tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post529079392496450788..comments2024-03-18T09:09:41.484-07:00Comments on Critical Damage: Liberty CitiesBrendan Keoghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01772283679871140397noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-3847079195005782772010-09-17T12:03:54.180-07:002010-09-17T12:03:54.180-07:00>Personally, I would like to see
>videogames...>Personally, I would like to see<br />>videogames try to do a Pulp<br />>Fiction/Snatch kind of thing<br />>with the multiple stories all<br />>interconnecting. <br /><br />Aside from being interesting for narrative, this makes a lot of financial sense for studios—Rockstar was able to use the same map assets for what amount to three discrete single- and multi-player experiences, pushing the envelope each time without abandoning the hours they poured into the world. It's a familiar game: Every day we live a slightly different story in a familiar location, and it never gets old as long as we evolve as "players" (in this case social human beings).<br /><br />My only regret is that Rockstar will abandon Liberty City for a new location; I could have enjoyed three or four more brief narratives in the world of GTA IV. I know I haven't been down every alley yet.K.Adam Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16130400632334326744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-48596498269003432482010-09-16T12:07:20.377-07:002010-09-16T12:07:20.377-07:00Great post! Have you come across the psychological...Great post! Have you come across the psychological theory of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordances" rel="nofollow">affordances</a>? I think that may be the "official" term for what you describe.Humingwayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02483665348745111850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-23025312632703578042010-09-14T18:03:33.961-07:002010-09-14T18:03:33.961-07:00Hi A3, thanks for stopping by. I had a similar exp...Hi A3, thanks for stopping by. I had a similar experience while using a guide to find all the pigeons. I had a list of street addresses of the pigeons, and the road map that came with the game. Using the guide felt less like cheating and more like having a means to discover parts of the city I never would have seen otherwise--at least as Niko.<br /><br />I agree that multiple characters could really flesh out a game world. Personally, I would like to see videogames try to do a Pulp Fiction/Snatch kind of thing with the multiple stories all interconnecting. To an extent, I guess <i>ODST</i> kind of did this. I kept having these moments as the Rookie at night where I would click and think "Wait. This place is <b>that</b> place that I explored as that other character!"Brendan Keoghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01772283679871140397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-24284914420452149952010-09-14T11:53:48.818-07:002010-09-14T11:53:48.818-07:00I remember discovering much of the city when I tri...I remember discovering much of the city when I tried to find all the stunt jumps. Locations I'd driven through dozens of times and never noticed suddenly jumped out at me.<br /><br />If you think about it, it's interesting that so many sandbox games follow a single character and a single narrative arc. Since much of the enjoyment of those games is in exploring the sandbox, taking on the roles of different characters with unique viewpoints throughout the game might be a better experience.A3http://geektastical.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-89685140902997157072010-09-09T20:30:47.307-07:002010-09-09T20:30:47.307-07:00Hey Sean, thanks for reading. :)
I still remember...Hey Sean, thanks for reading. :)<br /><br />I still remember the first time I ended up on a bus going through Stone's Corner. I was so perplexed! It brings to mind the episode of The Simpsons where Lisa has to ride the bus to the Museum and ends up in all these bizarre, surreal areas.Brendan Keoghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01772283679871140397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-88465440866703756822010-09-09T20:28:25.737-07:002010-09-09T20:28:25.737-07:00Hi Fraser.
I imagine my map of Brisbane would lo...Hi Fraser.<br /><br /> I imagine my map of Brisbane would look somewhat similar. Perhaps mine would be like some fireworks--I could draw all the main roads out of the city, but apart from the north and the west (but not the northwest), I could not draw much a block or two away from those roads.<br /><br />My GTAIV characters also had their own vehicular tastes. I wasn't even considering it consciously until I got in a car as Johnny and it just felt... weird.Brendan Keoghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01772283679871140397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-20562417145188045812010-09-09T19:56:22.537-07:002010-09-09T19:56:22.537-07:00The southside of Brisbane is a dark chasm for me, ...The southside of Brisbane is a dark chasm for me, over which the South East Freeway and Gateway Motorway passes. Even the people there seem different to me, that they are somehow not Brisbanites by the definition I set, but a different species altogether.<br /><br />A fascinating post as always, Brendan.Asher the Basherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15313950407547093212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402915042780490574.post-47963464790713598372010-09-09T19:02:47.361-07:002010-09-09T19:02:47.361-07:00I've had the same experience, both in Liberty ...I've had the same experience, both in Liberty City and in Melbourne. I've often thought about drawing a map of the streets of Melbourne that I recognise. It would look something like an explosion: odd blobs of known space clustered thickly at the centre and scattering randomly toward the edges, connected by thin strands running along train lines and major highways.<br /><br />I also found in GTAIV that I semi-consciously assigned each protagonist a car profile. Obviously Johnny frequently expressed his disgust at riding anything other than an American motorbike, but I took that to heart much more than I would have expected, to the extent that I really didn't feel comfortable driving a car - and while I found many of the bike races only winnable in a Japanese-style sports bike, using them felt like a betrayal. But at least that was backed up by the story, and the bike riding mechanics had been improved in TLAD. I couldn't tell you why I decided Niko liked muscle cars and Luis liked sporty cars.<br /><br />Nobody liked SUVs.Fraser Allisonhttp://redkingsdream.com/noreply@blogger.com