The VGX 2013 Thread (in before Mountain Dew)

[Metro]

I don't see how a four man team (who made Danger Joe or w/e) can deliver on this... I get the feeling it'll be lacking in interesting content.

 

[Metro]

 

[DalekFlay]

The problem I have with these games is that more often than not there is shit all to actually "explore" since nobody actually put any effort behind buildings an interesting setting/levels and encounters, else they couldn't be "procedural". It's usually a variation of the same room/tiles/pieces of decoration or events that get pasted over and over and which get boring fast. There is a certain amount of procedurality that can make a game better imo (see for instance Diablo 2) or generally allowing a bit of freedom within constraints but combining it with a lot of very specific encounters and hand-crafted content which drive the game further, but a lot of the games that praise themselves on "procedural design" look like utter shit to me since they seem so generic:

Sure, that's a danger. Even if it becomes repetitive and lacks real reward however it will still likely give me a bunch of hours of spectacle merely on the basis of jumping from planet to planet. Mass Effect's planet exploration was arguably terrible but I still loved it. It's just too amazing a concept.

 

[Metro]

Mass Effect's planet exploration was arguably terrible but I still loved it.

 

[Dexter]

The problem I have with these games is that more often than not there is shit all to actually "explore" since nobody actually put any effort behind buildings an interesting setting/levels and encounters, else they couldn't be "procedural". It's usually a variation of the same room/tiles/pieces of decoration or events that get pasted over and over and which get boring fast. There is a certain amount of procedurality that can make a game better imo (see for instance Diablo 2) or generally allowing a bit of freedom within constraints but combining it with a lot of very specific encounters and hand-crafted content which drive the game further, but a lot of the games that praise themselves on "procedural design" look like utter shit to me since they seem so generic:

Sure, that's a danger. Even if it becomes repetitive and lacks real reward however it will still likely give me a bunch of hours of spectacle merely on the basis of jumping from planet to planet. Mass Effect's planet exploration was arguably terrible but I still loved it. It's just too amazing a concept.

I don’t know, I just can say that for myself I usually have a very low tolerance for that kind of stuff. It seems like I’m just wasting my time (well, even more than usual) since I rarely find content created after specific algorithms without personal input very engaging. Give me fresh content that someone put their brainpower behind because I don’t think a computer can create a lot of content I will find fun for long (there are no procedurally created books, TV series or movies after all). Someone could for instance play Torchlight on procedurally created unlimited Level dungeons for years, but I usually couldn’t take more than a few hours maximum.

As I said it usually works to a certain degree, two games that come to mind right now are Faster Than Light or Space Pirates and Zombies, which have a certain degree of procedurally designed world content, but it is usually placed within an otherwise tight and more elaborate narrative to fill in some of the holes and give you different experiences each time around.

The “planet exploration” in Mass Effect you brought up I found absolutely horrid, the most horrid part of the game at that and think if they left it out (or just concentrated on 2-3 planets with hand-crafted content) it would have made for an irrefutably better game.

The procedurally generated content in most Bethesda games (if they be quests, NPCs or scenery itself from the woods and grass to the very caves) usually really made me get bored with and give up on them rather quick. I always preferred the way Piranha Bytes did it with an entirely hand-crafted world and encounter design over it.

 

[DalekFlay]

The “planet exploration” in Mass Effect you brought up I found absolutely horrid, the most horrid part of the game at that and think if they left it out (or just concentrated on 2-3 planets with hand-crafted content) it would have made for an irrefutably better game.

The procedurally generated content in most Bethesda games (if they be quests, NPCs or scenery itself from the woods and grass to the very caves) usually really made me get bored with and give up on them rather quick. I always preferred the way Piranha Bytes did it with an entirely hand-crafted world and encounter design over it.

Well that's why I'm classifying myself as super explorefag guy. It's just too amazing a feeling for me to "beam down" and explore a planet, even if it's handled relatively poorly I'm still going to enjoy it. Blame growing up on Star Trek TNG maybe. Same thing with Skyrim, yeah every dungeon looks more or less the same but discovering things in a fantasy world is too fun for me to not enjoy it.

In other words the bar is really low for me because I enjoy random exploration so fucking much. I fully admit this.

