Frequently Asked Forum Questions | ||||
Search Older Posts on This Forum: Posts on Current Forum | Archived Posts | ||||
: 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.
Rate the Halo games | Cody Miller | 4/22/13 5:44 am |
Re: Rate the Halo games | Hawki | 4/22/13 8:15 am |
Re: Rate the Halo games | DEEP NNN | 4/22/13 8:58 am |
Re: Rate the Halo games | breitzen | 4/22/13 10:37 am |
Just Might POSSIBLY See A Pattern. | Morpheus | 4/22/13 10:54 am |
Re: Just Might POSSIBLY See A Pattern. | Guttsu | 4/22/13 12:53 pm |
This was actually fun! | Grizzlei | 4/22/13 2:15 pm |
Oooh, one more | Grizzlei | 4/22/13 2:33 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | Leviathan | 4/22/13 2:19 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | MacGyver10 | 4/22/13 3:12 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | serpx | 4/22/13 3:57 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | Mixmasterchief | 4/22/13 4:00 pm |
I like Halo Wars and there is nothing you can do. *NM* | Vandle Valsher | 4/22/13 4:37 pm |
Me too. Why haven't we played yet?? *NM* | Revenant1988 | 4/22/13 9:14 pm |
Multiplayer is fine, campaign (story) has probz *NM* | Avateur | 4/22/13 9:29 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | SonofMacPhisto | 4/22/13 5:58 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | Cody Miller | 4/22/13 10:33 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | SonofMacPhisto | 4/23/13 5:44 pm |
Definitive guide, including fish. | uberfoop | 4/22/13 6:44 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | Quirel | 4/22/13 8:02 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | Grizzlei | 4/22/13 8:06 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | Quirel | 4/22/13 11:07 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | Avateur | 4/22/13 9:27 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | Metalingus627 | 4/22/13 10:08 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | Gravemind | 4/22/13 10:21 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | uberfoop | 4/22/13 11:52 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | Gravemind | 4/22/13 11:54 pm |
You aren't alone. *NM* | Quirel | 4/22/13 11:56 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | uberfoop | 4/23/13 12:03 am |
Re: Rate the Halo games | Cody Miller | 4/23/13 4:46 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | iForge | 4/22/13 10:27 pm |
Lol, Two Betrayals is super controversial. *NM* | uberfoop | 4/22/13 10:52 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | TDSpiral | 4/22/13 10:56 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | uberfoop | 4/22/13 11:09 pm |
Or probably | MacGyver10 | 4/23/13 12:09 am |
Re: Rate the Halo games | TDSpiral | 4/23/13 12:27 am |
Re: Rate the Halo games | uberfoop | 4/23/13 12:35 am |
Re: Rate the Halo games | TDSpiral | 4/23/13 2:25 am |
A little harsh, perhaps? | Leviathan | 4/23/13 2:19 am |
DBO: The old folk's home. *NM* | uberfoop | 4/23/13 2:23 am |
I resemble that remark. *NM* | Kermit | 4/23/13 4:25 pm |
Re: A little harsh, perhaps? | TDSpiral | 4/23/13 2:43 am |
Re: A little harsh, perhaps? | Leviathan | 4/23/13 12:29 pm |
Re: A little harsh, perhaps? | Revenant1988 | 4/23/13 1:29 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | Hawki | 4/23/13 12:15 am |
Re: Rate the Halo games | Avateur | 4/23/13 12:33 am |
Re: Rate the Halo games | uberfoop | 4/23/13 12:43 am |
Re: Rate the Halo games | Hawki | 4/23/13 1:09 am |
Re: Rate the Halo games | uberfoop | 4/23/13 1:45 am |
Addendum/Edit | uberfoop | 4/23/13 2:21 am |
Re: Rate the Halo games | TDSpiral | 4/23/13 2:50 am |
Re: Rate the Halo games | ZackDark | 4/23/13 12:02 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | Gravemind | 4/23/13 3:29 am |
Re: Rate the Halo games | breitzen | 4/23/13 11:55 am |
AND You Forgot One... | Morpheus | 4/23/13 2:49 am |
Just to pile in my two cents... | Arithmomaniac | 4/23/13 4:27 pm |
WAY TOO HARSH ON HALO WARS *NM* | SEspider | 4/23/13 6:26 pm |
Re: Rate the Halo games | General Vagueness | 4/25/13 8:53 pm |
You forgot one WTF moment | ZackDark | 4/25/13 9:30 pm |