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Games as a fun creative medium?
April 2nd 2004, 17:36 CEST by Eyegore It's sad to say that the only thing that really does this for me right now is 'The Sims', but I've been bored of that for a long time. Others would be 'Roller Coaster Tycoon' and 'Sim City' except that SimCity is much more micromanagement than creative. Same thing with Railroad Tycoon 3. Grand Theft Auto touches on it with it's 'emergent gameplay' where you can make your own game of trying to get across town by roof surfing cars. I'm a big fan of FPS games but I can only take so much twitch before I look elsewhere. The two games I'm looking forward to most right now are 'The Movies' which I hope will hit the nail on the head for what I'm looking for and of course 'The Sims 2', but is that all there is to look forward to? And isn't it interesting these two big creative games I mentioned (The Sims, Roller Coaster Tycoon) are among the few games that are most popular among women? |
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Topic: Games as a fun creative medium?
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Also, I've never heard of Audition - please explain. I'm fighting terrorism by playing violent video games!
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It's a great film. Watch it! But let's take The Ring as an example of terror. It has horror moments - the faces of the dead, the hand whipping up and grabbing the female lead's wrist, the gooey skull, Sadako's TV appearance, etc. - but what makes the film terrifying is the use of the bizarre, unnatural or uncanny. The video, for instance, uses no gore or sudden noises to make the audience wince or jump, but, nonetheless, it was deeply unsettling - the hairs stood on the back of my neck. Dawn of the Dead may have had a few of these moments; the video footage towards the end, or perhaps elements of the birth scene, but on the whole relied on bang! bang! splatter! horror. I'm not suggesting one is better than the other, but I'm just proposing that what are boradly classified as "horror movies" encompass very different mechanisms that can make for largely incomparable film experiences. What do people think? Do you find one of these approaches less or more effective? Do you see a distinction at all? |
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I thought the Ring relied too heavily on "OOOH LOOK THIS IS CREEPY I ASSURE YOU" imagery and a lame hook that just didn't do anything for me. Bleh to it. I thought The Others was a much better film in the "terror" genre, though it was never particularly frightening - it was just a better movie all around. I'm fighting terrorism by playing violent video games!
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Marsh: The video, for instance, uses no gore or sudden noises to make the audience wince or jump, but, nonetheless, it was deeply unsettling - the hairs stood on the back of my neck. It sounds stupid, but on the DVD version of The Ring (the US remake - I'm an uncultured swine), there's an option in the menus to play the actual video from the movie. I swear, I was convinced that I'd be tempting fate by selecting that option. |
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Jeet: 'The Others' was fantastic. Very creepy and very atmospheric. The twist was pretty good, in that it wasn't signposted early on, but if you thought back over everything, it made sense. Much like the twist in Fight Club or Sixth Sense. |
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"Oh, I saw that coming a mile away. From just looking at the movie poster in the foyer." "If you want sperm that produces Nobel Prize winners you should be contacting people like my father, a poor immigrant tailor. What have my sperm given the world? Two guitarists!" - Biochemist George Wald, on being solicited for a semen sample by William Shockley's sperm bank for Nobel Prize-winning scientists.
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The Japanese "Ringu" was more effectively creepy then the American version. Fighting the war on weapons of mass destruction-related program activity.
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You know, I never really found The Others all that engaging; its production all seemed a little amateurish. The servants were hammy stereotypes, the lighting was crummy throughout and the plot reminded me heavily of The Turn of the Screw, without being quite as good. Christopher Ecclestone's role was intriguing but under-used and I'll admit that Nicole Kidman's performance was pretty damn good, but all in all, the film felt flouncy and... strangely smug. Like the film thought it was being more atmospheric than it was. McBain: Hm. I didn't mind the American remake, even though I expected to hate it. But it seemed to be more reliant upon horror than the Japanese version did, which I think makes it less creepy, but not necessarily less scary. Maybe it's a cultural thing. |
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Hey, the Japanese worship belongs in the other thread! Pay attention! :) I'm fighting terrorism by playing violent video games!
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Props to an older movie called the Wicker Man for being pretty creepy whilst also crossing about twenty different genres. Would you like musical with your satanic town/dectective film? Ending makes that one too. |
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People who produce terror movies are terrorists and you guys are helping them win. For the next time you must redefine something.
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Howard The Duck I'm fighting terrorism by playing violent video games!
