Friday, February 13, 2009

God Of War 3 + Metal Gear thoughts + Valentine's Day

+++++UPDATE:

I've been amazed at some of the posts here and on the youtube channel where folks are assuming I don't like or love MGS or that I out and out hate it. I think I've made it pretty clear that MGS is one of my fave game series ever and Snake is one of my fave game characters ever. I've also said time and again that MGS4 is in my top 2 games of the year and depending on when you ask me, is my number one fave game of the year. So I 'get' Metal Gear. I LOVE Metal Gear. I even have accepted and embraced the cut scenes this time around, given how good they are. I like the operatic, bombastic story telling and the over the top characters. I was simply pointing out that- to me- the game loses some steam at the end because:

a- the microwave scene was not effective to me. Perhaps if they had not split the screen I would have enjoyed it more, but trying to take it all in and be affected by two things going on at once was distracting, especially on top of the gameplay (simple as the gameplay in that area was). Sometimes I get the feeling choices are made in the MGS series because the choices are very creative and very cool but they don't take into account the bigger picture of the overall game experience. I have been guilty of this as well in my games, mainly the Twisted Metal series, where I would haphazardly toss in story elements because I felt they were cool or mysterious but didn't really respect the overall tapestry of the master story. Not saying this is what Kojima does, but it feels like this to me in some cases.

b- And to that point, Snake should have died once he reached the server room. That micro scene should have been the end of the game...even if he would have battled Ocelot before and the two would have gone into the microwave tunnel in a chase and by the end they are both on their hands and knees, with Snake struggling to reach the end of the tunnel and Ocelot trying to stop him (altho animation wise, this could look comical if they didn't handle it just right)...but either way, all that angst in the micro tunnel, all that danger, all that sadness... and then he just kinda takes a rest and he's back up and battling. It's like, again, it makes it seem like that scene was put there for an 'oh cool' moment but didn't take into account the rest of the game's story. And I get the whole 'hero dies and is resurrected' Jesus thing that some action movies and stories in general do. No issues with that. But the game didn't really turn the resurrection into a big, clearly intentional moment. Snake just kinda passed out and....now he's fine again! Up and ready for battle! I think it would have been much more emotional and intentional- and made the microwave scene actually matter more- if the final battle with Ocelot had Snake inches from death (because of the microwave scene) and he could not stand and was crawling around getting his ass kicked in the gameplay and had to find a way to kill Ocelot anyway. THAT would have been Snake! But now I'm just delving into fan fiction at this point :)

But so there you go...

...and to those folks thinking I can't get immersed because I work in the games biz, it's a good point and I've thought about this, but its just not true. The recently released flower immersed me and made me feel something. Hell, I even felt a bit of emotion in Gears of War 2 (altho, to be fair, it was emotional connection created via cut scene, not gameplay). But overall, I feel the medium is either not capable of creating and sustaining deep emotions or we have simply not come close to understanding how to do it on a consistent basis. I am open to it, but I'm just being honest with how I feel about the current state of storytelling in gameplay.

And I'm not saying folks who say they get emotional are 'wrong'. That's great they feel that way. Altho sometimes I get the feeling that SOME of those folks are just clinging and making false claims because they WANT games to be that way and are willing to tell themselves that games are that way even tho they actually are not. I guess I feel that way because I am an easy cry. I cry at everything. EVERYTHING...movies, tv, commercials, greeting cards. Very sentimental guy, at times. But why not games? I mean one poster was like, "I cried 4 times in MGS4"...and I'm like: shit, really?!? Did I miss something? Where are you crying cause I- the dude who cries during diaper commercials- didn't come close to shedding a tear.

Anyway, endless debate. One day it will either be solved cause someone finally makes a game where the storytelling power of games can not be denied or we'll just keep going round and round.

Main reason to post was that I wanted to make sure no one thought I was bagging on MGS. It really is one of my fave game series, and fave pieces of entertainment ever. Snake is not Indy or Spiderman...but every new game he gets a little closer and closer to being one of my fave fictional characters.

Ok, now off to McDonalds!

Happy VD day, ya'll!

David

135 comments:

Anonymous said...

hey david whats up. i saw the god of war 3 trailer it looked beautiful

Anonymous said...

GOD OF WAR III WILL BE EPIC !!!!!

thank you David

Thank you SCE Santa Monica

Thank you SONY

Anonymous said...

I haven't seen the GoW III footage yet, but I'm glad to see you sticking by your original comment :)

On another note, have you played Flower? And if so, what are your thoughts?

-rallyRAYS- said...

The God of War III trailer looks EPIC... makes me want to take off my shirt and put on my angry face!

Unknown said...

i didnt see the trailer... link? or is it the VGA one?

Tanguy said...

That's funny you mention the microwave thing from MGS4. I saw an interview you did for gamtrailers way back in which you said that game creators should find ways to tell stories "through what games are" and not just cut-scenes.
When I got to that part of MGS4, I though "hey, maybe David Jaffe will like that !"
Not that I always think about you when I play games, I don't realy know why that quote poped up in my head at that moment, but it looks like I was wrong ! :p
And it kinda prooves your point actualy. If I was thinking about how great of a storytelling device that scene is, I was not realy feeling anything for Snake.

