4 those who see(k) the art in games
Literature
Baldur’s Gate 2
02 months ago
by Void
in Literature
A game you could feel from the beginning was full of choices and a loooot of dialogue and character development. Also it had one of the best addons in all the games I’ve played. It does so by starting you up from a really high level and then pushing even higher to legendary levels. Impressive!
Silent Hill 8 – a surprising concept
01 year ago
by Void
in Literature
Okay, i gotta say i’m quite impressed… I mean for years i’ve played Silent Hill games and i’ve gotten a bit imune to them, bored even… and i didn’t really think they could make it fresh anymore… this does it for me. Not only do i not know of any fugitive game… okay, it’s probably not gonna be a fugitive game, but it starts with that vibe, and it feels like just teh right person to end up in silent hill for many reasons… and yet at the same time I can relate to his reasons for getting there, wanting his freedom… exciting.
Yakuza 3 [GT review]
01 year ago
by Void
in Literature
I honestly probably wouldn’t get this game if I hadn’t played Yakuza 2… but with that context and if this one is anything like that: I’m not a big GTA fan… I’ve played through some, even enjoyed some… but Yakuza 2 was to me much more: i found myself sucked into the story… and though the world had pretty clear limitations I got quite immersed, because of catching characters, and a story that seemed believable in it’s moral and social complexities. Drawbacks that i’m expecting this one to have too is repetitiveness and fighting… but in the context it works and it’s worth it.
PS: yes, i’m posting it under the cathergory Literature, not because there might be quite a bit of reading there, but because, to me at least, it’s merit is not in it’s graphics, or gameplay, but in it’s amazing and moving story.
GT best story 2009
02 years ago
by Void
in Literature
If there is one thing that i’ve found over the years guarantees I’ll play a game even if it should have flawed mechanics that is not it’s graphics but it’s story and to what degree i can relate to it… so i’m interested in this category in particular.
Star Wars story bits
02 years ago
Despite it’s great fault of being a MMO i cannot but mention Star Wars: The Old Republic yet again for artistic merits. For example this series of story bits are a fascinating watch for anybody into intricate storytelling, particularly for those of us who’ve read countless SW books & game stories.
new AVP!!!
02 years ago
by Void
in Literature
I’ll take this opportunity to recomend AVP 2. It’s a PC game from around 2000 I believe, which i won’t recomend like many others for the great shooter it is or the "most frightening to play (as a marine)" like a friend insisted (i still root for "Blood" on that one), but for the unique 3 point of view story. It’s one of my top 3 contenders of any medium in telling a intertwined overlapping story. The other two are: … wait for it… guesses? well, Starcraft and … forgot name… turn based game like Heroes… has 2 great expansions two… okay, it’ll come back to me and i’ll add it then… if not, remind me?
Edit: yep, it’s Disciples 2! Thank you Diana for reminding me!
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fallout retrospective
03 years ago
by Void
in Literature
No wonder I liked 2… the moral ambiguity, the choices… I must say I originally discarded the game because of all the fighting, but though that’s not something I like I was very happy to accept it as a means of action once I realized it’s just a tool in a much bigger expression of action and choices.
All Roads – interactive fiction
03 years ago
by Void
in Literature
Games come in all shapes and colors, and while you might think that we’re now in 2008 and text mode games have died in the ’80s that is not quite true: there are still those of us who love a good story and are even willing to read text for it… especially when, unlike books, movies, and unfortunatelly most games, it’s a story that at least seems to respond/branch according to your input. In comes the interactive fiction competition, the 2008 edition being it’s 14th annual incarnation.
And all this was just the intro for my favorite interactive ficiton: All Roads: this game totally took me by surprise… i don’t want to spoil too much of the story for you, but a game which starts with you being the person being hanged, involves morally strange situations and time travel paradoxes… all through a personal emotional veil… well… let’s just say I never thought a political conspiration in medieval Venice could be so immersive (the image of entering the room of conspirators is still so powerful in my mind).
Winner for best story, best game, best writing & best setting awards for 2001.
PS: forgot to mention: to read the story you need an interpreter, but ther are tons of them, for all OSs, devices and environments imaginable. To go through the story you just communicate simple action words like "look" "stand up" "open" "wake up" "go north" …
PS2: amazing the variety of the stories and settings, from horror to emotional, from action to abstract (btw, I once played a mindblowing abstract one… i couldn’t believe the imagery)
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Demon’s Crest
13 years ago
It’s a tragedy how quickly games “grow old”… well, it’s also great news of the speed of their evolution, but what I mean to say is that I understand how hard it is even a few years later to see the beauty in something that by our present standards is antiquated. So I was very happy when I saw somebody writing about this one because I thought it is an amazing masterpiece. If you’re willing to overlook it’s age the graphics is superb, original, the story is shockingly interesting and the music creates a mood that I’d call one of the best “gothic” moods I’ve ever experienced. Unluckily for me I never did finish it. I was sure I had gotten close but now looking around the web it seems the game is even more huge and awesome than I experienced… just had to write about it a bit…
Some screenshots from the game can be seen here.
Reading it’s wikipedia page I realize the main character is a true anti-hero, and since I’ve played this quite a long time ago, but blogged about it quite recently I’m reminded of a quote which I believe is from Anne Rice’s vampire books which (i think) goes something like: ‘over the centuries we don’t change, but become more and more ourselves’.
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Understand!
23 years ago
by Void
in Literature
Like I was saying in the past about games, and movies too, oftentimes I have to dig through tens of discardable works and some worth enjoying but not spectacular until I find something that, to me, is a true revelation! I’m happy to say that after recently having abandoning a bit gaming after a period of less fruition and digging into books again, after a couple of books discarded, including a few quite nice ones (Outbound flight if you’re at all into the star wars/Thrawn or Timothy Zahn‘s works) I am so very happy to have discovered a true earth mover for me. I’m also so very happy to have discovered it available directly online for our enjoyment: