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| Iron D 3278th Post
 
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
    
    
    
     
     
|  "Re(1):Consolidated Dreamcast Thread" , posted Fri 11 Sep 05:11
quote:
Let's take IronD's thread over here! I'll post my own later. Though "Shenmue" is my answer for all questsions, in the most positive manner possible, whether or not a verb, noun, or adjective is requested.
1. Favorite games?
2. Any particular memories/stories to share?
3. Most underrated DC game?
4. How does it rank among the best gaming systems of all time in your opinion?
5. Do you still own one? Or have you ever owned one?
6. If you own one, do you still have the first one you've ever bought?
7. If you own one or have access to one, how often to you play these days?
Went ahead and deleted the other thread, and brought my answers to these questions here:
My answers:
1. Soul Calibur, The Sonic Adventure games, SFA3, SF3:3rd Strike, MotW, Shenmue, CvS2 (import), Projetct Justice, Power Stone and last but certainly not least Jet Grind/Set Radio.
2. Not being able to play through the DC Ecco the Dolphin game because it freaked me out too much, the DC being the first system I ever bought on my own with my own money that I earned, my sister wanting to "spend the holidays with Voldo", hours of multiplayer sessions of Soul Calibur and four player Power Stone 2.
3. Despite not being able to play all the way through it, it is still surprising that the DC Ecco game seems to have completely slipped under everyone's radar. It was a beautiful game with plenty to explore and was just all around fun.
4. I've never really been quite able to totally rank all of my favorite systmes, but I'd say the DC would be somewhere in the top 5 easily.
5. Sure do.
6. I'm actually on my second one. My first one stopped working abruptly years ago and a few months after that I just happened to find one being sold for just $20 at some random ass garage sale. Jumped right on that.
7. I still play mine at least every other day.
Er.....
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| kofoguz 753th Post
Red Carpet Regular Member+
| "Re(2):Consolidated Dreamcast Thread" , posted Fri 11 Sep 09:12
1. Favorite games? Chu Chu Rockets, Sonic Shuffle, Virtua Tennis 02, Fighters, Sonic Adventure, Jet Grind Radio,
2. Any particular memories/stories to share?
*I learned later the one I bought (used), was stolen by some guys so-called best friend. I met the guy in the arcade. We were both surprised.
*The game Illbleed. Eventhough I loved it I couldnt play it cause I didnt get what I suppose to do. Couldnt beat the first stage. Shame cause I really liked the game.
* Also now I remember, it was the first console whose announcement was on the news. I was shocked cause I never saw gaming news on the evening news before. Never.
3. Most underrated DC game?
I really dont know. Cant say which was a hit which wasnt.
4. How does it rank among the best gaming systems of all time in your opinion?
Well, for myself: I didnt ran across a console which me and my brothers had so much fun with multiplayer ever before. So yeah pretty much it takes the first place.
5. Do you still own one? Or have you ever owned one?
Still own one.
6. If you own one, do you still have the first one you've ever bought?
Yes.
7. If you own one or have access to one, how often to you play these days?
I still have it but it needs to be repaired. Not some big issue but also one of the controllers need to be repaired, too. I'm planning to play it these days. Maybe I passed really good games. Gotta search them. Also planning to pay a visit to the Horror Amusement Park once more. Want to know what the deal was.
quote:
On a side note: Is it true that Sega is returning to the hardware console business?
I really hope so. Want to see more colors to the next gen war. But on the other hand I'm expecting Neo-Geo 2 pretty seriously, so what do I know.
quote:
5. Do you still own one? Or have you ever owned one?
Still own one. I have owned two before and three total. One lens broke, one got stolen by my cousin, and bought the third one in 2007.
Lol, I didnt buy yours I swear. Seriously the console was like a gem in a jewel box.
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| karasu99
209th Post
Frequent Customer
| "Re(1):Consolidated Dreamcast Thread" , posted Fri 11 Sep 12:30
Dammit, Maou, you made me think about the answers until my head hurts. There are just so many good answers!
1. Favorite games?
Short list: Jet Set Radio, Mr Driller, Gunbird 2, Gigawing 1 and 2, Kikaioh, and Sega Bass Fishing
2. Any particular memories/stories to share?
The DC was my wife's wedding gift to me (perceptive readers will note that yes, I'm old, having been married for over ten years now). I have tons of great memories, most of which would take way too long to explain, so I'll spare everyone.
