Wormerine

Interactivity in a narrative is a funny thing - I do think I have been liking Obsidian's work more then the competition partially because at some point they managed to figure out how to incorporate player choice into the core of the narrative (I don't feel that way about BioWare games - I don't think watching those would be that much different then playing them). Your opening point, though, is very thought provoking. I do question, though, how much input players really have. I don't think player's input have transformative quality - everyone's experience of playing the game will be unique, but not different - in the same way people may take out different things from a book/film/music but they all experience the same thing. Is playing a game truly that much different then consuming other medium? I honestly, don't have a stance now. Will be thinking of it as I play.

Indeed. I expressed myself poorly. Original post edited. There is something I have been thinking for a while now and would be curious what you folks think. In previous post I suggested that if games learn to better tell stories it would be better as an artform. What I am asking myself is if storytelling is game's strength. While a lot of art does focus on some form of storytelling not all does. Music, for example, is mostly a non-narrative medium. Music CAN tell a story - Strauss' Symphonic Poems are an obvious example, and there are of course songs, which music is written to enhance usually already written poem. There are also Operas which have plot, but I think it is safe to say that if one judged those by the quality of their "writing" in a literaturaly sense they wouldn't have gained much acclaim. Most of music is plot free - it doesn't mean it's not expressive nor doesn't say anything, quite the opposite, but story, plot or settings are just not things music really benefits from due to its nature. What I am wondering is if gaming is similar. Sure good writing and nicely directed cutscenes can be compelling but is it really doing what games are best at? Isn't it how the game plays that is (and should?) be a primary way of communication? I think that while a well chosen theme for a game can make it easier to engage (the same way modern composers will often add titles these days which may/may not have actual relevance to pieces creation, in attempt to make it easier for the audience to connect with their piece) how much significance does a setting, theme or story really has? That line of thinking might of course lead to conclusion that games like Pentiment are bad as their way of communicating doesn't come from gameplay - though at the same time act of watching a game is still a unique experience, different from watching a film. So perhaps it's a bit more complicated as that - "old" arts (plays, writing, music, paintings) are much more focused though even in those one can see attempts to merge arts together. Perhaps games are just a melting pot of different artforms, and games can lean into whatever they find useful.

Or a real life scenario in general. Though I suspect it is mechanical flexibility which comes with fiction (edit. Read: fictional settings) that makes fiction (edit: them) so common. I think the trick is that if you base your game on history/part of real life you need to look at it's real life counterpart and then find a way to gamify it, rather then come up with mechanics and then slap a theme on it. Not that it is something not worth exploring - art is about communication, so I think games could only benefit from finding way to express new stories and concepts rather then adjusting the stories they tell to their gameplay they already came up with.

Elden Ring is even up for the best narrative... which leaves me rather confused. Don't get me wrong, I like the kind of storytelling FromSoftware has been using, but my impression has been that Elden Ring seems far less coherent then their previous titles.

Same. After reading some reviews I was worried that ascetic nature of the presentation will make it difficult to get into, but I was fully drawn in. It helps that as some raised on European history and an art degree at least a decent amount of stuff rings a bell, or it at least is conceptually familiar. It's been also much funnier then I expected. There are also a detail that I am wondering if I am getting it right - all titles refering to god/trinity (God, Lord, Christ) seem to be left blank and then filled in as if for players benefit. I am wondering if it's refering to a long tradition of not using God's name and the subsequent erasure of the tetragram from the written scriptures.

I think NV isn’t great in moral grey area stuff. It sometimes is, but a lot of choices feel difficult to justify.