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#210 deadlock Marsh: The video, for instance, uses no gore or sudden noises to make the audience wince or jump, but, nonetheless, it was deeply unsettling - the hairs stood on the back of my neck. It sounds stupid, but on the DVD version of The Ring (the US remake - I'm an uncultured swine), there's an option in the menus to play the actual video from the movie. I swear, I was convinced that I'd be tempting fate by selecting that option. I'm the same way. I can never bring myself to choose that option. "Cheap Garbage Disposal Can’t Handle Femur"
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#213 McBain The Japanese "Ringu" was more effectively creepy then the American version. Ringu was a shallow rip off of Pong. "Cheap Garbage Disposal Can’t Handle Femur"
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I love The Wicker Man. The Japanese version of the Ring DVD had the standalone video option, too, and I could never bring myself to watch it. I can't imagine renting the movie on VHS. |
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The Ring was great, and I liked it better than Ringu because while Ringu was a good movie, it veered off into Japanese mythology at times that I found interesting but as a round-eye was too divorced from to be creeped out by it so it just seemed silly in many places. One overlooked great aspect of The Ring is the sound editing. As with videogames, the difference between a good horror movie and a great one is often hidden in the sound effects and score, IMO. Comment Signature
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Ringu was much better than The Ring in many ways, the most notable of which being that it didn't have a comedic crazy horse scene that was supposed to be scary. Dood.
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I agree with the horror/terror split. Good call. One of the best horror movies that blends those two elements well was the original Nightmare on Elm Street. It had lots of gore/horror moments, but the terror element was just as strong. I'm thinking back to how I felt watching it in the theater the first time mind you...how is this guy (freddy) able to walk through the bars of a jail cell or manipulate the environment at will? How can you escape something like that? The terror the girl went through when she realized that he got you in your dreams and was all powerful in the dream world. Chugging coffee like mad trying to stay awake, knowing that if she fell asleep it was all over for her, and nobody believed her or would help. Very terrifying. I know it's hard to see it like that now when the story has been redone over and over to the point of mocking itself, but the first movie, the first time is still one of the best horror movies of all time. |
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I saw Ringu after seeing he american version. They were almost identical, but the american version was slicker with better effects, cinematography, and acting. And no subtitles. Both were just as good but I prefer the american version for those reasons. |
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Yeah I agree that Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the best horror movies of all time. I also agree it is hard to look back into the past and see this objectively considering the ridiculousness of the sequels. Comment Signature
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Part 3 wasn't terrifying, but it was still a good movie. |
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I have a fondness for Nightmare on Elm Street 3 and thought it was great when I first saw it in theaters, but having (unfortunately) watched it again recently, I must say that it is not a good movie. Comment Signature
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What's the Elm Street movie where they're making an Elm Street movie and it's all meta? Because I have no idea if it's any good, but I have to admit the scene where the prop Freddy claw goes nuts was effectively scary for me. |
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I don't want to watch any of the stuff again that I thought was good in the 80's. Most of it probably doesn't hold up, and I'm better off remembering it fondly. |
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What's the Elm Street movie where they're making an Elm Street movie and it's all meta? That one was "New Nightmare", IIRC. I only saw it once. I remember it being a very interesting idea and excuted pretty well, but not particularly scary.. Of course, I was much older when I saw it than I was when I saw the first movie, so maybe that had something to do with it. Comment Signature
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Freddy vs Jason wasn't scary. I laughed and laughed and laughed though. Religion is the most malevolent of all mind viruses.
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#232 Charles Freddy vs Jason wasn't scary. Wasn't supposed to be. "Cheap Garbage Disposal Can’t Handle Femur"
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You want to talk about not scary scary movies, Jason X is the prime example. My continued existence is purely to spite any sense of fairness in the universe.
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No, not scary at all. But I have to admit, I loved Jason X. Loved. |
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You know Hugin, your baby icon is starting to make me think you're able to crush peoples' heads with your mind. Particularly photographers. My continued existence is purely to spite any sense of fairness in the universe.
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Yeah Jason vs. Freddy was a riot. Even Jason X had its moments: the scene with a couple of teenagers doing drugs and wanting promiscuous sex .. Funniest. Shit. Evar. |
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Along Teh Funnay line I'm also very fond of Final Destination 1 and 2. I adore the various seemingly unrelated events leading up to disaster. Shockingly funny. |
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I still dig quite a few of the old Hammer House movies, House of Usher, Masque of the Red Death, Pit & the Pendulum, ahh nostalgia That said, the original "the Fly" is still a great movie. props to "the Wickerman" also, Christopher Lee was involved in trying to get a sequel/follow up made recently. Do not go gently into that good night.
