Tuesday, February 17, 2009

subtle settings

Does it seem to anyone else like most game settings have all the subtlety of a wrecking ball?

There's the utter devastation of Fallout 3, Gears of War, and Resistance 2. There's the blatant fascism of Half-Life 2 and Bioshock. Overt alien invasions, war hotspots, monsters, tyrants, blood caked on the walls, bodies lying on floors and hanging from ceilings, etc.

It sure would be nice to occasionally play a game where the conflicts are under the surface, the enemies hidden in plain sight, the outcomes uncertain. Most great works of film and literature contain elements of mystery, complex and rounded characters, and questions left open.

1 comment:

  1. Game development hasnt quite reached this level of refinement for plot. But that doesn't mean we aren't hungry for it to... I concur

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