Video games are becoming more and more immersive. Thanks to technological leaps and a stronger emphasis on the medium as an interactive art form, video games are able to tell stories richer and more vibrant than any two hour movie. Unfortunately, there is one mechanic that is not shown enough respect, and that mechanic is death. A mechanic that can single-handedly contradict the vision of a creator, and is something we as gamers have come to accept and, ironically, cannot live without. But there is hope. Recent releases such as Heavy Rain, Dark Souls and Journey illustrate how death and/or failure can be used as meaningful learning tools to drive a much more personal tale. Death is a strong feature, and one that should be looked at more closely if we hope to take advantage of everything that games have to offer.
"Dark Souls: Archthrones is like playing a brand new FromSoftware game, and that speaks volumes about just how much good modding can do," says Hanzala from eXputer.
Parrying has been creeping into more games, with almost every high-profile title of the last few years featuring it in some way. Why?
i understand the authors frustration i'm not the best at parrying in games. not that i can't complete a game that requires it but it is a definite harder thing for me than other kinds of techniques in games. which might be the main reason it's so heavily added in games nowadays. want to make your game challenging without having to do a lot of work? just add a parry boss. (what i mean by parry boss is a boss you have to beat by parrying such that their attacks will kill you otherwise)
I always think it's fine as long as such games also have the roll/dodge panic button. But I understand the will to parry, it seems so cinematic in a fight when you pull it off.
TheGamer writes, "Some weapons resist the test of time."
Fun read that makes you think a bit. Games typically provide you a way to win, lose, or tie. However this framework happens to limit us. I wonder if there are any games out there that break the mold of the life or death or the win or lose mentalities. Are those games actually enjoyable?
The closest thing I can think of at the moment is Journey. While there is aspects of preserving your life (not sure if you can die in the game), my goal in the game was to simply explore and see what happens. I was quite satisfied when I reached the end after a couple hours. It was a great experience.
Anybody know any other games that may fall into such a category?
EDIT
Another thought. It would be really funny and interesting to see a developer make a game from the enemies perspective much like the video in the link.