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[Dead Island] Please post in new thread

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  • Big ClassyBig Classy Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Or most of the sony adverts.

    Big Classy on
  • KageraKagera Imitating the worst people. Since 2004Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Ooh, or the Gears of War commercial. Yeah that was a bit...misleading...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccWrbGEFgI8

    Although Gears of War 2 tried to add some depth to the characters, I'll give them that.

    Kagera on
    My neck, my back, my FUPA and my crack.
  • widowsonwidowson Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Drake wrote: »
    How far is too far?

    Sorry, I guess being a parent is making me into a big softy, but I can't watch that shit.

    Agreed. My kid just turned 3.

    I admit it's a well-done trailer and gets the true horror of a zombie apocolypse across, but this made me not want to buy the game at all. Shotgun to an Imp's face? Yep. Chainsaw the Locust Horde left and right? On it. Decapitate a Darkspawn? Where's my axe?

    Seeing a little girl get thrown out of a window to her death? No, man, I can't see a game that hits those emotional buttons being fun.

    widowson on
    -I owe nothing to Women's Lib.

    Margaret Thatcher
  • DiamondDiamond Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    TrippyJing wrote: »
    How many times have zombie stories done this?

    Pretty many, only the Dead Island trailer has better music.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrth6jhJw-A
    Kagera wrote: »
    Although Gears of War 2 tried to add some depth to the characters, I'll give them that.

    Hopefully people aren't expecting something like the trailer for the actual content. But I absolutely agree, I'm so glad Gears 2 at least tried.

    Diamond on
  • widowsonwidowson Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Drake wrote: »
    Jintor wrote: »
    Drake wrote: »
    Ripping a child from the arms of her loving parents and murdering her to showcase your awesome zombie game that probably won't be near as visceral in reality is crassly manipulative in my opinion. But then that's the name of the marketing game.

    Oh come now, every piece of medium serves only to manipulate your emotions in order to return a desired emotional result. That this trailer does it more skillfully than the others is no more crass than a Killzone trailer being all "NUH NUH NUH WAR HOORAH" or a Nintendogs trailer being all "Man, aren't dogs cute"?

    Did you miss the bolded part up there or something? Or how about the bit before that where I state that this is simply my opinion?

    I mean, it's not like I use marketing to make my purchasing decisions anyway. Especially for games.

    It is interesting seeing how much this trailer is driving a lot of the desire for this game though.

    edit: As a piece of media in the Zombie genre, it's a simple trope that's been around for ages. The fact that it's given this kind of queasy, close up and slo mo voyeurism isn't even unique. The only thing unique about it is that it's in a trailer for a video game.

    As a piece of marketing for the game, I seriously doubt any of what we saw is indicative of actual gameplay (par for the course). So that's my reasoning for calling it crassly manipulative.

    You missed the point of the trailer entirely. It was slow, methodical, and close up to show the humanity of the family. The girl, the father, and the wife were human beings with lives that have suddenly been torn apart. Left 4 Dead trivializes the violence, this shows the impact of it. It's horrible and terrible and lives are lost in the blink of an eye - that's what a zombie outbreak means in the real world. It's not fun or cool, it's just awful.


    Exactly. You've just made the point why some people won't want to play this game because it's handling a zombie apocolypse in a way that's "not fun or cool, it's just awful."

    I like games that are fun or cool. I'm also ok with adult subject matter, but this is just depressing as shit.

    For instance, in dragon age, there's a somewhat disturbing level where:
    it's implied that Darkspawn breed by gang raping women and forcing them into cannibalism. It made the darkspawn go from standard ork-clone sword fodder to real Evil abominations that need to be wiped out. I get that, it made sense

    However, if that level had gone from implying this to, say, you hearing the muffled screans and splattering of some woman getting gang-banged by a dozen darkspawn, then yuck, I'd have thrown the game in the trash where it belonged.

    Now this trailer isn't that bad, but it's still creepy and was too graphic to make me want to play this game if the emotional tone of the game is going to be this sad, tragic, and depressing.

    Little girls getting chewed on? Are these silly geese trying to write Jack Thompson's next article for him??

    widowson on
    -I owe nothing to Women's Lib.

