The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
Games are crap. Really, really crap. And I talk from experience.
Think, if you will, of some games characters. Ok. Now think of some you could become emotionally attached to, or at least believe were real characters [Best not use the word "people".]. Getting harder. No, Sonic does not count. Clicking your fingers and pointing foward makes a good character not.
In fact, I can't really think of any. Games characters are shallow pathetic creatures. The bad guys are characatures of evil, the good eyes? Well, look at Snake.
Cool = smoking + not giving a crap about anyone. It's all simple stuff, and it's lazy.
The best games characters you will ever find. What genre would the be in?
Platformers? Hell no. Mario's got the charisma of a sandwich, Sonic's stylised to the point of being corny, even Lara Croft is just another "I don't need anything but this gun and a pack of one-liners that someone thought of on their lunch break". Nobody's real.
Same with FPS's. Duke Nukem is a great character, stolen straight from Ash from the Evil Dead, though. Gordon Freeman? Err... right. The Marine from Doom?
Ok, RPG's? Hense my title.
Characters in an RPG have to be:
The "leader". Cool headed, "Hey guys, this isn't the time to shout at each other! They're getting further away!"
The "hot-head". "Let's not wait till the morning! Let's go thrash them now!"
The "avenger". "They killed my... hamster."
The "female". "I'm going to shout at the leader and have a go at him although I secretly love him."
So no. Nobody in RPG's have good characters. Bar Skies of Arcadia, but anyone who dare's call themselves a gamer knows that. :0)
In fact, the best genre for characters? Point and Click adventures.
May I say "Sam and Max?", "Guybrush Threepwood", "The people from Day of the Tentacle"? :0)
All Lucasarts stuff, I know. But you can't fault the characters. Schizophrenic blond girls that carry scalpels around in case they need to operate, pirates that fight through the art of repartee, swearing old men that live in tourist traps that bend spoons using the power of their mind. Come on, why are you going to go shoot Nazis when you've got that sort of power?
Point and click games were some of the most original and inspiring games ever made, but they were abandoned because nobody could think of a way to properly update the graphics. 2D is for morons, obviously.
And they still haven't. Monkey 4 was, alright... but pointless in a 3D form. Grim Fandango worked better, for some reason. And this new Broken Sword looks awful.
But, perhaps, just perhaps, there is another way. A way to bring back the excellent characters of the point and click, that have been laid aside so we can have character after character of machine gunning "death means nothing to me" men who haven't shaved in a good while. I know there's a way, and I will prove there's a way.
Let's hope someone wakes up one day, and realises that there hasn't been one original character in a long time. They're all just carbon copies of the same damn one.
Characters are definitely what's lacking in todays games. It's a shame the designers just see characters as what they look like... but it goes further than that. Character design isn't about putting buttons on a shirt, it's about creating someone that someone else could fall in love with.
Think, if you will, of some games characters. Ok. Now think of some you could become emotionally attached to, or at least believe were real characters [Best not use the word "people".]. Getting harder. No, Sonic does not count. Clicking your fingers and pointing foward makes a good character not.
In fact, I can't really think of any. Games characters are shallow pathetic creatures. The bad guys are characatures of evil, the good eyes? Well, look at Snake.
Cool = smoking + not giving a crap about anyone. It's all simple stuff, and it's lazy.
The best games characters you will ever find. What genre would the be in?
Platformers? Hell no. Mario's got the charisma of a sandwich, Sonic's stylised to the point of being corny, even Lara Croft is just another "I don't need anything but this gun and a pack of one-liners that someone thought of on their lunch break". Nobody's real.
Same with FPS's. Duke Nukem is a great character, stolen straight from Ash from the Evil Dead, though. Gordon Freeman? Err... right. The Marine from Doom?
Ok, RPG's? Hense my title.
Characters in an RPG have to be:
The "leader". Cool headed, "Hey guys, this isn't the time to shout at each other! They're getting further away!"
The "hot-head". "Let's not wait till the morning! Let's go thrash them now!"
The "avenger". "They killed my... hamster."
The "female". "I'm going to shout at the leader and have a go at him although I secretly love him."
So no. Nobody in RPG's have good characters. Bar Skies of Arcadia, but anyone who dare's call themselves a gamer knows that. :0)
In fact, the best genre for characters? Point and Click adventures.
