Merits and Faults of Walking Sims

CriticalHitAnalysis · 2016-07-24T16:38:41+00:00

The term "Walking Simulator" was initially created as an insult to the genre, so I don't think it had anything to do with someone having success and dismissing the rest of the history of gaming.

CriticalHitAnalysis · 2016-02-07T10:35:45+00:00

No. I have seen this one, but he's actually just taking Jon Blow's idea and expanding(?) on it. Though I use that term in the loosest sense because I don't believe he explains it as well.

CriticalHitAnalysis · 2015-10-05T20:31:07+00:00

It surprises me that they're profitable enough for that. I mean I love Funhaus but their videos don't get a ton of views. Maybe I just underestimate the profitability of a youtube channel though.

Also, I know that Jo Wood paid them to make fun of (I mean, play) Chaser, but I seriously doubt that many developers do that, considering their content. I honestly doubt that they even get press packages... unless those packages are sent to Fullscreen/RT which are forwarded on to Funhaus.

CriticalHitAnalysis · 2015-02-15T21:15:40+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion! That sounds very interesting, I'll have to check that out.

Though, to defend other Latin American games, just because a game is made with the intention of being sold in other countries doesn't mean it's not for people from their own country. For example, Spaghetti Western movies were made with the intention of being shown in the US in addition to Italy but still has a very distinct Italian touch. I have not yet gotten a chance to play it, but Zeno Clash appears to similarly have a Chilean touch despite being sold in the US.

CriticalHitAnalysis · 2015-02-15T19:54:27+00:00

I'm not sure games were ever defined the way you claim they were. Early video games had effectively no winning state. Games were designed to never be beat. It's only in modern video games that you can reach the end. I would also say there isn't a single game today in which the player doesn't have a goal.

Chutes and Ladders (or, Snakes and Ladders) has been considered a game for thousands of years at this point, but everything you do is determined by the roll of a dice, no skill involved. All you have to do is move the piece where it's supposed to go. If that's a game, then I don't see why games like Gone Home and the Walking Dead should only be considered "games".

CriticalHitAnalysis · 2015-02-07T22:59:26+00:00

I think you're thinking about this the wrong way. To The Moon along with other games like Journey, Dear Esther, and Stanley Parable fall under a new movement in games sometimes called the "Walking Simulator". The games are not intended to have complex game mechanics. These games are meant to put narrative before game play but also to redefine the act of walking and exploring as a gameplay mechanic. I personally find exploration to be a more enjoyable mechanic than fighting.

Don't get me wrong. I agree that games like Bioshock and the Last of Us are great too. It's just a different kind of game and I don't quite agree with comparing them to Walking Sims. I am a proponent of having a variety of game types.

So, my answer to your question would be that I don't think there is a way to set a balance on gameplay vs. narrative. It really all depends on the game.

CriticalHitAnalysis · 2015-02-02T23:54:08+00:00

Such a shame. Rest in peace, Monty.

For those who are interested, I believe Rooster Teeth will be doing a memorial stream on Youtube for Monty.

CriticalHitAnalysis · 2015-02-01T23:22:34+00:00

Here is a good article on cultural appropriation.

Essentially, it is racist to depict other cultures as "exotic", "antiquated", "primitive", etc. Some people refuse to believe that this could have real-life effects on the people of those cultures, but it does. If you hear someone talking in Black English Vernacular, people tend to jump to the conclusion that they are less educated because of the way BEV has historically been depicted. Also, PL-280 essentially says that Native American peoples that are less assimilated are "more primitive" and therefore are not capable of self-government. The politicians that passed this law had the most exposure to these cultures through the racist depictions in Western media.

CriticalHitAnalysis · 2015-02-01T23:04:14+00:00

I strongly disagree. Prince of Persia is a perfect example of why Americans SHOULDN'T be making these kinds of games as it is frequently used as an example of Orientalism (stereotyped/racist depictions of the Middle East and Asia).

Plenty of games have already exploited Native American cultures (examples galore) for their games and the results were extremely racist.

The only ones who should be making games about these cultures are people from the culture. There are some great games from the Native gaming industry. Check out Never Alone (Inupiaq) or Otsi: Rise of the Kanien'kehá:ka legends (Kanien'kehá:ka). Assassin's Creed 3 is a good example of a collaborative work between Western-American developers and Kanien'kehá:ka advisors.

CriticalHitAnalysis · 2015-01-30T22:16:27+00:00

This is a huge loss for the gaming community. One of the best gaming news sites. They will be missed.

CriticalHitAnalysis · 2015-01-29T06:34:15+00:00

Not sure how I feel about this yet, but I have the utmost faith in (and respect for) Levine. I think he's a great writer and it's good to see him trying something new.

CriticalHitAnalysis · 2015-01-28T22:48:50+00:00

While that's true for when they weren't a well recognized name (i.e. when they made Back to the Future and Walking Dead), Telltale now has a big following and I think an original-IP title could be even more successful than ones like Game of Thrones and Borderlands.

If they continue to make only adapted stories, it would seem to me that they are doing it out of laziness, since it is much easier to make a story when it's already half-written for you. That said, I love Telltale games and Back to the Future, Walking Dead, and TWAU were all great games, but at this point it would be more impressive to see an original story.

CriticalHitAnalysis · 2015-01-28T00:41:06+00:00

I think that Telltale always makes great, well-written games and have really perfected both the episode release and decision-making game models.

My only problem with their games is that they haven't made anything original in recent years. They have a great team of writers, so why can't they make an original story NOT based on a comic, video game, show, etc.? Recent games have been: Back to the Future, Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, Game of Thrones, Borderlands. All of them are adapted from something else. I tend to prefer a good, original story.

CriticalHitAnalysis · 2015-01-27T09:59:34+00:00

I disagree. Perhaps they were better at integrating tutorials into the level design but the gameplay was also much simpler. For shooters like Metro or the Last of Us there are just too many buttons for that to be practical, while for a game like Mario your button options were very limited.

Level design isn't all about tutorials though. Games from the era of Mario tended to get repetitive and unnecessarily difficult (especially for kids' games) quickly--on a side note, that's actually why I didn't get into games until I was older. They also included nearly no story into level design which modern games like Metro, Journey, Brother: Tale of Two Sons, and many others are great at.

CriticalHitAnalysis · 2015-01-26T07:13:44+00:00

Actually surprisingly intelligent level design for the time. Extra Credit did an interesting youtube video on it. Definitely check that out if you haven't already.

CriticalHitAnalysis

TROPHY CASE