Well the CGI Alien in Alien 3 looked rather dumb. Those in Ressurection were a little better (the one that crawled into the escape pot), but didn't quite matched the movements of the human puppets/robotic versions.

 

Oh, one other important question for Josh: Does Obsidian have an in-house SoundFX team? Don't underestimate the the usage of properly placed sound sources in the levels, it's an incredibly powerful tool to create suspense. I'm also wondering who will be chosen as music composer?

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Marc Darell?

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Never heard about that guy. " What is he credited for?

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too much to list it, he's the composer of most game musics of these years.

Well the CGI Alien in Alien 3 looked rather dumb. Those in Ressurection were a little better (the one that crawled into the escape pot), but didn't quite matched the movements of the human puppets/robotic versions.

 

Oh, one other important question for Josh: Does Obsidian have an in-house SoundFX team? Don't underestimate the the usage of properly placed sound sources in the levels, it's an incredibly powerful tool to create suspense. I'm also wondering who will be chosen as music composer?

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Marc Darell?

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Never heard about that guy. " What is he credited for?

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too much to list it, he's the composer of most game musics of these years.

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And I guess this is his homepage then? ^_^

No seriously, never heard of that guy. And I thought the glory of being the composer of most (overrated) games these years would go to Jeremy Soule.

Edited December 24, 200619 yr by Morgoth

Well the CGI Alien in Alien 3 looked rather dumb. Those in Ressurection were a little better (the one that crawled into the escape pot), but didn't quite matched the movements of the human puppets/robotic versions.

 

Oh, one other important question for Josh: Does Obsidian have an in-house SoundFX team? Don't underestimate the the usage of properly placed sound sources in the levels, it's an incredibly powerful tool to create suspense. I'm also wondering who will be chosen as music composer?

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Marc Darell?

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Never heard about that guy. " What is he credited for?

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too much to list it, he's the composer of most game musics of these years.

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And I guess this is his homepage then? ^_^

No seriously, never heard of that guy. And I thought the glory of being the composer of most (overrated) games these years would go to Jeremy Soule.

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Warlords Battlecry 3, Seven Kingdoms: Conquest, Joan of Arc, Keepsake, Eurocops, and a LOT of 1-2 songs messed up in multiple other games, like NWN1.

 

"Composer of music for computer games, films, and television."

 

 

 

PS: I advice you to get Joan of Arc, its worth, good game good songs. If you don't

like the genre, the music is still worth it.

 

 

PS2: Also get Keepsake

PS: I advice you to get Joan of Arc, its worth, good game good songs. If you don't

like the genre, the music is still worth it.

 

 

PS2: Also get Keepsake 

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Those games got crappy ratings actually, that's why I never really cared about them. Keepsake is an adventure right? I'm more inclined of getting Runaway 2, but maybe I'll give the demo a shot.

Since I've been out for a day or so and am behind on discussion, I'll just jump in on a few random things.

 

The Bible isn't canon. "Canon law" is papal law which is derived from teleological thought + the Bible and sometimes old Roman Law, but the bible itself as a whole is not canon, as there are books of the bible that aren't (Timothy, for example) Canon doesn't come from the bible, canon from some theologian who defines "intractable truth" from the document. The Alien material being considered intractable as canon here is being defined by Fox, but there's plenty of established Alien stuff that can be taken or left.

 

Second, as Sawyer pointed out, the Alien from the original game was an African guy in a heavy 9' tall rubber costume. He wasn't fast, I doubt he could move around in it (Alien itself was a remarkable B-movie, the camera effects during the landing sequences were usually interns nudging the camera with 2x4s, and the air ducts were all one segment of tunnel, shot from different angles). The suspense came from his being completely silent and able to pop out of nowhere. For the second movie I think they used puppets. But if they had the ability to make quick CG Aliens, they probably would have.

 

For this game, I'd rather split the difference, making quick, acrobatic aliens, but not the kind that make the godawful noise of AvP. You have to be able to see them before you hear them.

Edited December 24, 200619 yr by Pop

PS: I advice you to get Joan of Arc, its worth, good game good songs. If you don't

like the genre, the music is still worth it.

 

 

PS2: Also get Keepsake 

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Those games got crappy ratings actually, that's why I never really cared about them. Keepsake is an adventure right? I'm more inclined of getting Runaway 2, but maybe I'll give the demo a shot.

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don't alwas decide because of ratings, Runaway 1 had 65% and i still liked it. Keppsake doesn't have the best char graphs, butt the world, story, and music will make you feel like you're a part of it.

I admit i always liked the d'arc theme, so that gives extra points for me.

Still, play it, and when you're finished, only then you say it if it was good or bad.

Still, play it, and when you're finished, only then you  say it if it was good or bad.

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Yeah right, but that means I've to buy it first, right?

I'm not that dumb to waste money on something I'm not 99% sure whether it's good or not....

I played a lot of adventures lately (Blade Runner, Syberia series, BS3, Still Life etc.) and for the most part, they were forgettable. Keepsake doesn't look like to be an exception here, either. But I'll give the demo a shot.

For this game, I'd rather split the difference, making quick, acrobatic aliens, but not the kind that make the godawful noise of AvP. You have to be able to see them before you hear them.

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But hearing them without seeing them makes them so exceptionally creepy!

Edited December 24, 200619 yr by Morgoth

For this game, I'd rather split the difference, making quick, acrobatic aliens, but not the kind that make the godawful noise of AvP. You have to be able to see them before you hear them.

But hearing them without seeing them makes them so exceptionally creepy!

That's what you have the motion tracker for.

For this game, I'd rather split the difference, making quick, acrobatic aliens, but not the kind that make the godawful noise of AvP. You have to be able to see them before you hear them.

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But hearing them without seeing them makes them so exceptionally creepy!

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That's what you have the motion tracker for.

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The motiontracker just adds some stress, but that's about it.

it may be more sensible to assume that putting the player up against hordes of aliens is fairly pointless, thus one assumes that there is a likely hood that the game may be more story driven and focus on character interaction and motives other than the usual hours of combat.

 

Hence more of an Cinematic Adventure RPG, with very few but rather epic battles.

 

This I think would be more fitting to the Alien(s) universe, and also alot more scary.

The Bible isn't canon. "Canon law" is papal law which is derived from teleological thought + the Bible and sometimes old Roman Law, but the bible itself as a whole is not canon, as there are books of the bible that aren't (Timothy, for example) Canon doesn't come from the bible, canon from some theologian who defines "intractable truth" from the document.

If you're going to get technical, you might as well know what you're talking about.

 

You could start by looking up the difference between "teleology", and theology. Maybe you got those two confused?

 

Now, you seem to be confusing another two different things, one being canonical law, and the other being Biblical canon.

As far as Canon law goes, you are right (somewhat); canon doesn't come from the Bible. It (originally) came from the Apostles, until what would become known as the Catholic Church was formed. At that point, the ultimate authority on what canon law was (considering that "canon" in its original meanings is just something to go by) was the Pope. He, possessed of his Papal Infallibility (a quality derived from his supposed appointment by God, and which interestingly enough wasn't formally ennunciated until the 19th century), made the rules by which all Christians should live. This is de facto a legal code.

 

Now, Biblical canon is just the set of writings that is officially considered as "inspired by God" by a given community, and hence constitute the doctrinal differences that separate the Jewish and different Christian faiths. Again, this is (or was) defined somewhat arbitrarily by whoever happened to be the head of the Church at the time the canon was changed.

 

As for the Bible not being canon, well. That is a contradiction. The Catholic Bible might not be considered canon by the Anglicans for instance, but it is by definition canon for the Catholics. I confess my ignorance in this matter, because I'm not sure what you meant by Timothy's book not being canonical, so please elaborate.

 

At any rate, what I said stands. Canon is canon unless you are the Pope, so it's either "turn off your brain", or create your own canon.

 

God, how I love these obscure discussions that add absolutely nothing to the thread.

 

 

The Alien material being considered intractable as canon here is being defined by Fox, but there's plenty of established Alien stuff that can be taken or left.

Obviously. Still, portraiting aliens as slow animals is against canon, as it is proven in both 3 and rez. You can dodge canon, but you can't go against it.

 

 

You have to be able to see them before you hear them.

This works for a movie, but not for a game. If you can see it, you have a clear line of sight to it, so you can blow it to pieces in most cases, which kinda renders surprise a non-factor. And if you can't see it... it's even worse. In a movie it's great to see some Marine get caught by surprise by an alien that pops from below, breaking the floor, or from an air duct above, but getting killed repeatedly without any previous warning becomes frustrating quickly. Also, aliens don't play Counterstrike, so they don't wait for you to bend the corner to turn you to goo. As somebody pointed out, hearing them before you can see them works wonders to build up tension.

