tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24434266.post4325500903402664921..comments2024-02-26T21:38:35.761+11:00Comments on The Dust Forms Words: CinematicsGreg Tannahillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00823898295759037081noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24434266.post-87981879198263884322008-01-31T15:52:00.000+11:002008-01-31T15:52:00.000+11:00I think there's a difference between cutscenes use...I think there's a difference between cutscenes used to advance the story and cutscenes used as a sort of reward for accomplishing something or beating the game. The best example of this is the Final Fantasy games. When the scene is conveying a somewhat mundane event like people in a room planning their next move or an old man giving you a quest, everything is rendered in game. But when you beat the game or when some other really major event like a character death occurs, it's rendered in state of the art CGI.<BR/><BR/>And I think it's also worth noting that the CG cinematic isn't totally dead. They were used extensively in the God of War games. I guess it's really a question of how epic the designers want you to feel when playing the game. Warcraft III had its moments, but it's pretty clear that you aren't meant to take the whole thing very seriously either. The orcs practically sound like parodies of themselves even when you don't click their units repeatedly.<BR/><BR/>P.S. Grand Theft Auto has always left me cold, and the latest iteration has gotten me even less excited. I think part of it is because the music in the trailers is quite awful. It sometimes sounds like MIDI!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24434266.post-65046108357554424732008-01-30T06:47:00.000+11:002008-01-30T06:47:00.000+11:00The cynic in me says they quit doing the in-game c...The cynic in me says they quit doing the in-game cinematics because it's cheaper to render cinematics with the game engine.<BR/><BR/>I'm not against using the game engine for cinematics if it is up to the job. Indeed I can make a good case for why its appropriate. Sometimes though, it's not appropriate.<BR/><BR/>I absolutely loved the intro movie for Soul Edge, but there is no way the PSX could render that kind of cinematic using the Soul Edge engine. It just wasn't possible. I think in-game cinematics existed to help tell the story in a way that game engines were too limited to tell. Now that we have the technology, I suspect we see them going away because developers believe non-game engine rendering of important scenes is no longer necessary.<BR/><BR/>Frankly, just because you don't use the same tool in the toolbox all the time doesn't make it worthless.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24434266.post-41634085547273196582008-01-26T23:27:00.000+11:002008-01-26T23:27:00.000+11:00That's of course by far the better point, which my...That's of course by far the better point, which my post skirts with tongue more or less in cheek. And diving into Eternal Sonata may or may not inspire some observations on how its story is almost totally disconnected from its gameplay; there should be waiting and seeing, methinks.Greg Tannahillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00823898295759037081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24434266.post-26616458703793021342008-01-26T21:27:00.000+11:002008-01-26T21:27:00.000+11:00I'd rather see game designers work on telling thei...I'd rather see game designers work on telling their story without cut scenes at all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com