2x12 - How medical students saved the galaxy
Submitted by Perrin on Tue, 02/03/2010 - 17:36
Nearly a month since our last episode we found we had a lot to talk about and after an hour and forty minute recording sessions, I then dragged Rob back over for an additional 20 minutes of material today so we could talk about all the craziness that went down yesterday in a special Shite of the Week EXTRA section.
With the entire gaming world taking part in a huge bukkake session over Mass Effect 2 we decide not to join in completely, but certainly give BioWare some credit by making their history as a company our main discussion topic.
And as the end of the series looms ahead of us things get a bit emotional as me and Rob have a massive row over DRM.
So all that along with a whole host of other less exciting things to hear inside. Did I mention it's 2 FUCKING HOURS long! You better be sat comfortably for this.
BTW, no Jim segment this week. He's having a baby. Well his wife is probably doing most of the work but we'll give him a pass anyways. Congrats Jim!
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Reader's Question "What are you favourite and most hated stories in video gaming?"
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This isn't the first time
This isn't the first time I've said "Holy fuck Richard, you need to get that sorted out".
Except this time it does not involve
a penis
do you like the funny joke
4 out of 10. You've lost your
4 out of 10. You've lost your touch man. But yes bah I probably need to add a captcha to the site sign up thingy. Will sort it out when I get back from SF.
You know you have made it as
You know you have made it as a podcast when people are commenting on your spam posts!
Kudos Perrin and Rob. Kudos!
My favorite story in a game
My favorite story in a game is Flashback.
I know it's basically just Total Recall in videogame form, but the game tells the story in a well paced, well constructed manner.
The game lets you develop from initially waking up with no memory to the point where you're able to win Death Tower. You feel like you're developing with the character as he learns more about himself and what he has to do.
The game can be long winded in places, but the tasks are broken down into smaller jobs that have enough of a reward for completing them that you feel compelled to go further.
It's rare that a game can make you get a job in order to do something and still maintain a feeling that what you're doing is right for the situation, rather than just a way to stretch it out for another forty minutes.
I think a large part of the success of the story telling is the atmosphere the game creates. It's brooding and tense without resorting to gore, shocks or goth stylings. the feeling of urgency from the screen shaking at the end is all this skillful little story needs to make you utterly absorbed.
It's effects are simple and effective and lend weight to the overall story ark.
It's clear that this game was made by a considerable talent wielding a light touch.
Easily as satisfying as watching a good film, and it stands up to the test of time. I know that because I played it last year.
I never got to play FTB, but I understand it's dreadful so that could be my suggestion for terrible story line. Although I own a copy of Overblood, so that wins.
Favourite: Probably either
Favourite: Probably either FFX which was spell-binding and emotional throughout or Portal. I know the story in Portal is a bit more abstract but because we know we are looking at the tiniest part of a bigger tale only hinted at, I like trying to make it 'fit' into the HL universe in my head. Also, it was fucking funny.
Worst: Pick any Sonic or Mario game. Sure, Galaxy was AMAZING but the story was exactly the same as Mario from 20 years before. Story is much less important in a platformer but even so, the question was 'worst story' without caveat.
It's not really a story,
It's not really a story, though, it's a conceit. There's little or no development but what development there is, is enough to justify your actions, which are pretty basic. So I'd say that a game's conceit is exempt from being held up against a story.
Understanding why you ARE going to the next level is all that's required for an arcade game, not why you SHOULD go to the next level. SHOULD hints that there is choice and consequence.
Thinking about it more, games have only really recently begun to give you differences of outcome if you decide to take a different path down a story, or rather, they've only recently begun to do it in an acceptable manner.
Flashback was my example, which really doesn't require you to make decision, it requires you to follow the actions imparted to you wrapped up in a narrative. It's still a good narrative, but I'm not sure how it differs from the mechanics of the narrative of Sonic or Mario other than to make you feel more invested in the outcome.
Flashback certainly feels more like a story, although I guess we're still still at the stage where to have an acceptable story it must take over from your actions at key points to further the plot.
Maybe that's because we still see games as analogous to films or books.
I was hoping that Sadness for the Wii would come out and show us all how it's done. The bumpf for it promised much, little of which I could imagine it delivering. Still, it would have been nice to see how far they got.
Maybe such control over a destiny is boring in a game, which essentially, is a skeleton of problem solving dressed in the skin of a story.
I've been breathing in Cillit Bang fumes.
I might be a bit high.
It's been mentioned before in
It's been mentioned before in Stage Clear comments (probably by me) but I enjoyed the story of the PC Blade Runner game from a few years back. The story is quite strong in itself but what makes it special is the way it dovetails nicely into events from the film. Characters and events from the film are mentioned but never seen so it adds to the Blade Runner atmosphere rather than just repeating it.
