Play Tremere problem solved.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1my2eLLWr8

Play Tremere problem solved.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1my2eLLWr8

Man, that makes the game look so much better that it turned out to be. The physics actually make sense!

Play Tremere problem solved.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1my2eLLWr8

 

Wow Tremere were my favourite, but I don't recall some of those things. Was that an earlier version of Bloodlines?

It looks like it, that HUD is very different to what I have. But yeah playing as Tremere is the most fun in bloodlines. I remember fondly just making random NPCs puck up their guts.

 

Not really. As Josh pointed out, Bloodlines' ranged combat system was "poindexter" diceroll-based, which is always incomparable with twitch shooter mechanics. The best they could've done with more time was figure out a way to balance out the major disadvantage you have when using guns against supernatural creatures.

 

Well yes that

That

An alien's tail as melee weapon! If there's lots of fighting against humans it could be loads of fun.

Isn't that a bit like stealing its ****? I mean I did an essay on Aliens in year 12 on the pervasive phallic imagery used in Aliens and I'm pretty sure I concluded that either a) the Alien itself is a giant ****, or b) the Alien's tail is a ****.

 

OK, censor doesn't like the word pen-is. God forbid half the population have one or anything.

 

Haha I especially like this quote when I did a quick survey of Giger's work through a google search: "All Giger's alien designs are based on fannys and nobs"

Edited December 5, 200718 yr by Krezack

Haha I especially like this quote when I did a quick survey of Giger's work through a google search: "All Giger's alien designs are based on fannys and nobs"

Add to that themes like forceful penetration, pregnancy, fear, domination, birth and death, and probably a lot more. We'll probably hear things that makes our ears fall off eventually

Hah. Yeah I just saw one picture of a machine seeming to have sex with what seemed to be half a human. And another which depicted a landscape of penises penetrating vaginas. Still unlike most surrealist artists, I admire Giger for having a tangible purposes: horrification of the audience.

Giger is a ****ing riot, but I'd prefer if the game wouldn't go overboard with imitating him. I'd like to scared of the xenos, not the environment.

Giger is a ****ing riot, but I'd prefer if the game wouldn't go overboard with imitating him. I'd like to scared of the xenos, not the environment.

 

Whether or not the game imitates Giger overly much, I'm not too concerned with. But your final point there - I'm not sure you should say that.

 

Isn't the epitome of horror to be scared of the environment, not the threat itself? Scared to the point where that vent expelling gas makes you leap out of your chair because you thought it was an Alien? Scared because that vent also happens to carry highly corrosive gases that burn you if you get close, but can't predict when vents will expel?

 

I think the player should be scared of both the threat AND the environment. Look to games like Half-Life 1, System Shock 2. Explosions, dangling electric wires, water that carried a current, water with piranhas in it (which you HAD to swim through), walls with a viscous goo that poisoned you if you got close, annelids on the ground that poisoned you if you trod on them, acid flooding an area, egg sacks that exploded in poison clouds and released an enemy when you got close (often as an obstacle between you and your destination).

 

I also liked how System Shock 2 handled poison. You took damage slowly over time until you cured yourself. It did not wear off. It made it prudent to stock up on anti-poison meds because one batch of poison eggs could wipe you out. Or if you didn't tread carefully enough like when fighting your first rumbler in the basketball court and treading on annelids.

 

Further, I think that things like annelids and headcrabs are a merge between the alien threat and the environment. They are plentiful low-damage, low-HP monsters, but they can be anywhere and will likely cause you some damage through surprise attacks - attacks which keep you on your toes.

I left myself wide open for that, didn't I?

 

Agreed.

*cough* sorry

I wouldn't mind a game, where most of the setting was kept in a Gigeresque design... with just a bit of "Bladerunner" type noir stuff environments added for the non-organic parts

Personally, after the combat discussion, I'm thinking half the scare comes from seeing other people get minced. But for jumping out of my seat headcrabs were the daddy.

