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GrimBee

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#1 GrimBee
Member since 2005 • 2441 Posts
Lol this thread is kinda crazy, but hey. One cool thing to do with "inspiration" is something like Silent Hill. Whenever you see a town in the fog, alot of people automatically think "hey, its like silent hill here". Now thats the sort of inspiration I admire. Putting something people can relate to in a game, and using it welll. In terms of copying character styles etc to make their game "fit" into a genre - it can be good at times, for example - Since the movie "Aliens". How many "gung-ho" soldiers with eye-cameras and machineguns have you seen in movies and games? Pretty much you can count all the way up to gears of war 2 and back. Alot of the time, you can have a group of soldiers shooting up aliens or monsters - its been done so many times now since Aliens that its pretty much a GENRE now. Same with detectives with long rain-coats. Same goes for zombie movies, you can say that ALL zombie movies and games copy george a romero's work, however, its been done so many times before that its become a genre. Trouble with Kojima, it is literally like as one poster said, creating a character like batman and calling him "Solid Wayne". (lol). You can copy the "dark knight" aspect of the story, you can copy that the protagonist has a large mansion, gadgets underneath it, futuristic vehicle to chase-down enemies.. you can copy all that stuff and get away with it. Heck, Lara Croft is like a female Batman in a way - what with the mansion, butler, gadgets etc. But what Kojima does is put the comparisons right down to the symbol on batman's chest and just alternating it slightly, and then featuring a "nick name" for the character during the story hinting towards the subject that "yes, I am modelled after batman.. bite me". The only thing about referencing so close to the inspiration is that you will eventually think differently about the character. I watched Rambo years ago, and have always thought that the colonel in MGS is exactly like the colonel in Rambo. No coinsidence there at all, even the hat, voice, face is extremely similar, pretty much right down to the hair colour and attitude aswell. For moments in metal gear solid, when the colonel back-stabbed Snake, I just thought back to Rambo and the colonel doing the same sort of thing to Rambo. And I thought this during the game. This, for a few moments, took me out of the MGS world and put me into the works of Rambo. Sometimes homages can be good, but too much can make the viewer much more aware of the comparisons. Using the same camera angles, musical styles and drama as other films can make you feel like comparing the film to one that is very similar instead of looking at it as an individual piece of work. I like how Kojima has made great characters and motifs, I just don't like how so very very close they are - it takes my mind away from the MGS world for a moment.
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#2 GrimBee
Member since 2005 • 2441 Posts
I think that in the industry of entertainment, it is very hard to be unique. With every good idea you will have a connection to a previous idea. I mean, just think of one movie - and you can relate it to being similar to a movie or book before it. Think back to the last game you played - from gameplay to music to camera direction etc - it would of probably of been taken from another game. There is a very fine line between copying and USING. For example - A survival horror game, it started with alone in the dark, pushed forwards by resident evil, and used in silent hill. Now alot of people will call "silent hill 1" a rip off of resident evil. But the thing is now, that sort of gameplay etc is now considered "survival horror". If you had a sneaking game, you could say "its like metal gear solid", not literally "its like escape from new york". I don't like the idea of taking the seed of someone else's character and growing it into my own thing. Only because if escape from new york had a remake or was made into a game, it could be called "a mgs rip off" and it would just cause a bit of contention between people who like the escape from new york movie. But I don't Kojima is so uptight about stuff like that, he would probably stand up and admit that the characters are extremely similar, intentionally. I read about there being similarities, but if you sit and watch the movie you will totally see the clear similarities. In this industry its hard to be unique, thats what Im saying, its very difficult to have an idea which hasn't been done before. But I think they key to it is not just making it your own, but making the person who watches it (reads, plays etc) really get into it and enjoy it. Kojima did that with MGS AND with Snatcher, even those two games are extremely similar to stuff that has been done before, you would probably be a bit gutted if Kojima never watched the movies that inspired him to create his best work. And entertainment that I really enjoyed. I have to make one point though - if someone wanted to make a "sneaking mission game", Kojima better not say "hey, he's ripping off my idea! lol
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#3 GrimBee
Member since 2005 • 2441 Posts
I like what Johnny Rotten once said - "Don't imitate. It's not a form of flattery, it's a form of laziness". After watching Escape from LA. Seeing the character Snake played by Kurt, after seeing the One-Man-Submersible vehicle, after having that stuff put in him which makes him become a wreckless hero because his life is on a timer.. I was like "what? Did this film copy Metal Gear Solid?". Obviously, it was the other way around. But still, its so close to imitating its crazy. But anyways - I can't believe how very close MGS is to escape from new york. Its literally ripping the character out of the movie, and sticking it in a game and putting some cloning and other plot stuff in its place. You could play the early MGS games and if it was called "escape from zanzibar" then you would probably think it was a game of a movie-tie-in of the kurt movies.. And the movies aren't really that good! In one respect, I love MGS. But this is Kojima's love-child. And I would personally feel a little embarrassed by using other peoples ideas to heavily to craft my own story. In harry potter - there are things that are ripped right from the lord of the rings books, but the thing with something like this is that pretty much ALL fantasy stories feature dwarves, elves, halflings, knights, dragons, walking trees etc. If Kojima wanted to make a game about dwarves, you wouldn't think it would be ripping off the lord of the rings because its something that has been used over and over - it almost becomes a genre. But I can see totally how its just ripping someone else's idea, because nobody else used the character name snake (except maybe in the simpsons hahaha) but the eye patch, the missions, the gruff voice, the camera angles, the stubborn attitude, the "war hero" look, the technology etc. Its so close you could consider MGS as a remake of escape from new york. Thats the only thing. But I think Kojima is used to this sort of "flattery". If I made a game and called it "Snatcher" and took the idea of the terminator endoskeletons and invasion of the bodysnatchers and the futuristic setting in blade runner... and put them all together I.... Oh.. wait..
