to go through a "bad" neighborhood while carrying a pizza. Toups being yelled at and threatened to "have his ass handed to him" by a senile old man. Being rejected by the love of his life. If somebody could also correctly animate the freaky distortions and wierd emotions that Toups must project onto the world at those moments, it would be wonderful. By far scarier than Silent Hill.
And well I do apologize making fun of you, Andrew. But it's kind of fun. I could make up a similar game for Shaper, but I recently found out that he doesn't like Evangelion and that makes me not want to speak of him ever again. Making fun of dhex just isn't that much fun. And I really don't know that much about him. _________________
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Mister Toups Hates your favorite videogame
Joined: 26 Jan 2005 Posts: 1693 Location: Lafayette, LA
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 1:08 am Post subject: |
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your jealousy is so transparent _________________ where were you when nana komatsu got a wii? |
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dessgeega loves your favorite videogame
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 6563 Location: bohan
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 1:19 am Post subject: |
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you're so cruel sergei. _________________
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Szczepaniak .
Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Posts: 770
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 2:57 am Post subject: |
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You see, this is what pisses me off with modern games mags. They no longer cover, or preview, or even mention unusual Japanese games like this. Why, I remeber back in the GameFan days, all kinds of crazy Japan only games were covered, almost exclusively to Western tat. Lord knows how many strange oddities I have missed over the years because modern mags aren't covering them. (for the record, I can't buy USA mags easily in Europe, so have to put up with UK ones)
How did you guys find out about this title? I'm curious to know your sources.
Otherwise, that shit looks damn creepy. Disturbing in fact. I honestly don't think it will ever get a Western localisation.
So, what's it actually about? |
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Mr. Mechanical Friendly Stranger
Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 1276
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 3:20 am Post subject: |
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Damn, Seryoga, make fun of me next! |
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dessgeega loves your favorite videogame
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 6563 Location: bohan
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 3:37 am Post subject: |
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Mr. Mechanical wrote: | Damn, Seryoga, make fun of me next! |
his gaze will sweep across us like a reaper's scythe, and we will all be cut down. _________________
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Ketch .
Joined: 17 Sep 2005 Posts: 420
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 7:35 am Post subject: |
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Szczepaniak wrote: | You see, this is what pisses me off with modern games mags. They no longer cover, or preview, or even mention unusual Japanese games like this. |
It's been previewed in OPM |
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DaleNixon .
Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 179
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 3:23 pm Post subject: |
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Szczepaniak wrote: | How did you guys find out about this title? I'm curious to know your sources. |
A guy named Phil. He's a friend of mine who caches the entire internet to his brain every night before bed. |
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TheRumblefish .
Joined: 29 Jan 2006 Posts: 258 Location: Florida
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 3:39 pm Post subject: |
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It certainly looks like it has some disturbing content. However, almost thing phases me anymore when it comes to Survival Horror, or horror films of any kind. However this game has surprising subject matter, which peaks some interest for originality. _________________
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dessgeega loves your favorite videogame
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 6563 Location: bohan
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 6:16 pm Post subject: |
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DaleNixon wrote: | Szczepaniak wrote: | How did you guys find out about this title? I'm curious to know your sources. |
A guy named Phil. He's a friend of mine who caches the entire internet to his brain every night before bed. |
he must have interesting dreams. _________________
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simplicio .
Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 1091
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 6:38 pm Post subject: |
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dessgeega wrote: | DaleNixon wrote: | Szczepaniak wrote: | How did you guys find out about this title? I'm curious to know your sources. |
A guy named Phil. He's a friend of mine who caches the entire internet to his brain every night before bed. |
he must have interesting dreams. |
Like slashdot/fark/SA threads? Yuck. |
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Mister Toups Hates your favorite videogame
Joined: 26 Jan 2005 Posts: 1693 Location: Lafayette, LA
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:01 pm Post subject: |
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Szczepaniak wrote: | You see, this is what pisses me off with modern games mags. They no longer cover, or preview, or even mention unusual Japanese games like this. Why, I remeber back in the GameFan days, all kinds of crazy Japan only games were covered, almost exclusively to Western tat. Lord knows how many strange oddities I have missed over the years because modern mags aren't covering them. (for the record, I can't buy USA mags easily in Europe, so have to put up with UK ones)
How did you guys find out about this title? I'm curious to know your sources.
Otherwise, that shit looks damn creepy. Disturbing in fact. I honestly don't think it will ever get a Western localisation.
So, what's it actually about? |
Actually Tim told me that it IS coming over here.
I mean, TIM told me, so take that as you will.
It's about cruel children as far as I can tell, and creepy fairy tales. _________________ where were you when nana komatsu got a wii? |
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dessgeega loves your favorite videogame
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 6563 Location: bohan
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:06 pm Post subject: |
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Mister Toups wrote: | creepy fairy tales. |
now i need to play it. _________________
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Faithless .