    Margaret Thatcher
  • KlykaKlyka DO you have any SPARE BATTERIES?Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Oh hey guys, don't mind me, I'm just a HUGE screenshot:

    http://i55.tinypic.com/xaz6f.jpg
    Linked for huge, blood and NSFW clothing

    Klyka on
    SC2 EU ID Klyka.110
    lTDyp.jpg
  • reVersereVerse Attack and Dethrone God Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    That's an odd skin condition those women have.

    reVerse on
  • CouscousCouscous Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    The whole trailer was just trying way too hard for me. The music, the child, and how it was set up just kept on screaming, "ARE YOU SAD YET!? ARE YOU!? MAYBE WE JUST AREN'T MAKING IT OBVIOUS ENOUGH."

    Couscous on
  • KlykaKlyka DO you have any SPARE BATTERIES?Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Should have played some Linkin Park in that trailer.

    "Cut my life into pieces, this is my last resort!"

    Klyka on
    SC2 EU ID Klyka.110
    lTDyp.jpg
  • KageraKagera Imitating the worst people. Since 2004Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Oh FUCK Steve and his stupid father. Yeah zombie games have TRIED emotion, doesn't mean they succeed.

    I think the closest an RE has may be Ada Wong.

    Kagera on
    My neck, my back, my FUPA and my crack.
  • ArcSynArcSyn Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    I don't play zombie games, just don't like zombies. They give me the creeps and now that I'm a dad, that trailer hits home pretty hard.

    However, I think if they wanted to do this correctly, open world style, they need to have a set number of zombies. There are this many zombies on this vacation island, areas where there are no zombies (in the woods, with a few wanderers I guess) and then high concentration of zombies (beach, hotel, etc). But if you clear an area, it should stay clear unless zombies stray back into the area. It'd make it a lot more interesting, as you go, it almost get creepier and creepier as it gets silent and you're possibly the last living thing on the island.

    I'm curious how they're going to handle the time aspect too. After a few days of no communication with a resort, you'd think someone would get sent in out of curiosity, or the families of those who went missing. So there's the possibility of armed forces eventually coming, and you'd have to make sure you don't get mistaken for a zombie. But they'd only deplete the zombie population even faster.

    I dunno, just some ideas that could make it different from the infinitely spawning zombie games we already have.

    ArcSyn on
    4dm3dwuxq302.png
  • KageraKagera Imitating the worst people. Since 2004Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Man, those characters are so shiny I feel like I'm looking at a screen shot from Jersey Shore.

    OMG THE VIRUS IS IN THE BODY OIL!

    Kagera on
    My neck, my back, my FUPA and my crack.
  • SheepSheep Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
    edited February 2011
    Klyka wrote: »
    Should have played some Linkin Park in that trailer.

    "Cut my life into pieces, this is my last resort!"

    I hate myself for this but...


    That's Papa Roach.


    Couscous wrote: »
    The whole trailer was just trying way too hard for me. The music, the child, and how it was set up just kept on screaming, "ARE YOU SAD YET!? ARE YOU!? MAYBE WE JUST AREN'T MAKING IT OBVIOUS ENOUGH."


    Hey, it worked for Dom's wife, didn't it? :P

    Sheep on
  • KageraKagera Imitating the worst people. Since 2004Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Also Klyka spoilered screenshots still load on people's computers. You have to link them to make them not load for people who are at work/have shitty internet connections.

    Kagera on
    My neck, my back, my FUPA and my crack.
  • urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    LOL people are too hardcore to get sad by a vidja game trailer. You guys are cute!

    urahonky on
  • 815165815165 Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Lost 4 Dead? Fuck yeah.

    815165 on
  • DecoyDecoy Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    The problem with that is in a game you remove editoral control. If that scene in the trailer was actual in game then one of two things would happen:

    1) The player has the posibility of stopping the horrible outcome and saving the girl. (Thus turning what was supposed to be a very sad scenario into happy one [yay! you're a hero!]). Maybe the player fails to rescue the girl, then feels bad and reloads a previous save and tries again until they rescue the girl (if that is the players desired outcome).

    2) The game developer doesn't want you to save the girl and you are left watching an interactive movie or worse just a straight cutscene. You are there for taken completely out of the game. So you are only left with the conclusion that your actions ultimately don't matter.


    So, as a game developer you are left with two options, either remove player control over events (thus trivializing the players choices) in order to get across what you (the director) wants.
    OR
    You give up editorial control allowing the player the change the outcome of events thus making the player feel as if their choices have meaning. But doing so lessens your ability to convey the type of emotion that is in that trailer and movies and literature.