3. Most underrated DC game?
Probably Kikaioh.
4. How does it rank among the best gaming systems of all time in your opinion?
As I've said, it was the best of its generation. I love too many systems to be willing to say it's the VERY best, but it's close.
5. Do you still own one? Or have you ever owned one?
Of course!
6. If you own one, do you still have the first one you've ever bought?
I still have my elderly original, although I've been thinking of getting a backup unit, or perhaps a few spare GD-ROM drives for when it finally fails.
7. If you own one or have access to one, how often to you play these days?
Not as often as I'd like. But that's through no fault of the Dreamcast. I play mostly handhelds these days since they can be played in short bits of spare time.
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| Mosquiton 1746th Post
Tailored Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Member
| "Re(1):Consolidated Dreamcast Thread" , posted Fri 11 Sep 22:48
1. Favorite games?
Soul Calibur, Sega Marine Fishing, Jet Grind Radio, Dead or Alive 2
2. Any particular memories/stories to share?
I connected my DC through an RF switch to an old TV in a small apartment where I lived with the girl I love, slept on a shared single mattress on the floor, and had the happiest times of my life.
3. Most underrated DC game?
My brain won't cooperate.
4. How does it rank among the best gaming systems of all time in your opinion?
It's definitely near the top, it was certainly some sort of miracle.
5. Do you still own one? Or have you ever owned one?
Still have it.
6. If you own one, do you still have the first one you've ever bought?
I bought it modded from NCSX. None of my favorite games are really imports though, hah. I never burned anything either.
7. If you own one or have access to one, how often to you play these days?
It lives at my parents house. I haven't seen it for years. I don't think they play it, unfortunately.
/ / /
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| nobinobita 604th Post
Red Carpet Regular Member
| "Re(2):Consolidated Dreamcast Thread" , posted Sat 12 Sep 01:24:
Awesome thread!
1. Favorite games?
Third Strike, CVS, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Guilty Gear X, Berserk, Ikaruga, JET SET RADIOOO!!!, Phantasy Star Online and basically every 2d game from Capcom and SNK.
2. Any particular memories/stories to share?
I met all my best friends in College through a common love for 2d Fighters, particularly Third Strike. One night my friend's Dreamcast broke in the middle of some heated Third Strike play. In a drunken rage he started punching the system and yelling "work dammit!" and desperately fumbling with the power button. After 8 hot blooded punches the system started working again. That felt like a small miracle.
3. Most underrated DC game?
I REALLY liked Sword of the Berserk. It happened to come out just a few months after I'd finished watching some VHS fansubs of the Berserk anime and I was so desperate to know more about the story (the internet was not such an all powerful instant satisfaction machine back then). It was like a wish come true. The game had the right mood and the controls and gameplay were very appropriate for the source material. The fight w/Zodd is still one of my favorite boss battles to this day. This is also one of the first games I recall to get mixed reviews across the board.
4. How does it rank among the best gaming systems of all time in your opinion?
Dreamcast definitely had the highest ratio of good games.
5. Do you still own one? Or have you ever owned one?
Yup. In fact, just like IronD this was the first system I ever saved up for and bought completely by myself (after a summer job at Barnes and Noble).
6. If you own one, do you still have the first one you've ever bought?
Nope. It broke the very first day I got it (big bummer!). But they replaced it very quickly and the second one I got never broke. That's the one I still play today.
7. If you own one or have access to one, how often to you play these days?
Hmmmm, maybe 3 times a year or so. Whenever I feel like playing JoJo.
[this message was edited by nobinobita on Sat 12 Sep 01:27] |
| Maou 1792th Post
Silver Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Executive
| "Re(3):Consolidated Dreamcast Thread" , posted Sat 12 Sep 13:03:
Finally time to respond. Karasu, I love that the DC was a wedding present. What a great choice. I should note that the questions are IronD's, I just pulled them in from the other thread to consolidate.