TrevDogg said...

yea i felt the same way about MGS4s last act but still GOTY IMO. god of war 3 trailer looked awesome ;-) but have u played flower? if so plz give us a review cause i think that experience of a game is awesome.

Anonymous said...

GOD OF WAR 3=

MOST EPIC GAME IN THE HISTORY OF VIDEO GAMES AND ALSO THE FUTURE OF VIDEO GAMES

it will be good

grasshopper said...

Heeeey I own the same phone! :)

Gotta check out that GoW3 trailer, glad to hear its finally up.

Anonymous said...

as much as i appreciate your work and everything else, i completely disagree with you about the MGS4 thing, i thought they captured the emotion very well, call me an MGS fanboy, but i really felt the emotion there, i was on the dge of my seat, i think games are a source of storytelling as movies are, if not more, because it puts you in the eyes of the character, but you do need a mix a great gameplay as well, which i thought MGS4 did great, and the cutscenes really kept my interest all the way through with either the cinematics or the interacivity (mission briefings), unlike assassin's creed, i felt the cutscenes were boring and dragged out, i played through the whole game and i still don't know what assassin's creed is about because i just wasn't interested, well, i honestly don't know what else to say about it, i'm not a journalist, lol

happy valentines day, keep up the good work :)

Guy said...

I have to respectfully disagree with your comments on that microwave section in mgs4. For me it was like you were experiencing his pain. I mean my arm was hurting after tapping triangle for so long.

I had the movie experience where you feel omg is he going to make it please let him make it. BUT I also had this other feeling of am I going to be able to get Snake there. I felt really attached at that point and got really engrossed in it all.

That moment, that section of gameplay was one of the best gaming experiences I have ever had and I hope more games use that sort of technique to combine gameplay and story.

Juncti said...

I think one thing that might be influencing your thoughts while playing games is that you're so involved in the development aspect.

It's kind of like a magician watching a magic show. They're a deeper part of the process so they may look at the trick and dissect it to its raw fundamentals. While the crowd is sitting their ooh'ing and ahh'ing at the trick.

Another words, you've seen behind the curtain, and now it's changed a bit of how you perceive games as you interact with them.

I will say personally, I found COD:Modern Warfare to do a great job of immersion. The opening level where the boat is capsizing and they put your controls out of balance really made it feel like you were on the boat, and that opening scene where you're able to look around as it's happening were really a great experience as a gamer.

I guess ultimately, to immerse and make them connect with the story, it's best to find creative ways like with COD:MW to make the player feel like they are doing what the character is doing rather than just pushing buttons.

Maximus said...

Hey David,

Not to sound like a broken record, but I too disagree with your comments about the microwave section of MGS4.

Yes it was beautifully implemented, yes it looked fantastic, but that isn't what made it special.

As I played that particular scene I was hammering the shit out of triangle, getting zapped along the way, it really felt like snake was on his last legs. Yeah you don't feel like you ARE snake but you by that point, three games down the line you feel at least something for the character don't you?

The other thing is that being familiar with Kojima's work has an effect on the gameplay too. Would I have put it past him to have Snake die in that tunnel if I'm not giving it everything I've got to make him survive? Sure as shit I wouldn't put it past him.

SonyJunkie said...

Hope you have a nice Valentines day at Micky D's LOL.

The God of War 3 trailer completely blew my mind when I saw it. It was absolutely gorgeous. It really does look like a painting. You were right, other have disagreed but I think you were spot on with that.

I didn't think the crawling through the room was that emotional either. It was kind of a really tough thing to do cause my thumb was getting very tired. I didn't really feel anything so I don't know if that was what he was trying to do.

See ya later David

Anonymous said...

Wow you nailed Metal Gear for me. I was raked through the coals on the forums saying the same things you mentioned about being detached from the story towards the end.

haha!

The MGS story is a good one but at times I felt like I was being force fed information from being to end. It was confusing at times.

GoWIII looks fucking awesome, epic, godly, fanfuckingtastic...etc.

I wish we "the fans" could get a firm release date.

Jake. said...

PLAY BRAID.

Sri said...

I wholeheartedly disagree about the oven sequence. I personally felt that was one of the most powerful/gripping moment I have had recently. Even though I, obviously, knew he wasn't going to die I really felt for Snake crawling for dear life. Pressing the buttons in rapid succession in rhythm to him crawling with everything going around was really effective for me to say the least.

Anyway the God Of War stuff really incredible but what I am more curious about is the feel of the game. Is it a smooth 60 fps and does the combat still feel as smooth. Regardless I am really looking forward to it, I am really looking forward to see how the new guy finishes the story of Kratos.

Anonymous said...

I agree completely, once again.
You should probably download Flower off the PlayStation Store for 10 bucks.

lb003g0676 said...

Dude, as other people have said here, you are involved on a different level to us.

