The Annual E3 discussion thread, 2014 edition
- Thread starter Shifty Geezer
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Ripping people's spines out was tongue-in-cheek?
MK2 had some wacky stuff, I'll admit (babality, friendship, animalities).
Agreed, graphically realistic only aims to improve the narrative.
Yes, I still get the idea that the people who make and/or target overrepresent tweens. I think it's one of the things I liked about Uncharted - sure there's still a lot of action, but it's more cartoony and less serious, and the story itself is much more ... mainstream, so to speak.
That said, for MK I still think it is on the right line of tongue in cheek violence. Lots and lots of games still coming out today just aren't.
Ripping people's spines out was tongue-in-cheek?
much like watching Roadrunner type looney tunes cartoons... you know when bomb would go off and just leave their skeletons with no flesh... it was "animated violence"
this is anatomically correct gore - much of it over the top.
Looney Tunes et al stopped at ever showing blood. It was realistic, though over the top, violence applied to non-realistic characters with unrealistic consequences (bomb goes off, Coyote walks away blackened. Weight drops on head, Coyote get's flattened and not splattered). Itchy and Scratchy parodied the old slapstick violence and in doing so introduced blood and gore into mainstream kids TV and cartoons.
Mortal Kombat had plenty of blood and gore and never struck me as Looney-Tunes slapstick. It was realistic, over the top violence applied to realistic characters. I associate MK's gore with teenagers and Beavis-and-Butthead style sniggering when someone's spine is pulled out.
Gore is mainstream now anyway though. Look at the contemporary cop shows - every chance to show a realistic wound and puddles of blood and organs dangling out, they take it. Meanwhile films that were rated 18 in yesterday now get 12A ratings and are shown on everyday TV channels. Heck, 1970s and 1980s late-night cop shows unsuitable for the kids are now daytime TV! The cultural boundaries have been pushed down and they'll be pushed down yet moreso. Where the contemporary gore may offend some, it won't to kids raised in that culture. Similarly stuff that's inoffensive to you may shock your grandparents. Whether culture should allow all this gore etc. is an RSPCA discussion not suited here, natch.
Suffice to say, there is more gore now and there will be more in future, but it was probably always present in games; it just couldn't be rendered convincingly. The latest hardcore gore like Loadout and Let It Die can realise that original desire for gore, where it probably starts to attain a different perception to a splash of red pixels accompanied by a distorted, sampled 'argh' played over a tiny internal beeper.
Mortal Kombat had plenty of blood and gore and never struck me as Looney-Tunes slapstick. It was realistic, over the top violence applied to realistic characters. I associate MK's gore with teenagers and Beavis-and-Butthead style sniggering when someone's spine is pulled out.
Gore is mainstream now anyway though. Look at the contemporary cop shows - every chance to show a realistic wound and puddles of blood and organs dangling out, they take it. Meanwhile films that were rated 18 in yesterday now get 12A ratings and are shown on everyday TV channels. Heck, 1970s and 1980s late-night cop shows unsuitable for the kids are now daytime TV! The cultural boundaries have been pushed down and they'll be pushed down yet moreso. Where the contemporary gore may offend some, it won't to kids raised in that culture. Similarly stuff that's inoffensive to you may shock your grandparents. Whether culture should allow all this gore etc. is an RSPCA discussion not suited here, natch.
Suffice to say, there is more gore now and there will be more in future, but it was probably always present in games; it just couldn't be rendered convincingly. The latest hardcore gore like Loadout and Let It Die can realise that original desire for gore, where it probably starts to attain a different perception to a splash of red pixels accompanied by a distorted, sampled 'argh' played over a tiny internal beeper.
Shifty, you're right, gore is indeed everywhere nowadays. I used to have a weak stomach for this but now that you've pointed it out, I realized that my tolerance level has raised considerably. Not that I would watch flicks like Saw and such - but a lot of things don't really bother me anymore. I guess that's somewhat sad though.