    I'm not sure if I that makes any sense, it's late and I'm tired and this discussion probably deserves its own thread (though it is very close to the games==art? question and I don't know if we really want any more of that).

    It makes perfect sense, and it's a really hard balance/line to walk. Forcing saves right after something of note happens will piss off completionists, while allowing you to go back and "save your child" will just take the emotion out of it.

    Great (gut wrenching) trailer though.

    Decoy on
  • CouscousCouscous Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    urahonky wrote: »
    LOL people are too hardcore to get sad by a vidja game trailer. You guys are cute!

    No. I'm saying the trailer is way too much of a try hard.

    Couscous on
  • urahonkyurahonky Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Couscous wrote: »
    urahonky wrote: »
    LOL people are too hardcore to get sad by a vidja game trailer. You guys are cute!

    No. I'm saying the trailer is way too much of a try hard.

    I love you Couscous... But you couldn't be more wrong. I think it'd be trying too hard if there was a scene of "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" while he's standing outside, kneeling in the rain while his wife is slapping him for causing his daughter to die. Then, as he stands up, he looks at her and mutters "I want a divorce!"

    That would be trying too hard.

    urahonky on
  • KlykaKlyka DO you have any SPARE BATTERIES?Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    The trailer was trying too hard the moment they put in two "timelines" and had piano music playing.

    Klyka on
    SC2 EU ID Klyka.110
    lTDyp.jpg
  • CouscousCouscous Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    I could only focus on that wacky flaming zombie in the background during the beginning. He was a good dancer.

    Couscous on
  • KlashKlash Lost... ... in the rainRegistered User regular
    edited February 2011
    I'm hoping the game focuses more on burning zombies than boring kids and their family. I know the game is supposed to be "serious" and is about a stranded tourist looking for someone, but that's so boring, if the intent is just emotion-emotion-emotion.

    I'd rather be set loose on an island with Condemned's melee mechanics, and left to improvise things like a combination of The Castaway and McGuyver. I don't want a Left 4 Dead running, gunning, and non-stop action game. Give me some plodding rotbags to smack around and out number me, while I desperately try to bandage up a still bleeding wound.

    Prior to this trailer, the only available video had a guy hitting a zombie with a pipe, and wrestling it. That's what I was hoping for and still hope for.

    Klash on
    We don't even care... whether we care or not...
  • RizziRizzi Sydney, Australia.Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    So this is a third person game then?

    Rizzi on
  • KlykaKlyka DO you have any SPARE BATTERIES?Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Rizzi wrote: »
    So this is a third person game then?

    No, it is first person.

    Klyka on
    SC2 EU ID Klyka.110
    lTDyp.jpg
  • Skull2185Skull2185 Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Couscous wrote: »
    I could only focus on that wacky flaming zombie in the background during the beginning. He was a good dancer.

    Dammit, now that's all I can see... :lol:

    Skull2185 on
    Everyone has a price. Throw enough gold around and someone will risk disintegration.
  • DunxcoDunxco Should get a suit Never skips breakfastRegistered User regular
    edited February 2011
    From what's been posted in the OP I'm glad this game's got back on track. As much as I love L4D and Dead Rising, there's a time and a place for those sort of shenanigans and tongue-in-cheek attitude. There'll be days where it's time for laughing at punching a clown zombie in the face and making its nose honk, or taping knives to boxing gloves and punching your way through a horde while wearing a purple dinosaur hat.

    This'll be a breath of fresh air if what they say comes to fruition. Like Klash, I'm not looking for a story about a family or whatever. I'm looking for atmosphere and zombies being a credible threat.

    Dunxco on
  • PacifistPacifist Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Ad probably could have done without the slow motion child death.

    But whatever that's marketing. Cheap and manipulative.

    Pacifist on
    XBL: Pacifist NJ
  • KlykaKlyka DO you have any SPARE BATTERIES?Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    I do like the inclusion of children being able to die. I'm pretty sick of the "children are invincible!" rule.
    Give me the ability to kick some annoying zombie brats into a lawnmower or bushwhacker or something and I'll be there Day1.

    Klyka on
    SC2 EU ID Klyka.110
    lTDyp.jpg
  • SatsumomoSatsumomo Rated PG! Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    ArcSyn wrote: »
    I don't play zombie games, just don't like zombies. They give me the creeps and now that I'm a dad, that trailer hits home pretty hard.