Anyhow, the short answer to all the questions (and I hate answering questions in numbers because it's hard to read, so I'll just go free-form) is still "Shenmue." Anyway, here goes:
Obviously, Shenmue, Soul Calibur, and Ikaruga are ones for the ages. Like any case of great things, a sense of wabi-sabi accompanies my DC experience, as it's always been just friends who own them, and not me. We had a shared one with Soul Calibur and Marvel (ha! but fun). The real star was Shenmue. In its original form, it's incredible (I see online that the English dub is awful). I know of no game at that time, or since (Ryuu Ga Gotoku is apparently close, in another way) that so accurately recreates a sense of place, domestic Japan in this case. Ryou's room so accurately recreates the feeling of a normal room in a house that I never want to leave. I kind of just want to sit down in 'my' room and play a video game there, oddly enough. The way the light flickers to power on, the contents of his drawer, the mikan (tangerines?) in the closet, the incredible detail in every place... We had kids actively watching us play it for hours who couldn't speak a word of Japanese and didn't care a whit for Japan otherwise. Just incredible Plus, I like playing Outrun in the arcade all day. And incidentally, to hell with GTA. This is the feeling of creating a 'real city' the way it should be done.
Games I still play? On every thread where we talk about how Soul Calibur after SC2 is depressing, I come back to the unfathomable number of hours friends and I put into the original, whose presentation and gameplay went so far beyond anything to this day. It's the first 3D fighter that stood the test of time (maybe Tobal 2, in an acquired taste kind of way, also did). So sharp, so fluid, so wonderful. EVERYONE played this, whether or not they cared at fighers at all. When I went off to college, I split another copy with my new roommate there and created my own disciples. The Dojo Master of Siegfried/Nightmare were never dethroned.
I still think it's one of the most amazing systems, so far advanced beyond its time, and offering so much that eventually became mainstream, but too late (equally true for the equally delightful Mega CD). It's like the superior Beta format of videotape. Even if it had fewer games than its rivals did, since in the end we come back to old systems for only "the best," I'd say that the DC has about as many as everyone else, making it age extremely well.
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は．．．
[this message was edited by Maou on Sat 12 Sep 13:09] |
| Maese 516th Post
New Red Carpet Member
| "Re(2):Consolidated Dreamcast Thread" , posted Sat 12 Sep 19:03:
Me likes polls.
1. Favorite games?
Soul Calibur hands down, the sequel of my beloved Soul Edge was what sold the system to me. And most of the 2D fighing stuff from Capcom and SNK too; special mention to SFIII. But, if you think about it, neither of those was really a "Dreamcast game", just mere arcade conversions (albeit of superb quality).
2. Any particular memories/stories to share?
It was (is!) the one and only Sega system I've ever had. Not that I'm a Sega hater or anything... just happened that way. When the price got cut down I just could not resist. It was ridiculously cheap back then, and to this day I consider it a damn good inversion.
Also, the pad looked horribly uncomfortable at first glance, so big and blocky. But when you actually TRIED it, it felt much better, perfectly ergonomic, and everything made sense... now I think it was one of the most pleasant controllers I've ever played with. I was even able to pull out 360º moves with it! For the first time of my life, I was able to use grapplers in 2D fighters!
3. Most underrated DC game?
I dunno, maybe SFIII Second Impact. Everybody seems to obliterate it because Third Strike is so good and awesome, but 2nd Impact deserves some love too. Ibuki was truly gorgeous in it.
4. How does it rank among the best gaming systems of all time in your opinion?
Hard to say, but probably about 5th or 6th. The 16 and 8 bit hardware is hard to surpass in my book.
5. Do you still own one? Or have you ever owned one?
Yep, and I still plug it in and play every now and then when I'm back home. Mostly SFIII.
6. If you own one, do you still have the first one you've ever bought?
Yes. Robust as a rock. Hence my "damn good inversion" line.
7. If you own one or have access to one, how often to you play these days?
See above.
Also, Shenmue. How to forget it?
I have mixed feelings with that series. It has a huge lot of good points, the love for details is breathtakingly gorgeous, and some ideas were both amazingly bold and extremely well implemented in game. I could not believe someone could have the sheer balls to pull out a game so bigger-than-life like that.
//Rant Mode on
But on the other hand, Shenmue felt like a chore most of the time. What's worse, a tedious, boring chore. I mean, come on, how comes a game that boasts free roaming and a full lifelike world ready to explore as its main attractive FORCES you to WORK every friggin' day 8 to 3? And, oh, it's not an option, no sir. You actually have to do it, like it or not. You are gratuitously deprived of half your time of gameplay EVERY FUCKING PLAY. And let's not forget, when it gets dark daddy's boy Ryo goes to sleep without delay, automatically, without leaving you any chance to mess around the town. Gotta love those brilliant, innovative gameplay ideas...
For the love of god, if I wanted to drive some puny forklifters (which are most uncool vehicle known to mankind by the way) I would find myself a job at a goddamned siderurgic factory, or at least go playing a friggin' racing game if I had some speed thrill to kill!! Such mechanics not only feel cheap and get horribly boring, they're the antithesis of what a videogame should be. I play games to have fun, not to perform DAILY chores, for fuck's sake!
Aaah, Shenmue tends to get on my nerves pretty easy when I think about it.
//Rant Mode off
So, in a nutshell, the whole Shenmue thing became tedious pretty fast for me, and I soon found more excitement in playing darts at the local arcade than in searching for my father's murderer. What a flial son I am. Or perhaps that was the true charm of the game, who knows.
EDIT: my English sucks
[this message was edited by Maese on Sat 12 Sep 19:05] |
| Iron D 3279th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(3):Consolidated Dreamcast Thread" , posted Sun 13 Sep 04:25
quote:
//Rant Mode on
But on the other hand, Shenmue felt like a chore most of the time. What's worse, a tedious, boring chore. I mean, come on, how comes a game that boasts free roaming and a full lifelike world ready to explore as its main attractive FORCES you to WORK every friggin' day 8 to 3? And, oh, it's not an option, no sir. You actually have to do it, like it or not. You are gratuitously deprived of half your time of gameplay EVERY FUCKING PLAY. And let's not forget, when it gets dark daddy's boy Ryo goes to sleep without delay, automatically, without leaving you any chance to mess around the town. Gotta love those brilliant, innovative gameplay ideas...
For the love of god, if I wanted to drive some puny forklifters (which are most uncool vehicle known to mankind by the way) I would find myself a job at a goddamned siderurgic factory, or at least go playing a friggin' racing game if I had some speed thrill to kill!! Such mechanics not only feel cheap and get horribly boring, they're the antithesis of what a videogame should be. I play games to have fun, not to perform DAILY chores, for fuck's sake!
Aaah, Shenmue tends to get on my nerves pretty easy when I think about it.
//Rant Mode off
So, in a nutshell, the whole Shenmue thing became tedious pretty fast for me, and I soon found more excitement in playing darts at the local arcade than in searching for my father's murderer. What a flial son I am. Or perhaps that was the true charm of the game, who knows.
EDIT: my English sucks
While I would still say that my Shenmue experience is overall positive, this explained above is actually why I never finished Shenmue 2. I had gotten so far in the game and for a while the story progressed without having to do any of the tedious working chores. But then I was out of money and needed some absurd amount of money to get into a club where I could fight some guy. Momentum ruined. Turns out I would have to do that forklift crap for HOURS in order to have enough money JUST TO ADVANCE THE PLOT. NO game should force players to do tedious work in order to simply advance the main story.
At that point I just gave up. In many ways, Yakuza does Shenmue better, as it didn't force you to do tedious jobs like this just to advance the story. Also, I was always wishing that Shenmue 1 and 2 would have more fighting. I can appreciate the unique and more realistic pacing of the game, but I did want to see some action a bit more often; something that Yakuza also did better.
Er.....
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| NeoRyu 1137th Post
Red Carpet Premium Member+
| "Re(1):Consolidated Dreamcast Thread" , posted Sun 13 Sep 05:40:
1. Favorite games?
Jet Grind Radio, Soul Calibur, Shenmue 1 & 2, MvC2,and CvS 2.
2. Any particular memories/stories to share?
Playing hours and hours of Soul Calibur with friends.
3. Most underrated DC game?
In my opinion: Shenmue, had a great story.
4. How does it rank among the best gaming systems of all time in your opinion?
One of the best systems ever made, sad it only lasted a few years.
5. Do you still own one? Or have you ever owned one?
I have the same Dreamcast I bought at launch and its modded,
6. If you own one, do you still have the first one you've ever bought?
Yes.
7. If you own one or have access to one, how often to you play these days?
Rarely play it now. :(
[this message was edited by NeoRyu on Sun 13 Sep 05:41] |
| Tai-Pan 373th Post
Silver Customer
| "Re(2):Consolidated Dreamcast Thread" , posted Mon 14 Sep 03:55
I don't feel like writing, but I'll participate because I love the Dreamcast.
1. Favorite games?
Shenmue, many many fighting games, most DC games.
2. Any particular memories/stories to share?
Playing Shenmue, just contemplating like an idiot those depressing japanese streets..Jesus, I mean, everything about Shenmue has already been said, but there was some real magic within that game.
3. Most underrated DC game?
MSR
4. How does it rank among the best gaming systems of all time in your opinion?
A system with soul. I love the DC.
5. Do you still own one? Or have you ever owned one?
I sold it to my cousin with an extra lens that has never been used. He still takes care of it like a treasure.
6. If you own one, do you still have the first one you've ever bought?
No.
7. If you own one or have access to one, how often to you play these days?
The last time I touched a DC was around 4 years ago...I miss it..
"Those who follow the path of a warrior must be ready to die in order to stand for one's convictions live for one's convictions die for one's convictions"
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| Pollyanna 2750th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(1):Consolidated Dreamcast Thread" , posted Mon 14 Sep 19:31
I was never a Soul Calibur fan...I'm still not, but I have to admit the DC port was so well done that it kept me entertained for hours and hours, regardless of if I was especially enthused about the game or not.
Nobi:
Have you played the Berserk game for PS2? I thought it did a great job representing the series. There was wayyyy to much running around in the levels, but the boss battles were totally epic.
Onto the questions...
1. Favorite games?
(today)Ikaruga, 3rd Strike, Vampire Chronicle (at the time) GGX, Space Channel 5 Part 2, Jet Set Radio, Zombie Revenge, Code Veronica, DOA2
2. Any particular memories/stories to share?
When Zombie Revenge came out, I drove over an hour to the nearest game store (I didn't live in the city at the time) to pick it up. The cover was SO horrible that I almost didn't buy it, even after the lengthy drive and my anticipation for the game. As soon as I got home (before I even played it) I sloppily drew my own cover for the game with colored markers and replaced the original.
When Samba de Amigo came out, I sambaed like crazy for 2 hours straight and promptly broke the controller. I took it back for a refund and have not sambaed again since.
3. Most underrated DC game?
Zombie Revenge, for being an arcade beat-em-up that you can win by gradually improving your game, rather than emptying your pockets.
Also, Illbleed, although only as a torture device. Much more fun to watch your friends suffer through it after you already know better. I still find myself reciting the line "You're pretty psychic!" from time to time.
4. How does it rank among the best gaming systems of all time in your opinion?
There are some systems I don't care for much. Nintendo makes most of them. Other than that, I don't really have a ranking.
5. Do you still own one? Or have you ever owned one?
I grudgingly threw away my (broken) one when I last moved. I kept the VMU to wear as a necklace, though.
6. If you own one, do you still have the first one you've ever bought?
Only bought one. It broke. Tossed it years later.
7. If you own one or have access to one, how often to you play these days?
I still play Ikaruga, 3rd Strike and Vampire Chronicle (kind of), just on different systems. I still listen to the Napple Tale soundtrack quite a bit, too.
青春謳歌 弱肉強食
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| Pollyanna 2751th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(8):Consolidated Dreamcast Thread" , posted Tue 15 Sep 07:56
quote:
I am somewhat curious about Polly's opinions on Shenmue, tough.
Ishmael said he enjoyed watching it more than playing it...I think I enjoy looking back on it more than I enjoyed my actual time spent with it.
Now, when I think of Shenmue, it just reminds me of walking to the train station early in the morning in Saitama. It's a nice feeling.
But when I try to remember how I felt at the time, I think my response to the game was "they had a lot of great ideas, but they forgot to make them fun." The fight system was decent enough...but there were no fights. Getting a job was an interesting twist, but why make it go on FOR SO LONG and be SO BLAND? Was it to make the player understand Ryo's suffering? Were people really able to relate to him?
Still, I loved Ryo because he encouraged me (the player) to spend his...my...our money, down to the last 100 yen on toys. "I should buy another" he would say (or something like that) when you would buy a gashapon. Who am I to argue? Who am I to ask "WHY should you buy another?". Surely the main character has a firmer grasp of his world than I do. And yet, I can't help but feel that if this man didn't have my invisible hand guiding him, he never would've made it anywhere (even if he didn't have crazy freaks EATING his plane tickets).
青春謳歌 弱肉強食
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| nobinobita 610th Post
Red Carpet Regular Member
| "Re(2):Consolidated Dreamcast Thread" , posted Sun 20 Sep 04:02
quote:
Nobi:
Have you played the Berserk game for PS2? I thought it did a great job representing the series. There was wayyyy to much running around in the levels, but the boss battles were totally epic.
Dear god, yes, I love that game! Sure it's got some flaws, but it really SHINES where it succeeds. They did the best possible job translating the characters, setting and mood of Berserk onto PS2. And the gameplay was perfectly representative of the source material too! That game had the best, smoothest integration of QTEs I've ever seen. They were crisp and quick and served as a reward for successfully playing the game. I think God of War actually owes a great debt to the two Berserk games that came before it.
Berserk for the PS2 did the following things that I wish more games would do:
-implement tons of context sensitive animations that tie into gameplay and angle of attack. For example, you have to work for the QTEs in Berserk. You have to use good timing and create an opening for an optimal strike. THEN you get a cool, quickly automated animation.
-Animate the game, don't rely on automation from an engine (Ragdoll physics always look weird, weightless and unintentionally erotic). The enemies in Berserk fall apart in all sorts of cool ways depending on what angle your finishing blow came at. But it's controlled, so it always looks and FEELS good!
-Vary enemies by size slightly. Just a little bit. Scale em up and down so they don't all look exactly the same! (As far as I can remember only Berserk and Baldur's Gate have done this)
-Make the game look like the franchise you're representing. There are far too many games that look nothing like the source material. Games like Batman Arkham Assylum, or any new Marvel Game. It's not because the artists are innovating on the original designs, it's because the teams are not able to stretch themselves to execute something in someone else's style. I'm all about originality and personal style, but a lot of artists use those concepts as a crutch to explain their weaknesses. But to be fair, the actual production artists aren't really to blame as they can only execute on what they're told, so the problem comes from higher up.
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| Spoon 1804th Post
Silver Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Executive
| "Re(3):Consolidated Dreamcast Thread" , posted Sun 20 Sep 05:27
quote:
Nobi:
Have you played the Berserk game for PS2? I thought it did a great job representing the series. There was wayyyy to much running around in the levels, but the boss battles were totally epic.
Dear god, yes, I love that game! Sure it's got some flaws, but it really SHINES where it succeeds. They did the best possible job translating the characters, setting and mood of Berserk onto PS2. And the gameplay was perfectly representative of the source material too! That game had the best, smoothest integration of QTEs I've ever seen. They were crisp and quick and served as a reward for successfully playing the game. I think God of War actually owes a great debt to the two Berserk games that came before it.
Berserk for the PS2 did the following things that I wish more games would do:
-implement tons of context sensitive animations that tie into gameplay and angle of attack. For example, you have to work for the QTEs in Berserk. You have to use good timing and create an opening for an optimal strike. THEN you get a cool, quickly automated animation.
-Animate the game, don't rely on automation from an engine (Ragdoll physics always look weird, weightless and unintentionally erotic). The enemies in Berserk fall apart in all sorts of cool ways depending on what angle your finishing blow came at. But it's controlled, so it always looks and FEELS good!
-Vary enemies by size slightly. Just a little bit. Scale em up and down so they don't all look exactly the same! (As far as I can remember only Berserk and Baldur's Gate have done this)
-Make the game look like the franchise you're representing. There are far too many games that look nothing like the source material. Games like Batman Arkham Assylum, or any new Marvel Game. It's not because the artists are innovating on the original designs, it's because the teams are not able to stretch themselves to execute something in someone else's style. I'm all about originality and personal style, but a lot of artists use those concepts as a crutch to explain their weaknesses. But to be fair, the actual production artists aren't really to blame as they can only execute on what they're told, so the problem comes from higher up.
I remember the Dreamcast Berserk game didn't have the technology of the PS2 game, and it was rather flawed in how it executed its difficulty (it made even the little enemies later in the game or on hard take WAY too much damage), but I loved all kinds of things about it.
I haven't looked at the PS2 Berserk game in a long time, but at the time when it came out I remember not being able to tell if it had a really excellent interpolation system on its animations or if they had just had a bunch of guys pounding at Guts' attack animations for way too long. If you weren't dash cancelling your attacks, it the way in which Guts' would drag or strain when doing attacks (particularly in an opposite direction from his current attack) had a really terrific sense of weight. The fluidity of the sword swings that maintain similar angular momentum combined with that strain when going in the opposite direction made Guts appear really lifelike when chopping up all those monsters.
Sadly, that above comment has probably revealed me to be one of those automation people. Now I despair that Nobi will never truly love me.
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| nobinobita 613th Post
Red Carpet Regular Member
| "Re(5):Consolidated Dreamcast Thread" , posted Wed 23 Sep 04:42:
quote:
Now I despair that Nobi will never truly love me. I think that this is a fear that we all have. Sort of like with parents and other wise ones we want to impress.
Haha, thanks for the kind words, I'm horrifyingly flattered!
For the record I don't have anything directly against dynamically driven animation inherently. Things like interpolation and physics can look great, I just think that they need to be eyeballed and hand tweaked (like what you observed in Berserk with the smooth, torque filled transitions from animation to animation, definitely interpolated, but heavily edited by hand to give it real weight and snap). Alot of next gen games actually have excellent interpolation (i don't hate everything!). Like Assassin's Creed, it's hard to make the character look broken.
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Also: Sometimes I think I should go back and read Berserk, if only because I have the distinct impression from somewhere that the Cloud-Sephiroth thing from Final Fantasy VII was lifted pretty obviously from there. I could be wrong, though.
Cloud's sword is pretty much the dragonslayer, and his relationship to both Zack and Sephiroth is similar to Guts and Griffith. I think the characters themselves are very different though. Guts is much mentally tougher than Cloud. He goes from just trying to survive to finding friends and wanting to carve his own niche in the world. Cloud is interesting cos he's actually a very pathetic person pretending to be cool. I don't think people really discuss that aspect of the character enough (well other than calling him emo and leaving it at that). I thought it was great that Cloud was spending his whole life pretending to be someone else who he deeply admired. It's not like he was just aspiring to be like his hero, he actually took up his identity! That's pretty crazy! Cloud is deeply and substantially insecure.
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But what does a game creator do when working with a character who has many differing designs such as Batman? Should they use the Neal Adams Batman, the Bruce Timm Batman or the Adam West Batman? I suspect this massive amount of choice is overwhelming a lot of game teams. Instead of trying to adapt any one particular style they attempt to create their own game adaptation of the character but end up screwing it up and end up falling back on boring design tropes. At least that's the impression I get after playing far too many franchise adaptations that have me fighting generic goons or wandering through yet another bland videogame hallway.
I know I'm being a bit harsh on Arkham Asylum, but I guess I'm just a big Batman fan and I was hoping they'd try to make it feel like the comics. My initial thought was that they were going for a Brian Bolland feel to it. Batman's face and overall stature is similar to his version of Batman (which is one of my favorites!). Also, The Killing Joke was an important milestone in the development of Batman. It kind of raised the bar with how dark the comic could get and touched on similar themes and moods that the game seems to be going for. And on top of that, the game has a really gritty muscley feel to it that really reminds me of Simon Bisley, who was probably a huge influence on the concept artist behind the game's designs (which you can unlock in the game). The problem is that both those influences got way lost in the actual execution of the game, which is largely indistinguishable from your average gritty space hull kind of game. For many reasons, there isn't a great precedent for 3d modellers in games to faithfully follow the concept art.
But I should cut the game some slack. I recently found out that it was made by Rocksteady Studios, a really small developer based out of London. Finishing a next-gen game is a tremendous task, especially for a small unknown developer so they've really accomplished alot against great odds. I'm sure they were underfunded and understaffed and fought scary deadlines all the time. They probably also had to really wrestle with big panels of executives who had to approve everything (imagine trying to please Eidos, Warner Bros and DC all at once!). I'm sure their circumstances were difficult, so it's amazing that they got a coherent game out at all.
[this message was edited by nobinobita on Wed 23 Sep 06:57] |
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"Re(1):Consolidated Dreamcast Thread" , posted Fri 11 Sep 06:32
"Re(3):Consolidated Dreamcast Thread" , posted Sun 13 Sep 12:17:
