SiberianExpress

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Posts posted by SiberianExpress


  1. I'd really like them to just get out of the rut of Desmond's ancestry, and maybe pick another character who is actually still alive and part of the modern day Assassin's or go the other direction and pick a new Templar protagonist/anti-hero with a different set of genetic memories.

     

    I was hoping for that too, after the ACIV meta-story it really looked like they were going to tell a Templar story, not necessarily as an anti-hero but as the same story from a different perspective because the meta-story (imo) shows that both sides are being manipulated.


  2. According to kotaku the movement system is going to be redone, but I'll believe it when I see it.  I'm just hoping for something more fluid at this point.  What was impressive in AC1 has aged terribly.  But hey, I still like climbing buildings.

     

    I think that was solely based on the screenshots with Parkour UP and Parkour Down buttons. Personally I hope the parkour (and combat) is a lot more difficult in the next game, I feel the game is becoming a little too easy mode. 

     

    The setting seems interesting, I was betting that the next two AC games would be a F2P multiplayer game like the one currently in ACIV and a standalone naval combat game with very little to do with the AC brand, but using it for name recognition.


  3. I think there is room for games in the whole range of replayability.

     

    Crusader Kings 2 I would (and do) play over and over, not because I'm looking for a different ending but because I know the narrative will be different because i will have different goals based on the randomly changing circumstances and thus changing my personal goals.

     

    The Walking Dead I would never want to play again. Not because I didn't like the game but because I loved it, playing it again to try different choices I fear will ruin my first experience with it.

     

    Not to dive into what is and is not a 'game' I would like to deconstruct in for the sake of the scope of the discussion:

    Action: Player's choice inside the game mechanics

    Narrative: Underlying story, description, universe

    Narrative Choice: Player's choice that changes or appears to change the narrative

     

    In my opinion narrative should support the actions (game mechanics), it should give player's their motivation, why am I or the character doing this or that and why should I care. To me this is extremely important, I may love a game for its aesthetics or mechanics but if I don't understand why this universe exists I really can't get invested into the game. For example Mech games, in what world does a giant bipedal robot a better choice that say a tank or helicopter?

     

    Narrative choice, whether it is real (branching story) or just an illusion doesn't matter to me as long as it reinforces the overall narrative by making me more engaged in it by reinforcing that its MY narrative, making it seem that this is MY story.

     

    I'm mainly basing this on the fact that when I try to replay a game I finished I keep getting pulled towards the choices I made before because those are the most meaningful choices for me. Trying a different dialog option just because its there and but has little to no meaning for me has no appeal to me. But having those option and at least the illusion that the options have an effect on the world does bring a lot of value for me.

     

    In conclusion (if what I said above makes sense):

    1. All games should have a narrative to reinforce player's actions (game mechanics)

    2. Games don't need narrative choice, but because it will help increase engagement/immersion. Because this is the biggest advantage that games have over other entertainment media it should be encouraged.

    3. Unless replayability is part of the core game mechanics games don't need any replayablility. If you want players to play your game over and over encourage them do so with the game mechanics, not to try different narrative options.

     

    Thats my opinion, hope it makes sense :)


  4. After Sim City this was the game I wanted most that completely disappointed me :(

     

    I think CA invested so much into graphics (without optimizing them) that they lost sight of what their game was supposed to be about. And thus the core dynamics suffered, it was impossible to have fun with anything other than Rome and they simplified the campaign map too much. The battles are awesome but if the point of TW games is that the campaign map is supposed to give context to the battles, which I think in Rome 2 it fails to do.


  5. Hi Idle Thumbs community!

     

    I just found the Idle Thumbs site, actually through the Netrunner podcast since I just got into that game, and was excited to find the other podcasts. The podcasts led me to the forums because it was said that the community is fairly mature (which is saying a lot).

    Excited to discuss games and such in a more mature community because there is nothing that pulls in trolling/flaming like game discussions. Even 'professionals' in Gamasutra/Games Industry can't keep it civilized for long.

     

    A bit about me,

    I work in the game industry, I'll leave that there for now because I'm first and foremost a gamer, and like to discus games from that perspective.

    I recently got a PS4, didn't have a console last gen so I'm mainly a PC gamer. 

    I try to play most games I can get my hands on but Crusader Kings 2 has been sucking up a lot of my free time. Occasionally I work on game mods as well.