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#4 GrimBee
Member since 2005 • 2441 Posts
You see, the term "Casual Gamer" is just a face-value perception of someone. Which is something I tend not to like settling on, I like to think that everyone is unique given the chance. There are casual games, but not really casual gamers. Statistically speaking (if this is what you are looking for), a so-called "Casual Gamer" will probably pick up a variety of games, play them for an hour or so every couple of days. If someone reads a book to death, and immediately starts reading another - they could be called an "Avid reader". I don't think there is a term for a person who reads only certain kinds of books, and at certain times etc. Same with movies - if you watch alot of movies, and know alot about them - you could call yourself a "movie buff". But with games, things are always evolving and changing. Movies and books have always been the same, same sort of setup, format, the way its marketed etc. Games tend to offer alot more in terms of both genres and context. For example - a game will have every genre that a movie has, but also gameplay differences within the genre to make it different. I mean, a horror RPG, a survival horror, an FPS horror etc etc. A person who plays games casually COULD be called a casual gamer - but, if the person then has a specific taste in games whilst also being a casual gamer - the label for that person could be entirely different. Alot of games, for example, take a long time to play through. Games like final fantasy may not fit into the demographic of a "casual gamer". But, I have met alot of "casual gamers" who love final fantasy games. Now, it takes like 30 hours of your life to play one of those games all the way through.. so Id say they weren't really casual gamers at all. But someone who enjoyed a particular title of game. One thing I am is a person who likes what he likes. If i like a movie alot, I will get the special edition dvd and watch up some more about the story, characters etc etc. WIth a game, I can re-load it and explore everything I like, so a game can sometimes also be something casual to play, but also something hard-core fans can play.. Its difficult to label a gamer as a certain kind of gamer. Fanboys are easy to determine and spot, they use the same wording, the same points of view and the same methods as eachother. Casual gamers, unfortunately, play all kinds of games. And alot of these games takes a LONG time to complete all the way through. If someone enjoys a point and click adventure, or a an rpg, but only in short bits here and there. That doesn't make them a casual gamer, they are using their free time for gaming on just gaming. You see, not everyone has time to play games for hours. But what time they have to play - they enjoy. If i was labelled a casual gamer because I only spent 3 hours in one week playing a game.. it would be annoying for me. Just the same as if I watched two movies a week and was called a "movie buff". I like movies, games, books etc - and do so at my own leisure. If I was called a casual gamer then, it would be annoying because games are both my job and hobby. A couple of years ago I could spend alot of time playing games, but the older im getting I find there are more things to do. I don't consider myself a casual gamer because of that. I still love games just as much. Well.. not sure what point I am making here, but I just think that the games industry is the most creative and diverse of all the entertainment industries, and its really difficult to label people by what kinds of games they play and how long they play them for. Because everyone has reasons why they like certain games more than others, and reasons why they don't have as much time to play them. Another example - my brother in law is AMAZING at half life 2 deathmatch, but he rarely plays games. Just maybe an hour or two a week or something. Judging by his skills - people playing him would say he's a hardcore gamer. But if you asked him what he played and how long he played it for they would call him a "casual gamer". So now you can see how it can be a label that isn't really a label at all. :)
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GrimBee

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#5 GrimBee
Member since 2005 • 2441 Posts
Hey Guys. I have recently come up to a problem with my ps3 AND my 360.. Its a wierd problem, but a dedicated gamers forum may be able to help (heck, gamespot forums never let me down before!). So, heres the problem I am in the UK (a little bit of a problem haha) I have internet with bt and a bt home hub (thats one problem!) I have a ps3 and 360 and wii (not a problem) They all connect to the internet just fine and dandy (ps store, xbox live, wii channels etc) (no problems). The problem is mesia file sharing. I used to do this no problem, no problems at all. Simply upgraded my xp media player to wmp11, clicked LIBRARY, add media files, enabled sharing etc etc When I test the connection, it shows up fine on ps3 and 360. Recently, I cannot do this. Internet works fine, but no media sharing, wmp11 sees the devices are connected to the pc (360 is wired, ps3 wireless) but when searching for media servers via ps3 I get no results. Same with the 360. So the problem is not with the ps3 because the 360 is saying the same darn thing. Any of you know whats going on? ive not adjusted anything to the firewalls etc etc.. Just one day they stopped sharing! Not sure whats happened at all. Anyone have some sort of handy troubleshooting guide for me to check through? it could be the hub, it could be some invisible firewall.. I have no idea, at my wits end! Any help would be greatly appreciated, alot of forums talk about vista (i have xp) and alot of forums recommend other programs. But when media player 11 worked fine until a few weeks ago.. I want to see what was going on, or went on. I did the old "services.msc" thing aswell, everything is open and automatic etc. Still no luck even after restarting. Its really frustrating because I cant find out what it is! Thanks :)
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#6 GrimBee
Member since 2005 • 2441 Posts
Actually - Please dissregard this! http://blog.naver.com/itistrue here is a link to a blog (in another language) for hints on the fuze puzzles. They are annoying, pointless and very unrewarding... "simple math problems" indeed.. the instructions on what voltage to achieve are non existent at most times. The one in the swan requires 3!! :( Plus, I found info in the lost via domus forum topic on gamespot.
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#7 GrimBee
Member since 2005 • 2441 Posts
Hey guys, chances are you haven't played this yet. But sometimes there are usually some people who have played a game a few days before release. SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!! I am in the hatch, and am trying to solve this circuit puzzle, pressing select brings up a stupid guide with a tick on the diagram which shows 85v. Do I have to get only one on 85v or all of them have to total to 85v? its crazy... stupid fuze puzzles... this is the third so far!
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GrimBee

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#8 GrimBee
Member since 2005 • 2441 Posts
I am really looking forward to Lost - Via Domus that is supposed to come out this friday. I work in a videogame shop, so I will end up getting this a few days early... hopefully! Trouble is, I have a ps3 and a 360. And have a bit of a nerdy dilemma :S Im not sure which version to get! And there are no comparison sites which say which one will be better... Im counting on the 360 version being better because developers have found it easier to develop for, and with it being power-pc based, it will probably be the same as the PC version (if that one is any good). The 360 one also comes with achievements, which is always good with friends. So, you would think that I have decided on the 360 version, right? WRONG! (as Arnold Schwarzenegger says in "the terminator")... because I actually like the box of the ps3 games much more than "hello, im a transparent lime-green dvd case!" of the 360. Getting it on the PC is a no-go area, because it probably won't run on my coal-powered generator of a PC.. SO, I am stuck on these decisions - 360, or, PS3 version... Pros for 360 - Achievements. Probably a good conversion. Cons for 360 - "hello, im a transparent lime-green DVD case!". The elite is noisy!! whilst playing an adventure title, I get this background whirrrrrrrrrrrrr, sounds like im watching an episode of the discovery channel's "big machines". Pro's for the ps3- The machine is quiet :). The case is nicer (imo). Cons for the ps3- No rumble (yet). Loading times will probably a bit longer, and maybe some framerate issues... not sure yet, just a little prediction. If I could, I would get both versions. But its the kind of game I would like to get ASAP and play through ASAP. And I can only get one version :( Here is the big question!! (and its in relation to more than just Lost Via Domus). "WHAT GAMES ARE COMING OUT IN A STEELBOOK? OR SPECIAL EDITION?". Bioshock did, stranglehold did, halo 3, gears of war... heck even need for speed carbon did, Devil May Cry 4 did.. I know that grand theft auto 4 does come in some cool versions (like with the safe etc). But thats for another topic ;). Does anyone know which games are coming out with special edition cases? If lost is, then choosing the 360 version will be a bit easier. Or, I could get myself down to some welding course in a college and make one of my own...
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#9 GrimBee
Member since 2005 • 2441 Posts
I really like XBOX live, but my gamerpictures never match my gamertag. Scarface doesn't really suit the name "comic sausage". I have a very meagre selection of gamerpictures... I found out that the more games you buy and play, you sometimes get gamerpictures installed onto the drive for you to select from. Which is always better than purchasing picture packs because you never get a preview of them!! I used to have a picture of a Lemon, a cartoon lemon with one sliced half by the side of it. I liked how that looked, but for the life of me I cannot find it!! Anyone know how I can get this gamerpicture of a lemon? Im pretty sure its not from a magazine demo disc or xbl arcade game (as I have re-downloaded the ones I have had before and then some!). If anyone knows which game it came from, that would be a massive gift of happiness to me! because I can't decide on the right picture and the lemon was the only one that I liked! :)
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#10 GrimBee
Member since 2005 • 2441 Posts
You are best using the forums on 360achievements.org or achieve360points.com to find people who play your gamesvitriolboy
AH, didn't think of that :) Gamespot has usually been my first call when it comes to gaming things. Help with a game (tomb raider for example), I work in a game store so I get to play alot of games a couple of days before they come out. So I end up getting stuck in some areas, on the forums here people have usually got passed those bits. Anyways! :)