The worst? There's plenty but I'd go with the Metal Gear series for high profile nonsense. Genetic engineering? Massive mech tanks? It's a jumbled lump of every sci-fi element ever. I don't think I've played a Metal Gear game in which I haven't thought 'fair enough with all this sneaking about but what the hell is going on?'.
And we'll probably end up doing Brake For Frogger episode 3 whilst drinking port because we're heading down that road anyway.
It irritates me that the Halo
It irritates me that the Halo universe is so hugely defined through alternative media yet they have basically done the same story in all 3 Halo games. "Fight Covenant, Fight Flood, Explode Halo" in various forms.
It made me enjoy ODST a heck of a lot more, and made me look forward to Reach. Although the silent protagonist annoys me, as you're basically controlling a camera with a gun while everyone else has character.
Favourite game story? Mass
Favourite game story? Mass Effect would be the most recent one I can think of, but going back a bit, I loved the story in Shadow of Memories, Ocarina of time was quite immence for a game at the time. And I loved Silent Hill's, although its telling of that story falters towards the end.
Worst game stories, Halo (started out well, but by 3 it went to shit) Gears, barely any story to it, and the trailers were so intriguing!
Ach, the usual stuff really.
I need to mention Shenmue, the first 2 thirds of that story are brilliant, but the end is so ABSENT, its hard to call it a complete tale!
I can never organize my
I can never organize my thoughts enough to pick out anything like a particular favourite story, at least not one that wouldn’t fall under the category of “usual suspects” (Silent Hill 2, Portal, Torment) but I’d like to mention a couple of games still fresh in my memory that stand out from the crowd.
I will get mildly *SPOILERY* about both Bioshock 2 and Persona 3: The Answer (And to some extent, Persona 3 itself), below.
*Bioshock 2* is a dark, gory and chilling shooter that is fundamentally about parenthood, about the nature of love between a parent and a child and the nature of parents as role models for their children, even when they don’t realise they are being watched. Rescuing a lost family member is a plot device as old as the hills, and it’s as common as any other in videogames, but I’ve never before felt a real attachment to the character I’m rescuing, even before I laid eyes on her, some small part of me actually bought into the idea that Eleanor Lamb was my daughter, not just an abstract target waiting to be reached so I could progress further into the game. Consensus seems to have formed that Bioshock 2 can’t stand up to the original in terms of storytelling and writing and I feel this is totally unfair, it’s a showcase for some of the most grown up, intelligent, thoughtful and (In my case, playing as a goody two shoes) touching storytelling I can remember seeing in a game, I blubbed when I saw the ending, and any game that can make that happen earns my respect.
*Persona 3: The Answer*, I have to admit I haven’t really played, or to be more accurate I played it for about an hour and said “Fuck this; I’ll just watch the cut scenes on Youtube”. What I got was a story where I saw characters I’d spent absurd amounts of hours figuring out in Persona 3 having been stunned and torn apart by grief, distanced from one another (and eventually driven to each other’s throats) by their inability to process the others reactions and coping measures and explores what a group of people driven apart by loss have to overcome in order to overcome and accept that loss and move on with their lives. It marks a clear evolution for Atlus from the mystery and occultism of Persona 3 to the more personal character study fiction of Persona 4 and given that this is mere bonus content for a reissue of an existing title and it still features better storytelling than most games in any genre makes it clear to me that the Persona team features those amongst the very best in videogame storytelling. Incidentally, Persona 3 has one of the most perfect endings I can remember, somehow beautiful and full of hope for the future and yet utterly heartbreaking at the same time, I literally couldn’t get the last scene out of my head for days after finishing the game.
What stood out for me about both these games is they both focus on themes you hardly ever see in videogame storytelling, for an evolving medium that’s still exploring the limits of its ability to tell stories I believe concentrating on distinguishing yourself through theme and exploration of characters and their emotions and personalities is just as important as exploring differences in genre and setting.
I went on too long there maybe, but you’ll do any old bollocks to fill 30 minutes if it puts off finally starting on that coursework that’s due in next week.
Oh shit . . . I forgot to mention my least favourite story ever . . . errrrr . . . Gears of War?
Favourite: killer7. I am not
Favourite: killer7. I am not certain whether it is a case of 'favouritism' or generally being completely and utterly perplexed by it, and, as such, loving it. Nevertheless, it remains one of my all time favourite games and I am sure the story may have something to do with that(even if I have a very loose grasp of it). Other notable mentions: Grim Fandango, Planescape: Torment and Flower(not your typical 'narrative', yet one that carries weight all the same).
Hate: God of War. If I want to listen to a bald man being angry, as he tries to assault those who are more intelligent than him, I shall board a train and travel through to Glasgow for an evening. FFVII - Two dimensional characterisation and a 'plot' you would find upon the back of a biscuit packet due to being too low-brow for cereal.
Someone shouldn't post things
Someone shouldn't post things on the internet when they are drunk.