That’s much higher scores that I expected - most of stuff I have seen have been “that’s cool, but not for me”. Can’t wait to see if it IS for me, or if I will have to reach to my inner snob and pretend it’s for me

I mean it did came out as a kickstarter project, just like the other. Unlike the others it's not really aping any particular classic cRPG, which is a good thing IMO. Nostalgia is fine, but one needs to forward (or at least in some direction) from time to time. My first experience was playing it with a friend for 10 hours in two days, and I loved every minute of it. D:OS1 is a coop RPG that you can play by yourself - and honestly, I love it for it. We don't have cRPGs revolving mainly around coop, and D:OS1 has been an interesting experiment. It also helps that having a friend along, not that easily seeing flaws in combat due to limited perspective (controlling half of a party) and just generally not paying that much attention due to alcohol consumption and focusing more on messing with your coop partner then the game. Splitting NPCs also helps - less silly writing to go through. D:OS2 walked back on some coop ideas, and created more of a hybrid. Personally, I like it less for it. It is still not a great singleplayer RPG, but as it is trying I find it more difficult to forgive it now that they are trying. Good engine though - one of those "I wish Obsidian would made a sequel in this engine" games.

I am trying to keep the long dormand Potter-mania from reawakening after two decates of slumber. Hogwards looks very nice. Not sure about everything else - barely showing gameplay doesn't fill me with confidence, and quests they presented sounded very dull. I am sure that 10 years old me would love it though - afterall all I had was A movie-tie in game and I still liked it and replayed it over and over again. 32 years old me, though, is wary of anything produced by WBg.

Yes, it's good to play with a friend so you can laugh at the story and some NPCs. Cat puns are a bit more managable if you have someone you can groan with. D:OS2 is overall a better game, though I felt they made some unfortunate misteps with some of the combat mechanics. Writing and story got more attention though personally I wasn't a fan either.

Love it, love it, love it.

ZA-UM Drama continues Fired ex-Disco Elysium accuse current majority shareholder of fraud and are in process of considering future legal actions. [edit1] ZA-UM Drama continues further ZA-UM denies allegation, and claims that employees were fired over so,E really bad behaviour - including not treating their fellow employees nice, attempting to steal the IP and not doing their jobs. [/edit1] Mick Gordon vs ID Software drama strikes back Back in a day DOOM: Eternal's soundtrack was reported to be mixed poorly, and ID Software put the blade on soundtracks composer Mick Gordon. Now, two years later, MG claim it wasn't so. Goes even further to accuse ID Software of using far more of his work then they contractually agreed to, and refusing to pay him for the difference. edit2. MG post is lengthy but fascinating - he brings quite a few receipts to support his story. If his account of the events is accurate, then it’s quite a chilling tale.

Persona 5 is soo good. I can’t stop. Help me.

Pretty good interview with Matt Booty, Head of Microsoft Game Studios, during Friends Per Second Podcast. There are chapters but the interview starts around 41:00 minute mark. Unfortunately nothing about Avowed

Played a bit of technical beta for Hitman3 Freelancer mode. So far really promising. A neat somewhat roguelite mode using Hitman levels. Randomised targets, optional objectives and limited access to inventory do shake things up quite a bit. Funny how much not having a silenced pistol changes things. From what I can tell there are no bonus objectives for silent assassin, unless there is reward for something of that kind.

At the same time wouldn't it be frustrating for Microsoft to purchase so many studios and seemingly do nothing with them? For not we haven't seen a single Microsoft heavy hitter, be it Avowed, Hellblade2 or Bethesda-space-game whatever it is called. I treated Avowed CGI, like recent new Deux Ex confirmation - that's what they are working right now, it's very early and anything could happen. Avowed trailer reveled little to nothing about the actual game, so there are no false promises... unless of course, someone bought XBOX console hoping to play Avowed in near future. As a PC gamer and PoE fan, I am glad that the IP is at least being worked on. I will hopefully still be here when/if it's ready.

It is from pre-alpha build that was shared as a preview with some selected outlets. I believe the author of the article below confirmed that the screenshot is from the build he have seen almost a year ago. So it is definitely not representative of current state, and it's difficult to guess how much the direction could have change with changes in the projects leadership. Still nice to at least take a look at something. https://www.windowscentral.com/details-xbox-exclusive-avowed-obsidian-outer-worlds-meets-medieval-fantasy My guess would be that it was some form of vertical slice - it's been already in development for some time, so I am sure the art team has been exploring the look of the game. Assets must have been made for Avowed itself, with PoE1 don't being a 3d game and working in a different engine.

