The Gamer's Quarter

[J.Goodwin]

[Lestrade]

[Lestrade]

I guess the main point of my initial post was to restate that if Half-Life 2 has taught me anything, it's that non-cinematic games can often be the most cinematic. Of course, this is all ground we've covered in the podcast and on these forums, but I sort of felt the gushing need to say it again.

My other favourite non-cinematic-yet-very-cinematic game is Super Metroid. That was a game that was so ahead of its time as far as in-game storytelling goes, and I don't even know if Nintendo realized it, because they haven't bested it since. Nevermind that the music deserves its fair share of the credit (arguably one of the most effective videogame soundtracks of any generation); from the eerie opening scene to the landing sequence in the rain to the final battle, Super Metroid was the 16-bit equivalent of HL2. It did more with atmospheric 2D gameplay than all the Final Fantasies in the world, and it did it with nary a dialogue box or letterbox-inducing cutscene. (Okay, the opening backstory notwithstanding.)

That game pulls me like few others to play it again and again because of how taut the game is, and how linked to its gameplay the story is. In other words (as has been said before), the gameplay is the narrative, and the game's "story" is a thousand times more powerful because of it.

Metroid Prime tried to do this in a way, but I found that the scanning in the game didn't work as well, because it required too much stop-and-go, manual interjections—which isn't much different than being interrupted by a cutscene. Super Metroid just kept moving, and its very progression—the change in music, the opening or altering of areas—demonstrated to the player what was going on. One of the best examples of this is being able to bomb open that underwater tube. A 16-bit game with destructible environments! Again, as has been said before, it is a superior example of showing, not telling.

So yes. Sorry for the long-windedness. I had this itch to scratch by writing this. Simply put (as most of us probably agree), we need more games that show, not tell. Maybe we should list some other titles that do this?

In a way, Silent Hill 3 does this, at certain times more than other games in the series, because of its animated environments. Walking down a hall to have the walls bleed and burn around you wasn't just for show; the effect was often a manifestation of the game's progress, Heather's state of mind. But it didn't tell you this; the atmosphere alone tipped you off.

Any others?

[Swimmy]

At its best, Beyond Good & Evil: the propaganda everywhere, the guards, the traffic, etc. But that exposition falls apart later. Plus it's too blunt.

I'd like to say Phantasy Star 1 & 2 set their own narratives through visual style alone. I guess I'd have to include Earthbound if you bought that argument.
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"Ayn Rand fans are the old school version of Xenogears fanboys."
-seryogin

[simplicio]

[Dracko]

[simplicio]

[Scratchmonkey]

I thought scanning in Metroid Prime worked pretty well. It could break up the action, yes; there wasn't anything forcing you to scan things, though.

That actually isn't really true, because while the base mechanic was well-thought out, the fact that Retro tied it to a sense of completion crippled the design because rather than being an entirely optional glance into the backstory of the game, it became a compulsory exercise in scanning everything in the game so that you could get "100%" on your save file.

[J.Goodwin]

[helicopterp]

Lestrade, I'm going to take some time to comment on your great post. It dealt with two of my Top Ten Games (although this type of distinction can be nebulous at times) so I couldn't keep my mouth shut.

[SuperWes]

[Ketch]

[Lestrade]

After (nerd!) putting on my Metroid in Motion DVD (which I'm watching again now), I started to further realize why I love Super Metroid so much. I'm having a hard time being eloquent right now, so forgive me if it takes me a bit to come to any sort of useful conclusion.

To me, Super Metroid is the pinnacle of Nintendo's way of doing things. Nintendo, contrary to many game companies, makes games from the inside out. They make games in the original sense of the word; there are rules, a playing field, a goal, and strategies to be mastered—but they seem to do this before considering story or even settings.

Though Super Metroid doesn't feel like, say, Sudoku, it is as precise and tight as that. Every screen and area in the game exists solely as a gameplay device; they are abstractions meant to provide gameplay, as opposed to settings meant to invoke reality. In other words, the game world only exists to provide you with a game to play.

The je ne sais quois of Super Metroid is that despite this, the game feels more real than most games that try to impress with realistic levels and heady storylines. I think this is because as a player you start to understand that Zebes isn't a backdrop, it's a playing field. It's a puzzle. (Yes, I realize that any game worth its salt is the same.) Classically, Nintendo games were all like this; each title was a set of rules (i.e. a "game" to play) with a different motif attached to it. Super Metroid just takes both sides of this—the set of rules and the motif—and lifts them to new levels of quality.