Personally, after the combat discussion, I'm thinking half the scare comes from seeing other people get minced. But for jumping out of my seat headcrabs were the daddy.

I disagree. Most of the scariness comes from the unknown. Showing something/someone getting minced in a nice safe cutscene barely impresses me at all. I suggest the Obsidian (Level) designers paying attention to keep up a healthy constant tension. Thief-games, Shock2, Condemned and FEAR did this very well. Ambiguous Sound-design (like the Thief games) also plays a very important role, letting the player always in the guess what this sound-source could be. Also think of these facehuggers in AvP1 that you never could locate immediately.

What would be scary, would be you slowly walking in Alien territory unsure of what's coming next, with a party member next to you, when an Alien comes out of nowhere, rips the guy next you a new one and runs away before you can say "mommy", in the process leaving you covered with the guy's blood and assorted chunks.

 

 

And now you're covered in blood, with one less person to help you, and wondering when the next lightning fast, murdering alien is going to show up. It's what happens to you in the game and the threat of what might happen.

Edited December 7, 200718 yr by Pidesco

What would be scary, would be you slowly walking in Alien territory unsure of what's coming next, with a party member next to you, when an Alien comes out of nowhere, rips the guy next you a new one and runs away before you can say "mommy", in the process leaving you covered with the guy's blood and assorted chunks.

 

 

And now you're covered in blood, with one less person to help you, and wondering when the next lightning fast, murdering alien is going to show up. It's what happens to you in the game and the threat of what might happen.

No, what would be more scary is if the guy just dissapeared. Of course, that would be tricky to pull off. You'd want the player to think "they're surrounding me and I can't see them! They can attack anytime they want and I can't do anything to stop them! OH GOD!" However, a game player's first instinct would be "****! Stupid ****ty AI pathfinding. He must have got stuck on a rock."

Edited December 7, 200718 yr by Tale

What would be scary, would be you slowly walking in Alien territory unsure of what's coming next, with a party member next to you, when an Alien comes out of nowhere, rips the guy next you a new one and runs away before you can say "mommy", in the process leaving you covered with the guy's blood and assorted chunks.

 

 

And now you're covered in blood, with one less person to help you, and wondering when the next lightning fast, murdering alien is going to show up. It's what happens to you in the game and the threat of what might happen.

No, what would be more scary is if the guy just dissapeared. Of course, that would be tricky to pull off. You'd want the player to think "they're surrounding me and I can't see them! They can attack anytime they want and I can't do anything to stop them! OH GOD!" However, a game player's first instinct would be "****! Stupid ****ty AI pathfinding. He must have got stuck on a rock."

Baby crying hardly scares me. Wasn't that Dan "Game Over man, game over" Acryoid that was such a big cry-baby in Aliens? They better do it like in the first movie, with the kitty. Also, you just could let the lights going out shortly, and when they're back on, your buddy is gone, and you're thinking "WTF?".

 

I could also myself seeing in a physically deprived situation, like being stuck in a tight shaft while getting hunted down by an Alien. But then, this would require FPV, and some player skill. I bet Gearbox will explore this "idea" closer.

Edited December 7, 200718 yr by Morgoth

Dan Akroyd? No, I don't believe there were any Ghostbusters on LV-426.

Dan Akroyd? No, I don't believe there were any Ghostbusters on LV-426.

You're right. I just confused him with Bill Paxton. Oops.

Though I do have to wonder how well a Positron beam would fare against aliens.

It would tickle them.

Not if they crossed the streams!

I wouldn't mind a game, where most of the setting was kept in a Gigeresque design... with just a bit of "Bladerunner" type noir stuff environments added for the non-organic parts

Agreed. I wish they'd borrow some of the artistic style from Bladerunner too. Of course, that would assume they'd make the game more expansive than just a spaceship with aliens or a planet with a mining farm on it.. just as I had hoped!!1!

 

I'm still hoping we'll be positively surprised by their ambition level this time. Aim for the stars and you might at least hit the moon.. or something like that.