faetal on 3/10/2016 at 18:24
THIS. I found Bioshock lost a lot of its tension too, because it was trying to be chilling through a tone of caricature.
henke on 3/10/2016 at 18:51
If we're talking artstyles then cartoon characters with heads bigger than their bodies are a big turn off for me. Couldn't get into Spelunky, Binding of Isaac, or Don't Starve because of that, and it's why I haven't even bothered with Skulls of the Shogun.
Yakoob on 3/10/2016 at 19:50
Hmm I agree that I am not a fan of the caricature graphics in BS1 as well, but for some reason it didn't detract me from the atmosphere? Perhaps just a subconscious personal preference I managed to zone out?
Pyrian on 3/10/2016 at 20:34
I feel like B.S.'s style worked great in some environments, and not so well in others. Specifically, it worked well in big, decorated set pieces. Theatres, plazas, markets, even the gardens and power plant. But it didn't work so well in the ordinary and the run down; the slums, the maintenance corridors, most of the industrial sites, and so on.
It just doesn't do ordinary convincingly.
faetal on 3/10/2016 at 23:56
It wasn't just the art style for me, it was also the way over the top hackneyed prohibition era idiom in all of the dialogue too. The whole thing just felt farcical. A shame really, because there are plenty of still moments where the architecture and underwater vibe do feel quite eerie. Those moments just end the second anything happens or you have to do anything.
catbarf on 4/10/2016 at 00:28
In fairness to the Bioshock devs, I think using the retro style and comical appearance of the splicers to make an unsettling and creepy atmosphere is a solid idea (same basic idea as clowns in horror), it's just hard to pull off without becoming cartoony and ridiculous. There are some points of Bioshock that I felt made the splicers seem legitimately scary, despite some points feeling more like Borderlands. A big part of it might have been the apparent shift late in development more towards a shooter. A more atmospheric, slower-paced Bioshock might have played up the horror of the splicers better.
But yes, cartoony graphics. Everyone's hands in Dishonored really bothered me.
icemann on 4/10/2016 at 03:46
Clowns have been completely ruined by horror movies. Your average person can't even look at a clown without thinking of them in a horror context.
"Kiss me fat boy". - It
DarkForge on 4/10/2016 at 07:36
Quote Posted by Pyrian
So basically you'd be happier without inventory limits at all.
Well I never had any issue with the inventory grid system in original DX, or even the handful of slots available in IW. It's just purely an ammo thing, I guess. I think even if HR & MD had made the grids smaller in exchange for taking ammo out of it, I probably would've been okay with that.
Yakoob on 15/10/2016 at 20:41
One thing that bugs me (and I think it's mostly JRPG trope) is how sometimes the sheer feel-goody-hope somehow managed to bring upon ungodly power as a sort of bs deus ex machina. For example, a character dies, and merely crying hard enough / praying / singing a song etc. suddenly brings them back to life. Come on...
I've been really enjoying Grandia II but it's pulled that kind of shit twice and it just makes me roll my eyes so hard. At least in Final Fantasy 7 when Aerith dies she stays dead ;p
Volitions Advocate on 16/10/2016 at 02:22
Quote Posted by Yakoob
At least in Final Fantasy 7 when
Aerith dies she stays dead ;p
Or
Nei in Phantasy Star II (not sure spoiler tags are needed. PS2 is like 27 years old at this point)
