/
Kurt made an interesting point today about the lack of proper application of science fiction on the silver screen. The gist of it, as I interpreted, was that the real meat and potatoes of science fiction is to make commentary about our world by showing us another. Take some philosophy, introspection, or whatever else have you, but instead of telling us the story with "real people," they hand the narration over to space marines, point-eared aliens, or intergalactic wizards.
The mention of wizards segues me nicely into a little rant that Kurt inspired. Incredible amounts of money and talent have been hurled at rapidly developing the sci-fi movie as a genre, but what about Science Fiction's older, hotter sister, Fantasy? Lord of the Rings was an absolute blast, I'm glad we're all in agreement there, but am I the only one who hadn't had his fill after just three dates; especially when, to carry the metaphor too far, we only really got laid on two of them.
Oh, we've met for coffee a couple of times, like Pan's Labyrinth. And we went through that weird let's-save-our-relationship-by-roleplaying phase with the Underworld trilogy; we've since scaled that back to simple dress-up with comic book movies, but frankly those all feel like a different genre altogether. Harry Potter is kind of fun, but it kind of feels like she's just going through the motions there. I miss the relationship I used to have with Fantasy.
Can we ever be together the way we once were? Does nobody remember Willow and Legend? Princess Bride? Big Trouble in Little China? And let's be honest; the only reason Star Wars is called Science Fiction and not Fantasy is because it happened in space.
When will I see a Vampire: the Masquerade movie? When will the words of Terry Brooks spring to life on the silver screen? And do you know I've never sat in a movie theater and seen Merlin on the screen? There's no excuse for that. I want to see knights, sorcerers, dragons. I want damsels and witches. I want people throwing fireballs and lightning bolts.
But, along the lines of what Kurt said, I want all this to be a real story. when I just want the action, I'll play a video game. God knows there's plenty of all this stuff in that medium. With the exception of Pan's Labyrinth, I haven't gotten to see anything in my theater-going life that uses the mythical to comment on the factual.
With all respect to Science Fiction, I generally prefer my outrageous fiction without a soft science explanation trying to explain how all of this was "theoretically possible." When the world clearly doesn't play by the usual rules, it is all the more poignant when the real problems turn out to be the same.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
This game Sucks. I loved it.
Ok. So. Been a while. How's everybody been? Hear that shit about Palin? Crazy, huh?
So a large part of why nobody's seen me (at least over the past week) is this lovely little pile of crack-cocaine known as Vampire: The Masquerade. This is a game that came out about 5 years ago, and is now available on Steam for 20 bucks.
Not surprisingly, the game is about vampires. Being adapted from a tabletop game about being a bloodsucker, Masquerade features voice and writing talent that easily meets or beats any game I've ever played. Brace yourselves for blasphemy, children: This might have been better than KOTOR.
Depending on your character build, fights can be won through various means, including stealth, magic, guns, swords, bare fists, claws, shapeshifting into a monster, or by running away like a little girl (a tactic I employed judiciously against an 8 foot werewolf). These things are done well enough to make the combat sequences fun, but in true RPG fashion, it all takes a back seat to the game's story.
The game begins with your vampire character being "embraced" into the ranks of the vampire, and the first few seconds of your new vampire life see both you and your vampire sire staked through the heart (which apparently only paralyzes a vampire) by the vampire police and brought to vampire trial. Did I mention this game had vampires?
Your creation was a violation of what the vampire community calls the Masquerade. The Masquerade is the code of conduct that vampires follow to keep their existence a secret. Traditional law demands the death of both you and your sire, but if that happened there wouldn't be a game so you are given a chance to join the vampiric community. That community, you'll quickly learn, is like the Senate, Congress, and High School all rolled into one, with people stabbing one another in the back left and right as they desperately try to claw their way to the top of the social circle.
The vampire world is one rife with political intrigue, where everyone has an agenda. There are no good guys and there are no friends; there are only people whose goals happen to align with yours. Throughout the game, you have the feeling that you are a pawn in somebody else's chess game, and that no matter what you do you'll be playing into somebody's hands. The story unfolds in a manner quite similar to KOTOR, with a heavy emphasis on dialogue and socializing as a part of the gameplay. There are surprisingly few points in the game where you actually have to do any serious fighting, and while it's almost always an option to just shoot/punch/bite your way through, it can be just as rewarding to talk or sneak past a situation. Some of the largest fights in the game can be sidestepped altogether with the proper application of charisma (or mind control) and a few picked locks.
Also like KOTOR, the game features a moral choice system, but for once it's not the proverbial "Mother Theresa or Baby Eating" choice between good and evil. As I said, there are no good guys, and that includes you, but there are varying degrees of evil. Certain actions, such as murdering an innocent unarmed person, will cause you to distance yourself from what's left of your human soul. This is more of a practical matter than an ethical one, as without that human soul, the demon that animates you can take over, and control your actions. The Masquerade is a double entendre here, because it also refers to the fact that vampires aren't just trying to fool the human race, but also themselves. By clinging to that humanity, you cling to your self control. Rejecting that humanity can cause you to frenzy. Frenzying comes with a marked increase in power, at the cost of any say as to how that power is to be used. You are almost definitely sure to find yourself violating the Masquerade, which will make you an enemy of the vampire and human worlds. Revealing yourself too often will draw the attention of Hunters.
