[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by Eureka

Yes there is something wrong with that. Who the hell wants to pay $60 to watch a movie?

Did I or anyone say it was going to be a movie? None of us here knows exactly how this GAME is supposed to play so whatever labels we spit out for it now is nothing but speculation before we find out more. bigjko knows as little about it as you or I or anyone else does at this moment.

And I don't care about the director's "vision," I want to play a fun and interesting game. Every game should strive to be like HL2 because it was a fun game.

That's quite an unintelligent blanket statement. I could say that every movie should strive to be like Titanic or Lord of The Rings, but where would that get me, eh, besides being lumped next to you? You're entitled to your own opinion, of course (not that I'd take it seriously). I'll snicker, though.

Anyway, please find someone else to argue with, I've better things to do.

[Eureka]

You always gets bitchy and defensive when somebody disagrees with you. You've got quite the ego problem.

[Melanie68]

Eureka, this is not the place to discuss each others' personalities (and/or your perception of them).

If you need (or want) to continue the conversation, do so privately. Thanks.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

No, I have a problem with how you post your disagreements with me, Eureka. I would've replied in a more gentle tone if you had also. I trust you're a very nice fellow and I would love to discuss topics with you but why is it you're always posting so defensively yourself? That makes me feel like I'd have to be defensive myself. How would I know you don't mean any harm when we're not in the same room and all I have to work with are the words you write? Words like 'who the hell' or 'I don't care' could be taken as less aggressive if I saw that you had a shrug and a smile on your face and I would understand, but I can't see that in an online forum - if you're smiling.

If you'd take some time to look me up here you'll find I'm actually a reasonably good forum member, not perfect, but I am well liked (I've been here for over five years). So please, no more misunderstandings? Thank you.

And sorry, mods, for this. I'm just trying to clear the air.

[Melanie68]

And that will be the last word publicly. Continue in private if need be.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Thanks, Melsie.

[Gabe]

In hl2 epi 1 when turn your flashlight to Alyx 's face she covers her eyes with hands,thats the smartest animation ever

[Eureka]

Is the engine from ep 1 different from HL2?

[Gabe]

Same source,comes with hdr ?

[Catbert]

Originally Posted by Melanie68

And that will be the last word publicly. Continue in private if need be.

Party pooper

I'm kind of tired of games trying to be movies. I read somewhere that during the 90s movies tried to be videogames and in the 2000s games try to be like movies. It's just plain sad. Games will never be movies and vice-versa. I get a bigger kick from playing old stuff like Fallout or something like that than games like Call of Duty that just try too hard to be like Enemy at the Gates or Saving Private Ryan.

However, if you look at examples such as Half-Life 2, you can see that these two worlds are perfectly manageable if you keep it fun and not too obvious. Half-Life 2 managed this because the new effects fit perfectly into the game. Grenades blowing next to you make you go deaf. Ok, we saw that on SPR, but it's not too flashy, it fits well. I want that. MORE

[Gabe]

Well,Fahrenheit better than TES4(maybe more cartoonish sometimes but
conveying emos better)

[bigjko]

Intrepid, looking back at my quote I see that I worded it poorly. Or maybe I have forgotten what I meant back then and have a different opinion now..

But I think Heavy Rain video is a pretty unrealistic expectation of what a game could be. A scene like that requires tremendous amount of work and most of that work would go unseen in a game, given that the player can wander around freely (although that doesn't have to be the case, aka cutscenes.)

I'm mostly afraid that they'll have to make a compromise in interactivity for this kind of cinematic quality. Altough I could be totally wrong.

As for Half-Life 2, by no means should every game be like that. Especially not if they're trying to aim higher, like Heavy Rain. But in reality, I think the HL2 way (subtle, yet effective) is more cost efficient, as boring as that word may sound when trying to be immersive in gaming.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Considering that so far we have very, very little information about Heavy Rain other than the claim that the NPC emotions happen in real time, I'm working on speculation, hence my thoughts on it will change the more info we get.

If I'm right it may work a little similarly to Facade, where the characters gauge your decisions, dialogue selections, and actions and react accordingly on the fly (though it might not be as sophisticated as Facade, especially if the game's length, depth, and complexity of plot and interactivity figure in). Given that, it's probably more feasible to think about it not in terms of subtlety, but more in terms of character interaction, depth, and intensity of emotions.

[bigjko]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

Considering that so far we have very, very little information about Heavy Rain other than the claim that the NPC emotions happen in real time, I'm working on speculation, hence my thoughts on it will change the more info we get.

If I'm right it may work a little similarly to Facade, where the characters gauge your decisions, dialogue selections, and actions and react accordingly on the fly (though it might not be as sophisticated as Facade, especially if the game's length, depth, and complexity of plot and interactivity figure in). Given that, it's probably more feasible to think about it not in terms of subtlety, but more in terms of character interaction, depth, and intensity of emotions.

Wow, I didn't actually realize they meant the emotions were generated in real-time. I thought they meant that everything in the video was, boringly enough, shown in real-time. This sounds infinately more interesting the way you describe it.

I'm trying to imagine how this is possible but I'm having trouble with that, as I'm no game designer. But it's an exciting thought.

[insane_cobra]

That's slowly becoming the next big thing in facial animation. The first middleware solutions are already becoming available and companies like Image Metrics are offering similar services.

[Eureka]

Ya know what really pisses me off?! THIS! Ok, i'll tell you. Remember in Morrowind when you would run around neeeked and talk to people and they would comment on how you should put clothes on and make disgusted faces? It's completely GONE in Oblivion. They don't give a $)%* if you're naked or not. Damn hippy Elves.

[Catbert]

What exactly does "real-time emotions" mean? I don't think there's such a thing as that. We'd have to have real interpretive AI with the capacity to make decisions and show emotions to have that, wouldn't we?

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by Catbert

What exactly does "real-time emotions" mean? I don't think there's such a thing as that. We'd have to have real interpretive AI with the capacity to make decisions and show emotions to have that, wouldn't we?

Where have you been? Click on the links that cobsie posted above, and go play Facade. It's HAPPENING NOW, and there's steady progress being made, so stick that tongue back in.

[Catbert]

I played Façade. As much as we want it to be reactive gameplay they still only react to what you type in. It's a text adventure mixed with graphics. I didn't understand why everyone got so caught up on it, honestly.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Look, Catbert. Why don't you sit down with the developers and ask them why the most advanced A.I. and facial expressions in commercial computer games aren't as sophisticated as YOU want them to be? And they'll tell you that your computer, which you bought at a store, no matter how bleeding edge and up to date it may be, CANNOT HANDLE your wildest dreams for the next several years, at least.

Please be easy on them, they're working on it, okay?