 

[Night Goat]

I kind of feel the same way about the planet exploration in ME1. From a purely gameplay perspective, they sucked: fuck around in the Mako for a while, then go to a copypasted building and kill everyone. I liked the speculative astronomy that went into them though; reading the descriptions before landing, then seeing what such a planet would look like from the surface. A better developer could have done something really amazing with such a concept.

 

[Dexter]

The “planet exploration” in Mass Effect you brought up I found absolutely horrid, the most horrid part of the game at that and think if they left it out (or just concentrated on 2-3 planets with hand-crafted content) it would have made for an irrefutably better game.

The procedurally generated content in most Bethesda games (if they be quests, NPCs or scenery itself from the woods and grass to the very caves) usually really made me get bored with and give up on them rather quick. I always preferred the way Piranha Bytes did it with an entirely hand-crafted world and encounter design over it.

Well that's why I'm classifying myself as super explorefag guy. It's just too amazing a feeling for me to "beam down" and explore a planet, even if it's handled relatively poorly I'm still going to enjoy it. Blame growing up on Star Trek TNG maybe. Same thing with Skyrim, yeah every dungeon looks more or less the same but discovering things in a fantasy world is too fun for me to not enjoy it.

In other words the bar is really low for me because I enjoy random exploration so fucking much. I fully admit this.

I love exploring and Star Trek TNG, but there should be something *worth* exploring for me to enjoy it. If you set down on one planet in Mass Effect and drove around on it you've seen them all, if you've visited the two-three different types of dungeons in Skyrim you've basically seen them all, they're just filled with different types of monsters most of the time. How fun would TNG have been if in every episode they'd always beam down to the same barren shitstain planet, walked around a bit and had a generic conversation with a "quest NPC" (like for instance in Star Trek: Online) instead of having different storytelling and thematic experiences in most of the episodes, since that is what procedurally created episode would have been like?

For me to have fun exploring shit there actually has to be something new worth exploring e.g. in terms of games Star Trek: A Final Unity/Star Trek: 25th Anniversary/Judgment Rites >>> Star Trek: Online where most of the "exploration" done are repeatable shoot X amount of ships or battle encounters on the surface of some planet.

 

[DalekFlay]

I love exploring and Star Trek TNG, but there should be something *worth* exploring for me to enjoy it. If you set down on one planet in Mass Effect and drove around on it you've seen them all, if you've visited the two-three different types of dungeons in Skyrim you've basically seen them all, they're just filled with different types of monsters most of the time. How fun would TNG have been if in every episode they'd always beam down to the same barren shitstain planet, walked around a bit and had a generic conversation with a "quest NPC" (like for instance in Star Trek: Online) instead of having different storytelling and thematic experiences in most of the episodes, since that is what procedurally created episode would have been like?

For me to have fun exploring shit there actually has to be something new worth exploring e.g. in terms of games Star Trek: A Final Unity/Star Trek: 25th Anniversary/Judgment Rites >>> Star Trek: Online where most of the "exploration" done are repeatable shoot X amount of ships or battle encounters on the surface of some planet.

In my experience RPGs are just as much about imagination as anything else. Pen and paper stuff you have to imagine everything visual, early CRPGs generally looked simple and had repeating tilesets. I had to imagine a lot of stuff around Bioware's simple planet execution, but the feeling (music, setting, map, etc.) was all there and mixed with my preferences to create a lovely experience, even if there should have been more going on.

If you reply we're going to repeat the same arguments over and over. I've already admitted my bar is set low on exploration, not sure what else you want me to say.

 

[Night Goat]

How fun would TNG have been if in every episode they'd always beam down to the same barren shitstain planet, walked around a bit and had a generic conversation with a "quest NPC" (like for instance in Star Trek: Online) instead of having different storytelling and thematic experiences in most of the episodes, since that is what procedurally created episode would have been like?

That would be terribly boring. Fortunately, we instead have such unique and diverse viewing experiences as the 8 episodes where Q shows up and fucks with everyone, the 12 episodes where the crew travels in time, and the hundred or so where the holodeck malfunctions.

Spoiler

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

A new level of disgust and shamelessness has been reached in the arts of marketing/trailer creation.

