Alien: Isolation

[Eddas]

Cameron's "movie" aside, there is no justification for bullshit popamole gameplay that exists only because consoles have inferior controls for this type of games.

But we all have one thing to thank consoles for: the glorious QTEs.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Old and OT but here it is nonetheless:



The tears, the tears.

 

[Caim]

Join the club, Randy!

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2014/07/18/worst-thing-alien-isolation-never-knowing-monsters-will-next

Everybody likes AI.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

"We realised if you could learn its behavior then it would stop being scary. You won’t see any patterns because there aren't any."

This isn't exactly filling me with confidence. Instead of having a really clever AI we'll probably get a HURR DURR WALLHAX0RZ! Alien.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

What would a clever AI entail to you anyway?

 

[Eddas]

Skynet.

 

[chestburster]

What would a clever AI entail to you anyway?

It would cut the power.

 

[sexbad?]

I pre-ordered this after watching Alien last night because it might be cool.

 

[Eddas]

I pre-ordered this after watching Alien last night because it might be cool.

If it wasn't 90 "moneys" over here I would do the same.

 

[SuicideBunny]

"We realised if you could learn its behavior then it would stop being scary. You won’t see any patterns because there aren't any."

This isn't exactly filling me with confidence. Instead of having a really clever AI we'll probably get a HURR DURR WALLHAX0RZ! Alien.

worked for original x-com.

 

[Broseph]

I don't have high hopes for this. It looks good, and the linear, cramped corridors will ensure the game maintains focus and has few bugs, and that the devs can focus on gameplay since they know the player can never get off the beaten path. Unfortunately, the crux of the game depends on AI...and that's typically the hardest thing to get right. I predict we will see some really great pre release videos, but the final release will be underwhelming (but not the catastrophe that was the last Aliens game)

That short Aliens cast cameo pre order from gamestop stunt thing is also worrying.

 

[Azrael the cat]

Rewatched Alien last night.

One thing that really stood out. For all the talk about how central the Geiger design is for the xenomorph (and I'm not denying it's a great design), it's amazing how much Alien 'cheats' the creature's design. It makes no attempt to give the Alien a consistent appearance, gait or movement. Literally every appearance of the alien has it taking on a different form.

The first couple are obvious - the facehugger and the small lizard-like alien immediately post-chestburst. But then things get weird. The alien is never shown completely after that, but the suggested form is about as fixed as Cthulu on muscle relaxants. One scene it looks and moves like an octopus, the next a reptile, and then an arachnid - with its movement and predatory style changing accordingly.

It's an impressive effect, as you never get a handle on what the alien is, other than an amorphous predator.

It rams home how the fan 'lore' makes this kind of game difficult - the fans want the alien to match the lore in their heads, and anything new, eerie or deliberately jarring will lead them to reject the game. A tribute to the franchise would be a better idea, with a new and unknown creature that isn't governed by audience expectations.

 

[chestburster]

Rewatched Alien last night.

One thing that really stood out. For all the talk about how central the Geiger design is for the xenomorph (and I'm not denying it's a great design), it's amazing how much Alien 'cheats' the creature's design. It makes no attempt to give the Alien a consistent appearance, gait or movement. Literally every appearance of the alien has it taking on a different form.

The first couple are obvious - the facehugger and the small lizard-like alien immediately post-chestburst. But then things get weird. The alien is never shown completely after that, but the suggested form is about as fixed as Cthulu on muscle relaxants. One scene it looks and moves like an octopus, the next a reptile, and then an arachnid - with its movement and predatory style changing accordingly.

It's an impressive effect, as you never get a handle on what the alien is, other than an amorphous predator.

Just like in Blade Runner, it is Ridley Scott's inability to clean up his script (or he simply didn't really know what he wanted) that leads to some interesting ambiguity.

Was the Xeno raping Lambert? We don't know, and I suspect neither did Ridley Scott.

Why was the Xeno "sleeping" in the closet? No answer from Ridley either.

Does the Xeno reproduce by forming a cocoon as in the alternative cut, or else? Again Ridley couldn't decide.

Etc and etc. All the ambiguity coupled with Giger's design and O'bannon's story (which is very Lovecraftian seeing that O'Bannon was very much a Lovecraft fan) created the masterpiece that is Alien. It simply can't be replicated in vidya game form.

