Life After "The End"

Upon completing the new game Red Dead Redemption I found myself pondering the general evolution of game endings. Why did I start thinking about this you ask? Well, it's quite simple, But it will take a bit to explain, so bear with me.

Red Dead Redemption is a game very similar to the Grand Theft Auto series, not only in it's play style, but also how it looks and generally feels. Because it was produced by RockStar Games (the same people who make GTA) this is to be expected. However, I also expected it to follow the same story formula which the GTA games have, even though I knew it would be somehow different.
Yet when I drew to RDR's close I was faced with some very surprising plot twists, and even more surprising were the choices the developers made to allow you to continue playing the game after finishing it. The ending of Red Dead Redemption aside, I came to realise the general constraints on story telling in games which allow you to continue playing after the main story ends.

This phenomenon is generally tied to the sand box/world builder gene. I suspect this is primarily due to how much there is to do in such games, even after you finish them. This means it makes more sense, and is more critical, to be able to keep playing than in traditional linnear games, such as first person shooters, turn based RPGs, or adventure games.

Now if it is expected that you can continue playing after completing the main story of the game, what does that mean about how the story can end? Well for one it means the main character has to survive, you can't play a tragic hero. Secondly, the world cannot end, everything has to still be there after you finish. Third, your empire, achievements, power, money, etc. has to stay intact, otherwise it feels like you played through the game for nothing.

Looking at those three stipulations it becomes rather clear that open ended games will all likely have a rather similar and predictable ending. This in turn means repetition is inevitable for the genre. However Rockstar seems to have anticipated this little issue, and in turn decided to make some bold moves to alter the fate of a "play after the end" game like Red Dead Redemption.
I'm not certain of exactly how I feel about how Rockstar decided to change this trend. In their efforts to prevent a predictable ending but still allow you to play afterwards they looked at those three rules with contempt. One rule they obeyed, another didn't apply to how the story worked, and the other one they directly disobeyed. It took some creative writing to pull off, and I have to say the story was far more unpredictable, further into the game, as a result.

In the end Rockstar has made it clear that they are making profound efforts to refine the open ended game, and change it. And even though I'm uncertain of how I feel about how they did so I can say one thing. If a game can be defined as good by weather or not it was worth the money it cost, then Red Dead Redemption can be called a good game.

Red Dead Redemption Début Trailer


Now I'm off to crack into a non story heavy game called Super Mario Galaxy 2.
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Crash

In my aimless wander across the internet the other day I ran across an old flash game that I used to spend hours on. It's called NANACA†CRASH!!, and it's an interesting twist on the traditional how far can you throw something game.
What makes this instance so special is how it's based of the traditional shonen school drama concept. You know the drill, some guy goes to a school, meets a ton of girls, ends up in love with one, etc. In the process he probably gets slapped around by the girls for having some rather perverse incidents occur, weather they be intentional or not.
Anyway Nanaca Crash launches the main character into the air after having a collision with a girl on a bike. Like any game of the type you can gain boosts by hitting special objects, or lose speed, or stop entirely by hitting others in this case the objects being different girls and your male friends respectively. What makes this version special though is how there are combos you can activate.

I'll stop there, if you want to know more just check the link above.

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Disturbing Advertising

A while back I blogged about an item available on NewEgg during a valentines sale. It was odd and humours at the very least. However the item has returned in their most recent sale for... Mothers Day.

Ok, I know that husbands buy gifts for their wives for mothers day, but I think MOST people think of their MOM on mothers day. Which made me nearly rip my brain out when I saw the item in NewEgg's advert.

I am Disturbed
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Pixelated Heroics

In my youth just at the dawn of the internet, I was caught up in the rolling tidal wave which was the first generation of fully 3D console video games. I was armed with a Nintendo 64 and I found my first solid videogame addiction, "The Legend of Zelda Ocrina of Time". Not too long after completing the game I moved on to mastering it, and subsequently played through all other Nintendo produced Zelda games. This addiction, though not as strong as it once was, still continues today. I successively dedicate my time to any new Zelda games that come out, and a thorough play through of fresh releases is an activity I still engage in.

With such a long running love affair I can't overlook games that clearly parody or spoof the original series. For that reason in addition to the unique visual aesthetic, I look forward to playing the game "3D Dot Game Heros". A current gen idea with a throw back feel to the classic eight and sixteen bit games of the 90s. In addition it takes an unbelievable number of cues from the Zelda series.

Watching the video below will explain a WHOLE lot more.




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Rendered Youth

Hopefully one day I'll be able to achieve the quality that this video has in my own productions. Until then I guess I'll just have to watch this video in awe.



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Trip

I know I don't usually post about things that pertain to my professional intrests here but I couldn't help myself in this case.

As a graphic designer and motion graphics artist I'm always looking at thins in such a manner so I can get new ideas. As a result I often browse youtube for interesting videos and am suggested unorthodox design videos.

Well recently I was advised to view the video below from a company call E-spaces. The video gives me some great ideas and also I feel really retro when i watch it for some reason. On a side note though I don't understand how any of that footage could be considered useful, even as a background for blue screen.



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The thirteenth time

Finally beat Final Fantasy XIII (64 hours of play time), and I'm not really certain of what to say. This instalment is so similar to Final Fantasy X it's unbelievable.
First off the world is similar, the fashion is similar, the battle system is similar to the one in X2... I could just keep going. However as much like X, XIII is by no means as good as X. How do I put this, it's like they didn't put enough effort into the proper development of the story.

Honestly there's a massive conflict. The protagonists are great, strong, and very well fleshed out. However the purpose driving them over all is very poor, and even now I'm puzzled for as to why they had to do what they did. Sure they have their own individual reasons of starting the fight, but not all of them have a good one at the end of the game. That's not the only problem either.
Directly linked to the lack of overall motivation is the fact that it is devoid a properly defined antagonist. There are a few larger bad guys here and there. Yet the one you fight in the end is never given enough screen time to feel like he fills those big bad guy shoes sufficiently. Aside from that the world design is done in a way that make you feel like your the only one in it. No real towns, social hubs, and the full lack of a traditional mini-game makes the world feel desolate. You can also throw in bad pacing, awkwardly timed character emotions, and a slew of special terminology that can only be understood after reading the in-game encyclopaedia; and you have yourself a game that just doesn't come off right.

The only problem with all that is how the combat system is very well done, and fun. I don't know why but it hits a lot of keys in the right ways. If you've ever played FF X-2 then you know the VERY basic idea of how the battle system works and looks. However all the problems and timing issues have been removed. Proper strategy makes a difference, and thinking before the battle is just as important as having fast reaction time during combat.

It's a give and take scenario really.
++ The main characters are VERY well defined, yet lack proper opposition and a unified reason to continue their quest.
++ The game looks fantastic, but lacks NPCs to populate it, and feels empty as a result.
++ The story is poorly paced with many puzzlingly awkward moments, yet it has some very good and rock solid gameplay.

Though I think it has more cons than pros the gameplay is what really masters since it IS a GAME. So In the end I think that I'm pleased with my purchase, and just hope that the nest one is... somehow better.

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