For this game, I'd rather split the difference, making quick, acrobatic aliens, but not the kind that make the godawful noise of AvP. You have to be able to see them before you hear them.

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But hearing them without seeing them makes them so exceptionally creepy!

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Agreed. And I see no reason why it can't be this way.

There's something rattling in the ducts. Darque, go investigate.

it may be more sensible to assume that putting the player up against hordes of aliens is fairly pointless, thus one assumes that there is a likely hood that the game may be more story driven and focus on character interaction and motives other than the usual hours of combat.

 

Hence more of an Cinematic Adventure RPG, with very few but rather epic battles.

 

This I think would be more fitting to the Alien(s) universe, and also alot more scary.

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I miss wrong choices that get punished.

 

You know, in games produced 10-20 years ago, it was possible to make a choice that would lead you to sure death (you against 4 xenomorphs, for instance).

 

Nowadays, this has been eliminated. You are always supposed to progress one way and there is no other possible way.

There's something rattling in the ducts. Darque, go investigate.

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That was part of the great thing in the Marine single-player campaign of AvP2. You would hear them for 1 third of the game without seeing them...it was great...

Obviously. Still, portraiting aliens as slow animals is against canon, as it is proven in both 3 and rez. You can dodge canon, but you can't go against it.

 

On the other hand, since they're portrayed as slow in Alien and Aliens, portraying them as fast would also go against canon. So basically the designers in this case can go either way they want, because they can find support for both versions in the movies.

Nevermind cannon, Aliens are fast predating hunters centered around one egg layer controlling the host with supressing phermones, much like army ants or wasps.

Edited December 25, 200619 yr by Gorgon

Making them fast alone doesn't make them creepy, I think. Making them unpredictable (sophisticated AI, using the environments for their advantage etc.) makes them creepy.

Agreed.

 

If you have them swarm in hordes, the surprise and horror will get diminished rapidly. Tension should be built slowly so you don't get desensitized.

Might be nice to twist the classic RPG "You can't beat me this time cuz I have 3 more incarnations" stupidity and make it useful in this setting - i.e. you (and your party?) are trapped inside structure X with an alien; the alien roams the area according to its preprogrammed variables trying to fulfill its own goal (say, take item Y then leave the area). While it does this you can try to sabotage it by killing it (kind of hard), undoing the stuff it does, taking item Y first, etc - meaning you aren't "clearing" the area going through aliens, there's only one alien and he's not going to die from one trick or a single round of fighting, and theres always a possibility that as you snatch the said item the alien turns up anyway - and it doesn't have to be scripted.

 

Probably asking too much of the AI, though.

Might be nice to twist the classic RPG "You can't beat me this time cuz I have 3 more incarnations" stupidity and make it useful in this setting - i.e. you (and your party?) are trapped inside structure X with an alien; the alien roams the area according to its preprogrammed variables trying to fulfill its own goal (say, take item Y then leave the area). While it does this you can try to sabotage it by killing it (kind of hard), undoing the stuff it does, taking item Y first, etc - meaning you aren't "clearing" the area going through aliens, there's only one alien and he's not going to die from one trick or a single round of fighting, and theres always a possibility that as you snatch the said item the alien turns up anyway - and it doesn't have to be scripted.

 

Probably asking too much of the AI, though.

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Sounds similar to SWAT4 (Alien excluded). In SWAT4, you can give your team members various orders through a very slick, quick but still very comprehensive menu...it's very intuitive. But that only works if the AI is smart, and Irrational Games is actually pretty good in that field.

So, a SWAT4 like combat system (or remember that canceled PS2 game: Aliens: Colonial Marines? Had similar combat too) would be fine, but I suppose hardcore CRPG players would then whine around not having some abstract ruleset included.

Edited December 25, 200619 yr by Morgoth

They'll probably whine more about not having any actual roleplaying in the game.

 

I think that sounds more like a good plot for the FPS or for a level within the RPG.

On the other hand, since they're portrayed as slow in Alien and Aliens, portraying them as fast would also go against canon. So basically the designers in this case can go either way they want, because they can find support for both versions in the movies.

Lol?

 

So, I guess that since Carl Lewis probably doesn't go everywhere in a sprint, this must mean he can't run whatsoever. Uh... okay.

I always thought of Aliens not unlike feline predators. Conserving energy while stalking prey until they get close and then go for the kill in a burst of speed. Unless you invade their privacy sphere of course, in which case the get all agitated and unreasonable.