Re: Mini-Grand 5101 [Round 1: RMS Titanic]
06-20-2011, 07:16 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by BlastYoBoots.
What is wrong with this game?
Nathan hadn't come across a single thing that made any sense. Why go through the trouble of replicating the Titanic – right down to the alcohol – only to bring in a giant octopus and tear it apart in a half-hours' worth of gameplay? Was this one of those demos that drops you in the middle of a level? And if so, why did Bartleby Finch (they'd traded names in the hall; 'Bartleby'? Really?) seem almost as clueless as he was?
Even in the age of realistic VR, game design still usually reeks of... well, game design. Your placement, the layouts, and the goals presented to you all reflect a cohesive plan built to provide you with a specific play experience. Nathan hadn't read a single such cue from any of this; it's as if the game paired him with three completely random characters and threw them all on the Titanic indiscriminately. Where was the story, the 'railroading', the intended outcome? Was there one?
At least the octopus seemed scripted as hell, if tacky and incomprehensibly timed.
Well, if the setting is poor, the delivery is poor, the timing is stupid and the story is nonexistent, perhaps the AI is easily fooled? Bartleby seemed keen to suicide into the enemy like the objective of a badly designed escort mission, so it couldn't be that bright. If Nathan set it off its game hard enough, he might confuse it into sticking with him and doing something sensible.
So – with an internal cry of "For the fans!" – he kissed him.
A crewman threw open the door. "EVERYONE TO THE LIFEBOA-"
Nathan and Finch separated, sharing a tense and bewildered moment with the crewman. He sped off, white as a ghost; Finch didn't look much better than the crewman.
"But- ...ab- ...I- ...I just met you! We met five minutes ago! Literally five minutes!"
Oh, shit. The AI's smarter than I thought.
"Um... Oh! Haha, 'course. Just... clearing your head a bit, you were going crazy there, uh-" Shit shit shit. You're the one who looks crazy. Backpedal, change the subject!
"Ah, listen! Neither of us can stop an octopus, so that part of the problem's too large for us anyway." Nathan was interrupted by some distant, familiar-sounding explosions, paired with a deep beastly moan as the ship rocked another few degrees. Huh? "That cyborg, could he be...? Nevermind; so to the point, what I'm going to do is find the heaviest weapon I can, as fast as I can, and I'm going to take out our mutual, destructive friend. Might I die in the process of doing this? Sure! But it's the best plan I can come up with. And if you're really as hard to kill as it was implied, then I could really use your help. So are you going to come with me, or get torn up by the 'metal man' like the earlier passengers?"
Whew! Hope he buys it.
What is wrong with this game?
Nathan hadn't come across a single thing that made any sense. Why go through the trouble of replicating the Titanic – right down to the alcohol – only to bring in a giant octopus and tear it apart in a half-hours' worth of gameplay? Was this one of those demos that drops you in the middle of a level? And if so, why did Bartleby Finch (they'd traded names in the hall; 'Bartleby'? Really?) seem almost as clueless as he was?
Even in the age of realistic VR, game design still usually reeks of... well, game design. Your placement, the layouts, and the goals presented to you all reflect a cohesive plan built to provide you with a specific play experience. Nathan hadn't read a single such cue from any of this; it's as if the game paired him with three completely random characters and threw them all on the Titanic indiscriminately. Where was the story, the 'railroading', the intended outcome? Was there one?
At least the octopus seemed scripted as hell, if tacky and incomprehensibly timed.
Well, if the setting is poor, the delivery is poor, the timing is stupid and the story is nonexistent, perhaps the AI is easily fooled? Bartleby seemed keen to suicide into the enemy like the objective of a badly designed escort mission, so it couldn't be that bright. If Nathan set it off its game hard enough, he might confuse it into sticking with him and doing something sensible.
So – with an internal cry of "For the fans!" – he kissed him.
A crewman threw open the door. "EVERYONE TO THE LIFEBOA-"
Nathan and Finch separated, sharing a tense and bewildered moment with the crewman. He sped off, white as a ghost; Finch didn't look much better than the crewman.
"But- ...ab- ...I- ...I just met you! We met five minutes ago! Literally five minutes!"
Oh, shit. The AI's smarter than I thought.
"Um... Oh! Haha, 'course. Just... clearing your head a bit, you were going crazy there, uh-" Shit shit shit. You're the one who looks crazy. Backpedal, change the subject!
"Ah, listen! Neither of us can stop an octopus, so that part of the problem's too large for us anyway." Nathan was interrupted by some distant, familiar-sounding explosions, paired with a deep beastly moan as the ship rocked another few degrees. Huh? "That cyborg, could he be...? Nevermind; so to the point, what I'm going to do is find the heaviest weapon I can, as fast as I can, and I'm going to take out our mutual, destructive friend. Might I die in the process of doing this? Sure! But it's the best plan I can come up with. And if you're really as hard to kill as it was implied, then I could really use your help. So are you going to come with me, or get torn up by the 'metal man' like the earlier passengers?"
Whew! Hope he buys it.