What did you's decide in the end?
I haven't got a bloody clue... Both amazing
It really depends on how you define "games." We are both lawyers so you can imagine how ridiculous the conversation was.
Generally, here is what we came up with:
Video Games are a unique type of media. Unlike books, movies, TV really anything before it, the strength of video games are the "experience" they create. The experience requires input from the viewer. This gives video games a unique canvass in which to paint.
Game developers use tools to deliver the best "experience."
TLOU focused on the narrative. It wanted and did tell a compelling story along with gameplay that did seem to fit into the narrative itself. TLOU like or hate it is the best attempt so far to meld a video game that is an interactive movie. It creates a certain type of experience.
I argued with my buddy (who loved TLOU more than me), that the game was fantastic, but I think he was giving it to high of marks because its a good story "told in a video game." The argument "wow, can you believe this story was in a video game?!"
If you look at the narrative on its on, it is very good, but IM sure we can find some movies that have come out in the last year that probably have better stories.
The gameplay is good, very good, but I think we can find games that have come out in the last year with as good and better gameplay.
But, Tex117, they did both so well. Yes, they did, and its the synergy of the two that makes the game great.
Souls on the other hand takes the exact opposite approach. Instead of a narrative in the linear, traditional sense of TLOU, it creates a world to explore and discover at your will. You could play the entire game and know very little about what was going on.
It sacrificed narrative to enhance the "experience" to focus on "discovery" and "gameplay" to enhance the experience.
The gameplay, love or hate it...was very involved and strategic. It demanded your mind in the game at all times. No distractions. Focus. Your mind must be in the game or you would not progress.
Any Souls player worth their salt has been on wiki checking out weapon upgrades. The lore and narrative it told was hidden and deep...more like a puzzle than a story.
In the end, as is everything, it all comes down to preference. I liked the Souls style of games because I love discovering things on my own and to have those discoveries mean something. I think this approach is unique to Video Games over all other mediums.
My buddy, a lawyer, but undergrad theater major, loved TLOU because the narrative and gameplay finally came together for him and he liked that experience more. Im excited to see what the next step for this style of game will be.
They both fantastic games of the generation that show two very different approaches to how video games are created and how they can differ in visioin.
