tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9611352.post6452732559307976775..comments2024-02-19T19:53:01.688-08:00Comments on Cathode Tan: How Heavy Rain Shows Ebert Is WrongJoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04260309971152360156noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9611352.post-47767651799782697862010-03-01T13:18:27.464-08:002010-03-01T13:18:27.464-08:00Yeah, the real problem with Ebert's logic is t...Yeah, the real problem with Ebert's logic is that he is taking a very valid point, that user interaction can invalidate the artist's vision, and generalizing that across an entire genre.<br /><br />And, well, artists. Isn't part of the beauty of the Mona Lisa the enigmatic nature of the portrait itself?<br /><br />Heavy Rain frames this better than most. In fact, if anything I'm a little disappointed you don't have more control over the characters. Cage gives you some narrowly defined avenues to walk down ... it's really the sum of several events that alter the story. <br /><br />That one character is invalid and hence the story because of one sex scene ... well, the story just isn't that weak here.Joshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04260309971152360156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9611352.post-34927540835911816062010-03-01T13:04:05.154-08:002010-03-01T13:04:05.154-08:00To suggest that video games are not an art form is...To suggest that video games are not an art form is simply ludicrous. Sure it may be different than a movie or a book in that it's more overtly interactive, but that doesn't make it any less a form of art.<br /><br />Having said that it is an incredibly difficult thing to do a high quality narrative for a video game. The problem is that there's always going to be a tension between what the player wants to do and what the author intends for them to do. Some games give very limited power to the player to control the out come while others are basically loosely constructed open worlds where the player can do what they wish.<br /><br />One of the big difficulties that related to this is the development of the player's own character. You are given a great deal of power over the character's actions but at the same time their emotions, and reactions to situations are frequently driven by the game creator, not you. The result is that many game creators simply avoid this entirely by creating paper thin archetypes rather trying to seriously develop a character.<br /><br />The problem, of course is that the more choices you give to the player in character development, the more complex the game becomes to develop. A common simplification in game development is to create a morality system where you can make a series of boolean choices. These choices do affect the outcome but in relatively limited ways that make it easy to code for. If you let them deal with more moral grey areas you'd have to write hundreds or thousands of permutations on the story to accommodate the different outcomes.sternohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02245940881311545520noreply@blogger.com