May I say "Sam and Max?", "Guybrush Threepwood", "The people from Day of the Tentacle"? :0)
All Lucasarts stuff, I know. But you can't fault the characters. Schizophrenic blond girls that carry scalpels around in case they need to operate, pirates that fight through the art of repartee, swearing old men that live in tourist traps that bend spoons using the power of their mind. Come on, why are you going to go shoot Nazis when you've got that sort of power?
Point and click games were some of the most original and inspiring games ever made, but they were abandoned because nobody could think of a way to properly update the graphics. 2D is for morons, obviously.
And they still haven't. Monkey 4 was, alright... but pointless in a 3D form. Grim Fandango worked better, for some reason. And this new Broken Sword looks awful.
But, perhaps, just perhaps, there is another way. A way to bring back the excellent characters of the point and click, that have been laid aside so we can have character after character of machine gunning "death means nothing to me" men who haven't shaved in a good while. I know there's a way, and I will prove there's a way.
Let's hope someone wakes up one day, and realises that there hasn't been one original character in a long time. They're all just carbon copies of the same damn one.
Characters are definitely what's lacking in todays games. It's a shame the designers just see characters as what they look like... but it goes further than that. Character design isn't about putting buttons on a shirt, it's about creating someone that someone else could fall in love with.
Page:
Ant, you take MGS far too seriously.
It is allowed to have flaws. And a major one is that Raiden looks like a GIRL! This should not be tolerated.
I reckon if they try and make George Stobbart appear in 3D he'll break out and revert to 2D. Or accidentally slip on a crocidileskin handbag and dislodge a rafter which will catapult a gas canister somewhere.
It is allowed to have flaws. And a major one is that Raiden looks like a GIRL! This should not be tolerated.
I reckon if they try and make George Stobbart appear in 3D he'll break out and revert to 2D. Or accidentally slip on a crocidileskin handbag and dislodge a rafter which will catapult a gas canister somewhere.
Level 3? What sort of point and click were you playing? :D
It's usually all just one level, sectioned off into chapters...
And no, while Snake might "feel love like human", he doesn't stab people with forks, or beat up rabbits with a golf club. Displaying "simple human emotions, like love, and humour", are certainly nothing compared to "You fight like a cow." Characters don't need to be zany, but they do need to do a lot more than... how can I put this. Do you want to live through your life, doing NOTHING but:
1) Obtaining a small job.
2) Falling in love and marrying.
3) Dying.
That's all. You can't get drunk at parties, you aren't allowed to watch the sea.
It's usually all just one level, sectioned off into chapters...
And no, while Snake might "feel love like human", he doesn't stab people with forks, or beat up rabbits with a golf club. Displaying "simple human emotions, like love, and humour", are certainly nothing compared to "You fight like a cow." Characters don't need to be zany, but they do need to do a lot more than... how can I put this. Do you want to live through your life, doing NOTHING but:
1) Obtaining a small job.
2) Falling in love and marrying.
3) Dying.
That's all. You can't get drunk at parties, you aren't allowed to watch the sea.
Ah, but get further into MGS and you delve deeper into his real character. He DOES care about people, this is proved when he meets Meryl, and even Otacon. You find out a little of his past and realise what's happened to him, and what he's really like. But okay, he does smoke, and he doesn't care about MANY people. {:)
Point n' Clicks haven't been my thing since I couldn't get past level 3 on this PC one...can't remember what it was called, but I know it was some sort of damn troll that I couldn't beat.
Point n' Clicks haven't been my thing since I couldn't get past level 3 on this PC one...can't remember what it was called, but I know it was some sort of damn troll that I couldn't beat.
Erm, no, you've missed the point a bit.
Star Wars is popular, because it's a great story told well, and with THE best characters ever created. No cliches, just normal people that you can connect to. That's why the original trilogy was so popular... and of course you have the cool space battles and lightsabers and the force! So cool.
But let's pretend it was never made. Today stands as what it was like before Star Wars came along.
Now, George Lucas makes Star Wars, releases it as a first person shooter/space flight sim. Would it be as popular?
No. Simply because people refuse to take on games, because of the reasons I've listed. Characters are shallow, and uncreative. They're seen as simple, and just for kids.