Old age should burn and rage at the close of day. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. |
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As I was browsing my local second-hand shop, I turned up a movie called The Daughters of Satan, emblazoned with the tagline "Torturing with FIRE and DESIRE!", and starring none other than the moustached pre-Magnum PI star, Tom Selleck. I found this so amusing that I bought it. Unfortunately it was not good enough to enjoy, and not so over-the-top rubbish to be laughable. It was just dreary. And there was only one scene with a bit of fire in, and I felt almost no desire throughout any part of the movie other than the desire to smash the television. |
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Movie producers owe you nothing! |
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I need some Xbox game recommendations for my husband. He's got this week off and so he's burning through the rest of Halo; I expect him to finish it today or tomorrow. He's thoroughly enjoying it, and since he's kind of a grudging gamer (thinks consoles are a waste of money) I'm happy to indulge his enjoyment of my Xbox. I'm looking for some more titles I can get him that follow up on his enjoyment of Halo. He's a straight-up action/shooting kind of guy, but really wants a lot of story with his game. Games he's loved on the PC are Soldier of Fortune 1 and 2, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, and especially Deus Ex. I feel like I should be able to recommend some console shooters for him since that's my line of work, but there are so few right now (and most of the others besides Halo are PC ports, and he's played the PC game). He likes GTA3 and Vice City, but he seems to be kinda bored with them. Does anyone have any other titles you can recommend to me? I thought about KOTOR, but he's not an RPG fan and not into the Star Wars universe. "See, Canadians believe Jesus walked on water. We just figure it was winter when he did." - Squeaky
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Also, he really loves Mech-style games, so if there are any good ones for the Xbox, that would be great. Steel Battalion is not an option because of its price. "See, Canadians believe Jesus walked on water. We just figure it was winter when he did." - Squeaky
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Dead to Rights. sunny days have funny ways of quieting the roar
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Mechassault? |
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MechAssault for his actiony mech needs. It's also a budget title now. Crimson Skies has action and a story wrapped around an alternate 1930's world filled with dastardly air pirates. You might consider Deus Ex: Invisible War, too, if he's not played the PC version. "I don't bemoan the great paste" - LPMiller
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Deth Dead to Rights. That's cruel. My continued existence is purely to spite any sense of fairness in the universe.
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I was thinking about DX:IW -- he loved the original DX and he hasn't played the PC version of the sequel. And he's not a hardcore gamer and has no idea about the stuff people were complaining about. Mechassault...is it a good game? Any word-on-the-street on that one? I noticed that Best Buy is bundling it with a basic Live kit, which I have to pick up anyway. Is it multiplayer only or does it have a SP game as well? Crimson Skies: Ned, I bet he'd like that. I forgot there was an Xbox version of that. I'll mark that on the list. "See, Canadians believe Jesus walked on water. We just figure it was winter when he did." - Squeaky
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I stand by Blair Witch as being one of the better horror movies of recent note. Of course, to really have it have any impact, you needed to go into it with a mountain of hype on your back and be fully immersed in the fiction because they damn sure didn't bother going into any of it in the movie. Also, the first Blair Witch game, Rustin Parr, was excellent in terms of atmosphere, sound effects, and general creepiness. Unfortunately 80% of the game consisted of maze running. It still creeped me out decently, though, and not many things are able to do that, especially games. Still, with the lights out late at night with headphones on - great atmosphere. I'm fighting terrorism by playing violent video games!
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MechAssault gets really boring after a couple hours. I like Beyond Good and Evil and Panzer Dragoon Orta. He might like Timesplitters 2. I like sports games and that is what I play on my XBox most. I own the first Splinter Cell but have yet to play it a single time. Fighting the war on weapons of mass destruction-related program activity.
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I also really liked Tony Hawk 3 and 4. Fighting the war on weapons of mass destruction-related program activity.
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MechAssault IS a good game... and has a fun single-player campaign. Crimson Skies isn't just an XBOX version of the PC game, but a wholly different (and much better) game based on the same licensed property. Ninja Gaiden is great if he likes third-person action games and doesn't mind if they are VERY DIFFICULT. Rainbow Six 3 is really fun too. He may have played Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield on the PC. If he did, it doesn't matter, Rainbow Six 3 for XBOX is virtually a completely different game... it has some levels based on levels from Raven Shield, but a lot of totally new ones and the game is much more action-oriented than the PC version. If he hasn't played the Splinter Cell games, he should try them the way they were MEANT to be played...on a console. Ditto Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Ditto Freedom Fighters. SSX3 is a lot of fun, if he has any interest in Tony-Hawk-Like games. Need for Speed: Underground is a lot more fun than it should be or I expected it to be.... and I don't normally even like driving games. Comment Signature
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My husband's not a Tony Hawk player. He's not a cutesy arcadey game player either. He pretty much likes sci-fi/military style action games. "See, Canadians believe Jesus walked on water. We just figure it was winter when he did." - Squeaky
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Also, I'd recommend you at least rent KOTOR anyway. You may be surprised. I don't really play RPGs at all anymore, but still enjoyed this game a lot. And while I am "into" Star Wars, I know people who aren't who still enjoyed the game quite a bit. Comment Signature
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Caryn, here is Game Rankings aggregate of the best reviewed XBox games of all time. I also really enjoyed SSX Tricky which I'm sure can be found on the cheap. Fighting the war on weapons of mass destruction-related program activity.
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He pretty much likes sci-fi/military style action games. Ok. After Halo he wants to play Brute Force while he waits for Halo 2. Brute Force needs to be played co-op with multiple system-linked Xboxes to get the full effect, but it is still a pretty good game in single player. Comment Signature
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