Moderator: JC Denton
by icycalm » 06 May 2008 02:39
by Jedah » 06 May 2008 10:47
by Molloy » 06 May 2008 13:46
by icycalm » 06 May 2008 13:48
Jedah wrote:I don't think the subject of GTA labeling can be solved by choosing a word.
Jedah wrote:They seem equally stupid or descriptive to me.
Jedah wrote:Super Mario Sunshine is a free-roaming game, with levels as missions.
Jedah wrote:I do believe that every label given to a game or genre, will eventually become something like RPGs are today.
by icycalm » 06 May 2008 14:13
Molloy wrote:I quite like the term free-roaming. It sort of just a new buzz word for the Adventure genre though isn't it?
Molloy wrote:GTA is just a action-adventure title really.
Molloy wrote:Different terms come in and out of fashion. I'm sure the game marketing departments will have another one in 6 months time.
by icycalm » 06 May 2008 18:08
A representative with Sierra Entertainment today confirmed that to be the case with the company's upcoming open-world action game Prototype.
by Molloy » 06 May 2008 22:38
by Mr.Stevenson » 07 May 2008 00:23
It was difficult to anticipate how Grand Theft Auto IV would turn out, given the way that the whole “open-world game” thing is being done to death across as many different games and settings as possible.
...
Rockstar went the other way, and managed to craft an amazingly impactful story and weave it into an open-world game in an incredibly meaningful way–all without losing the heart and soul of what makes Grand Theft Auto so popular in the first place.
by Jedah » 07 May 2008 10:51
icycalm wrote:There's nothing to solve. We just need a word which we can use to quickly and easily refer to a range of games. Instead of saying, for example, "Dune 2-like" games, we say RTS games. Et cetera.
icycalm wrote:Jedah wrote:They seem equally stupid or descriptive to me.
Well, they have to be "descriptive". That's how we choose these terms. On the basis of how closely they describe that common aspect of the group of games which we want to describe. In this case, for example, "sandbox" is not a good term because it doesn't adequately describe the common aspect. I mean a box with sand in it? WTF does that have to do with GTA?
"Openworld" does a better job of describing these games, but why create a new word? This is English not German. You can just say "open world" games if you want.
That's why I think that 'free-roaming' is better. In these games you are certainly free... to roam.
by icycalm » 07 May 2008 13:57
Jedah wrote:What I meant was: They seem equally descriptive (good) to me for describing GTA games.
Jedah wrote:sandbox (sounds like a cat's toilet)
Jedah wrote:As I said Super Mario Sunshine is a free roaming game in a village hub instead of a city, but its main feature is platforming, thus it is categorized as a platform game. GTA on the other hand, has more balance between free roaming, driving, shooting etc. That's why it is difficult to use such a general term as free roaming to describe it.
Molloy wrote:I haven't played a lot of DMC. I always thought it was more of a pure action sort of thing with the odd key for the door puzzle. Not a whole lot of exploring per se.
Jedah wrote:Free-roaming-action-adventure is a little bit longwinded to become common usage.
And I sit here and ask myself: how could these people be so terribly, terribly wrong? Videogames are not paintings; beauty here is not in the eye of the beholder -- games are more like cars or motorcycles: comparing them is usually more of a technical matter than anything else. In the case of No More Heroes, a 3D hack-and-slash free-roaming action title, without a doubt the games it should be measured by are Grand Theft Auto III and Ninja Gaiden -- the first for still being the best free-roaming action game we have, and the second for being by far the best 3D hack-and-slasher yet.
by walrusdawg » 09 May 2008 09:42
icycalm wrote:In this case, for example, "sandbox" is not a good term because it doesn't adequately describe the common aspect. I mean a box with sand in it? WTF does that have to do with GTA?
by icycalm » 09 May 2008 13:31
by Bradford » 18 Jun 2008 18:42
by Bradford » 18 Jun 2008 18:45
by icycalm » 21 Jun 2008 16:34
Bradford wrote:For what it's worth, it seems to me that 'sandbox' is the more descriptive of the terms.
Bradford wrote:I think that walrusdawg makes an excellent argument.
Bradford wrote:'Free-roaming' ultimately ends up being a term which is meaningless, for precisely the reasons you stated; it applies to every game and no game.
icycalm wrote:These terms are not supposed to be taken literally. So forget about the literal meaning of the term. "Free-roaming game" means "GTAIII-like game" -- same as with "sandbox game". The only reason I prefer the first term is because it's more descriptive than the second one.
Bradford wrote:'Sandbox,' on the other hand, provides a fairly precise metaphor for a central element of a game like GTA.
Bradford wrote:That is, the game has been designed with the intent that players will roam (but not freely...) throughout the game world without a specific purpose and without advancing the plot, and that this will be enjoyable. That's basically the purpose of an large box filled with sand that children play in, isn't it?
Bradford wrote:I hope I'm not missing your point.
Bradford wrote:I just think that if there is already a word that has a useful meaning, why use a word that doesn't? I would understand if neither word's actual meaning had any utility, but that is not the case here.
Bradford wrote:Just one more very quick STUPID-AS-FUCK point. If you really want to redefine 'free-roaming' to mean nothing more than 'GTA-like,' and you couldn't care less whether anyone in the press picked up the term, why not just say 'GTA-like'?.
by burnsro » 21 Jun 2008 20:55
by icycalm » 23 Jun 2008 15:38
by Bradford » 23 Jun 2008 16:50
by icycalm » 23 Jun 2008 17:28
Bradford wrote:Icy, though your lack of respect for what I had to say is dripping from the surface of my computer screen, I appreciate the opportunity to respond. I came here to have my ideas challenged, and in that spirit, I have taken your advice:
by walrusdawg » 18 Jul 2008 08:49
icycalm wrote:Oh, really? So where are the sandboxes then?
Great point! Let's start calling all 2D fighters "Street Fighter II-like" games! And all FPSes "Wolfenstein 3D-like" games! Et cetera et cetera.
by chamchamtrigger » 18 Jul 2008 14:28
by Jon R. » 18 Jul 2008 19:12