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[Trey]

Is the Chief portrayed in any way smart in the campaign? My memory is rusty and all I can think of is either "bring Cortana to location X" or "retrieve Cortana". Can intelligence even be portrayed in player controlled characters?

Pretty smart bastard to handle all that shit in campaigns and still keep on trucking.

Seriously though, all of the Chief's characterization is cursory and merely there to show that all he does, and wants to do, is win.

So, he really has no character.

And math frustrates him. Don't drop any pins in artificial gravity conditions around him. That's yo spine.

MC will have monologues much like Alan Wake.

Don't even joke like that, ha.

 

[Zeouterlimits]

This discussion has led to me this photo:

Nightmare fuel.

Spoiler

Welp, Letters has reminded me of the "inevitable" Kinect functionality in H4.

 

[User 73706]

I've heard this before but I didn't get this from the story at all.

It's not really raped in a strictly sexual context. Gravemind wants her prized possession--a deep, dark secret she's struggled to do everything she could to keep it from him. Gravemind does everything in his power to break her and regain that last bit of strength she's using to keep herself strong, waiting to be saved. Even the dialogue sort of hints at it.

"I tried to stay hidden, but there was no escape! He cornered me, wrapped me tight... and brought me close..."

 

[kittens]

lol @ "Chief!"

Getting on for a few games. GT = kittens revolt.

 

[Steelyuhas]

In the campaigns by and large(as far as I remember) Chief was just the yes man going from point A to point B fulfilling mission objectives.

In this new trilogy they actually seem to want to flesh him and Cortana out.

Well if we have a setting of just Chief and Cortana and no other Human command, at least at the beginning of the game, that will be easier to accomplish, but then they need to find a way for Cortana to not just be coming up with everything and telling you what to do, which will once again render the Chief a blunt instrument with no detectable
intelligence.

DEFINITIVE Halo experience.

 

[kylej]

Cortana has really nice cans.

 

[CyReN]

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Can intelligence even be portrayed in player controlled characters?

God yes. To stick with FPS's as an example : Chell from Portal & Gordon from HL. They/you make intelligent "decisions" e.g. solving puzzles thereby the character is intelligent.

 

[Hydranockz]

In the campaigns by and large(as far as I remember) Chief was just the yes man going from point A to point B fulfilling mission objectives.

In this new trilogy they actually seem to want to flesh him and Cortana out.

I'll buy that Doom Guy does seem to be the closest comparison I can think of. That archetypal one-man-show of gaming's past is a cliche though. There is no character except how the player interacts. I don't even mind that archetype. I just don't know how a player-centric character can even be fleshed out.

 

[Trey]

God yes. To stick with FPS's as an example : Chell from Portal & Gordon from HL. They/you make intelligent "decisions" e.g. solving puzzles thereby the character is intelligent.

Dat inherency logic.

 

[Ramirez]

God yes. To stick with FPS's as an example : Chell from Portal & Gordon from HL. They/you make intelligent "decisions" e.g. solving puzzles thereby the character is intelligent.

So when someone gets stuck in Portal, does that make the character dumb?

 

[Hydranockz]

So when someone gets stuck in Portal, does that make the character dumb?

That exact thought just crossed my mind!

 

[Zeouterlimits]

So when someone gets stuck in Portal, does that make the character dumb?

Canonically - no. But my point is, by making the player feel intelligent it can add to the universe, as it can be inferred that to solve the puzzle in the Universe's reality the character must be intelligent too.

Spoiler

Does Chief's idea of "Lets take the bomb back to the Covenant ship and blow it up there!" count as a moment of self-led intelligence?
:lol

 

[kylej]

When you die in Halo does that make you a bad kid? Yes it does get the fuck out of my Halo and go buy Mario Kart.

 

[Ramirez]

Canonically - no. But my point is, by making the player feel intelligent it can add to the universe, as it can be inferred that to solve the puzzle in the Universe's reality the character must be intelligent too.

Spoiler

Does Chief's idea of "Lets take the bomb back to the Covenant ship and blow it up there!" count as a moment of self-led intelligence?
:lol

You'd have to be pretty intelligent to get out alive in some of the skirmishes the Chief has been in.

 

[Tunavi]

 

[GhaleonEB]

rofl

 

[vhfive]

Hey GUYZ I drank BLUE MOON all night cuz people said it sucks so FUCK DEM. also anyone want to play HALO

 

[feel]

:lol :lol

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Perfect!

You'd have to be pretty intelligent to get out alive in some of the skirmishes the Chief has been in.

That too. His combat capabilities and even "professionalism" imply a certain level of intelligence.
Hell he can fly multiple types of aircraft. Skilled pilot comes under his list of characteristics.

 

[kylej]

This is prejudice against us lefties imo

 

[Overdoziz]

This is prejudice against us lefties imo

Makes it easier to use the mouse.

 

[Nutter]

When you die in Halo does that make you a bad kid? Yes it does get the fuck out of my Halo and go buy Mario Kart.

 

[Trey]

Perfect!

That too. His combat capabilities and even "professionalism" imply a certain level of intelligence.
Hell he can fly multiple types of aircraft. Skilled pilot comes under his list of characteristics.

We're on a slippery slope of characterization being determind by what's possible in game. Certain games are just out there, especially the ones that attempt to retain some realism in their wackiness.

Simple yet effective.

 

[kittens]

holy shit, hahaha

 

[Devolution]

Either way can someone give me a game with a cool female main character to play? Thanks. The cool ones that previously existed have basically been shat on by writers.

 

[Tunavi]

Either way can someone give me a game with a cool female main character to play? Thanks. The cool ones that previously existed have basically been shat on by writers.

Beyond Good and Evil

lol glad you guys liked the pic edit

 

[Zeouterlimits]

We're on a slippery slope of characterization being determind by what's possible in game. Certain games are just out there, especially the ones that attempt to retain some realism in their wackiness.

Your first sentence makes sense to me. Could you rephrase the second?

As for your first point:
Not wholly determined, but it certainly what's possible in game should impact characterisation e.g. people loosing a certain level of immersion in Uncharted when they see Nathan Drake kill hundreds of soldiers.

 

[Hydranockz]

Either way can someone give me a game with a cool female main character to play? Thanks. The cool ones that previously existed have basically been shat on by writers.

Portal...?

 

[Ramirez]

Either way can someone give me a game with a cool female main character to play? Thanks. The cool ones that previously existed have basically been shat on by writers.

Fem Shep is awesome, as are a bunch of the female TOR characters...

 

[Overdoziz]

Either way can someone give me a game with a cool female main character to play? Thanks. The cool ones that previously existed have basically been shat on by writers.

Halo Reach.

 

[Trey]

Either way can someone give me a game with a cool female main character to play? Thanks. The cool ones that previously existed have basically been shat on by writers.

Depends on what you mean play. The example I gave you earlier, Kreia, is playable, but she certainly isn't the main character. The most important, influential, and well written character in the game (and in gaming history), sure, but not the one you mold and roleplay. Also, she isn't always available to your party.

The game in question is KotOR2.

Aren't there some playable women in Heavy Rain?

Could you rephrase the second?

Sandbox games like GTA or SR3, that are real world "based" but allow some really wacky shit to happen.

 

[Ramirez]

Depends on what you mean play. The example I gave you earlier, Kreia, is playable, but certainly isn't the main character. The most important, influential, and well written character in the game (and in gaming history), sure, but not the one you mold and roleplay. Also, she isn't always available to your party.

The game in question is KotOR2.

Aren't there some playable women in Heavy Rain?

Yea, but I feel like they were used as a way to try and making nude scenes in videogames meaningful and not something for nerds to fap to.

Also, HR was awesome.

Tomb Raider reboot looks really awesome for a strong female lead that's not all T&A. Which is funny considering how Lara got started...

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Aren't there some playable women in Heavy Rain?

There are, and I wouldn't say they should be held up as well written.
Edit: Beaten by Ram.

Sandbox games like GTA or SR3, that are real world "based" but allow some really wacky shit to happen.

Ah, right. So to make it a Halo example - Murdering marines or even Moa.
Yeah, I do mean impacting characteristics with a level of common sense or measure of applicability.

 

[Kuroyume]

The characters from L4D are pretty cool, although there's hardly any narrative there...

 

[kittens]

Hey Devo, have you heard of the Bechdel Test? Do you think it's a useful test? And would it be useful for video games?

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Either way can someone give me a game with a cool female main character to play? Thanks. The cool ones that previously existed have basically been shat on by writers.

April Ryan from The Longest Journey is a good one.
Beyond Good and Evil, like Tunavi mentioned is one.
FemShep, as mentioned too.

Slim pickings.

 

[Trey]

Yeah, I do mean impacting characteristics with a level of common sense or measure of applicability.

Always that grain of salt, yeah.

Yea, but I feel like they were used as a way to try and making nude scenes in videogames meaningful and not something for nerds to fap to.

There are, and I wouldn't say they should be held up as well written.

Thanks. Never played it myself, just vaguely recalled that the game had a couple of playable characters.

 

[kylej]

Either way can someone give me a game with a cool female main character to play? Thanks. The cool ones that previously existed have basically been shat on by writers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVJCm2Tf8Kw&t=7m26s

 

[Devolution]

Fem Shep is awesome, as are a bunch of the female TOR characters...

Depends on what you mean play. The example I gave you earlier, Kreia, is playable, but she certainly isn't the main character. The most important, influential, and well written character in the game (and in gaming history), sure, but not the one you mold and roleplay. Also, she isn't always available to your party.

The game in question is KotOR2.

