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"hink that countdown clocks can do a good job of creating buzz and anticipation for whatever they're counting down to, but only if they actually, you know, [i]count down to something interesting.[/i] The Metal Gear and Bungie countdowns are perfect examples of how they can go horribly wrong.
Perhaps the best way to implement a countdown clock is to incorporate it into more substantial teasers. Maybe have a website with some teaser clips and such with a countdown clock in the corner, or even have some clues as to what's being counted down to (I'd reference the Metal Gear clock, but did you see the decoding of that on Kotaku? WTF was that?!). You know, at least give people who visit the site something to do other than watch a clock. Otherwise it seems wholly worthless, at least to me.
If I see a countdown clock, I look at it once (assuming there's nothing else to do on the site) and then wait for Kotaku to report on what it counted down to. Most of the time the publisher would have gotten the same amount of hype out of me from just announcing whatever they were counting down to without the"
Monday, July 20, 2009
"hink that comparing games with multiple story arcs to "choose your own adventure" books is an unfortunately valid one. But it's the fact that the comparison is valid that is the issue, not the concept of games with multiple endings itself.
One of the primary things that separates games from movies or books or music is the interactivity. The problem we have is that it's difficult to effectively utilize that interactivity due to time, budget, and other constraints, [i]especially[/i] with respect to the story.
Developers, I think, just simply don't have the time to make every decision you make have an effect on how the game turns out in a significant way (even if they like to say their game does). As a result, instead of having a truly interactive experience where the player is the one writing the book himself, we get a game that plays like a "choose your own adventure" story. You might be able to pick the ending, but it's already been written by the author, not you.
The chasm we have to cross is the one where developers turn over the script and gameplay creation to the gamer in a way that allows our decisions in the game to shape that creation in a dynamic and free-form way. I have absolutely no idea how that can be accomplished, but I think that is the crux of the problem, not the fact that developers haven't been able to do it righ"
Monday, July 20, 2009
"ually, there is a multiplayer Source-mod called The Hidden where you have an entire team versus one supernatural dude. The goal is to kill The Hidden and stay alive. It's really, REALLY fun, and only goes to show how such a game could be sweet if was turned into a co-op hunt across Vi"
Monday, July 20, 2009
"actually reading "Going After Cacciato" right now, and I think a game more like that would be pretty awesome. The plot is reminiscent of "Apocalypse Now," and I've always personally liked the idea of chasing someone down as a mission in a video game (see Far Cry 2, despite its pitfalls). Think of a co-op version of Far Cry 2 where you and your buddies are in Vietnam chasing down a rogue or AWOL soldier. I think that could really work"
Monday, July 20, 2009
"I was referred to this site via Dan Hsu on Facebook (in other news, WHY DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS PLACE BEFORE!?), and this is the first thing I've read here. Quite a nice first impression, I must say.
I remember one of the features that was supposed to be in Medal of Honor: Airborne was 4-player online co-op where you and your friends would start out in the planes above the mission zone and drop in all awesome-like. Your comparison to Left4Dead reminded me of that unfortunately canned feature. I think it would have gone a long way to help push that idea of community and teamwork.
Actually, as a side note, I can't think of any other World War 2 game (save for World at War) that even has co-op at all, much less co-op that is as much a focus as it is in Left4Dead. I think that would be an interesting approach to the WW2 genre (or any war, for that matter).
In fact (it's getting kinda strange that I keep segueing into somehow related topics here), one war that has yet to be properly done (with the possible exception of BF: Vietnam) in gaming form is Vietnam. Now, I've read a couple of books about Vietnam (my favorite being "The Things They Carried"), and it seems as if a major focus of the retrospective look people take on Vietnam is that idea of comradeship. I think some interesting things could be done with that kind of approach.
I don't know, I feel like I'm kinda rambling at this point, but maybe there's something valid in there somewhere. Nice"
Sunday, July 19, 2009
