Recent content by Newbiespud

WHAT!? You want me to run a crash course through the Hammer tool, design a Portal level, polish it, and submit it by THE TUESDAY AFTER NEXT?! That's only a week and a half! And you want this map to compete against those of people who've been doing this for much longer AND... ...aren't...

Addressing the hate for the Uncharted series and storyline... What really grabs me about Uncharted's story is not so much its premise, characters, or dialogue. What really grabs me is the structure. Particularly in the second installment, the game makes a point of putting the player in the...

There's more to the world than America and Europe, buddy. I'll just point at Korea (where online gaming is a far bigger market than most other places) and leave it at that.

I'll sidestep the PC gaming issue, simply because that the idea of the PC itself being dead was more interesting. Valid points made, but there was a concession made about how Bob would only need his PC for video creation. That scratches the tip of a whole 'nother iceberg. If you're going to...

The claim that stands out to me is the one about dynamic world events shaped by the players. This is something I've heard about quite a bit, and I've been on the fence for most of it. The first thought when hearing it, of course, is: "Well, griefers..." But then I think: even if there are...

Wow. So much great design philosophy packed into a single article. I think I'll be reading this again and again for a very long time. Nicely done.

The first character arc I really noticed in a game was that of Altair from the first Assassin's Creed. He starts out proud and hot-headed, which directly gets him and everyone around him into trouble (and/or dead). So he's slapped down to novice status and instructed to assassinate the region's...

I don't know... Take this from a novice game designer: the "player element" can be a terrifying thing to approach at first. The idea that the player is taking part in your game, that someone you don't even know is an integral part of the experience... it's daunting, maybe more so than the...

He wrote for Ghostbusters: The Video Game? Eh... I just hope this guy has read Robert McKee's Story. That would make this image of him a bit less unsettling. There's nothing wrong with using craft, but... well, people might have different interpretations of what the "craft" of storytelling...

Portal 2? Crap. You mean I'm gonna have another game to study? Could it possibly top the first? I don't know... Portal's emotional journey was long, intense, and completely satisfying. Could I pick up another one and trust that it will be just as satisfying? Come on Valve, don't let me down...

Well-written dialogue is one good thing, intellectually stimulating plotlines without holes are another good thing... But above all, I hope that the people at this publisher have read Robert McKee's Story. Because stories aren't just plots and words. That's my two cents.

For me, I guess, the phrase that jumps out is "it offers an experience that movies can't." It's a phrase that makes me shudder a little bit, since video game storytelling and experience compared to film is where we seem to be focused right now. But yes, I'd agree the formula offers AN...

Actually, Robert McKee's book Story suggests that Shakespeare was the sort that would've loved a camera. His plays have a lot to do with extra-personal conflict (culture, religion, environment, etc.), and he was working with a medium that didn't specialize in expressing that. The stage is better...

That doesn't surprise me per se, but... Hmm. So could the successful "story machine" game be one that still inspires desires into the player... but leaves out the context for those desires? And a linear story-driven game is one that creates specific motivations? It all sounds good to me, but...

You know... I've been thinking along the same lines, and hearing it from someone else puts the final nail in the coffin for me. Games have a remarkable ability to let the player be a separate person or entity. There's no barrier between viewer and protagonist that films, plays, and books...