Those games are not walk simulators, they're choose your own adventure games. Walking simulators would be something like Gone Home.
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I played Everybody's Gone to the Rapture. It's shit. The fuck is this game?
- Thread starter AuthenticM
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Those games are not walk simulators, they're choose your own adventure games. Walking simulators would be something like Gone Home.
Council Pop
Member
Great post.
Also reminds me that I need to watch Tampopo, Criterion put out a blu ray in the UK a couple of months ago so I should really get my hands on it.
I played it on the PC and used a trainer that allowed me to set the walking speed to whatever I wanted (don't set it higher than "5" otherwise you'll fly from one end of the map to the other and break the game) which practically eliminated by primary issue with the game.
As for the game itself, I was thoroughly engrossed by the visuals, the characters, the mystery - everything about it. It was such a better "walking simulator" experience than "The Vanishing of Ethan Carter" and "Firewatch" both of which I had played immediately before it.
As for the game itself, I was thoroughly engrossed by the visuals, the characters, the mystery - everything about it. It was such a better "walking simulator" experience than "The Vanishing of Ethan Carter" and "Firewatch" both of which I had played immediately before it.
angelic
Banned
This is possibly the best image response I've seen
This is a complete misunderstanding if what 4'33" is. It's not a "recording of silence" but a live piece. Cage had been working on adding randomness and chance into his work, and 4'33" was the logical conclusion, where the musicians didn't even play and the soundtrack was provided unwittingly by the audience with their random coughs, sniffs etc. Which sounds like a intellectual joke and in a way it is, but by taking it to such an extreme it also had value in adjusting how both musicians and listeners think about music, what it is, what it can be, what it is for etc. I've been lucky enough to attend a live performance, and even though the audience was "in on it" the feeling of being in the middle of hundreds of people trying not to make a sound was electrifying! Everyone was smiling afterwards, joking with the people sitting next to them etc. An experience.
Anyway Rapture is a game, just not a good one imo. The story would have been far better served as a film, radio play, comic, puppet show ... pretty much anything other than a game.
D
Deleted member 80556
Unconfirmed Member
And your definition of art, no matter how much you like to assert it, is not correct. And by the way, none of us get to define what art is.
angelic
Banned
D1renegade
Member
I've been waiting on this thread ever since the game joined the plus catalog. It's easily one of my least favorite game experiences of all time. Between the character's thick accents and their representation as apparitions of light, it was hard for me to keep up with who was who.
The music was good and I liked when it started raining but nearly everything else was bad.
The music was good and I liked when it started raining but nearly everything else was bad.
This is completely OT, but it's not 4'33 of absolute silence, it's a recording of an actual orchestra not playing. There are some incidental sounds.
It exists purely to provoke "what is music" questions.
Edit: LayLa put it better.
Back on topic, anybody spending hours doing nothing to get some trophies in this game clearly got trolled by the devs.
angelic
Banned
Precisely, it exists as a piece of art, not a piece of entertainment, just like EGTTR.
Council Pop
Member
So?
BRocknRolla
Member
I really enjoyed it.
Movement was far too slow and performance was bad on PS4, but other than that, I thought the story was excellent (Albeit one you needed to piece together on your own), the acting was very good, and the overall environment design was well done.
Movement was far too slow and performance was bad on PS4, but other than that, I thought the story was excellent (Albeit one you needed to piece together on your own), the acting was very good, and the overall environment design was well done.
angelic
Banned
So it's not music, and EGTTR is not a game.
Greg_le_Casual
Member
Actually, playing EGttR after SOMA made me realize how fine paced SOMA is. Great game.
angelic
Banned
Yup, top tier, love it.
I've teased you mercilessly Council Pop, but im not uncivilised, we can agree to disagree.
BRocknRolla
Member
This is some really dumb logic. I don't think the music example is in any way a good one, but claiming EGTTR isn't a game is nonsense.
Call it a bad one; everyone has their opinions. But saying it isn't a game isn't a game doesn't make sense on any level other than to fit some arbitrary notion of what makes a video game and to fit some kind of narrative. There are enough direct things about it (Having a virtual world, one that you can explore, use a controller to move your character around, you interact with said virtual world in a limited fashion as you choose), that there's really no where even logical to go with that argument.
Council Pop
Member
But no-one has ever said that a game or music has to be entertainment. No-one worth listening to, anyway.
No surprise, seeing how much anger you show towards the game.
I'm pretty sure the character arcs where not wasted on the player. You just didn't bother to connect the events (which was the whole point of the game, to uncover the story).
The environments may seem pointlessly open sometimes, and the walking speed is atrocious, but if you can look past that and enjoy looking for where the light ball leads you in this beautiful environemnt to learn what had went down in this town, the game can be great. Emotional moments are provided by the music and direction at certain points, like f.e. when you enter the church and interact there (I can't remember for sure, but I think that's how it was) and then a way is lights up and music plays - that was pretty emotional.
I liked that moment, but it was the only significant moment out of the two and a half hour experience.
angelic
Banned
So you extracted no entertainment from EGTTR? In that case, you're in line with everyone else after all.
Polygonal_Sprite
Member
I loved it. It made a great change to the usual AAA stuff I play.
D
Deleted member 80556
Unconfirmed Member
Eh, that's not how any of this works.
TetraGenesis
Member
I love EGTTR because I'm able to love it for what it is, but I certainly don't blame anyone for it not resonating with them. It's unique and passive and languidly paced which you either appreciate or you don't.
However, I cannot accept this "It's not a game" bullshit.
God, I hate self-absorbed elitist gamers who think they have the authority to dictate which fucking interactive digital experiences are or are not "games". It doesn't matter if it doesn't fit your small, closed-minded view of what a video game should be, it's a video game.
Say you didn't like it, sure. Aggressively call something utter shit because you didn't like it, okay, whatever. But you, behind your little glowing screen, don't get to huff and puff and tell other people that something is not a video game because you willed it.
However, I cannot accept this "It's not a game" bullshit.
God, I hate self-absorbed elitist gamers who think they have the authority to dictate which fucking interactive digital experiences are or are not "games". It doesn't matter if it doesn't fit your small, closed-minded view of what a video game should be, it's a video game.
Say you didn't like it, sure. Aggressively call something utter shit because you didn't like it, okay, whatever. But you, behind your little glowing screen, don't get to huff and puff and tell other people that something is not a video game because you willed it.
Absolutely this. Even text adventures, games that have nothing but text, are games.
BigEmil
Junior Member
Your hired!
It's crap, yeah. The Chinese Room in general is an exploitative dev with their faux-deep games and appeal to high-art. Hell, I can say that the yearly CoD installments have more artistic integrity than these games, at least those guys try and put in effort rather than to be as minimalistic as possible to present what is a sub-par radio play as the crowning jewel if videogame storytelling.
Hey, those creative writing dropouts gotta make money somehow. Shitty video games ought to do it.
Make the walking speed slow as all fuck as well so the player can't run through the game and realize how little value it's really worth.
Then you just wait for the money to roll in. Lotta gamers look for that deep experience, bruv. So deep it makes ye cry virgin tears. Muh emotions 10/10.
Make the walking speed slow as all fuck as well so the player can't run through the game and realize how little value it's really worth.
Then you just wait for the money to roll in. Lotta gamers look for that deep experience, bruv. So deep it makes ye cry virgin tears. Muh emotions 10/10.
WiiredShawn
Member
I liked what the game was striving for, and the studio did a nice job with designing the town and building atmosphere.
But the walking speed killed it for me and my girlfriend. The area is just far too large for how slow you move through it. We had moments of like "Do you wanna see what's over there?" only to follow it up with "Fuck no that will take way too long." I agree with the OP that the game seemed to want you to explore, but really didn't make exploration worthwhile.
I'm patient enough that I could have gritted my teeth for the sake of finishing it, but my girlfriend got sick of that Stephen guy being a "whiny, cheating bitch" (her words).
Too bad. I felt like it had a lot of potential, but it's a sobering reminder of the importance of good pacing.
But the walking speed killed it for me and my girlfriend. The area is just far too large for how slow you move through it. We had moments of like "Do you wanna see what's over there?" only to follow it up with "Fuck no that will take way too long." I agree with the OP that the game seemed to want you to explore, but really didn't make exploration worthwhile.
I'm patient enough that I could have gritted my teeth for the sake of finishing it, but my girlfriend got sick of that Stephen guy being a "whiny, cheating bitch" (her words).
Too bad. I felt like it had a lot of potential, but it's a sobering reminder of the importance of good pacing.
Swimmer9800
Member
I played through this game in one sitting and couldn't even tell you what it's about. I had no idea which character was which and the story being nonlinear did the game absolutely no favors.
I was very much looking forward to this game before it's release, but it was quite disappointing. Kind of gave me a "what was the point of all of that?" feeling when it was all over.
I really wanted to get lost in the atmosphere of some sleepy little English village, but it never really clicked with me. I can appreciate that they wanted to tell a story that unraveled in layers, but I was so bored by the in-between that I pretty much just rolled my eyes at the larger reveals.
Not the worst game I've played, but the formula has been done much better, for sure.
I really wanted to get lost in the atmosphere of some sleepy little English village, but it never really clicked with me. I can appreciate that they wanted to tell a story that unraveled in layers, but I was so bored by the in-between that I pretty much just rolled my eyes at the larger reveals.
Not the worst game I've played, but the formula has been done much better, for sure.
This take is truly the crux of the game's issue.
The only thing worse than a game with bad exploration, is one with a lot to explore, but the game discourages you from doing so.
angelic
Banned
I got so stuck because the final waypoint wouldnt trigger, I ended up walking back to the observatory at the start...from across the entire damn village. Shuffling along like Turok 2, frame rate hitching, searching for what was the entry to the final area, because some other waypoint just before it had glitched out somehow.
The premise of the actual story is quite good...what the light actually is, is quite clever, but much worse than that is what it actually does and why, and what happens to the main characters partner. It's so insipid, twee, airy fairy and (yes) pretentious that I wanted to vomit.
The premise of the actual story is quite good...what the light actually is, is quite clever, but much worse than that is what it actually does and why, and what happens to the main characters partner. It's so insipid, twee, airy fairy and (yes) pretentious that I wanted to vomit.
The main character is having an affair with this other woman hes trying to leave town with, the weird light is actually an alien entity that gives people what they truly deserve, and his partner has never felt connected to anyone in the world and basically runs off with this alien light thingy. It's standard allegorical sap aimed at anyone who wants to feel a bit of a snowflake because of their disconnect to the world, and I hate it with the passion.
Not sure how many people posted negative reviews during its launch period, but I agree w/ a lot of what you're saying. My thoughts from 2015 here.
Sam from Ars said:
unknownstranger
Member
This was my main issue with it besides the walking speed. Not showing the characters meant you had to identify them purely by voice, where in other walking simulators it's just one character narrating the whole time. I'm not too into walking simulators but this was the one I went into with highish expectations and it ended up disappointing me the most. The only walking simulator I've really enjoyed was The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, although I hated the ending.
Paperboy
Member
(Huge bump incoming.)
It's not as bad in a way as people think since it apparently succeeds with provoking feelings from those who have experienced Everybody's Gone to the Rapture. Just look at the number of threads about this interactive novel on this forum alone!
It doesn't feel fair calling it a bad game/novel/experience or how you would label it: the world is pretty and detailed, the soundtrack is up there with the greatest, the dialogue is well written, the actors are fantastic ...but the story isn't very complex or engaging, it threads slower than the walking speed. It's probably partly made like that just to keep the ability for the players to approach the story in the order they want. But that doesn't excuse the lackluster conclusion.
Just my thoughts I needed to ventilate.
It's not as bad in a way as people think since it apparently succeeds with provoking feelings from those who have experienced Everybody's Gone to the Rapture. Just look at the number of threads about this interactive novel on this forum alone!
It doesn't feel fair calling it a bad game/novel/experience or how you would label it: the world is pretty and detailed, the soundtrack is up there with the greatest, the dialogue is well written, the actors are fantastic ...but the story isn't very complex or engaging, it threads slower than the walking speed. It's probably partly made like that just to keep the ability for the players to approach the story in the order they want. But that doesn't excuse the lackluster conclusion.
The townsfolk keep going on about these dead birds. And there are only two conflicts to speak of during these five hours or so: Stephen's affair and that "thing". It isn't enough.
Everybody's gone to the rapture would be great in VR, especially the scene when Stephen sets himself on fire.
Everybody's gone to the rapture would be great in VR, especially the scene when Stephen sets himself on fire.
Just my thoughts I needed to ventilate.
Heimdall_Xtreme
Jim Ryan Fanclub's #1 Member
Damn.
Even read the Story and see one video of youtube i fell sleep. This game is such Boring!
Even read the Story and see one video of youtube i fell sleep. This game is such Boring!
Clear
CliffyB's Cock Holster
I thought the script and voice-acting were mediocre; its like a low-grade BBC radio drama. Pacing is nonexistent, which ensures that there's no suspense or dramatic tension. The "game" aspect is so stripped back and insubstantial that it can be fairly described as offering no more than pushing a camera around some static assets.
Literally the only thing it has going for it, is the soundtrack and some pleasant graphics.
Whatever the intentions, the end product is a lazy, perfunctory, waste of time. Talk about less than the sum of its parts, you could strip the audio files, string them together, mix in the music, and you'd end up with a better experience.
Literally the only thing it has going for it, is the soundtrack and some pleasant graphics.
Whatever the intentions, the end product is a lazy, perfunctory, waste of time. Talk about less than the sum of its parts, you could strip the audio files, string them together, mix in the music, and you'd end up with a better experience.
TFGB
Member
The game is a nostalgia hit to those of us that grew up in and around sleepy villages in the UK in the 70s & early 80s. If you didn’t, then I can probably see why it can be deemed boring.
However, for those of us that had experienced rural British life back then, it’s an atmospheric adventure in a world we can relate to. Back before the internet and mobile phones, and we had to actually physically turn the TV channel over to one of the other three channels that were only available to us back then.
For many of us, it’s a trip back to arguably better times and the game succeeds at what The Chinese Room set out to create, even if the R2 button didn’t make us run quick enough.
However, for those of us that had experienced rural British life back then, it’s an atmospheric adventure in a world we can relate to. Back before the internet and mobile phones, and we had to actually physically turn the TV channel over to one of the other three channels that were only available to us back then.
For many of us, it’s a trip back to arguably better times and the game succeeds at what The Chinese Room set out to create, even if the R2 button didn’t make us run quick enough.