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Re: Rate the Halo games
By:Hawki
Date: 4/23/13 1:09 am
In Response To: Re: Rate the Halo games (uberfoop)

: That's extremely tricky to pick apart.

: A member of a series is a part of a whole, and interacts with other parts of
: the whole in intricate ways. It's not always easy to isolate what's what,
: and if anything, it's usually a very bad thing if it is. Between subjects
: like "story" (you mean plot?), "storytelling,"
: "canon," "aesthetics," and "gameplay," where
: would you pin things like Halo 3's reference to Halo 1's cartographer
: building (or, perhaps even more poignantly, the AotCR-style structures)?
: That's something which could arguably be involved in many of those
: categories, and all of its effects only exist as a result of cross-game
: referencing. The resonance feels good.

: By contrast, dissonance can feel bad, and failing to build on hanging threads
: can imply failure to take advantage of membership of a series. When people
: complain about issues of "canon," they're complaining about
: things that impacted the effectiveness of the storytelling for them.
: Splitting these things into exclusive categories doesn't strike me as
: making much sense. If they were so isolatable, and even an item like
: "storytelling" has to be treated as a completely intrinsic
: quality of a product and as a quality which is not affected by related
: products, why give a crap about things like franchises in the first place?

A lack of resonance doesn't necessarily mean dissonance. And while resonance does indeed feel good, a lack of it does not necessarily mean it's a mark against it.

Take 'Portal' for example. Its story is paper thin, basically "a girl must escape from a facility run by a mad AI." Nothing complex there, no themes, no insights, etc. Its storytelling however, is excellent. GLaDOS is extremely well written, its one of the few cases where playing as a completely silent protagonist actually adds to the story, and the humour of said storytelling is laced throughout the game (e.g. the turrets). Its canon has a paper-thin link to the 'Half-Life' universe as a whole, but I've never seen anyone argue that it would be made better if more links were introduced.

Ideally, one would have a strong story, strong storytelling, and strong canon if required, but not all stories are ideal. If a weakness in one ruins all the others by default, then it's a lack of objectivity that can harm an overall assessment. Too much canon, and things start getting shoehorned in. Too much story, and the momentum bogs down. Too much storytelling at the expense of story and/or canon, and one loses investment. But even if a balance isn't reached, it doesn't make the overall experience bad by default. There are installments in franchises I loathe on a fan level due to butchering of canon, but looking at them objectively, it doesn't make them bad by default.


Messages In This Thread

Rate the Halo gamesCody Miller4/22/13 5:44 am
     Re: Rate the Halo gamesHawki4/22/13 8:15 am
     Re: Rate the Halo gamesDEEP NNN4/22/13 8:58 am
     Re: Rate the Halo gamesbreitzen4/22/13 10:37 am
     Just Might POSSIBLY See A Pattern.Morpheus4/22/13 10:54 am
           Re: Just Might POSSIBLY See A Pattern.Guttsu4/22/13 12:53 pm
     This was actually fun!Grizzlei4/22/13 2:15 pm
           Oooh, one moreGrizzlei4/22/13 2:33 pm
     Re: Rate the Halo gamesLeviathan4/22/13 2:19 pm
     Re: Rate the Halo gamesMacGyver104/22/13 3:12 pm
     Re: Rate the Halo gamesserpx4/22/13 3:57 pm
     Re: Rate the Halo gamesMixmasterchief4/22/13 4:00 pm
     I like Halo Wars and there is nothing you can do. *NM*Vandle Valsher4/22/13 4:37 pm
           Me too. Why haven't we played yet?? *NM*Revenant19884/22/13 9:14 pm
           Multiplayer is fine, campaign (story) has probz *NM*Avateur4/22/13 9:29 pm
     Re: Rate the Halo gamesSonofMacPhisto4/22/13 5:58 pm
           Re: Rate the Halo gamesCody Miller4/22/13 10:33 pm
                 Re: Rate the Halo gamesSonofMacPhisto4/23/13 5:44 pm
     Definitive guide, including fish.uberfoop4/22/13 6:44 pm
     Re: Rate the Halo gamesQuirel4/22/13 8:02 pm
           Re: Rate the Halo gamesGrizzlei4/22/13 8:06 pm
                 Re: Rate the Halo gamesQuirel4/22/13 11:07 pm
     Re: Rate the Halo gamesAvateur4/22/13 9:27 pm
     Re: Rate the Halo gamesMetalingus6274/22/13 10:08 pm
     Re: Rate the Halo gamesGravemind4/22/13 10:21 pm
           Re: Rate the Halo gamesuberfoop4/22/13 11:52 pm
                 Re: Rate the Halo gamesGravemind4/22/13 11:54 pm
                       You aren't alone. *NM*Quirel4/22/13 11:56 pm
                       Re: Rate the Halo gamesuberfoop4/23/13 12:03 am
                       Re: Rate the Halo gamesCody Miller4/23/13 4:46 pm
     Re: Rate the Halo gamesiForge4/22/13 10:27 pm
     Lol, Two Betrayals is super controversial. *NM*uberfoop4/22/13 10:52 pm
     Re: Rate the Halo gamesTDSpiral4/22/13 10:56 pm
           Re: Rate the Halo gamesuberfoop4/22/13 11:09 pm
                 Or probablyMacGyver104/23/13 12:09 am
                 Re: Rate the Halo gamesTDSpiral4/23/13 12:27 am
                       Re: Rate the Halo gamesuberfoop4/23/13 12:35 am
                             Re: Rate the Halo gamesTDSpiral4/23/13 2:25 am
                       A little harsh, perhaps?Leviathan4/23/13 2:19 am
                             DBO: The old folk's home. *NM*uberfoop4/23/13 2:23 am
                                   I resemble that remark. *NM*Kermit4/23/13 4:25 pm
                             Re: A little harsh, perhaps?TDSpiral4/23/13 2:43 am
                                   Re: A little harsh, perhaps?Leviathan4/23/13 12:29 pm
                                         Re: A little harsh, perhaps?Revenant19884/23/13 1:29 pm
           Re: Rate the Halo gamesHawki4/23/13 12:15 am
                 Re: Rate the Halo gamesAvateur4/23/13 12:33 am
                 Re: Rate the Halo gamesuberfoop4/23/13 12:43 am
                       Re: Rate the Halo gamesHawki4/23/13 1:09 am
                             Re: Rate the Halo gamesuberfoop4/23/13 1:45 am
                                   Addendum/Edituberfoop4/23/13 2:21 am
                 Re: Rate the Halo gamesTDSpiral4/23/13 2:50 am
                       Re: Rate the Halo gamesZackDark4/23/13 12:02 pm
                 Re: Rate the Halo gamesGravemind4/23/13 3:29 am
                 Re: Rate the Halo gamesbreitzen4/23/13 11:55 am
     AND You Forgot One...Morpheus4/23/13 2:49 am
     Just to pile in my two cents...Arithmomaniac4/23/13 4:27 pm
     WAY TOO HARSH ON HALO WARS *NM*SEspider4/23/13 6:26 pm
     Re: Rate the Halo gamesGeneral Vagueness4/25/13 8:53 pm
           You forgot one WTF momentZackDark4/25/13 9:30 pm

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