That's the image it's created. Sure, games are great fun without great characters, and people are missing a lot. But it can be a great deal better.
Star Wars is popular, because it's a great story told well, and with THE best characters ever created. No cliches, just normal people that you can connect to. That's why the original trilogy was so popular... and of course you have the cool space battles and lightsabers and the force! So cool.
But let's pretend it was never made. Today stands as what it was like before Star Wars came along.
Now, George Lucas makes Star Wars, releases it as a first person shooter/space flight sim. Would it be as popular?
No. Simply because people refuse to take on games, because of the reasons I've listed. Characters are shallow, and uncreative. They're seen as simple, and just for kids.
That's the image it's created. Sure, games are great fun without great characters, and people are missing a lot. But it can be a great deal better.
Grix Thraves wrote:
What if the Star Wars trilogy
> was an adventure game series? Would it be as popular today?
The worrying thing is that there are a series of text adventures available - based in the SW universe.
Deary deary me...
What if the Star Wars trilogy
> was an adventure game series? Would it be as popular today?
The worrying thing is that there are a series of text adventures available - based in the SW universe.
Deary deary me...
I used the "standing around" animations as an example, by the way. :0) It's not as if Sonic does anything else apart from run.
But, for some reason, why does he seem a better character in Sonic 1 than Sonic 2 or 3? Just the way my mind works, probably. Actually, it's probably to do with the music. The music in Sonic 2 and 3 was just music to "run" to. The music in the first one actually did have a lot more character.
Imagine what would have happened if George Lucas had decided to make games for a living, instead of films? [Consider that both were easily accessible.]
What if the Star Wars trilogy was an adventure game series? Would it be as popular today?
But, for some reason, why does he seem a better character in Sonic 1 than Sonic 2 or 3? Just the way my mind works, probably. Actually, it's probably to do with the music. The music in Sonic 2 and 3 was just music to "run" to. The music in the first one actually did have a lot more character.
Imagine what would have happened if George Lucas had decided to make games for a living, instead of films? [Consider that both were easily accessible.]
What if the Star Wars trilogy was an adventure game series? Would it be as popular today?
What about Conker from Conker's Bad Fur Day????
Everyone says he's really bad and mean, but all he seems to do in-game is things like smile, joke around, and play his GameBoy!
The rudest thing he does is throw his cup on the floor after drinking from it!! :O
Good post by the way, and I agree with it.
Everyone says he's really bad and mean, but all he seems to do in-game is things like smile, joke around, and play his GameBoy!
The rudest thing he does is throw his cup on the floor after drinking from it!! :O
Good post by the way, and I agree with it.
Damn straight the new Broken Sword looks crap. When will they realise 2d is tried and tested for point and clicks?! It doesn't need changing. George could walk round buildings and stuff perfectly in 2D.
He's too hard for 3D. :-)
He's too hard for 3D. :-)
Games are crap. Really, really crap. And I talk from experience.
Think, if you will, of some games characters. Ok. Now think of some you could become emotionally attached to, or at least believe were real characters [Best not use the word "people".]. Getting harder. No, Sonic does not count. Clicking your fingers and pointing foward makes a good character not.
In fact, I can't really think of any. Games characters are shallow pathetic creatures. The bad guys are characatures of evil, the good eyes? Well, look at Snake.
Cool = smoking + not giving a crap about anyone. It's all simple stuff, and it's lazy.
The best games characters you will ever find. What genre would the be in?
Platformers? Hell no. Mario's got the charisma of a sandwich, Sonic's stylised to the point of being corny, even Lara Croft is just another "I don't need anything but this gun and a pack of one-liners that someone thought of on their lunch break". Nobody's real.
Same with FPS's. Duke Nukem is a great character, stolen straight from Ash from the Evil Dead, though. Gordon Freeman? Err... right. The Marine from Doom?
Ok, RPG's? Hense my title.
Characters in an RPG have to be:
The "leader". Cool headed, "Hey guys, this isn't the time to shout at each other! They're getting further away!"
The "hot-head". "Let's not wait till the morning! Let's go thrash them now!"
The "avenger". "They killed my... hamster."
The "female". "I'm going to shout at the leader and have a go at him although I secretly love him."