 

[Boleskine]

The first couple are obvious - the facehugger and the small lizard-like alien immediately post-chestburst. But then things get weird. The alien is never shown completely after that, but the suggested form is about as fixed as Cthulu on muscle relaxants. One scene it looks and moves like an octopus, the next a reptile, and then an arachnid - with its movement and predatory style changing accordingly.

Then at the end of the movie we realize it was just a guy in a suit!

Kidding aside, I do agree with your post.

 

[Jick Magger]

It's also because the costume looked really bad whenever the xenomorph had to be depicted in a standing position. Whenever we see a wide/mid shot of the alien it's almost always seen in some kind of crouching position where most of its body could be obscured by the lighting. If the scene demanded that the xeno be standing (i.e. its encounter with Lambert and Parker), it's done in medium/extreme/close-up, or with most of the alien out of shot or focus, to try and obscure the lower body. The one time we see the alien in its entirety (when it's ejected from the escape shuttle, as shown above), the limitations of the costume become apparent. Classic film smoke-and-mirrors.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Longer legs and taller stature than in the film version eliminates the whole "guy in a suit" perception.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

With those legs it could pursue a successful career as a fashion model.

NEVER MIND THE DRIPPING FANGS, JUST LOOK HOW FABULOUS THE STOCKINGS LOOK ON IT!

 

[Azrael the cat]

With those legs it could pursue a successful career as a fashion model.

You kid, but we all know what the first mods will be.

 

[Ebonsword]

Then at the end of the movie we realize it was just a guy in a suit!

The fact that the xenomorph was just a guy in a suit was pretty obvious in the attack on Dallas, too.

I just re-watched Alien myself recently. It really is a spectacularly well-done movie. It's shot beautifully, the acting is good, the FX are great, and the score is wonderfully atmospheric and creepy.

My biggest complaint is that they never explain how the xenomorph managed to go from being 12 inches long to being 12 feet long in a matter of hours.

 

[Eddas]

The fact that the xenomorph was just a guy in a suit was pretty obvious in the attack on Dallas, too.

I just re-watched Alien myself recently. It really is a spectacularly well-done movie. It's shot beautifully, the acting is good, the FX are great, and the score is wonderfully atmospheric and creepy.

My biggest complaint is that they never explain how the xenomorph managed to go from being 12 inches long to being 12 feet long in a matter of hours.

I guess it's pretty difficult to study an Alien and at the same time survive it.

 

[Boleskine]

I just re-watched Alien myself recently. It really is a spectacularly well-done movie. It's shot beautifully, the acting is good, the FX are great, and the score is wonderfully atmospheric and creepy.

My biggest complaint is that they never explain how the xenomorph managed to go from being 12 inches long to being 12 feet long in a matter of hours.

Ridley waited 30+ years for the right person to come along and reveal that mystery.

Spoiler

 

[toro]

I just re-watched Alien myself recently. It really is a spectacularly well-done movie. It's shot beautifully, the acting is good, the FX are great, and the score is wonderfully atmospheric and creepy.

My biggest complaint is that they never explain how the xenomorph managed to go from being 12 inches long to being 12 feet long in a matter of hours.

Ridley waited 30+ years for the right person to come along and reveal that mystery.

Spoiler

I don't get it.

 

[chestburster]

I just re-watched Alien myself recently. It really is a spectacularly well-done movie. It's shot beautifully, the acting is good, the FX are great, and the score is wonderfully atmospheric and creepy.

My biggest complaint is that they never explain how the xenomorph managed to go from being 12 inches long to being 12 feet long in a matter of hours.

Ridley waited 30+ years for the right person to come along and reveal that mystery.

Spoiler

I don't get it.

Damon Lindelof

 

[toro]

I just re-watched Alien myself recently. It really is a spectacularly well-done movie. It's shot beautifully, the acting is good, the FX are great, and the score is wonderfully atmospheric and creepy.

My biggest complaint is that they never explain how the xenomorph managed to go from being 12 inches long to being 12 feet long in a matter of hours.

Ridley waited 30+ years for the right person to come along and reveal that mystery.

Spoiler

I don't get it.

Damon Lindelof

Ohh ... still don't get it

Edit. I'm no fan of Lost.