Joined: 11 Sep 2005 Posts: 153
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Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 3:50 am Post subject: |
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This isn't the thread for it, but someone really needs to deconstruct the whole Lolicon thing (as cultural fad) for me. What. Does. It. Mean. That. It's. So. Out. In. The. Open? _________________ www.call-to-adventure.com
Don't Refuse. |
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Mister Toups Hates your favorite videogame
Joined: 26 Jan 2005 Posts: 1693 Location: Lafayette, LA
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Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 7:07 am Post subject: |
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For all practical purposes, I guess it means "mothers lock up your daughters"? _________________ where were you when nana komatsu got a wii? |
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Alc .
Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 109 Location: UK
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Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:10 am Post subject: |
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I pointed aout that a scary high proportion of Japanese men have this lolicon thing going on, over at another forum, and someone mentioned some Kent state university research findings. The sample group seems limited to the point of technical statistical insignificance to me, but that doesn't mean it isn't fucked up. |
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dhex Breeder
Joined: 13 Dec 2004 Posts: 6319 Location: brooklyn, Nev Yiork
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Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:20 am Post subject: |
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Quote: | For all practical purposes, I guess it means "mothers lock up your daughters"? |
well, if chuplayer's any indication, you just have to keep them out of other peoples' parent's basements. _________________
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Shapermc Hot Sake!
Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279
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Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:33 am Post subject: |
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Mister Toups wrote: | Actually Tim told me that it IS coming over here.
I mean, TIM told me, so take that as you will.
It's about cruel children as far as I can tell, and creepy fairy tales. | Yes! I would totally buy this in the US (hopefully for $40). I am just worried that it will be edited.
And it is not only about fairy tales, but British folk tales more specifically. Also Fish Zeplins. _________________ “The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932
"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!" |
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OtakupunkX .
Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 730
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Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:41 am Post subject: |
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I'm thinking I'd probably buy the game too. It sounds like it's more of a psychological thriller kind of thing, which I'm always up for. There's potential for some interesting puzzles with the dog character. |
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Shapermc Hot Sake!
Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279
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Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:59 am Post subject: |
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OtakupunkX wrote: | I'm thinking I'd probably buy the game too. It sounds like it's more of a psychological thriller kind of thing, which I'm always up for. There's potential for some interesting puzzles with the dog character. |
Yea, that's just it. The game never really tries to scare you. It is unsettling and creepy and even (in concept) terrifying. But it does not seem to want to startle you. All of the scare stuff is shown mostly in advance and kind of slowly so there is no shock/suprise. Like Toups said, many of these locations are actually populated (although sparingly) with people. Like a woman washing the floor. She is blocking a door to get into another area, and later is missing. This is how the game messes with you: you think that you can now get into this room she was blocking, but the door is locked. You then find her hat-thing she was wearing and the dog leads you in the right direction, but you can't really get to the area.
Also, this game implements the avatar being scared well. Where Eternal Darkness and Call of Cthulhu try to make the fear of the character in the game a screen effect, or something that happens to the control: RoR just has her shaking, and uses the fear of certain things as a way to keep you from getting into certain rooms (some doors she will open and be too scared to go in).
Also, combat is not an emphasis in this game. You kill your first enemy (and so far only, after about 3 hours) with a fork... easily. So yea. Still very engaging and engrossing. The enviroments have a lot of detail to them, and as Toups was saying on the night we played it: "These enviroments are so great I wish there was a way to interact with them more." _________________ “The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932
"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!" |
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OtakupunkX .
Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 730
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Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 10:12 am Post subject: |
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This game sounds great. I have a tendency to think a bit too much into things and I have a rather disturbing imagination, so this thing's going to drive me insane. |
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Szczepaniak .
Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Posts: 770
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Shapermc Hot Sake!
Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:49 am Post subject: |
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That's a pretty terrible write up. I mean, horror games usually don't have good controls, and they are mostly about mood/story, which RoR has in spades. And the dog is much better to control than the Haunting Grounds dog (not to mention that the dog may later become useless, but after you first get the dog he is invaluable.
I don't know, unless the person knows japanese I think that reviewing foreign language versions (where the story is prominent especially) is kind of dumb. The score is way too low. _________________ “The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932
"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!" |
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dessgeega loves your favorite videogame
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 6563 Location: bohan
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:52 am Post subject: |
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on the other hand, i'm kind of curious about this now.
though possibly just because of the sadistic children. _________________
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Szczepaniak .
Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Posts: 770
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 11:11 am Post subject: |
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Just the messenger man, hold the bullets back.
But otherwise it seems that coverage of this game is really thin on the (internet) ground. |
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dhex Breeder
Joined: 13 Dec 2004 Posts: 6319 Location: brooklyn, Nev Yiork
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 11:13 am Post subject: |
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according to gamestop, the us release is in september. _________________
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Shapermc Hot Sake!
Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 11:25 am Post subject: |
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Szczepaniak wrote: | Just the messenger man, hold the bullets back. |
Well the reviewer rated Kuon highly... this explains a great deal. _________________ “The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932
"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!" |
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Harveyjames the meteor kid
Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636
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Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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I attended the Annecy Animation Festival last month, and I saw about five minutes of FMV for Rule of Rose which had been edited together and entered as a competition film. On the way back to the campsite, we had the following discussion.
