Kotor 3: Ideas and Suggestions

[Musopticon?]

Some kind of Sith planet, without an academy would be nice.

[213374U]

I'd like to think that what you want is feasible, but it's not. Developers don't have an unlimited supply of money and time to create the ultimate game for which their names will be written in the annals of history. It's just another business. Sure, they want to create the best possible games so you will consider buying their products in the future, but they have deadlines to meet and budgets to limit them. And from a certain point on, adding extra features and polish is no longer cost-effective.

 

Take HL2, for instance... "

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

1. Okay, now I'm confused: is it impossible, or has it been done before.

 

2. Seemed to be quite easy to do in Morrowind: the PC could even kill off critical NPCs to the main plot. Now, I'm not suggesting that, but there is always alternatives that can be written into the narartive. Kreia dies? Atris is the baddy. Or Nihilus. Or Sion. Or the original Kreia, whose clone was killed in the early part of the story. (After all, let's face it, Darth Traya

was nothing like Kreia

, anyway. And that is the main NPC of K2, and it is easily solved!

 

3. Ignoring your comments about workload, the comments about motivation are new, so I shall address them. The simple answer is to give the PC a reason to do some action, whereby it benefits them more to do a certain thing than not.

 

For example, in NwN HotU, the battle at the end of Chapter 2 is directly effected by the side quests that the PC completes, and the way they are completed. For example,

not giving the Overmind the magic mirror artefact

adds these combatants to the big battle, as does the failure to complete any of the side quests also add the correlated enemies to the battle.

 

So this is not new, it is simply pulling all the different strands together and making a superlative gaming experience.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I've told you all along it can be done as long as you take the choices away.

 

Apples and oranges, Morrowind is not a story based game as such its very hard to break the story. You do realise that you would have to record VO for all those possibilities ? And what happens if you kill Atris and Kreia ?

 

You do know you can complete all 5 right ? Not really much of a choice if you know how the reaper ward works. But that aside, are these choices meaningful ?

They do alter the difficulty of the battle, but little else subsequent events play out exactly the same way. I think the mirror thing crops up in the summation, but I wouldnt call it meaningful. It's more foreshadowing which is pretty pointless unless you actually foreshadowing something.

 

Hearing Morrowind and HoTU and superlative gaming in the same sentence. Not something I ever thought likely.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

Take HL2, for instance...  "

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I'm not familiar with it. Would you care to elaborate?

[metadigital]

Because it's the truth. How do you find out about the quality of a story? You can ask people(which spoils the story and may or may not be accurate), you can hope that because you know the authors work the story will be good(not foolproof by anymeans). But you cant know for certain until you experience it. It's like eating a cookie. The only way to know the quality of a cookie is to taste it. As a result if you dismiss things out of hand you may miss something good. And you still run the risk of a total lemon of story unless you already know what it is, which would be kind of pointless I would have thought.

 

Who cares ? Once you pay for the game mission accomplised by the publisher. One of the worst things you can do is to make a game so good that no one wants to play anything else.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, it is not the truth. You are over-simplifying my point in a attempt at reducto ad absurdum. Half-Life 2 was released last year and is still in the top ten games being sold. K2, even with the huge amount of goodwill generated by the first game, disapeared without a trace as soon as it became common knowledge that the game was not all it was meant to be. I'd rather have the revenues from Half-Life 2 than K2, any day.

... You[']r[e] just copying the JRPG design. Depth at the price of choice. Some like it some dont. Trying to compete directly with Squenix, not my idea of sane :D

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, I am propounding the use of deeper characters fused with optional narratives.

I simply dont care to argue about something that isnt "complete". There are too many unknowns.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, I was making a specific point (which you have still avoided even acknowledging). Here it is again: a tiny amount of effort would have converted some of the invested capital of K2 into immediate gains in immersion. This would have been a "quick win" for the developers.

Again JRPGs have done this, the games are totally crafted around the NPCs in every aspect from story to gameplay. They have a much more organic feel but it's not under your control in the way KOTOR NPCs are.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You keep suggesting that flexibility of narrative and depth of character are necessarily lost when making a game with choice. It is not true. It is more work, yes, but it is not a mandatory precondition.