So no. Nobody in RPG's have good characters. Bar Skies of Arcadia, but anyone who dare's call themselves a gamer knows that. :0)
In fact, the best genre for characters? Point and Click adventures.
May I say "Sam and Max?", "Guybrush Threepwood", "The people from Day of the Tentacle"? :0)
All Lucasarts stuff, I know. But you can't fault the characters. Schizophrenic blond girls that carry scalpels around in case they need to operate, pirates that fight through the art of repartee, swearing old men that live in tourist traps that bend spoons using the power of their mind. Come on, why are you going to go shoot Nazis when you've got that sort of power?
Point and click games were some of the most original and inspiring games ever made, but they were abandoned because nobody could think of a way to properly update the graphics. 2D is for morons, obviously.
And they still haven't. Monkey 4 was, alright... but pointless in a 3D form. Grim Fandango worked better, for some reason. And this new Broken Sword looks awful.
But, perhaps, just perhaps, there is another way. A way to bring back the excellent characters of the point and click, that have been laid aside so we can have character after character of machine gunning "death means nothing to me" men who haven't shaved in a good while. I know there's a way, and I will prove there's a way.
Let's hope someone wakes up one day, and realises that there hasn't been one original character in a long time. They're all just carbon copies of the same damn one.
Characters are definitely what's lacking in todays games. It's a shame the designers just see characters as what they look like... but it goes further than that. Character design isn't about putting buttons on a shirt, it's about creating someone that someone else could fall in love with.
Think, if you will, of some games characters. Ok. Now think of some you could become emotionally attached to, or at least believe were real characters [Best not use the word "people".]. Getting harder. No, Sonic does not count. Clicking your fingers and pointing foward makes a good character not.
In fact, I can't really think of any. Games characters are shallow pathetic creatures. The bad guys are characatures of evil, the good eyes? Well, look at Snake.
Cool = smoking + not giving a crap about anyone. It's all simple stuff, and it's lazy.
The best games characters you will ever find. What genre would the be in?
Platformers? Hell no. Mario's got the charisma of a sandwich, Sonic's stylised to the point of being corny, even Lara Croft is just another "I don't need anything but this gun and a pack of one-liners that someone thought of on their lunch break". Nobody's real.
Same with FPS's. Duke Nukem is a great character, stolen straight from Ash from the Evil Dead, though. Gordon Freeman? Err... right. The Marine from Doom?
Ok, RPG's? Hense my title.
Characters in an RPG have to be:
The "leader". Cool headed, "Hey guys, this isn't the time to shout at each other! They're getting further away!"
The "hot-head". "Let's not wait till the morning! Let's go thrash them now!"
The "avenger". "They killed my... hamster."
The "female". "I'm going to shout at the leader and have a go at him although I secretly love him."
So no. Nobody in RPG's have good characters. Bar Skies of Arcadia, but anyone who dare's call themselves a gamer knows that. :0)
In fact, the best genre for characters? Point and Click adventures.
May I say "Sam and Max?", "Guybrush Threepwood", "The people from Day of the Tentacle"? :0)
All Lucasarts stuff, I know. But you can't fault the characters. Schizophrenic blond girls that carry scalpels around in case they need to operate, pirates that fight through the art of repartee, swearing old men that live in tourist traps that bend spoons using the power of their mind. Come on, why are you going to go shoot Nazis when you've got that sort of power?
Point and click games were some of the most original and inspiring games ever made, but they were abandoned because nobody could think of a way to properly update the graphics. 2D is for morons, obviously.
And they still haven't. Monkey 4 was, alright... but pointless in a 3D form. Grim Fandango worked better, for some reason. And this new Broken Sword looks awful.
But, perhaps, just perhaps, there is another way. A way to bring back the excellent characters of the point and click, that have been laid aside so we can have character after character of machine gunning "death means nothing to me" men who haven't shaved in a good while. I know there's a way, and I will prove there's a way.
Let's hope someone wakes up one day, and realises that there hasn't been one original character in a long time. They're all just carbon copies of the same damn one.
Characters are definitely what's lacking in todays games. It's a shame the designers just see characters as what they look like... but it goes further than that. Character design isn't about putting buttons on a shirt, it's about creating someone that someone else could fall in love with.
Page: