SCRIBBLE'S PROFILE

author=Max McGee link=topic=3974.msg79781#msg79781 date=1244750181
So what I am to trying to ask is...why has enterbrain fallen behind? In this era of ludicrously hi-def 3D graphics, why can't we at least make games that look like, say, FFVII?

Why would anyone want to make a game that looks like FF7? If Enterbrain made it the default, then that would be horrible. It wouldn't be bad if it was optional, but 2D graphics are a hundred times more beautiful than anything on the PSOne. Even Final Fantasy V looks better than Final Fantasy VII based on charm.

Gosh, could you imagine it.

author=Mitsuhide_The_Vagrant link=topic=3818.msg79452#msg79452 date=1244598378
Thank you, Feld. I agree with this and don't see anyone else can't have this same opinion.

::)

author=GreatRedSpirit link=topic=3818.msg79385#msg79385 date=1244584660
Agreeing with Shenmue 2 though, that game was done well (for the whole three hours I played it

). I can't think/explain of any good examples though.

And that reminds me of something to do with interactive cutscenes. QTE!

(People hate those now, but I like how games like Indigo Prophecy used them)

author=kentona link=topic=3818.msg79306#msg79306 date=1244568588
The intro to FFVII.

It was effective as a cutscene since, as a video with higher resolution using prerendered 3D graphics, it was much more visually immersive and entertaining than a straight-up interactive gameplay design.

At the time, it was that blow-you-away-with-awesome hooks the game threw at you to get you to play the game.

Not going out of my way to disagree, but I do. I think the FF7 world as presented in that cutscene was just trickery.

Mario 64's opening 'cutscene' was better. It teased you with the new shiny world with Lakitu at the beginning, and then as Mario, let you explore it exactly as it was.

I agree with this article.

Pardon my misuse of 'mutually exclusive.' Got confused =P

author=halibabica link=topic=3818.msg78679#msg78679 date=1244225395
No, they don't have to be, but making cutscenes ineractive is difficult, especially depending on the kind of game you're trying to create. For example, take Resident Evil 4's approach to cutscenes: the more hostile encounters of the game require the player to pay close attention so as not to miss button presses that move them out of harm's way. That works to make it interactive, but a cutscene of this variety would feel out of place in a different kind of story. Even RE4 didn't have this in all their cutscenes; only the ones that needed it.

It isn't difficult. Some creators just don't make the effort. The Resident Evil 4 way is just one (bad) way to make an interactive cutscene (And QTE is done better in games like Indigo Prophecy). When are cutscenes really necessary in an RPG? There are probably one or two ways you can justify them, but what are they?

It seems the problem is that, as a game, actions need to be required of the player. But, in most cutscenes, the flow of events carries itself without any input from the player, thus lending them to non-interactivity. A fairly simple way around this is to give the player options of things to say/do in a cutscene that affect the flow of it, but that can get complicated when multiple forks are used.

And to perhaps make character stats play a role or something.

You mean there isn't? Because there is definitely way more to all of those things than what you're saying.

Yes, but those are the key elements of those mediums. People seem to fail to realise that if they're making a game, interactivity should be the number one priority. They should be thinking about interactivity in terms of everything. Character development, worldbuilding, everything!

It's no coincedence that some of the most respected (Not just critically acclaimed) games, i.e. System Shock 2, Planescape Torment, Deus Ex, Fallout, Half-Life all have elements of these! Maybe people should be copying these games instead of Final Fantasy 7? And if you're going to copy a JRPG, maybe strive towards games like Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne or something. And all this is *perfectly* capable within RPG Maker!

I'd love to see a cross between Fallout and Dragon Quest.

author=Feldschlacht IV link=topic=3818.msg78742#msg78742 date=1244258734
To chip in my thoughts, I never minded sitting down and watching a few minutes of a cutscene, even if there isn't any *GASP* buttons to press. I think it's because I don't have attention deficit disorder.

I think your "even if there isn't any *GASP* buttons to press" is a kind of annoying attitude. It's cool that in a discussion about game design, you decide to reduce the whole point of games to something juvenile-sounding. That's probably why we have this problem.

Having to sit through silly cutscenes, believe me, is *nothing* to do with ADHD. And I don't mean this in a pseudo-intellectual way, but if someone can read Don Quixote or Romance of the Three Kingdoms perfectly fine and have problems sitting through Final Fantasy cutscenes, believe me, it isn't the ADHD. When I sit down and play a game, I'm in 'gaming mode.' Cutscenes usually break up the momentum.

I'm sure if, say, the Nolans or Alfred Hitchcock or whoever did game cutscenes, they would be good. Heck, Persona 4 and Mother 3's cutscenes were interesting. But it's not easy to do good cutscenes. And I'm of the opinion that making them interactive instead would be better.

I agree with Blitzen's article. Especially the part about people using novel-writing advice as game-writing advice.


And to get back to the topic, something like this is dying for some kind of event/challenge. Make a really short game that's the equivalent of a fairytale or something. See how interactive you can make it. I may start it if I'm allowed.