Allisa James of DualShockers discusses six archetypes of video game characters that could (and should) be better written.
Kazuyuki Shindo, who worked on games including Legend of Mana, Final Fantasy XIII, and SaGa: Emerald Beyond, has left Square Enix.
"If you're not directly working on the game, go away" - former Retro world artist, Nate Purkeypile
Then there is Microsoft's approach which is just to piss in the wind and 95% of their stuff turns out bad. Developers might like that personally but you'll be out of a job quicker than you know it through badly shipped products.
First party Nintendo titles are held to a specific standard for a reason. It could be argued that both Sony and MS could benefit from doing the same, but you are right with MS nonchalant approach and "it scored well internally" and then putting out something like Redfall. Even Halo, MS' flagship series, wasn't overseen with the fine tooth comb to ensure it was top notch quality.
Nintendo first party games are very rarely duds, let alone non functional ones. You don't get that without a little (or a lot) of micromanaging. Is it annoying? No doubt. Their track record speaks for itself though and you can't deny that.
I think there is good evidence for both sides of that argument, really.
Japan Studio didn't have much oversight and that studio produced pure magic. Financially, it wasn't a cash cow studio, but I sense that anyone who played their games really felt the care and passion for their creation at work. Media Molecule is another one. I personally feel that Sony and Microsoft micromanagement tends to be overly negative. It might work for Nintendo because they're big on making a fun and engaging game first and entice people that way.
Sony as of late and Microsoft for at least two generations now, when they get into the micromanagement, it seems like a profoundly anxious experience.
i dunno if i agree with that.
i think some leeway is necessary to achieve atleast some sort of spectacle.
For those who don't have time for massive open worlds or role-playing games with epic tales, these 15 games are worth checking out.
I think over the years the Halo franchise has mastered the "Space marine" figure.
Look at Master Chief, in Halo:CE he was a bad ass one liner with pretty much no character development. In Halo 4 he takes matters into his own hands and does show emotion, at the end of the game I really felt for him as a character for what he has gone through; this shows 343 are making him well... more human.
Even one of the side characters said to the chief directly that we're just "guys" not machines.
I really hope the steven spielberg halo series is about master chiefs origins, because he really is a silent awkward giant because he was raised as a killer from a very young age. Virtually all of his family and friends are dead and he can't relate to anyone but them so...
If there's any video game story I'd like many people to know, its master chiefs origins.
Samus should definitely be re-written.
I liked the Primes- but I was excited about what "Other M" attempted to do.
I hope that the Next Samus Project is more like Prime in Game Play but I also hope that it takes the "Other M" attempt FURTHER.
I would like to see Samus taking a "Heavy Rain", "GTA", "Mass Effects" deep approach to narrative.
They would not have to create 1,000 cut scenes all they would have to do is add other characters who will challenge and question her and then give her an interactive residence.
The environment, the downtime, and the characters that interact with her would tell the story and give clues to her emotional state-
because she does not talk or emote a lot.
For Instance, walking through her "house" Samus looks at something-
-Like in Eternal Darkness you can chooose to see what they are looking at or not. You push a button and you get a thought or a dialogue or maybe a Samus Narrated memory faintly overlapping the her.
Have optional sub-plots like-
Maybe have the Government assign her a shrink.
Perhaps have a sub-story where she could track down lost relatives (and work on a relationship).
Show her dealing with normal or crowd filled life.
If it becomes another Trilogy then every Player's Samus, like in Mass Effect's Shepard, would be different by the choices made.
Maybe I was being a little over the top and ovey dramatic, you do make some good points. I just love the old school days when game designers focused more on gameplay. Classic Nintendo franchises have a great structure and formula with mostly simple story telling and a lot of people always want these games to change (I don't). In my opinion if you want this kind of cinematic experience buy a Playstation. Sony's 1st party studios are much better suited to make those kind of gaming experiences.