[metadigital]

I've told you all along it can be done as long as you take the choices away.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And I have countered that it can be done, without taking away the optional narrative branches.

Apples and oranges, Morrowind is not a story based game as such its very hard to break the story. You do realise that you would have to record VO for all those possibilities ? And what happens if you kill Atris and Kreia ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Morrowind is not story-based? What is it based on, then?

 

Yes, but actors are surprisingly cheap to maintain. I know quite a few of them. (Remeber that acting is one of the worst vocations for employment, upwards of 90% unemployed at any moment.)

 

Then Nihilus is the baddy, or a the Kreia you killed was a clone (like I already said).

You do know you can complete all 5 right ? Not really much of a choice if you know how the reaper ward works. But that aside, are these choices meaningful ?

They do alter the difficulty of the battle, but little else. I think the mirror thing crops up in the summation, but I wouldnt call it meaningful. It's more foreshadowing which is pretty pointless unless you actually foreshadowing something.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, in fact the first time through I completed all five. And the second time, I didn't give the mirror away, I just killed everthing that moved, and killed the Mind Flayers that turned up later.

Hearing Morrowind and HoTU and superlative gaming in the same sentence. Not something I ever thought likely.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You are being churlish. I was quoting existing (and, indeed, old established) gameplay technology to provide a cogent example of how a simple grafting of certain ideas together would produce exceptional results. Again, a "quick win" for the developers.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

No, it is not the truth. You are over-simplifying my point in a attempt at reducto ad absurdum. Half-Life 2 was released last year and is still in the top ten games being sold. K2, even with the huge amount of goodwill generated by the first game, disapeared without a trace as soon as it became common knowledge that the game was not all it was meant to be. I'd rather have the revenues from Half-Life 2 than K2, any day.

 

No, I am propounding the use of deeper characters fused with optional narratives.

 

No, I was making a specific point (which you have still avoided even acknowledging). Here it is again: a tiny amount of effort would have converted some of the invested capital of K2 into immediate gains in immersion. This would have been a "quick win" for the developers.

 

You keep suggesting that flexibility of narrative and depth of character are necessarily lost when making a game with choice. It is not true. It is more work, yes, but it is not a mandatory precondition.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Am I ? I wonder how many people are playing HL II for it's story? KOTOR I and II's sales figures are similiar which would mean your reasoning is flawed and no one stopped buying KOTORII because of quality. Simply that the market share reached saturation. Only the likes of Final Fantasy could go toe to toe with an FPS.

 

While blithely ignoring the realities that would involve.

 

If you want an answer you need something that isnt KOTORII related.

 

more work, more money, more difficult etc.

 

There is a very good reason why JRPGs follow one principle and games like KOTOR follow the other.

[metadigital]

I'd like to think that what you want is feasible, but it's not. Developers don't have an unlimited supply of money and time to create the ultimate game for which their names will be written in the annals of history. It's just another business. Sure, they want to create the best possible games so you will consider buying their products in the future, but they have deadlines to meet and budgets to limit them. And from a certain point on, adding extra features and polish is no longer cost-effective.

 

Take HL2, for instance...  "

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Half-Life 2 suffered precisely because they spent all their preparation on the game world (physics and graphics), and not enough on converting the story to gameplay.

 

For example, I still have Half-Life Visitors installed on my PC, because the story is fun to play. Why are mods and expansions so popular? (Even ignoring the free community ones.) Not because they introduce some fantastic new graphical innovation; they can only provide more examples of writing.

 

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

And I have countered that it can be done, without taking away the optional narrative branches.

 

Morrowind is not story-based? What is it based on, then?

 

Yes, but actors are surprisingly cheap to maintain. I know quite a few of them. (Remeber that acting is one of the worst vocations for employment, upwards of 90% unemployed at any moment.)

 

Then Nihilus is the baddy, or a the Kreia you killed was a clone (like I already said).

 

Yes, in fact the first time through I completed all five. And the second time, I didn't give the mirror away, I just killed everthing that moved, and killed the Mind Flayers that turned up later.

