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AusGAF 9 - F*** Off, We're Full (Of People With Different Ethnic Backgrounds)

P

Planet_JASE

Member
reptilescorpio said:
Sometimes it's nice to play an experience set out by a game designer rather than someone catering to the demands of twitchy 16 year olds who want everything faster, sooner and more flashy than before!

Maybe I'm just getting old. Maybe I'm becoming like Gaz & Shaneus, with their old style games and such. :/
Click to expand...
Sometimes, though, it's a question of need. (Made up example of GTA) Did I need to actually drive to Michael's home to trigger the cutscene? Did I then need to drive him to a shop to buy the gun? Did I then need to drive him to the warehouse to trigger the heist discussion? Did I need to then drive to the shop to begin the cutscene which begins the actually robbery?

Sometimes, you can cut away the fat and not harm the experience but in fact enhance it. Realistically, none of the driving served a gameplay function (driving to trigger cutscenes, essentially) and could have received a call from Michael letting me know about a heist, cut to cutscene explaining the details of the robbery, cut to entering the shop.

When I have limited time to play, I will take the condensed version. Heck, even if I do have time to play I'd probably take it, too. Driving to a house to pick up a character to drive them to a building to trigger a cutscene to drive to a shop to trigger a custscene to them be allowed to do the robbery is madness. While that isn't an actual example (just to avoid spoilery stuff), it's pretty close to stuff that has happened. It's a game so set on immersion that it only considers it's own needs and visions, not the fact that I really didn't need to spend 5 minutes driving to trigger points.

Hey, having said that, I like the game. I just think it loves itself more.
 
D

Danoss

Member
reptilescorpio said:
Sometimes it's nice to play an experience set out by a game designer rather than someone catering to the demands of twitchy 16 year olds who want everything faster, sooner and more flashy than before!

Maybe I'm just getting old. Maybe I'm becoming like Gaz & Shaneus, with their old style games and such. :/
Click to expand...

Maybe it's nostalgia, but I like the games of old where they were clearly games and not much more. By that I mean there were challenges to be met and overcome, to varying degrees of difficulty and not what could be seen as merely something to do in between being spoon-fed a mediocre story.

Of course it depends on the type of game, but I think that in general, games that seem to take themselves too seriously really hurt themselves by doing so. There's a delicate balance and it can be upset by trying to do too much, coming across as heavy-handed and intruding on the players time and enjoyment.

In passive entertainment this is accepted because that's just how it works and everyone knows what they are in for. The way things are often done in games to deliver a story, to push an agenda or to really emphasize something, takes away from the interactivity and the reason that many people play games. One instance I'll mention is early in the game F.E.A.R. where the player is stopped in their tracks with a blow to the head, knocking them to the ground so the attacker can deliver some story to the player. Both a clever and intrusive method employed to deliver what is essentially a cutscene, it's different and more organic than just dumping a cutscene on the player but it is still a band-aid solution when analysed even a little.

More than anything, I think this just shows the limitations of current technology. While Valve does it better than anybody, the downside is the time and care needed to get it right. Good game design is difficult to do really well, and that is conveying the necessary information without blockading the player, as well as encouraging a certain way of thinking and behaving. Without this, I think the better games are much less grandiose and make no bones about what they are, delivering a solid game without too much unnecessary window dressing.

I've taken this reply way too far tangentially, but it has been on my mind as people mention some glaring flaws in recent big budget games. I have glazed over a number of points, but I'm being lazy and typing on my phone. I think it can be boiled down to the more realistic a game strives to be, the more the unrealistic aspects stand out; the uncanny valley.
 
R

reptilescorpio

Member
I would strongly argue GTA5 isn't trying to be realistic, especially not in the gritty, dark fashion GTA4 was.

GTA5 is a game of pomp and circumstance!
GTA5 is hyperrealistic!
GTA5 cares more about drenching you in character detail rather than a realistic response to firing an RPG at a giant donut.
GTA5 likes to use pop culture references to create the causal link to events in our reality to develop in your mind the kind of people that inhabit the world in the game.
GTA5 lets you soak up the richly detailed state of San Andreas as someone who is dynamically impacting on NPC's at all times.
GTA5 lets you follow and inhabit a fun storyline that weaves three very very different people together in order to cast a light on each of their pros/cons, strengths/weaknesses, dreams/realities.

I forgot the question :/
 
J

Jintor

Member
I want to play a tycoon game but Theme Hospital is old and a little annoying and Prison Architect isn't done yet. Should I just pick up a Kairosoft thingy or is there anything else on Steam worth a look?
 
F

Fusebox

Banned
Planet_JASE said:
Sometimes, though, it's a question of need. (Made up example of GTA) Did I need to actually drive to Michael's home to trigger the cutscene? Did I then need to drive him to a shop to buy the gun? Did I then need to drive him to the warehouse to trigger the heist discussion? Did I need to then drive to the shop to begin the cutscene which begins the actually robbery?
Click to expand...

Of course you needed to, it's GTA. If you want to teleport between set pieces play Zork.
 
D

Danoss

Member
Fusebox said:
Of course you needed to, it's GTA. If you want to teleport between set pieces play Zork.
Click to expand...

Haha, actually those points made puts aspects of it in perspective. Those parts of other stories and forms of entertainment are usually omitted and assumed, glossed over or hinted at rather than presenting them; they're unnecessary.

It's actually fitting that the driving is often quite bad in GTA games. If this wasn't the case, then a player intending to arrive at their destination without incident would be less likely to accidentally collide with another vehicle or run down a pedestrian in full view of a police officer. This spices up what would ordinarily be an uneventful and uninteresting trip.