I have this hard-to-explain soft spot for these kinds of situations. In the same way that there is a gameplay style associated with Zelda, and that each game in the series is really a continuation of the gameplay and not the story or characters, I have this fist-shaking, deep-seated admiration for Super Metroid. It takes an obvious set of rules—now referred to as "Metroid style" or "Metroidvania" gameplay—and damn-near perfects it. Just as the word "Zelda" refers more to a set of gameplay rules than a cast of characters, "Metroid" is a genre all its own.

And here's the rub: "Metroid"—the genre, not the title—is probably my favourite style of gameplay, bar none. I love Super Metroid for all the same reasons that I love Symphony of the Night, and that's obviously no coincidence. I wish every day that I could play more "Metroid" games—sprawling 2D worlds that are really gigantic, action-and-exploration-driven puzzles, oozing with atmosphere. Sadly, thus far all we've received is the less-than-great portable Castlevanias.

Anyway, I'm sorry again for the lack of focus in this post. Fuck, I can't wait until November; I already know what my first Virtual Console purchase will be!

[J.Goodwin]

[helicopterp]

[dessgeega]

[SuperWes]

[dessgeega]

helicopterp didn't say "good storytelling".

[Mister Toups]

Is one of the games kid icarus?
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where were you when nana komatsu got a wii?

[SuperWes]

[Lestrade]

I wonder... what if MGS had no cutscenes? What if it was all real-time or codec?

You know what, scratch the codec part. Or rather, scratch it if any codec transmission exceeds a few lines of dialogue.

[helicopterp]

[Shapermc]

[dhex]

on the subject of fps hands and feet: fear has hands and feet. you can even melee kick people (which is totally awesome in slow motion, btw) but i don't think it adds anything to the game or the immersion, particularly.
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[Dracko]

For games like Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, though, it becomes somewhat important. having a bdoy means your avatar can do more things, in a more credible fashion. In the past, it was mostly window-dressing, like in Halo 2 or Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, but I found it particularly convincing in the latter game, and it helped know exactly were you were putting your feet. It seems it's getting more involving now, so it'll be nice to see. Though, in the case of Half-Life 2, it might take away from the style, and I could easily live without.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

[J.Goodwin]

To get back on topic. This article prompted me to think about Half Life 2 today.

Wallace Breen: Polygamist?

edit: to fix outrageously long URL
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Gamertag - FalcomAdol -- Don't Click Here 触手
Playing - Ninety-Nine Nights - Xbox 360

[dark steve]

I'm glad the FBI has the terror thing under control so they can get back to the important stuff.

lol "brainwashed into distrusting authority figures"

[dhex]

they're just trusting the wrong authority figures.

the book "under the banner of heaven" by jon krakauer is pretty good in this regard. short version: these polygamists are evil, evil rapist fucks.
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[Dracko]

[dhex]

[Dracko]

Oh, and now the link works.

Funny how once you've read one sect story, it's like you've read them all.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

[dhex]

i'm sure this dude and breen, were he not an amalgam, would have a lot to talk about regarding justification.

"no, no, you see, it's good that we no longer breed. we're free of our animal nature!"
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[Lackey]

They did a very good job with Breen's speeches. His justifications are actually persuasive, rather than being charicatured, which is what I expected.
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| Little bird fighting against a bat sect game |

[dhex]

[Dracko]

[Harveyjames]

[dhex]

alien invasion ain't subtle, son.
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[Harveyjames]

Oh THANKS.

I should have mentioned that I'm yet to play it.

[dhex]

heh.

so your dad plays half life 2. that's interesting/kee-razy.
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[Harveyjames]

Well, he has a lot of time on his hands since he retired.

He's always been into games, though. He's a computer programmer from back in the day. I grew up watching him play Dizzy and Manic Miner on the ZX Spectrum.

[Dracko]

[dhex]

back to more important topics, i just watched the episode 2 trailer offa gametrailers. i like the focus on stuff falling to pieces.
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[Mr. Mechanical]

[Harveyjames]

Something about the Portal trailer is making me watch it over and over and over.

[Dracko]

Is it its sheer brilliance and glorious, unassuming potential?
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

[disneyland]

Yes.

[Shapermc]

Frist Person Puzzle!

I just hope it pops up on the 360 version, because I will never be able to run it on my PC .
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“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!"

[Dracko]

As far as I, and Wikipedia, know, the 360 collection of Half-Life 2 will include the original game, Episode One and Two, Team Fortress 2 and Portal, so yes, you should be set. It just leaves me wondering how they'll handle the release of the final episode on consoles later next year.

I get the feeling that Valve will be able to stick to their planned first quarter 2007 release, so I'm more concerned with the completion of Minerva: Metastasis.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

[Shapermc]

[Dracko]

Is an obvious one, but nto every console gamer wants to require a Web connection. I get the impression it's the kind of thing it will take time getting used to.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"