dbeech

They should be called 'vidjagames' and only referred to when prefaced with the phrase 'them dang'.

"5:26 pm PT -- Denis Dyack appears on the stage in a magnificent puff of smoke. (Actually, he just marched on there, but we're sure that's how he envisioned it.)"

I'm pretty sure that's the funny thing I've ever read on this site.

Whenever I hear of a game in an established genre adding 'open-world' world elements I'm always reminded of games like Assassin's Creed and Mercenaries, which got both the open-world elements and the action elements perfect - but unfortunately forgot to put a game in there.

Have you ever noticed how in GTA every mission has a different feel to it? It has more in common with Mario Galaxy than those kinds of games.

Booth babes! Really ugly ones, with nice personalities.

@Psaakyrn: You seem to confuse, to some extent, interactivity with non-linearity. It is clear that a video game can have one without t'other. I think it is also clear that a video game whose story is interactive but not non-linear can still be seen as taking advantage of the unique potentialities of its medium.

Perhaps someone thinks that interactivity has little impact on story without employing some sort of non-linearity - since surely interactivity that does not involve non-linearity is only a gameplay issue. I think this is to overestimate the extent to which game elements and story elements of a video game are separate. Among other things, the fact that you play the game AS the protaganist has an incredible effect (and affect) on the story; it vastly increases the emotional impact of the story, at least when done right.

@Bob: I think you place to much of your opinion based on how video game stories compare to the stories of other mediums. On a traditional criteria it might be quite hard to defend (some of) the Halo series' writing. However that is only if you judge the game's story solely on the linear plot that you are presented with in the cut-scenes which is, admittedly, both broad and cliched. The interactivity of video games, however, lends itself to the presentation of a world mythology and it is here that the Halo story succeeds. The mythology of the Halo Universe gives, along with the gameplay obviously, the broad linear story greater meaning. If the plot of the Halo games were presented as is in a movie it is clear that it would be shite, but this is not how it is presented. Nonetheless we can draw analogies with the medium of film. Consider the original trilogy of Star Wars, that story was super broad and quite cliched when compared to the stories of the mediums before it (books ftw). However because it used the elements unique to its medium well it was a hit.

The fact that video games lend itself to the presentation of world mythologies is precisely the reason why it is the perfect medium for spin-offs into other mediums, ie the reason that the Halo books are such a success. The problem now is that every game developer is aware of this and consciously trying to create a high-concept Halo style franchise in order to reap big cash. But, as with any medium, the second the desire for big wads of cash has a large influence on a story it becomes quite transparent and ruins the story.

Last time I checked comic pages were made of paper, not plastic.

It's kind've hard to reach high sales figures when your target audience appears to be 'other games developers who might be interested in buying our engine.'

"The flightstick is not only NOT irrelevant, but has a small, thumbstick on the right analog stick."

Holy shit, was that a triple negative?

If we want photo realistic graphics then why don't we just start making really shitty cameras?

Some of these cases are so stupid one can't help but feel that the only reason they exist is to make sure lawyers don't go poor.