-So that Japanese one, 'The law of the rose' or something...'
-Yeah. That was fucking weird, wasn't it?
-Yeah. What was it, do you think it was for a game or something?
-I don't know...
- It was probably the most paedo thing I've seen in my life.
Discussion continued like this until there was a lull in the conversation, which was broken when someone said:
- at the same time though, I thought it was incredible.
We all agreed. |
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Kinuko .
Joined: 13 Dec 2005 Posts: 66
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Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 9:20 pm Post subject: |
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This and Dead Rising are the things from E3 I'm most excited for.
I'm thinking of it as Clock Tower and Haunting Ground put together and hopefully done right. I can't wait. |
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Shapermc Hot Sake!
Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279
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Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:59 am Post subject: |
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Kinuko wrote: | I'm thinking of it as Clock Tower and Haunting Ground put together and hopefully done right. I can't wait. |
As a word of warning: both reviewers and the game makers say that they weren't happy with the ending. My guess is that it being a Sony game they demanded that it get out on time and therefor rushed it. They said that they didn't get everything acomplished that they wanted to. It's an unfortunate situation, but I am just hoping that the journey makes up for the end. _________________ “The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932
"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!" |
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GilloD .
Joined: 03 Feb 2006 Posts: 33
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Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 8:17 am Post subject: |
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There's been a lot of beating around the bush here, I think. The only thing I knew about this game coming into the thread was that it was "controversial". For the 3 (?) of you who have been playing the game, how is it handled? What is the controversy? Is it blown out or proportion?
Spoil me, if need be. |
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Harveyjames the meteor kid
Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636
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Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 8:39 am Post subject: |
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GilloD wrote: | There's been a lot of beating around the bush here, I think. The only thing I knew about this game coming into the thread was that it was "controversial". For the 3 (?) of you who have been playing the game, how is it handled? What is the controversy? Is it blown out or proportion?
Spoil me, if need be. |
Presumably, the controversy comes from the eroticized images of children and the sexualized view of childhood present in the game. In the five minutes of cut scenes I saw it was pretty apparent that whoever made this stuff was getting off on it in some way. In some ways it's very uncomfortable viewing. I don't think it's particularly blown out of proportion what with this being society's last great taboo and everything, but in their defence the designers have used all this to create this uniquely creepy and beautiful atmosphere which is quite unlike anything I've seen before. |
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dessgeega loves your favorite videogame
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 6563 Location: bohan
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Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 11:46 am Post subject: |
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that's pretty much why i'm interested in it. _________________
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Shapermc Hot Sake!
Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279
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Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 12:47 pm Post subject: |
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There is no topic to really flirt around. If you read that Gamasutra interview you will see that. Honestly it is only sexual in its subliminal items. But, I mean, that makes things like... much more creepy. But it doesn't seem like it enters into the story too much, just in the cutscenese where it is hinted at/suggestive. _________________ “The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932
"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!" |
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dessgeega loves your favorite videogame
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 6563 Location: bohan
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Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:32 pm Post subject: |
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so hey, does a north american localization of this exist now? _________________
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simplicio .
Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 1091
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:38 am Post subject: |
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September 12th |
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simplicio .
Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 1091
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Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:43 pm Post subject: |
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Cross-posty:
Thing is, the combat is lopsided enough that I figure it has to be intentional. My theory so far (which means, stuck at that first lopsided first boss) is that the whole game is out to portray the helplessness of Jennifer. From her inadequacy with weapons to her reliance on Brown to lead the way (and the way that, when injured, she can't even keep up with him) and find things she physically can't see (which ties into the Survival Horror meme of obscured vision/wonky cameras) to the focus on sound to her social standing and interactions. But then, given her position, she's really got no choice but to pick up a knife and have a go of it anyway. So when she swings a pipe straight through someone to no effect, only to have him hit her with his back turned from four feet away, it almost makes sense.
Also: I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to identify with her. Just like all the other frequent characters look down on her (both socially and, in the case of that lounge room and the grownups, physically), so do we, with the raised camera angle. Note that the only things we see from a lowered PoV are the cutscenes. In-game moments where they might have made sense, such as fighting someone taller than her (see Shadow of the Colossus) are all shot from above. Also, panty-lines. You don't show us present-day panty-lines of a young girl, supposedly from the 1930s, who you want us to relate to. We're supposed to objectify her and think of her as filthy like everyone else does.
I think there's a greater than usual emphasis on visuals obfuscation too. Check all the sight references in those cutscenes: Bag masks with no eyeholes, limited views through holes and keyholes and slats, only one eye looking around the corner, Brown's eye bondage, etc. And like Shaper said about her being too scared to open doors when the bag-head kids are behind them, but there are also times when we can't see why the door is closed. We don't know if what or who's shutting the door, whether it's Jennifer herself or something else unseen.
There are some other themes here; I'm getting a Gulliver's Travels reading from a lot of it, obviously, but I don't have enough to go on yet. Still have to beat that first boss.
This may be my first TGQ article in the making. It's certainly the most intriguing game I've played this year. Killer 7 '06? |
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