    However, I think if they wanted to do this correctly, open world style, they need to have a set number of zombies. There are this many zombies on this vacation island, areas where there are no zombies (in the woods, with a few wanderers I guess) and then high concentration of zombies (beach, hotel, etc). But if you clear an area, it should stay clear unless zombies stray back into the area. It'd make it a lot more interesting, as you go, it almost get creepier and creepier as it gets silent and you're possibly the last living thing on the island.

    I'm curious how they're going to handle the time aspect too. After a few days of no communication with a resort, you'd think someone would get sent in out of curiosity, or the families of those who went missing. So there's the possibility of armed forces eventually coming, and you'd have to make sure you don't get mistaken for a zombie. But they'd only deplete the zombie population even faster.

    I dunno, just some ideas that could make it different from the infinitely spawning zombie games we already have.

    This is exactly what I was thinking about, much more so because it's an island.

    Satsumomo on
  • BloodySlothBloodySloth Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Satsumomo wrote: »
    ArcSyn wrote: »
    I don't play zombie games, just don't like zombies. They give me the creeps and now that I'm a dad, that trailer hits home pretty hard.

    However, I think if they wanted to do this correctly, open world style, they need to have a set number of zombies. There are this many zombies on this vacation island, areas where there are no zombies (in the woods, with a few wanderers I guess) and then high concentration of zombies (beach, hotel, etc). But if you clear an area, it should stay clear unless zombies stray back into the area. It'd make it a lot more interesting, as you go, it almost get creepier and creepier as it gets silent and you're possibly the last living thing on the island.

    I'm curious how they're going to handle the time aspect too. After a few days of no communication with a resort, you'd think someone would get sent in out of curiosity, or the families of those who went missing. So there's the possibility of armed forces eventually coming, and you'd have to make sure you don't get mistaken for a zombie. But they'd only deplete the zombie population even faster.

    I dunno, just some ideas that could make it different from the infinitely spawning zombie games we already have.

    This is exactly what I was thinking about, much more so because it's an island.

    I think the problem with this is that, while it sounds amazing and eerie and thematic on paper, the absolute worst element of sandbox gameplay is that stretch of time when you're wandering around in the middle of nowhere, getting nothing interesting done, wondering "what the fuck is there to do around here?"

    It would be extremely difficult, I would imagine, to walk that fine line between quiet, eerie tension, and utter boredom. After a while the world would just empty out and there would have to be something there to keep players playing.

    BloodySloth on
  • ArcSynArcSyn Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Satsumomo wrote: »
    ArcSyn wrote: »
    I don't play zombie games, just don't like zombies. They give me the creeps and now that I'm a dad, that trailer hits home pretty hard.

    However, I think if they wanted to do this correctly, open world style, they need to have a set number of zombies. There are this many zombies on this vacation island, areas where there are no zombies (in the woods, with a few wanderers I guess) and then high concentration of zombies (beach, hotel, etc). But if you clear an area, it should stay clear unless zombies stray back into the area. It'd make it a lot more interesting, as you go, it almost get creepier and creepier as it gets silent and you're possibly the last living thing on the island.

    I'm curious how they're going to handle the time aspect too. After a few days of no communication with a resort, you'd think someone would get sent in out of curiosity, or the families of those who went missing. So there's the possibility of armed forces eventually coming, and you'd have to make sure you don't get mistaken for a zombie. But they'd only deplete the zombie population even faster.

    I dunno, just some ideas that could make it different from the infinitely spawning zombie games we already have.

    This is exactly what I was thinking about, much more so because it's an island.

    I think the problem with this is that, while it sounds amazing and eerie and thematic on paper, the absolute worst element of sandbox gameplay is that stretch of time when you're wandering around in the middle of nowhere, getting nothing interesting done, wondering "what the fuck is there to do around here?"

    It would be extremely difficult, I would imagine, to walk that fine line between quiet, eerie tension, and utter boredom. After a while the world would just empty out and there would have to be something there to keep players playing.

    It would be difficult, sure. But to me, it would beat clearing an entire beach of zombies, walking two minutes to the hotel to do a quest or whatever, returning to said beach and noticing the zombies are all back. Respawning bad guys, especially in a confined area, always kill the setting for me. If I'm on a space ship, there's a limited number of crew. So unless the aliens are really busy making babies that mature quickly, I should be able to clear an area. With a limited number that stays put when you kill them, you at least feel like you're making a difference and cleansing the island of the infection. Proper storytelling where you're moving from area to area that's infected, with little back tracking through places you've cleared would help avoid the boredom.