The game will also penalize you for clinging too much to that human nature. Aside from the humanity mechanic, which can be managed easily enough without having to pass up good opportunities (such as stealing a wounded man's wallet) there is no reward or reason for playing the good guy.
The game does have multiple endings, but you're degree of good/evilness does not affect which ending you'll get. In fact, the endings are largely based on choices you make at the very end, but if you haven't politically schmoozed the right people some of those choices might not be available to you. This fact is meant to encourage you to engage in a little political intrigue of your own, as it pays to try and play both sides of a given conflict; if both sides think you're working for them, then you can delay making an actual choice on which (if any) to side with until you have more information.
For a game that is nearly half a decade old, more than a little buggy, and received almost not publicity when it did come out, Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines was a blast. It delivered about 2 hours per dollar I spent on it, and I fully intend to play it through again at some point.
One note: To run this game, it is highly recommended that you find Wesp's Unofficial Patch version 6.3 (released about a month ago, how's that for a dedicated community!) and install it in the steamapps/common/Masquerade folder. It fixes a number of issues, and improves gameplay considerably. It also gets the game to work on Vista.
So a large part of why nobody's seen me (at least over the past week) is this lovely little pile of crack-cocaine known as Vampire: The Masquerade. This is a game that came out about 5 years ago, and is now available on Steam for 20 bucks.
Not surprisingly, the game is about vampires. Being adapted from a tabletop game about being a bloodsucker, Masquerade features voice and writing talent that easily meets or beats any game I've ever played. Brace yourselves for blasphemy, children: This might have been better than KOTOR.
Depending on your character build, fights can be won through various means, including stealth, magic, guns, swords, bare fists, claws, shapeshifting into a monster, or by running away like a little girl (a tactic I employed judiciously against an 8 foot werewolf). These things are done well enough to make the combat sequences fun, but in true RPG fashion, it all takes a back seat to the game's story.
The game begins with your vampire character being "embraced" into the ranks of the vampire, and the first few seconds of your new vampire life see both you and your vampire sire staked through the heart (which apparently only paralyzes a vampire) by the vampire police and brought to vampire trial. Did I mention this game had vampires?
Your creation was a violation of what the vampire community calls the Masquerade. The Masquerade is the code of conduct that vampires follow to keep their existence a secret. Traditional law demands the death of both you and your sire, but if that happened there wouldn't be a game so you are given a chance to join the vampiric community. That community, you'll quickly learn, is like the Senate, Congress, and High School all rolled into one, with people stabbing one another in the back left and right as they desperately try to claw their way to the top of the social circle.
The vampire world is one rife with political intrigue, where everyone has an agenda. There are no good guys and there are no friends; there are only people whose goals happen to align with yours. Throughout the game, you have the feeling that you are a pawn in somebody else's chess game, and that no matter what you do you'll be playing into somebody's hands. The story unfolds in a manner quite similar to KOTOR, with a heavy emphasis on dialogue and socializing as a part of the gameplay. There are surprisingly few points in the game where you actually have to do any serious fighting, and while it's almost always an option to just shoot/punch/bite your way through, it can be just as rewarding to talk or sneak past a situation. Some of the largest fights in the game can be sidestepped altogether with the proper application of charisma (or mind control) and a few picked locks.
Also like KOTOR, the game features a moral choice system, but for once it's not the proverbial "Mother Theresa or Baby Eating" choice between good and evil. As I said, there are no good guys, and that includes you, but there are varying degrees of evil. Certain actions, such as murdering an innocent unarmed person, will cause you to distance yourself from what's left of your human soul. This is more of a practical matter than an ethical one, as without that human soul, the demon that animates you can take over, and control your actions. The Masquerade is a double entendre here, because it also refers to the fact that vampires aren't just trying to fool the human race, but also themselves. By clinging to that humanity, you cling to your self control. Rejecting that humanity can cause you to frenzy. Frenzying comes with a marked increase in power, at the cost of any say as to how that power is to be used. You are almost definitely sure to find yourself violating the Masquerade, which will make you an enemy of the vampire and human worlds. Revealing yourself too often will draw the attention of Hunters.
The game will also penalize you for clinging too much to that human nature. Aside from the humanity mechanic, which can be managed easily enough without having to pass up good opportunities (such as stealing a wounded man's wallet) there is no reward or reason for playing the good guy.
The game does have multiple endings, but you're degree of good/evilness does not affect which ending you'll get. In fact, the endings are largely based on choices you make at the very end, but if you haven't politically schmoozed the right people some of those choices might not be available to you. This fact is meant to encourage you to engage in a little political intrigue of your own, as it pays to try and play both sides of a given conflict; if both sides think you're working for them, then you can delay making an actual choice on which (if any) to side with until you have more information.
For a game that is nearly half a decade old, more than a little buggy, and received almost not publicity when it did come out, Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines was a blast. It delivered about 2 hours per dollar I spent on it, and I fully intend to play it through again at some point.
One note: To run this game, it is highly recommended that you find Wesp's Unofficial Patch version 6.3 (released about a month ago, how's that for a dedicated community!) and install it in the steamapps/common/Masquerade folder. It fixes a number of issues, and improves gameplay considerably. It also gets the game to work on Vista.
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