Starker on 30/12/2013 at 13:57
Quote Posted by Malleus
I think it got awkward in HL2 and the episodes.
Yeah, it was especially awkward when Alyx was flirting with him, but also when people were talking about plans involving him.
It's ironic that he's called Freeman when he's just there to run errands for others in a linear rollercoaster ride without even having a voice.
SubJeff on 30/12/2013 at 17:17
It's just a name bro, it's just a name.
Tony_Tarantula on 30/12/2013 at 18:02
Quote Posted by Starker
It's ironic that he's called Freeman when he's just there to run errands for others in a linear rollercoaster ride without even having a voice.
I think that's the point.
Tony_Tarantula on 30/12/2013 at 18:03
Quote Posted by thrawn_121
On Crysis 2, have you gotten up to the part where you're examined yet?
I think Alcatraz doesn't speak because he can't speak. Guy has a flail chest segment, gunshot damage to his heart, lungs and spine... He's described as a corpse walking, only thing keeping him alive is the suit.That's also part of the problem in Crysis 2 where the nano-suit goes from wearable armor to having a portable laboratory, being a self aware AI....pretty much a nano-tech God and the subject of every other line of dialogue. It becomes patently ludicrous how half the plot consists of people ranting about the nano-suit (of which several others are in existence).
Phatose on 30/12/2013 at 18:37
Quote Posted by Starker
Yeah, it was especially awkward when Alyx was flirting with him, but also when people were talking about plans involving him.
It's ironic that he's called Freeman when he's just there to run errands for others in a linear rollercoaster ride without even having a voice.
The rollercoaster may not be especially free, but compared to the rails, it's fucking liberated.
Starker on 30/12/2013 at 23:12
Quote Posted by Tony_Tarantula
I think that's the point.
Yeah, that much is obvious -- "Rather than offer you the illusion of free choice, I will take the liberty of choosing for you" -- Valve certainly knows what kind of game they are making.
The issue here is that players are placed into the shoes of a character that is simultaneously supposed to be an empty vessel for the player as well as a puppet who is being stringed along by G-Man (Valve). This creates some weird situations when he has to interact with the NPCs or some emotional scenes are happening around him. Not so much in the first game, but it very much jumped out for me in the second game and the episodes.
Usually, in RPGs, a blank slate character like that is there for the player to define the character through interacting with the world and its inhabitants, but in a shooter like Half-Life there are no meaningful choices for them to do so. A character like that may work in Doom where there is no plot other than "demons invade, shoot demons", but Half-Life tries to do more with its story than that.
DarkForge on 2/1/2014 at 08:01
Quote Posted by thrawn_121
On Crysis 2, have you gotten up to the part where you're examined yet?
I think Alcatraz doesn't speak because he can't speak. Guy has a flail chest segment, gunshot damage to his heart, lungs and spine... He's described as a corpse walking, only thing keeping him alive is the suit.Really? Huh. I guess either they didn't draw much attention to it or it was something I just glazed over.
Malf on 2/1/2014 at 11:11
I found that the most affecting part of Crysis 2 personally. The alien sci-fi nonsense and bro-shooter stuff aside, the gradual destruction of Alcatraz was a fascinating tragedy. Every time he should have failed due to losing organ functionality, breaking limbs or flat-out just dying, the suit took over that role. In the end, I was wondering how much of Alcatraz was really left.
As an exploration of post-human sci-fi and what the soul is in a digital universe, I found it to be pretty damn respectable.
catbarf on 3/1/2014 at 05:41
Quote Posted by Malf
In the end, I was wondering how much of Alcatraz was really left.(Crysis 2 spoiler)
Given the ending ('They call me Prophet' in Prophet's voice), I think the answer is 'none'.Not to get too far off-topic, but that aspect of the game, the idea of losing identity in a transhuman context, is one that I think would make a great narrative idea for a story willing to use it as more than just a plot device. I feel like I've read a sci-fi novel using it as the core theme but I can't remember what it was.
henke on 5/1/2014 at 19:51
Quote Posted by dethtoll
In Metro Last Light I started picking up the habit of nodding my head yes or no whenever someone asked me a question
I do that all the time too. :)
Anyway, currently replaying Knife Of Dunwall in preparation for Brigmore Witches. Dishonored is really
clicking with me this time in a way that it hasn't before. Might be partly because I'm playing with mouse+keyboard instead of gamepad like I did earlier.