Good. I just hope their recent comment to "do What Cyberpunk 2077 couldn't" isn't indicative of their ambition. They did small, but intricate rather well, it would be a shame if they overextended.

True, same as Red Dead and some other games. It is a bit more damning for C77 though, who attempts more player agency here and there. I was more frustrated by game sending me mixed signals then anything. By browsing the internet I have learned there is a classic Deus Ex touch, like being able to save one NPC during the Asaka raid, but with how restrictive C77 has been I feel really cheated by this being an u specified option. I even tried to go back with my super legs during the playthrough and thought there was some invisible wall to prevent me from doing it - might be just game’s junk getting in the way.

Return to Monkey Island is coming to Game Pass in a weeks time. Glad I skipped it https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/embracer-close-hitman-go-developers-just-months-after-acquiring-them embracer shut down studio responsible for “Go” series (Hitman/Tomb Raider/Deus Ex Go). At least some folks will go to Eidos Montreal (Deus Ex, Guardian of the Galaxy folks). edit: got confused which studio is which. Gist was right, but studio names were wrong.

Finished my Cyberpunk2077 playthrough. As I see it the game is unfinished - and I don't mean bugs etc. I had very playable experience, tough the game is very junky in both gameplay and presentation. It seems to me like CDPR developed very few possible interactions for this game - missions objectives are very repetitive and the game is incapable of utilising the open world map. I can think of very few car chases, and those that are there are very uninteractive - that is my repeating complaint with the game. So much of the game is just passively following the dotted line, and always FPS view makes the "cutscenes" very uninteresting to watch. Story is a mess - again, feels like it needed some rewrites and a lot of fleshing out. There are story beats, factions, and characters with potential, but it's all very rough. There are moments where the game comes back to life the way Witcher games did, but those are few. I feel there is a lot of texture missing - like how life in night city actually looks like. Characters state their view points a lot (Johnny especially) but those are never explored. For example, I still don't know why Arasaka is so evil, or even what it is they do, outside brain copying mumbo jumbo. I feel that for that is a painful omition for the game's main antagonist. Perhaps it's explained in one of the myriad lore books, but I missed it. It doesn't help that V is a bland protagonist, with only basic motivations. Without interesting choices to make he isn't little more then the cameramen - the emotional weight lies on other NPCs, and unfortunately, most of the time we spend alone. I mean there is Johny, but I found him to be all over the place. I like the intention for his development, but he lacked.... well, development. With most of the story not being about him, he is sidelined being as ****, until he suddenly gets a change or a heart. I also didn't like dives into his memories, which felt like lore dumps with ****. I think I would prefer if he wasn't Keanu. I never stopped finding his likeness distracting, and his monotone voice - I mean I like Keanu, but acting has never been his strong suit. Oddly enough I don't mind actor's liknesses in Death Stranding - I think partially because they seem to get to act there. While Cyberpunk can have some impressive character and facial animations. but not for Johny. Easily my least favourite CDPR game - while rough Witcher1&2 had some really special ideas and ambitious in them. I don't think I can say the same about Cyberpunk. It would be forgettable, if not for it being a game that CDPR made after Witcher3.

Possibly. Edit3: screenshot from the Reddit post is still up.

Before Chainsaw Bros, Cliff Bleszinski worked on Furries with Guns, and for a limited time only you can grab for free nostalgia from my childhood that is Jazz Jackrabbit2 on GOG.

I honestly don't know. It was fine. Clunky like rest of W1, but I never found it any worse then the rest.

Netflix Witcher show will be swapping Superman for discounted Thor for season 4 https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/henry-cavill-will-be-replaced-as-geralt-in-the-witcher-season-four Edit: My guess that it is related to Cavill being Superman again.