Quote:Original post by sirGustav
Quote:Original post by WavinatorWhat about being a PhD tromping around in an oversized hazardous environment suit?
Sounds boring. Dude with lots of armor and a huge arsenal of guns killing aliens and evil space marines sounds somewhat familiar.
Sure it sounds boring, but it's that departure from the normal G.I. Joe stereotype that makes all the difference in the tone and feel of the entire game.
Quote:
Quote:Does anyone even remember the characters and names of the inhabitants of Quake 2?
Can anyone actually tell me what the story is about in half-life 2?
"The cryptic G-Man, who has somehow become the keeper of Gordon Freeman after his spectacular escape from Black Mesa and the world of Xen, inserts him into city 17 with little explanation as to why or what he's supposed to do. Shortly after arrival, Freeman runs afoul of armored goons known as Civil Protection. About to be shipped off to the notorious prison camp called Nova Prospekt, Gordon is luckily saved by his old pal, Barney.
It seems that while Gordon has been gone the Earth has fallen apart. Doctor Breen, once project director and Gordon's boss at Black Mesa, has turned quisling and now rules as proxy leader for some mysterious aliens. It seems that under Breen both humans and the folk of Xen have fallen on hard times and now live in totalitarian squalor.
Fortunately for Earth, Freeman is the "right man in the wrong place." Barney has contacts in the underground resistance movement. If Freeman can get to his old associate, Doctor Kliener, they can use the teleporter he's developed to..."
and I could go on for awhile. Same with Halo. Not saying these stories are great, but what the hell was there to remember about the evil whatever in Quake 1, or the poorly imagined Strogg in Quake 2?
"Dude with lots of armor and a huge arsenal of guns killing aliens and evil space marines" is crap story and certainly crap motivation and has been done to death. When Half-Life first came out one of the things that made it so noteworthy was the fact that they blended the story directly into the gameplay, making it a fusion of interesting events and unexpected surprises.
In comparison, Quake gave you rooms filled with monsters or switches, much like Doom. It was cool for awhile, but it got old really quick.
Quote:
I would actually argue that the story in the game gets away from the actual game. Half-life's story could be shorten down to "you versus aliens and evil space-marines", ninja gaiden to "kill those evil demons" and Call of duty to "kill nazis".
I suppose you can arbitrary compress anything, but really, the devil's in the details. I think the context matters, and most games these days change the context even if they keep the activities fairly consistent. You might be running and gunning all the way through Half-Life 2, but part of it is in the service of trying to rescue Eli Vance, or get the hell out of Ravenholm, or to lead the (godawfully stupid) revolutionaries against the Overwatch.
Quote:
When I want to enjoy a good story, I read a book.
Hahaha, that's been my argument for ages-- however, I use it not to assert that games shouldn't have/don't need story, but so that story doesn't get in the way of gameplay.
Save for tech demos and novel gameplay, I actually do want some work put into the worldbuilding in my games. I don't get much enjoyment out of unlocking new content, competing online (anymore) or being rated with X, Y or Z achievements. I'm getting older. I've been playing games since the Atari days. I'd actually like games not to treat me as if I'm a hormone addled teen who responds only to big breasts and shader bloom.