Ignoring some other things, it could be said that GTA has you doing the legwork to set up the more interesting parts which can take place in cutscenes. You're essentially the behind-the-scenes crew. Surely I'm not the first person to say such a thing, but it's quite a funny thing to note when looking at it a certain way.
 
R

reptilescorpio

Member
I wouldn't agree with that assessment of GTA5 though. The driving is great and the big setpieces happen in gameplay, not cutscene. Dem heists, yum.

Keen for GTA Online next month for more heists, never thought I would be looking forward to MP lol
 
S

Shaneus

Member
AusGAF, I need a TV stand-thingy to house my amp, various consoles and switchboxes to make room for a pinball machine.

Go.

Jintor said:
I want to play a tycoon game but Theme Hospital is old and a little annoying and Prison Architect isn't done yet. Should I just pick up a Kairosoft thingy or is there anything else on Steam worth a look?
Click to expand...
GTA5. It's basically Life Tycoon.
 
V

Ventron

Member
So I'm in the mood to play (or watch LPs of if I can't get it) old JRPGs. Can anyone suggest me some good, obscure ones from the PS1 or earlier?
Chrono Cross's battle system is really good, BTW.
 
D

dishwasherlove

Member
The PS1 is a treasure trove of JRPG. I'm not too on top of the weird ones but Vagrant Story has a pretty interesting combat system. Although it is arguably more ARPG.
 
H

HolyCheck

I want a tag give me a tag
There's also some snes era style jrpgs on the Xbox 360 that are worth a look surprisingly

Eternal sonata
Blue dragon

Snes ones though, it's jrpg in gameplay, but it's very much better in every regard: earthbound. Very humerous.
 
D

Deeku

Member
i think i'm getting slightly fatigued, probably just means i need to do something else other than sit on my butt and play gta

i really need to play the mother games, it's weird that i haven't:/
 
L

legend166

Member
Ventron said:
I've played and loved Earthbound. I was hoping for some lesser-known ones, maybe even fan-translated like Shin Megami Tensei I which I quite liked.



This one I haven't played. Might as well see if the furiously horrendous reviews were right...
.
Click to expand...

Have you played Illusions of Gaia, Terrenigma, or the third one I can't remember?
 
G

Gazunta

Member
markot said:
Man. They must have made this mega man x a billion times harder. I used to kick its ass.
Click to expand...

I just started playing it for the first time this weekend. So incredibly good! I am gonna pour some more time into it this week I think.
And probably make a Blow The Cartridge about it to justify time spent playing games
 
C

ClivePwned

Member
Optus cancelled. Woo! Never have to ensure Optus's sucky mobile coverage. Now with AT&T. Wut.

I have never played Mega Man. Games like that combined with my utter lack of co_OrdiNAtion are a turn off. It wasn't on the Master System, was it.

I bought a PS3 with GTAV bundle from Gamestop yesterday. The super slim is pretty small. I also grabbed a Sony wireless headset so I could crank it up. I'm liking the game. technically beautiful, apart from obscene foreground prop pop-in during the intro credits sequence.

I passed a bunch of nerds lined up outside a board game store before opening. Fortunately there was a firehose nearby.

Holy Shit, Treadmill Desks!
 
R

reptilescorpio

Member
ClivePwned said:
I bought a PS3 with GTAV bundle from Gamestop yesterday. The super slim is pretty small. I also grabbed a Sony wireless headset so I could crank it up. I'm liking the game. technically beautiful, apart from obscene foreground prop pop-in during the intro credits sequence.
Click to expand...

I really really should use headphones with GTA5. Insane attention to detail in terms of the audio.

You even hear the engine bay cooling down when you get out of a car you have been driving for a while! Fucking insane!
 
G

Gazunta

Member
This is why I try to leave the office during my lunch break.



Clive, you are tempting me to move overseas. I think a trip is in the future.
 
K

Kritz

Banned
Working in IT, people around me had to make the very difficult conscious choice of either logging their problem in the clipboard in the lunchroom, or asking me while sitting right next to it eating lunch.

Maybe it wasn't actually a difficult choice since nobody actually used the logbook.

But on the flipside I got to interrupt them while they were teaching class so I guess it worked out.
 
K

Kritz

Banned
w2fNmFc.jpg
Click to expand...

There are too many lasers in my space game. There are too many jpeg artifacts in my screenshots, also.
 
R

reptilescorpio

Member
Paging Shaneus.
I never get on Twitter lately dude sorry!

Gazunta said:
This is why I try to leave the office during my lunch break.



Clive, you are tempting me to move overseas. I think a trip is in the future.
Click to expand...
This is why I have lunch at my desk! If I get bothered or interrupted my breaks can go well over half an hour and no one will say anything :)

Kritz said:
There are too many lasers in my space game. There are too many jpeg artifacts in my screenshots, also.
Click to expand...

What happened to you Kritz. The old Kritz would have said MOAR LAZERS. We want the old Kritz back :(
 
K

Kritz

Banned
I could probably just make an option in the main menu to turn on laserFuck mode where everything shoots lasers all the time

I don't know if iOS is optimized for all these lasers
 
K

Kritz

Banned
We were actually super tempted to go andriod only with this thing a few months ago.

Because BOY HOWDY is it a clusterfuck to put stuff on ios devices.
 
D

Deeku

Member
stupid typhoon! i assumed there would be a holiday today cos news yesterday was all yo this shit is serious, so i played gta till a less than appropriate time....

but here i am, sleep deprived and at work for the arvo cos typhoon was all like laterzzz y'all:/

coulda been at home sleeping n watching BB!
 
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