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1/6/2013 8:38:06 PM
27
Having to read the books to understand the game is a bad idea.
I say this because gamers should not be forced to read into the universe so that the game makes sense. There's nothing wrong with extended universe and lore, or setting up the next game, or hinting towards the next game.
But having answers that can only be answered in either sequels or books is just a cheap move to make gamers buy the next game and/or the books. For example...
1. I think not explaining Ancient Humanity in the games at all (except for showing them roflstomping Forerunners/ getting roflstomped by Forerunner) was a bad idea. There should have been FAR more information on them, IMO. While I've read the books, I can't help but think "nearly ALL of my friends aren't going to have a clue, and if they don't understand, the won't have fun and will probably get rid of the game."
2. The Didact. The gloriously hideous [url=http://http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=skyrim+orc&num=10&hl=en&tbo=d&biw=1024&bih=679&tbm=isch&tbnid=6dqY8lKjovqAcM:&imgrefurl=http://preorderskyrim.wordpress.com/pictures/skyrim-orc/&docid=_d7ze79EHsiuKM&imgurl=http://preorderskyrim.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/skyrim-orc.jpg%253Fw%253D900&w=900&h=506&ei=gt_pUIrDIq2b1AWz6oDwAw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=253&vpy=141&dur=151&hovh=168&hovw=300&tx=152&ty=80&sig=103714314942789368058&page=1&tbnh=141&tbnw=239&start=0&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0,i:94]albino Orc[/url] is by far my new favorite character, both in the games and in the books.
But not telling the gamers ANYTHING about him is pretty crappy. Sure, he's a main character in the Forerunner Saga books, but for those who haven't read the books... He's really a kind of nobody. Besides hints as such in the terminals, it's never said that he's the leader of the Forerunner military, that he is one of the most powerful Forerunners around, and all that.
Gamers should not be forced to read the books. As we know, not everybody reads books for entertainment. I do, and I've clearly benefited over those who don't. I don't feel that this is fair. There should be some kind of large information in the game that offers similar information, and hints towards the Forerunner Saga books.
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A selfcontained game is always the best in my book.. Depends on what type of game it is of course, but I prefere when the complexity of the game mirrors the complexity of the story; the more complex the gameplay is, the more complex the story is allowed to be. Not arbitrerily forced though, more like a guideline. Deus Ex for instance, is a fairly complex game, and has a fairly complex story. The game has a pace that is in harmony with how many story elements one is expected to understand. Metal Gear Solid however, is a simple game, and has a more complex story than Deus Ex, but it [i]solves[/i] it by having hour long cinematics (no offence MGS, I love you for other reasons). Halo is a pretty straightforward action-adventure game, and has had a story that isn't a lot more complex than that. For every game that came out though, one needed to read a book, more or less, and it has increased with time. At the moment it's up to four books; if one is to fully understand Halo 4. I wouldn't say it's a bad thing, but not a direction I support. The level of commitment one is required to have at the moment is not exactly what the IP premissed. It's not a big deal for a fiction enthousiast, but I guess it might be too much for the average gamer (and I think it's too much for the story), that's what I've gotten the impression of anyway. But then again, no one seemed to grasp what happened in Halo 2 either... Microsoft might spend the most on developing and marketing the games, but it's certainly not primerily a gaming series anymore, and hasn't been in a while, it's more of a fiction told through variuos pieces of media. It's like 50% game, 50% books and stuff. [Edited on 01.06.2013 1:34 PM PST]