    ArcSyn on
    4dm3dwuxq302.png
  • RentRent I'm always right Fuckin' deal with itRegistered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Couscous wrote: »
    The whole trailer was just trying way too hard for me. The music, the child, and how it was set up just kept on screaming, "ARE YOU SAD YET!? ARE YOU!? MAYBE WE JUST AREN'T MAKING IT OBVIOUS ENOUGH."

    quite honestly you have an overwhelming hatred for any pretense of story in any video game series, ever, so I find your complaints about this trailer unsurprising to say the least

    Rent on
  • CouscousCouscous Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    The uncanny animation and models, using a child, using reverse time to start with a dead child and make the child's end inevitable, and the music made it really funny and maudlin. It had nothing to do with any plot.

    Couscous on
  • RentRent I'm always right Fuckin' deal with itRegistered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Couscous wrote: »
    The uncanny animation and models, using a child, using reverse time to start with a dead child and make the child's end inevitable, and the music made it really funny and maudlin. It had nothing to do with any plot.

    god memento was such an awful movie because we already knew what happened from the beginning, am i right

    also you have a pretty sick sense of humor if you thought that was funny

    like i could see being unimpressed by it, or disliking it, but thinking it was funny? the fuck?

    Rent on
  • curly haired boycurly haired boy Your Friendly Neighborhood Torgue Dealer Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    i have a general question about zombies

    is the point to eat someone entirely? or do they bite merely to infect?

    both methods kill, but only one results in +1 to the zombie population. they do seem to be competing goals.

    curly haired boy on
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    Registered just for the Mass Effect threads | Steam: click ^^^ | Origin: curlyhairedboy
  • LibrarianLibrarian The face of liberal fascism Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    i have a general question about zombies

    is the point to eat someone entirely? or do they bite merely to infect?

    both methods kill, but only one results in +1 to the zombie population. they do seem to be competing goals.

    I think it's pretty much canon that they want your braaaaaaaiiiiinnns

    Librarian on
  • DunxcoDunxco Should get a suit Never skips breakfastRegistered User regular
    edited February 2011
    i have a general question about zombies

    is the point to eat someone entirely? or do they bite merely to infect?

    both methods kill, but only one results in +1 to the zombie population. they do seem to be competing goals.

    They get what they can. I mean bite leads to infection = more zombies if the prey manages to get away, but if they get a chance to chow down they'll take it. Oh will they ever.

    Dunxco on
  • CouscousCouscous Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Rent wrote: »
    Couscous wrote: »
    The uncanny animation and models, using a child, using reverse time to start with a dead child and make the child's end inevitable, and the music made it really funny and maudlin. It had nothing to do with any plot.

    god memento was such an awful movie because we already knew what happened from the beginning, am i right

    also you have a pretty sick sense of humor if you thought that was funny

    like i could see being unimpressed by it, or disliking it, but thinking it was funny? the fuck?

    Memento had a purpose to it other than to tug on heartstrings.

    Couscous on
  • KaseiusKaseius Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Not sure why people are getting defensive over others' opinions of not liking it or finding it amusing.

    I personally thought it was pretty cool, but it didn't really make me sad and I cry like a bitch at really silly things. Just didn't do anything for me other than make me want to see gameplay and watch it in reverse-reverse

    Kaseius on
    www.youtube.com/user/kaseius -- Let's Plays
  • KageraKagera Imitating the worst people. Since 2004Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Rent wrote: »
    Couscous wrote: »
    The whole trailer was just trying way too hard for me. The music, the child, and how it was set up just kept on screaming, "ARE YOU SAD YET!? ARE YOU!? MAYBE WE JUST AREN'T MAKING IT OBVIOUS ENOUGH."

    quite honestly you have an overwhelming hatred for any pretense of story in any video game series, ever, so I find your complaints about this trailer unsurprising to say the least

    CousCous will not be happy until a movie is released that is all twisted reflections off a raindrop as it falls from the sky so nothing happens that is directly shown on screen.

    Kagera on
    My neck, my back, my FUPA and my crack.
This discussion has been closed.