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 Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 6:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Dark Individual wrote: | | Jasede wrote: | | Why not? Explain, cite examples, you know the drill. |
Because its archaic SF. Monsters have been around in every culture, too. The relevance and possible immersion is lost because we don't exactly live in chaotic environments filled with ravenous animals. That may be the reason why I haven't seen any famous SF author writing this primitive trash since maybe the 40s. Hostile *intelligent* aliens are still compatible with our lives and fears; that's why everyone is writing about that. Mega corporations ruling the world? Wow, that's sure original, Timmy! The point is that Obsidian are yet again playing greedy bastards. There are a lot better SF settings but they don't care anyway, since they're only after name recognition. |
First, I don't think Obsidian is doing it because they are greedy. It's not easy (impossible?) to survive making original, innovative RPGs, so you can't blame Obsidian for not taking risks. You can blame them for a lot of other things, but not for working with the licenses.
As for the Aliens setting...
http://www.irontowerstudio.com/forum/index.php?topic=330.0
| Chris Avellone wrote: | So, let's take Aliens as an example. What's cool about Aliens?
Well, it's scary. But why?
The Aliens typically attack people in situations where there's little or nowhere to run, and there's no way to get help quickly. Isolation to spur terror is a big part of the genre… no one is coming to save you.
The Aliens are a primal, predatory force. The more you know about them, the less scary they are (knowledge and details about your opponents makes them less threatening in general), so when introducing them, it's best to keep them as a nebulous, predatory force that serves as an adversary to the player.
Next, the threats in Aliens are actually two-fold. One is the aliens themselves, which are shadowy, nebulous threats lurking in the dark. The other threat is the human factor – routinely in the movies, it's the human psychological element that causes the secondary, and usually greater, threat. One could argue "the company" is basically another, equal shadowy nebulous predatory representation of the aliens. As an example, Burke's greed in Aliens is a huge threat. Hudson's panic is another. Gorman's arrogant by-the-book incompetence is another, his unwillingness to admit he's in over his head nor that he is unfit to command. Apone follows stupid orders. Vasquez is recklessly berserk, and her keeping her storm gun in Aliens and opening fire during the first encounter in the Hadley's Hope nest actually sets the timer limit on the detonation in the colony. Dallas in Alien is clearly apathetic about following the company's directives, and his apathy puts the crew in danger. Parker in Alien wants his share, etc, etc. All of these human elements serve to create equal, if not more, significant problems for the player. So having the human factor as a gameplay elements is equally important, and it should be tied into NPC and PC psychology.
Now, let's take Ripley. Ripley is the hero, and her strength is her perspective on the situation (usually the smartest perspective – "nuke them from orbit"), and her ability to take the psychological handicaps of her crew and immediate party members and either course-correct or overcome them (Hudson's fear, Newt's catatonia, Hick's unwillingness to step up and take command, Burke's sliminess, Ash's company loyalty, etc.). So this also seems to be an important part of the franchise. |
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Spazmo: Odds are, something you like very much sucks. Why? Because this is RPG Codex. |
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