 

You are being churlish. I was quoting existing (and, indeed, old established) gameplay technology to provide a cogent example of how a simple grafting of certain ideas together would produce exceptional results. Again, a "quick win" for the developers.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

The difference is that I actually have proof of them existing in working games and your just saying it "should" be possible without being aware of the costs.

 

In Morrowind the story is almost incidental. Following the story is not what the games focus is which is why the story isnt important and why you can kill various people without breaking it.

 

If you want crap VOT yes. Jennifer Hale, Tara Strong etc. dont come cheap.Read the KOTOR II credits. Most people will agree that few things ruin a game as much as bad VOT.

 

I thought it was pretty clear that eventually you were going to run out of things to kill. Aside from that anyway you still have the expense/time/effort involved in turning each character into the boss.

 

Way to contradict your own point there <shrug>

 

Actually I just found it funny.

[metadigital]

Am I ? I wonder how many people are playing HL II for it's story? KOTOR I and II's sales figures are similiar which would mean your reasoning is flawed and no one stopped buying KOTORII because of quality. Simply that the market share reached saturation.  Only the likes of Final Fantasy could go toe to toe with an FPS.

 

While blithely ignoring the realities that would involve.

 

If you want an answer you need something that isnt KOTORII related.

 

more work, more money, more difficult etc.

 

There is a very good reason why JRPGs follow one principle and games like KOTOR follow the other.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

E pur si muove!

[Plano Skywalker]

Chrono Trigger isn't a cRPG Plano Skywalker. <_<

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

neither is Pirates! but some of the things from these action/adventures could be incorporated into a cRPG.

 

but VTM: Bloodlines is an RPG and illustrates the same point I was making with Chrono Trigger.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

E pur si muove!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Way to post something totally pointless. By this can I conclude that you now realise that your ideas are not realistic.

[metadigital]

The difference is that I actually have proof of them existing in working games and your just saying it "should" be possible without being aware of the costs.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You are saying it is already possible to do all these things, it is just too expensive. Because it hasn't been done yet. Using that logic, the aeroplane was too expensive to build.

In Morrowind the story is almost incidental. Following the story is not what the games focus is which is why the story isnt important and why you can kill various people without breaking it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The story of Morrowind was as incidental as the stories of both KotORs.

If you want crap VOT yes. Jennifer Hale, Tara Strong etc. dont come cheap.Read the KOTOR II credits. Most people will agree that few things ruin a game as much as bad VOT.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What makes you think they are expensive? As a component cost, the voice acting would have to be just above coffee and tea for the duration of the development cycle.

I thought it was pretty clear that eventually you were going to run out of things to kill. Aside from that anyway you still have the expense/time/effort involved in turning each character into the boss.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How did I run out? And you are forgetting the difficulty in killing a boss character as a low level PC.

Way to contradict your own point there <shrug>

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How did I contradict my point, exactly? I played the game twice: two different ways, with two different narrative arcs that met up at the battle. Seems like an ideal proof of my point, not a contradiction.

Actually I just found it funny.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was aware you thought it was funny. The point you again miss is that this isn't rocket science; even games you look upon with derision have incorporated it.

:cool:

[metadigital]

E pur si muove!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Way to post something totally pointless. By this can I conclude that you now realise that your ideas are not realistic.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I see you are a scholar of the classics.

[213374U]

Half-Life 2 suffered precisely because they spent all their preparation on the game world (physics and graphics), and not enough on converting the story to gameplay.

 

For example, I still have Half-Life Visitors installed on my PC, because the story is fun to play. Why are mods and expansions so popular? (Even ignoring the free community ones.) Not because they introduce some fantastic new graphical innovation; they can only provide more examples of writing.

You are proving my point. Six years of development and who knows how much money spent and all they could do is... HL2. It's not revolutionary in any sense (except if you consider the physics engine revolutionary), and it is a good example of mediocre writing.

