Battersea Power Station
Member
Seriously -- why were so many games modeled after our world? There are so many cool things you can do in virtual space and dev. tools are so powerful nowadays. It's like they have The Matrix' Construct at their computers yet they choose to bind their imaginations to what's already familiar.
A few dev teams are approaching the right idea:
1. Viewtiful Joe -- The feeling of pressing the L-trigger for the first few times was ultra-satisfying. What made it so amazing is the new take on a familiar world that it gives you. The slow motion was just so well executed that it felt as if you were literally slowing down time. Max Payne was the first to use "bullet time," but the combined effects of audio and video in Viewtiful Joe made it miles better.
2. Katamari Damacy -- I have to admit: I don't like these games too much. I dig the attitude, the music, etc., but the game idea just seems half-baked. But what is to be admired is the exploration of scale. Again, a scale that never changes is something we take for granted in our universe. But games don't have to follow that. You can make an effective FPS in ONE ROOM, just changing the scale. You can have the guy start off fighting antimatter, grow to fight evil cells, grow to fight virii, grow to fight insects, rodents, big animals, a final boss... whatever, each section with its own environmental puzzles. That's a stupid idea, but the point is developers should do insane stuff with scale.
3. Devil May Cry -- This game is still a little too modeled after our universe but I give it points for the stylistic movements (like slashing up and shooting in mid-air, etc.). The gravity-defying animations are not seen nearly enough. Physics are just TOO REALISTIC in most games. Get silly with it, dammit! Ninja Gaiden also did this well to an extent. God of War tried to, but instead came up with button-activated canned animations that felt too detached from the player.
4. (I hope) Prey -- I saw the trailer of this game for the first time in the Duke Nukem discussion, and it's actually what inspired this thread. Hell yeah! The graviational effects and play seem really dynamic and like part of the action in the game. That's what I'm talking about, devs! You're messing around in virtual space; just go all out.
These and many more effects can still be explored and applied cognitively to create compelling game concepts. Please, developers (I know you're not reading this): break out of your limitations and just do some crazy stuff.
A few dev teams are approaching the right idea:
1. Viewtiful Joe -- The feeling of pressing the L-trigger for the first few times was ultra-satisfying. What made it so amazing is the new take on a familiar world that it gives you. The slow motion was just so well executed that it felt as if you were literally slowing down time. Max Payne was the first to use "bullet time," but the combined effects of audio and video in Viewtiful Joe made it miles better.
2. Katamari Damacy -- I have to admit: I don't like these games too much. I dig the attitude, the music, etc., but the game idea just seems half-baked. But what is to be admired is the exploration of scale. Again, a scale that never changes is something we take for granted in our universe. But games don't have to follow that. You can make an effective FPS in ONE ROOM, just changing the scale. You can have the guy start off fighting antimatter, grow to fight evil cells, grow to fight virii, grow to fight insects, rodents, big animals, a final boss... whatever, each section with its own environmental puzzles. That's a stupid idea, but the point is developers should do insane stuff with scale.
3. Devil May Cry -- This game is still a little too modeled after our universe but I give it points for the stylistic movements (like slashing up and shooting in mid-air, etc.). The gravity-defying animations are not seen nearly enough. Physics are just TOO REALISTIC in most games. Get silly with it, dammit! Ninja Gaiden also did this well to an extent. God of War tried to, but instead came up with button-activated canned animations that felt too detached from the player.
4. (I hope) Prey -- I saw the trailer of this game for the first time in the Duke Nukem discussion, and it's actually what inspired this thread. Hell yeah! The graviational effects and play seem really dynamic and like part of the action in the game. That's what I'm talking about, devs! You're messing around in virtual space; just go all out.
These and many more effects can still be explored and applied cognitively to create compelling game concepts. Please, developers (I know you're not reading this): break out of your limitations and just do some crazy stuff.
