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Games Entertainment

Book Series Explores Kojima, Miyamoto, Wright 14

Posted by simoniker from the those-crazy-italians dept.
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to an overview of the Ludologica book series, offering critical, academia-heavy videogame analysis on a number of seminal titles, from "highlighting the political and ideological messages" behind Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid 2, to the "video game becoming a living organism" in Bruce Shelley's Age Of Empires. Unfortunately, these books are only confirmed in Italian-language form thus far, but further volumes will deal with Myst, Silent Hill, Doom, and Gran Turismo (?), as well as a in-the-planning-stages special to mark the 15th anniversary of Sim City.
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Book Series Explores Kojima, Miyamoto, Wright More

Book Series Explores Kojima, Miyamoto, Wright

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  • Gran Turismo (Score:4, Interesting)

    by WasterDave ( 20047 ) <davep@z e d k e p.com> on Thursday July 24, 2003 @05:16PM (#6526264)
    What's with the "Gran Turismo(?)" ... what bleeding question mark? Gran Turismo is a *great* game, and when played properly encompasses many of the skillsets that are needed when playing any game well:

    * The optimal distribution of finite resources.
    * The creation of short, medium and long term strategies.
    * The absolute, positive *need* to enter a mental state of heightened concentration while remaining relaxed. Much like Rocket Arena on a good day, actually.

    The only thing I can't do is rail my mate through the back of the head.

    Dave
  • Are these books all in Spanish? Are there english versions available? I can't seem to find any on the site...

    Excerpts would be nice too....
  • That's funny. During our planning meetings for Age of Empires, I don't ever recall the topic of "artificial life" ever coming up. Come to think of it, I don't ever remember Bruce ever talking about it. If he did, he didn't mention it in my presence or write in the design docs. From what I remember, the goal was to make a kick ass real-time strategy game along the lines of Civilization.
    • Welcome to the gaming version of literary criticism:) People can spend hours and hours debating design decisions that occupied maybe 2 minutes in a quick meeting sandwiched between a code review and another meeting on whether or not shadows were worth the performance hit. But to me, that analysis and discussion was always part of the enjoyment of the movie/game/book.
  • Someone's really writing about that inane concatenation of pseudo-intellectual nonsense that ruined Metal Gear Solid 2??

    • Thank you for saying that; I completely agree. MGS2 was such a hodge-podge of over-the-top pseudo-philosophical ramblings pasted over a decent gameplay engine that turned it into a wannabe lecture on morality, reality, and everything else under the sun.

      It would be an interesting game if it touched on these issues in a straightforward way. It would've been a pinnacle of storytelling if Hideo Kojima had done it in a subtle way. Instead, we get half-assed ideas and conflicting ideals coming from the exa
      • I might have missed your metaphor for the lameness of the plot of xenogears, but i still find it as the most ambitious and successfull in trying to the deliver a plot that is a little bit more clever and engaging than the average video games.
      • Yeah MGS2's story was a complete train wreck, but the gameplay underneath it was as finely crafted as anything else out there. If the story wasn't such a glaring weakness, it might've been remembered as one of the best games ever made.

        That's why I still play the Substance missions now. It's all the great gameplay without the annoying long-winded narrative.

        Kojima still makes incredible games as long as you plug your ears/press skip repeatedly at certain points.
      • I think the game's intent on one-upping itself ruined the story as well. It started great - first the ship sequence, then the President is being held hostage on a huge oil rig.

        Now we're going to go into left field and fight Metal Gears on an astral plane or some crap.

        Now you're talking to an AI.

        Now all of politics is a lie.

        Now we're fighting in some other location that we got to with no apparent rhyme or reason.

        It just got LAMER and LAMER. You know what could've been gripping? Rescuing the Preside

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