Quote from GLaDOS CUBE on June 26, 2012, 6:51 pm

I guess i know what im doing tonight...

Quote from msleeper on June 26, 2012, 7:28 pm

So I'm only about 5 minutes into the video and I'm reminded of a comment that someone (zero punctuation I think?) made about how modern games are only just now catching up to Source's character expression / facial animation in a way that makes us as the player care about characters. I'm also reminded of something that egoraptor said in some video of his, about how games have the ability to be more than just simple entertainment... but the problem is that they haven't yet earned that right since most mainstream games are total trash.

Logic wrote:

Think back in the days where Halo CE and Halo 2 were as popular as Call of Duty is today. Back then I didn't care much about the story of a game and mainly played them to some aliens and my friends to smithereens.

I eventually downloaded Half-Life 2 to add to my collection of cracked Xbox games (don't judge me). I played it all the way through and though "Meh... The gravity gun was kinda cool chapter Ravenholm scared the living shit out of me", but other than that it didn't seem like something extraordinary.

Also, you are what's wrong with gamers tbh.

EDIT
So, I'm only 15 minutes into it now, and I'm having a hard time believing someone would play HL2 and not notice these things, about how the atmosphere of the opening trainstation area tells the entire story of what is going on without having to spell out a single word. I mean, when HL2 came out I was like 16 or 17? And I picked all of the storytelling elements up even then. It's not like they're exactly hidden or being really subtle. I guess I've been giving gamers far too much credit for longer than I've realized.

Quote from ChickenMobile on June 27, 2012, 2:43 am

I really enjoyed the vid, and he pointed out a lot of things I never noticed. Mainly because I bhopped everywhere and generally sped on ahead before actually noticing the events that may have occurred. I never noticed that Alyx got taken by the combine or that an airship took your jeep.

With Breen talking to the advisor, this was never clear that he was doing so until the episodes. How a giant ugly blob could understand english anyway?...

But whoever didn't explore HL2 should be shot. I loved the architecture, liked going to each person in the "Follow Freeman" chapter to see what their dialogue was, and always explored every possible nook and cranny before continuing to the next area. The one bit in the citadel with 'the fishtank' he calls it I liked so much I had to put it in a HL2DM map I made once.

I want to play HL2 again... anyone up for Synergy?

EDIT: The whole did you throw the can or put it in the bin interests me as well. I want to start a poll to see who did what on their first play of HL2.

Quote from Logic on June 27, 2012, 4:46 am

npc_msleeper_boss wrote:

Also, you are what's wrong with gamers tbh.

EDIT
So, I'm only 15 minutes into it now, and I'm having a hard time believing someone would play HL2 and not notice these things, about how the atmosphere of the opening trainstation area tells the entire story of what is going on without having to spell out a single word. I mean, when HL2 came out I was like 16 or 17? And I picked all of the storytelling elements up even then. It's not like they're exactly hidden or being really subtle. I guess I've been giving gamers far too much credit for longer than I've realized.

Thank you... I was 12 at the time I played through Half-Life 2 for the first time. Call me stupid if you want but don't tell me that every single 12 yearold would appreciate the mature and detailed storyline that is Half-Life 2 the first time playing through...

If you're upset about the cracked Xbox games it was my dad who bought the the cracked chip and put it in my Xbox. He didn't like buying me games as a gift. Also, my "collection" only included Half-Life 2, Serious Sam 2 and Black. I've bought The Orange Box and Portal 2 twice (for the PC and Xbox 360), so I think that evens things out.

chickenmobile wrote:

EDIT: The whole did you throw the can or put it in the bin interests me as well. I want to start a poll to see who did what on their first play of HL2.

I threw it in the trashcan. Always wondered why the guard isn't suspicious of a man coming out of a door that only leads to a dead end though.

Quote from Nacimota on June 27, 2012, 5:38 am

npc_msleeper_boss wrote:

So I'm only about 5 minutes into the video and I'm reminded of a comment that someone (zero punctuation I think?) made about how modern games are only just now catching up to Source's character expression / facial animation in a way that makes us as the player care about characters.

Indeed.

Ben "Yahtzee" Crowshaw wrote:

Character animations [in id Software's Rage] are pretty amazing. Characters emote and gesture while talking in ways we haven't seen since Half-Life 2 - funny how innovation in today's industry basically means catching up to Valve.

Without having played Rage I struggle to think of a game that captures the same kind of genuine and realistic character animation the way the HL2 series does. The Crysis games come close, but while they have the veneer of realism that I'm talking about they still somehow feel fake under the surface (this might be because of some of the really apalling writing and mediocre voice acting in that series).

I see a lot of exaggerated animations from studios these days. Characters wave their heads and arms about as if they have Parkinsons or something. If you actually watch a real, living human being as they talk in casual conversation, the movements they make are usually pretty subtle. To this day im still convinced that Valve are the only ones who understand the nuances of human movement.

Quote from MasterLagger on June 27, 2012, 10:26 am

Actually, the poll should have an option of doing both throwing the can at the Civil Protection officer and putting it in the trash, since that is what I did.

Quote from msleeper on June 27, 2012, 3:09 pm

I'm pretty sure I put the can right into the trashcan without hesitating. I tend not to "play" around in games doing that sort of stuff. In comparison, in Portal 1 when you destroy the Companion Cube and GLaDOS says "you destroyed your companion cube faster than anyone on record" I didn't realize that was the only dialogue option until another playthrough. As soon as I was supposed to destroy it I did without hesitating.

Logic wrote:

Thank you... I was 12 at the time I played through Half-Life 2 for the first time. Call me stupid if you want but don't tell me that every single 12 yearold would appreciate the mature and detailed storyline that is Half-Life 2 the first time playing through...

I think saying that 12 year olds can't understand complex storytelling is undercutting the intelligence of most 12 year olds. I'd like to think that when I was 12, I was capable of understanding complex story elements and themes. 12 would have put me in 6th or 7th grade, and around that time I was reading a lot of my dad's old Soviet-era science fiction books such as Asimov, and I wasn't confused by them.

Quote from Logic on June 27, 2012, 5:07 pm

npc_msleeper_boss wrote:

I think saying that 12 year olds can't understand complex storytelling is undercutting the intelligence of most 12 year olds. I'd like to think that when I was 12, I was capable of understanding complex story elements and themes. 12 would have put me in 6th or 7th grade, and around that time I was reading a lot of my dad's old Soviet-era science fiction books such as Asimov, and I wasn't confused by them.

Maybe I'm just retarded...

npc_msleeper_boss wrote:

Also, you are what's wrong with gamers tbh.

...but this was a bit harsh in my opinion...

Quote from msleeper on June 27, 2012, 5:56 pm

As a game developer and as a story teller, I have zero sympathy for people who would rather "blow up aliens in Halo" than enjoy a serious game. Going back to the egoraptor, you are why games don't deserve to be taken as seriously as they can be and should some day. And I don't care if that hurts your widdle feewings.