 

With so much they did so little, and I'm not saying they could have done much more. You can't have it all. Not in a FPS, not in a RPG.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

You are saying it is already possible to do all these things, it is just too expensive. Because it hasn't been done yet. Using that logic, the aeroplane was too expensive to build.

 

The story of Morrowind was as incidental as the stories of both KotORs.

 

What makes you think they are expensive? As a component cost, the voice acting would have to be just above coffee and tea for the duration of the development cycle.

 

How did I run out? And you are forgetting the difficulty in killing a boss character as a low level PC.

 

How did I contradict my point, exactly? I played the game twice: two different ways, with two different narrative arcs that met up at the battle. Seems like an ideal proof of my point, not a contradiction.

 

I was aware you thought it was funny. The point you again miss is that this isn't rocket science; even games you look upon with derision have incorporated it.

:cool:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Well lets see no one has done it yet. Thats a fact. If you throw a enough time and money at something it's usually possible. Is it really worth throwing that sort of time and money at a 40 hour game. You might think so, but your not the one shelling out the money are you. Rather would you be willing to pay 10 times normal price for such a game ? Even if you are most people are not.

 

You couldnt be more wrong. If the story in KOTOR was incidental then you could kill off the NPCs.

 

Oh jee I wonder perhaps because they are some of the most in demand VOT outside of Japan. Why dont you go read their filmographies and educate yourself.

 

Unless you make it impossible then someone will do it. I kill Malak on the Leviathon. But the game just refused to accept it and carried on anyway.

 

How easy it is to circumvent the apparent "difficult choices" for one. The narritives end in the battle there is no story implications attached to them.

 

So your not bothered that it was incorporated badly then. So much for your discrimination..

 

Anyway this is getting boring so to sum up.

 

1.Your ideas are unfeasable.

 

2.There is no evidence that they would work even if you did spend the extra time and money.

 

3.And most important most players wouldnt care, they would rather have another 20 hours added to the game.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

I see you are a scholar of the classics.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Perhaps if you were you would see how ridiculous that is.

 

If anything it should be me saying it to you since your the one refusing to accept reality here.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

You are proving my point. Six years of development and who knows how much money spent and all they could do is... HL2. It's not revolutionary in any sense (except if you consider the physics engine revolutionary), and it is a good example of mediocre writing.

 

With so much they did so little, and I'm not saying they could have done much more. You can't have it all. Not in a FPS, not in a RPG.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I dont see how an RPG could sell in those numbers. Unless your name is Squenix it just dosnt happen. For an offline RPG I've never heard of figures of more than a million five. (the aforementioned aside).

 

I've never played the game so I couldnt really compare what KOTORII did in a sixth of the time.

[metadigital]

Well lets see no one has done it yet. That[']s a fact. If you throw a enough time and money at something it's usually possible. Is it really worth throwing that sort of time and money at a 40 hour game. You might think so, but you[']re not the one shelling out the money are you. Rather would you be willing to pay 10 times normal price for such a game ? Even if you are most people are not.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I find your defeatist attitude tedious. It hasn't been done, therefore it won't be done. By your reasoning, studios would never have made films that cost more than US$100million, and yet they have.

And, yes, as a matter of fact I would pay more for the game. But it needn't be as much as you are stating. Don't let your poor grasp of economics get in the way of a good hyperbole!

You couldn[']t be more wrong. If the story in KOTOR was incidental then you could kill off the NPCs.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

... Which is exactly what you do if you are DS. C'mon, you're not even trying.

Oh jee I wonder perhaps because they are some of the most in demand VOT outside of Japan. Why don[']t you go read their filmographies and educate yourself.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And what would learning their filmography prove?

Firsly, I doubt very much that their fees would be high enough to even warrant their own ledger entry in the developer's journal.

 

Secondly, are you suggesting that the minute cadre of working actors are the only ones that are any good? That any of the unemployed ones are not suitable? I think you really don't understand what you are talking about. I have friends who are jobbing actors, in tv and cinema. You are completely wrong, the reason actor unemployment is so high is not based on a lack of quality, it is an oversupply. (There's that pesky economics again.)

Unless you make it impossible then someone will do it. I kill Malak on the Leviathon. But the game just refused to accept it and carried on anyway.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, that is your continued assertion, it is not good writing. Good writing handles such situations. You are merely displaying your own lack of imagination.

How easy it is to circumvent the apparent "difficult choices" for one. The narritives end in the battle there is no story implications attached to them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But there was an impact, the battle was different. It is a perfect example. In one of my playthroughs, the drow companion turned against my party (I think it was bloody Deakin casdting a harmful area-affect spell), and she was consequently unavailable for the rest of the game. If she were a love interest (one of the options at the end of Chapter Three, randomly calculated), then that particular narrative arc would remain unfulfilled: unrequited love!

So your not bothered that it was incorporated badly then. So much for your discrimination..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But it was incorporated adequately, especially for an old game. As I pointed out immediately above, there are long-term ramifications, and the writing was not significantly more complex. And taking potshots at my discrimination doesn't distract me from the fact tht you display none.

Anyway this is getting boring so to sum up.

Your ideas are unfeasable.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Only to a defeatist who has demonstrated no grasp of economics, aside from a herd metaility.

There is no evidence that they would work even if you did spend the extra time and money.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Except the above examples that I have quoted!

And most important most players wouldnt care, they would rather have another 20 hours added to the game.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You are too easily pleased.

 

Why do you even play RPGs? Why not play a FPS, if that's all you want?

[metadigital]

I see you are a scholar of the classics.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Perhaps if you were you would see how ridiculous that is.

 

If anything it should be me saying it to you since your the one refusing to accept reality here.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

"Reality".

[metadigital]

You are proving my point. Six years of development and who knows how much money spent and all they could do is... HL2. It's not revolutionary in any sense (except if you consider the physics engine revolutionary), and it is a good example of mediocre writing.

 

With so much they did so little, and I'm not saying they could have done much more. You can't have it all. Not in a FPS, not in a RPG.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I dont see how an RPG could sell in those numbers. Unless your name is Squenix it just dosnt happen. For an offline RPG I've never heard of figures of more than a million five. (the aforementioned aside).

 

I've never played the game so I couldnt really compare what KOTORII did in a sixth of the time.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Um, guys, the reason Half-Life 2 was so over budget (time-wise) was because the pissed around building a new physics engine that had superior graphics. And they did that. And that's great, for a FPS.

 

Now, as for the plot being a little thin, as numbers has alleged, I would argue it was building on the original game (which is a little dangerous), and adding a comedic voice, generated by the conceit that was promulgated throughout the game.

 

The writing was more like subtle touches on the tiller of the yacht of the Half-Life narrative, steering the same vehicle into prismatically different shades of the same waterways, not shooting the boat into outer-space. (Sure I would like to have seen more. And I'm sure we will. Some of the best plays are set in one room: one-act plays.)

[Dark Moth]

 

Are you two done, yet?

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

I find your defeatist attitude tedious. It hasn't been done, therefore it won't be done. By your reasoning, studios would never have made films that cost more than US$100million, and yet they have.

And, yes, as a matter of fact I would pay more for the game. But it needn't be as much as you are stating. Don't let your poor grasp of economics get in the way of a good hyperbole!

 

... Which is exactly what you do if you are DS. C'mon, you're not even trying.

 

And what would learning their filmography prove?

Firsly, I doubt very much that their fees would be high enough to even warrant their own ledger entry in the developer's journal.

 

Secondly, are you suggesting that the minute cadre of working actors are the only ones that are any good? That any of the unemployed ones are not suitable? I think you really don't understand what you are talking about. I have friends who are jobbing actors, in tv and cinema. You are completely wrong, the reason actor unemployment is so high is not based on a lack of quality, it is an oversupply. (There's that pesky economics again.)

 

No, that is your continued assertion, it is not good writing. Good writing handles such situations. You are merely displaying your own lack of imagination.

 

But there was an impact, the battle was different. It is a perfect example. In one of my playthroughs, the drow companion turned against my party (I think it was bloody Deakin casdting a harmful area-affect spell), and she was consequently unavailable for the rest of the game. If she were a love interest (one of the options at the end of Chapter Three, randomly calculated), then that particular narrative arc would remain unfulfilled: unrequited love!

