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Game Design and Criticism thread
Orikaeshigitae
Registered User, ClubPA regular
Registered User, ClubPA regular
ok so
I'm totally being a huge goddamn nerd lately. I've spent the past week or so writing an essay on Heavy Rain (as you know if you even passingly know me, I've spent every available moment talking or thinking about it).
Recently I've been talking with Clint Hocking, a very smart guy with a very pulpy name, about the state of game criticism. He's pointed me to a few blogs that have borne interesting fruit. He's convinced me to start a blog of my own. (God, I hate that word.)
But what do you guys think about game criticsm? Are reviews enough for you? Do you just look at Metacritic scores? Or are you interested at all in a deeper appreciation of how games do what they do? If you are, where do you read? Where do you go for your information?
Question marks?
I'm totally being a huge goddamn nerd lately. I've spent the past week or so writing an essay on Heavy Rain (as you know if you even passingly know me, I've spent every available moment talking or thinking about it).
Recently I've been talking with Clint Hocking, a very smart guy with a very pulpy name, about the state of game criticism. He's pointed me to a few blogs that have borne interesting fruit. He's convinced me to start a blog of my own. (God, I hate that word.)
But what do you guys think about game criticsm? Are reviews enough for you? Do you just look at Metacritic scores? Or are you interested at all in a deeper appreciation of how games do what they do? If you are, where do you read? Where do you go for your information?
Question marks?
Orikaeshigitae on
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What spring does with the cherry trees.
As far as reading, it depends. When I'm trying to decide to rent a game, I usually will just check metacritic and carry on. I like to read reviews for the more simple pleasure of reading, so I can appreciate reviews that are more than just a list of details or what is good and what is bad.
I think I've started rambling...
I'm pooping on your head
I said I'm not interested in a game design/criticism blog
that doesn't mean I'm not interested in games you silly goose
Well I guess it's better than chiseling dirty pictures into limestone
And for reals Orik, I'm not super huge into "game reviews" because they tend to be sort of annoying to me, but I think a deeper analysis of some games would be very interesting. I mean, we don't need the psychology behind Bejeweled, but exploring Braid's puzzle systems would be nifty.
for the most part, I listen to you guys, Metacritic, Eurogamer and occasionally Yahtzee
but yeah I'd love some more accomplished writing and dissertation in the medium
Despite lacking a lot of the features that make an RPG an RPG to an awful lot of people who forget what the "RP" actually stands for, reviewers included
you can't make 5318008 with an abacus
there are tons of games that get great scores that I just can't stand
how about we just call it best game in the history of the medium
PARKER, YOU'RE FIRED! <-- My comic book podcast! Satan look here!
that is what the best game is
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motherfucker can pontificate on the vidya games
specifically Tetris DS
I will never trade it in (partially because it's expensive as shit now)
Yeah, I can't get into stuff like God of War and Prototype
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ONLY A SITH DEALS IN ABSOLUTES
but for games ive enjoyed or find interesting even if i havent played them, i have been known to read more in-depth criticism, provided the writing isnt typical internet shit. i will usually close it as soon as i see a meme reference, for example
I actually could get into Prototype, which is weird because I usually don't like sandbox games
And even weirder because apparently everyone hates Prototype
Stuff like Mass Effect and Fallout and Elder Scrolls bore the shit out of me
game design criticism? stop doing objectives in the traditional sense
rainbow six's older incarnations were wonderful because there was mission planning beforehand that rested on your knowledge of the surroundings and improvising when intel wasn't there
give somebody's brain credit, sometimes the invisible hand of design is a sacred cow you shouldn't always adhere to
Tycho does that about as well as anyone else I've yet seen. R.U.S.E. does act kinda like a board game in some ways and I never would have picked up on that reason for why I enjoyed it until he pointed it out. He's also the reason I check the Greed Corp page like every other fucking day to see when it's coming to PC.
I don't know why I like the mechanics I do, but the one thing that will get me to buy a game without playing it is an in-depth review of how the game functions that appeals to me.
edit: actually, I guess Alex "icycalm" Kierkegaard's 6,000 word deposition on why some game journalist is a slut, or whatever, beginning with a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche, would be a good place to start. It is unfortunately literally too long to quote.
Someone recommended zeno clash recently, and I tried the (pretty short) demo
I liked it somewhat.. But wasn't too thrilled by the way multiple enemies are handled
Is it me?
Also, how long is the full game?
I think game criticism is good to have as it gives different viewpoints that I, as a consumer, might not have thought about. Reviews can be enough for me, but it depends on the game. I never look at Metacritic and I'm always interested in reading how games do what they do (gamasutra is great for this and kotaku gets lucky sometimes).
the design of levels seems to fall into this tightly wound machine of set pieces and corridors of dudes
It was the whole "You're a crazed madman who brutally slays anything he comes across" that really turned me off to them
What spring does with the cherry trees.
i think it's better than most attempts to do lock on the first person (i fucking hated breakdown)
it's more of the muscle reflex to simply turn and quickly identify the enemy without locking on that screws with me but after the game's tutorial you fight three people at once so they try to drill the basics into with some relatively easy enemies
Hm.. It doesn't have any multiplayer, right? How long is the campaign?