Aren't there some playable women in Heavy Rain?

Sandbox games like GTA or SR3, that are real world "based" but allow some really wacky shit to happen.

There are, and I wouldn't say they should be held up as well written.
Edit: Beaten by Ram.


Ah, right. So to make it a Halo example - Murdering marines or even Moa.
Yeah, I do mean impacting characteristics with a level of common sense or measure of applicability.

Femshep is alright. I actually enjoyed the first Dragon Age believe it not. People hate on Morrigan but she amused the hell out of me. I recall one playable female in HR and there wasn't much depth to her beyond being a paranoid reporter.

I need to play Portal all the way through for sure. It's probably about time I got on Steam.

The ones they shat on were Samus Aran and Aya.

 

[FyreWulff]

Either way can someone give me a game with a cool female main character to play? Thanks. The cool ones that previously existed have basically been shat on by writers.

Perfect Dark XBLA. Also, another vote for Beyond Good and Evil.

 

[Trey]

How does ONI's lead hold up? Or Heavenly Sword.

I'm just throwing out female protagonists at this point.

Which reminds me of the first time I ever played Halo. It was a demo of the PoA level in CE, and at the end where Cortana says "now would be a very good time to leave!", I had no clue it was a voice inside the helmet and not the person inside the armor saying it. I thought the main character was a woman for a few seconds until the cutscene got to the part where Chief says "punch it."

I was very confused after that.

 

[kittens]

I wish evade was available in Campaign and Firefight matchmaking. Gametypes it wouldn't totally suck in, imagine that.

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Can't believe I forgot about Cate Archer from No One Lives Forever.

The ones they shat on were Samus Aran and Aya.

Yeah, both are on the down right now, having come off games where they're portrayed as quite weak and beholden to male superiors.
And then Aya's latest game has that damage = less clothes mechanic.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

Femshep is alright. I actually enjoyed the first Dragon Age believe it not. People hate on Morrigan but she amused the hell out of me. I recall one playable female in HR and there wasn't much depth to her beyond being a paranoid reporter.

I need to play Portal all the way through for sure. It's probably about time I got on Steam.

The ones they shat on were Samus Aran and Aya.

Yes you should. Both portals are amazing. Also you'll grow to love Steam. It's honestly a blueprint for what the consoles should strive for. The only real thing it's lacking is party chat like LIve. But if it had that then it'd be perfect.

 

[Devolution]

Hey Devo, have you heard of the Bechdel Test? Do you think it's a useful test? And would it be useful for video games?

A lot of people get horribly bent out of shape about that test but it's a good gauge of an entire medium and whether or not women are actually recognized as characters worth writing into storylines. I tell my friends all of the time most media is male centric, especially movies. Women are often the foil to a main character rather than a character in their own right. And even then think of the characters that do happen to be women that we see, would you consider them sympathetic or annoying? It's a systemic problem that spans pretty much all forms of media be it shows/tv, movies, games and comics. I think the only true way to deal with the issue is to spotlight and retain more female writers or female voices when it comes to making these things. It's very rare even in so called "good films" to see a full fleshed out woman and it just depresses the fuck out of me when I think about it for too long.

 

[xxjuicesxx]

No offense but a lot of games involve a lot of shooting, hitting, fighting, sporting. Things Males have traditionally excelled at. Its not sexist at all, its basic biology. Men have testosterone which makes us champions at these things. We're naturally more adaptive physically in almost every aspect.

I'm not saying women can't do that stuff, I'm saying biologically they are less inclined to be superior in these aspects. So to make these games realistic it makes more sense for the character to be a male.

 

[Devolution]

No offense but a lot of games involve a lot of shooting, hitting, fighting, sporting. Things Males have traditionally excelled at. Its not sexist at all, its basic biology. Men have testosterone which makes us champions at these things. We're naturally more adaptive physically in almost every aspect.

I'm not saying women can't do that stuff, I'm saying biologically they are less inclined to be superior in these aspects. So to make these games realistic it makes more sense for the character to be a male.

The fucking irony here is that I'm asking to see more realistic women, not the quintessential damsel in distress or iron jawed heroine. Do you think that makes a realistic game? Women being nothing more than the sum of their tits and ass?

 

[Trey]

So to make these games realistic it makes more sense for the character to be a male.

While men may be biologically stronger and faster, it doesn't make it any more unique to show men doing those listed things, because females are certainly capable of them too.

And even then, nobody on this planet has the finger tip strength to do what Drake does, so why are we talking about realism in games as a reason to choose men over women in these roles?

Games like SR and ME get it right on that front, in my opinion.

 

[Tunavi]

I wish evade was available in Campaign and Firefight matchmaking. Gametypes it wouldn't totally suck in, imagine that.

>Armor abilities
>Barely change campaign gameplay at all
>Completely tarnish everything about multiplayer gameplay