But I still find the stuff in the MK trailer tasteless...
But I still find the stuff in the MK trailer tasteless...
I'm in agreement, I found the graphic gore in that trailer rather gratuitous.... Its kinda sad that the most interesting thing we can come up with is murder, gore and sex - these platforms have the potential to do so much more....
Considering we're talking about a conference that also had Little Big Planet, Abzu, Entwined and No Man's Sky, let's not pretend we aren't being given a wide swath of options.
So E3 is officially over. I didn't even really see any new news on the last day!
Mixed show. There really seemed to be so few stage demos, it was all just usually the same small recorded clips.
Ok so here's my best of show based on what I've seen so far, whether these excel in just graphics or some other area:
The Division (only the short Xbox presser showing that I know of, but still looks amazing)
Destiny (just made this list lately, starting to feel like it could be something really big)
Master Chief Collection (Cause it's Halo, and gobs of it. Although what I've seen of H2A's gfx aren't stupendous, and they haven't shown a lot)
Dragon Age Inquisition (more gfx and incredible scale)
COD: Advanced Warfare (Looks great and exciting, the futuristic setting looks set to bring a fresh feel, shocking to me that COD is back on my radar, moreso than the latest Battlefield etc! Whoda thunk it)
Witcher 3 (basically same positives as DA: I, lots of monstrous games out there)
Mixed show. There really seemed to be so few stage demos, it was all just usually the same small recorded clips.
Ok so here's my best of show based on what I've seen so far, whether these excel in just graphics or some other area:
The Division (only the short Xbox presser showing that I know of, but still looks amazing)
Destiny (just made this list lately, starting to feel like it could be something really big)
Master Chief Collection (Cause it's Halo, and gobs of it. Although what I've seen of H2A's gfx aren't stupendous, and they haven't shown a lot)
Dragon Age Inquisition (more gfx and incredible scale)
COD: Advanced Warfare (Looks great and exciting, the futuristic setting looks set to bring a fresh feel, shocking to me that COD is back on my radar, moreso than the latest Battlefield etc! Whoda thunk it)
Witcher 3 (basically same positives as DA: I, lots of monstrous games out there)
I think the Xbox team particularly wanted to showcase Cod and Division to show the power of Xbox... only to get smashed in the face by the Naughty Dog UC4 reveal. I'd wager that Spencer will spend the next year investing in an IP to try to rival the quality of of UC4 on PS4... And no it won't come from Quantum Break. maybe from Black Tusk?
They put those games on idsplay to keep their conference interesting, and to show off timed-exclusives/marketing deals they maintain with 3rd parties. CoD being the sales juggernaut insures that MS will more-than-likely use that to start off their conference with a bang.
Sony showing UC4 was cool and technologically amazing, but no full-on gameplay was shown (just an in-game cinematic).
As someone with a Sony preference, I'm still willing to admit MS had the better conference. They showed a lot of interesting games, not all of them were shooter-oriented, and didn't try to peddle Kinect to an audience that mostly doesn't care about it.
I still liked what Sony had to show, but it was definitely more drawn-out and less focused than what Nintendo and MS did.
Don't know if this was posted elsewhere, but on Imgur someone posted these pics with interesting facts about the show:
http://imgur.com/gallery/jVA2Y
http://imgur.com/gallery/jVA2Y
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I agree that MS had the better tighter conference. A considerable amount of Sony's conference were showcase multiplats (batman, gta V). The difference with UC4 was simply mystique. Sony has the power perception and has found a way highlight it to the satisfaction of the gaming community through that demo, which MS hasn't been able to do.
Interesting that Rainbow Six: Siege has won at least two big site's Game of Show lately (IGN, and now Gametrailers).
I didn't feel that much hype about it as a viewer at home, yet the on site people (who got hands on) seemed very impressed with it. Guess you had to be there type thing.
I didn't feel that much hype about it as a viewer at home, yet the on site people (who got hands on) seemed very impressed with it. Guess you had to be there type thing.
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