 

But it was incorporated adequately, especially for an old game. As I pointed out immediately above, there are long-term ramifications, and the writing was not significantly more complex. And taking potshots at my discrimination doesn't distract me from the fact tht you display none.

 

Only to a defeatist who has demonstrated no grasp of economics, aside from a herd metaility.

 

Except the above examples that I have quoted!

 

You are too easily pleased.

 

Why do you even play RPGs? Why not play a FPS, if that's all you want?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

not half as tedious as I find people with no grasp on reality. "

 

DS or not you cant kill any of the NPCs. Dont know why you brought it up again you cant do it until the story allows you to do it. That is not freedom and thats nothing like Morrowind.

 

Well for one thing you would realise what they have done. For another educating youself is never a bad thing.

 

Well those names crop up constantly so they must be doing something right.

 

Actually it has nothing to do with my imagination and everything to do with trying to write for a bunch of variables rather than a known narrative.

 

Your Drow companion turning on you is bad AI from Deaken nothing to do with the story. The idea that a companion would turn on you because a kobold miss cast a spell is pretty ridiculous.

 

It's really not that old.

 

Well lets examine that.

 

RPGS are not big sellers outside of Japan. The market will reach saturation at around 2 million and thats being very optimistic. The more geeky you make your RPG the lower that figure goes. Common sense that if your market is saturated before you make a profit then your stuffed :D Thats not taking into account pesky things like limited diskspace, memory etc which isnt something that is an issue writing a book or making a film.

 

Which have been questionable since there is no proof , only hope on your part along with a healthy dose of dellusion about how games are made.

 

Who says I am pleased? I'm accepting the reality of the situation because I dont want to throw my own money at a risk like that. If i'm not willing to risk my own cash on something like that. Then why should I be critical that no one else will?

 

When I see you stump up a couple of million for your game then I might start to take what you say seriously.Until then its just too easy for you to say well things should be this way and hang the cost.

 

Because FPS games tend to last around 8 hours. I enjoy JRPG's most , but I appreciate KOTOR and the like for the change of pace.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

Um, guys, the reason Half-Life 2 was so over budget (time-wise) was because the pissed around building a new physics engine that had superior graphics. And they did that. And that's great, for a FPS.

 

Now, as for the plot being a little thin, as numbers has alleged, I would argue it was building on the original game (which is a little dangerous), and adding a comedic voice, generated by the conceit that was promulgated throughout the game.

 

The writing was more like subtle touches on the tiller of the yacht of the Half-Life narrative, steering the same vehicle into prismatically different shades of the same waterways, not shooting the boat into outer-space. (Sure I would like to have seen more. And I'm sure we will. Some of the best plays are set in one room: one-act plays.)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

And where you get a bloat for physics and the like in an FPS you get the same bloat in story and design in an RPG. It's not simply a case of lets write something and it magically appears on screen you know.

[213374U]

Um, guys, the reason Half-Life 2 was so over budget (time-wise) was because the pissed around building a new physics engine that had superior graphics. And they did that. And that's great, for a FPS.

No, it's not great. In fact, it's quite common.

 

 

Now, as for the plot being a little thin, as numbers has alleged, I would argue it was building on the original game (which is a little dangerous), and adding a comedic voice, generated by the conceit that was promulgated throughout the game.

 

The writing was more like subtle touches on the tiller of the yacht of the Half-Life narrative, steering the same vehicle into prismatically different shades of the same waterways, not shooting the boat into outer-space. (Sure I would like to have seen more. And I'm sure we will. Some of the best plays are set in one room: one-act plays.)

Sure, I guess it can be argued it's a matter of taste. But what can't be argued it's that the writing is scarce, compared to other FPSs.

 

But that was not my point. It's still another generic FPS, whose only distinctive trait is that it bears the name "Half-Life". No advancements in gameplay conception whatsoever, no advancements in plot/character interaction, no advancements.

 

Now the question is, they didn't want to, or they couldn't do better?