Yo Lara puts AK47 to the chest of these dirty white male rapist assholes and unloads the magazine. Feminists 1:0 Rapists. #Equality

Square-Enix, you can't die fast enough.

 

[Metro]

D1P

 

[Dexter]

Isn't that just a re-release of what is basically the PC version sans a few features? http://www.joystiq.com/2013/12/07/tomb-raider-definitive-edition-confirmed-for-xbox-one-ps4/

As an ad on Spike's VGX site suggested earlier today, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is scheduled for a shipwreck on the PS4 and Xbox One in January 28. The Definitive Edition will include improved visuals, including TressFX, and all of the previously released multiplayer DLC. It will not support 3D visuals like the PC version. Definitive Edition is a collaborative effort between Crystal Dynamics, Nixxes and United Front Games. It's also already available for pre-order on Amazon.

 

[Infinitron]

What about South Park? Nothing?

 

[Dexter]

What about South Park? Nothing?

They had kind of a stupid trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/...ick-of-truth-vgx-2013--world-premiere-trailer

Spoiler

Most of the stuff is on GameTrailers now:
Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/g82gj1/the-witcher-3--wild-hunt-vgx-2013--world-premiere-trailer
Game of Thrones Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/h31f2z/game-of-thrones-vgx-2013--world-premiere-trailer
Titanfall Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/rhqev2/titanfall-vgx-2013--stryder-world-premiere
The Division Featurette: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/...-division-vgx-2013--world-premiere-featurette
No Man's Sky Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/3hpqoi/no-man-s-sky-vgx-2013--world-premiere-trailer
Dying Light Gameplay: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/q9woah/dying-light-vgx-2013--live-gameplay-demo
Destiny Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/ahz0eg/destiny-vgx-2013--world-premiere-trailer
Quantum Break Featurette: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/dngpjv/quantum-break-vgx-2013--world-premiere-featurette
Tales from Borderlands Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/...-borderlands-vgx-2013--world-premiere-trailer
Thief Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/ichpsc/thief-vgx-2013--world-premiere-trailer

 

[Infinitron]

What about South Park? Nothing?

They had kind of a stupid trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/...ick-of-truth-vgx-2013--world-premiere-trailer

Most of the stuff is on GameTrailers now:
Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/g82gj1/the-witcher-3--wild-hunt-vgx-2013--world-premiere-trailer
Game of Thrones Trailer:
Titanfall Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/rhqev2/titanfall-vgx-2013--stryder-world-premiere
The Division Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/...-division-vgx-2013--world-premiere-featurette
No Man's Sky Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/3hpqoi/no-man-s-sky-vgx-2013--world-premiere-trailer
Dying Light Gameplay: http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/q9woah/dying-light-vgx-2013--live-gameplay-demo

No interviews or anything? Meh, glad I didn't watch this.

 

[DalekFlay]

Isn't that just a re-release of what is basically the PC version sans a few features?

Yeah.

In their defense though console versions the last year or two have been so shitty compared to PC versions that if I were a console gamer I would want re-releases like this. Far Cry 3 would be another top candidate.

 

[Metro]

'dat Dying Light trailer. Fucking Techland is shameless. It's just a NEXTGEN Dead Island. Game looks exactly the same only prettier.

 

[Infinitron]

Looks like the entire thing is on YouTube now:

 

[Metro]

nothnx

 

[Markman]

Remedy guys are fucking disgusting. Sucking Microsofts cock like theres no tomorrow.
And talking about cutscenes and cutscenes and cutscenes and cinematic gameplay for what looks like to be a standard popamole shooter. I wanted to throw up after that interview.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Remedy does cinematic popamole really really well though.

 

[Grunker]

Did we send Grunker

Never again. Not unless it comes with free beer AND tits. And awkward women paid to cosplay Ubisoft brands do not count.

(or if you could actually sit down and talk to the developers, that would be ok too)

 

[felipepepe]

I like how now everyone is butthurt about how Joel McHale made they feel like retarded nerds for watching a gaming award.

 

[felipepepe]

This is pure gold:

It's hard to believe that just 4 short hours ago my wife had to awaken me from a booze & pills inducted haze to remind me that I thought it was a awesome idea to host a live nerd thing.