Have said that I DO agree that the button mashing was very much a distracting decision for the particular moment in question. And physical input is to me a big part of game-as-art, that sequence worked awfully.

You have two screens to watch and a button to mash. It just didn't work. And plus, the triangle had no real relevance. I hate context sensivity in some ways, and lvoe the options it gives in others. But here, I hate it.

Anonymous said...

Oh my god.. I just saw the 1up blow out. It looks very good! Really looking forward to it.

As for your comments on MGS4, and the microwave sequence.. I definately hear ya on that, I know I should be feeling something for Snake, but your brain is too busy and you really do expect him to die by the end... so that experience will tend to just fly over peoples heads.. (or thats at least how I felt about it) In the whole though, I would say I really enjoyed MGS4.

Unknown said...

Can't say I agree at all with the microwave scene discussion from Jaffe. That's one of the most memorable and intense moments I had in the game. The music, what I'm doing as a player, what I'm seeing Snake do, and what I'm seeing happening from Snake's buddies. It was all very well done in my opinion.

Anonymous said...

i absolutely felt the emotion.......was one of the most memorable parts.........kinda shocked hearing this from you......the split screen is more than just a basic description of its action. its like a flower with broken leaves and what not groing from the ground trying to make fruit surrounded by chaos...........or his mind thinking about whats happening & what must he be feeling like combined with the physical struggle ..........or the none witnessing sad emotion swimming in chaos hes so tired of & hopes to end.....ect. & the genius its crafted into so anyone can relate a psychological understanding to it & other scenes in the game...............lol kinda lost respect for u here , still luv ur shit tho....

im pretty lazy with typing sorry & writing properly sorry

Unknown said...

The microwave scene was sick. My thumb still hurts from jamming the shit out of that button.

It might have hurt your connection to the game overall since you waited so long to finish act 5. I feel like you were at screaming mantis months ago, and are just now finishing up.

Anonymous said...

i take that back i didnt lose respect 4 ya D. haha cant wait to see ur new creation, cant wait!!

Zodiak said...

glad to see the GoW3 trailer, can it get any epicer?

I thought the Microwave Room was pretty good, moved me once seeing Snake at the end...but yeah he should have been badly hurt after that. lol. Yes I HATE those "press triangle repeatably" scenes.

Anonymous said...

Hey David,
Just to say I was starting to disagree with you when you said about it not giving the certain emotion and that stuff, but then when you gave the example of the microwave tunnel, you had a point, even though it was an epic scene I was to busy looking at snake and mashing the triangle button as hard as i can I couldn't enjoy the cutscenes below but still in the cutscene after that it was beautiful

A lot of people are asking for a link to the epic trailer, it actually is a extended version of the vga trailer but its adds over two minutes of footage compared to the 20 second anyway here is the link I saw its epic ness on : http://kotaku.com/5152887/god-of-war-iii-the-extended-trailer

P.S. David if you actually read this I would really like to know if this extended video was the "painting come to life" video you saw, and just for everyone to know I an not judging or bashing you I love and fully agree with your judgment

P.P.S Thank You Mr. Jaffe for coming up with one of the best not only videogame stories but stories in all. I used to love greek mythology before God of War, and your epic game changed my life, and my love for mythology grew, thank you sir

xonewingedangelx said...

Hey, also wondering here if you've played Flower, and if so what are your thoughts on the PSN being used to publish 'experiences' rather than big blockbusters or arcade games.

If you haven't played it, i'd recommend it 100%

All the best.

Anonymous said...

I see the MGS4 comment created quite a stir.

I want to agree and disagree to what Dave said.

On the one hand you have this thing called immersion. I NEVER really thought of BEING Snake in any MGS game, unlike e.g. a Half-Life or Call of Duty, still I kinda find it rather odd and unimmersive playing a Mute.

***Containing Spoilers on MGS4***

But on the other hand MGS4 (also the last scene of MGS3) created quite an emotional impact on me. Especially the microwave tunnel scene but even more Snake's suicide scene at the graveyard. I had already seen it in one of the trailers, I knew what he was going to do, but I couldn't help it and started crying like a little baby.

But for me there was more behind it than just a gaming figure or story character dying. It was similiar to the character of Kratos you created, his fight against fate. The curse of his blood that killed so many people.
Fullfiling purpose and ending a circle of violence.

It creates an emotional response, but one too similiar to movies we see. For an ambitious designer this might not be enough, just copying a formula we already know from hollywood, but for me as a gamer and customer, it's already more than I'm used to.

Also I wanted to add, that I thought the God of War 1 Scene near the end, were Kratos has to hug his family and fight off a bunch of evil Kratos' tried to do something similiar to the microwave tunnel.
But since I played GoW 1 on hard it was just way tooooo frenzy to build up any kind of emotion. Sorry Dave, but I thought Kojima pulled this one of better than you ;)

Cheers and keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

hey david ,
have you seen the new screens on ign . the one where kratos is fighting the skeletons and the titan is watching in the background .
now that's a fucking painting !

Unknown said...

On the MGS4 topic. I would agree with your opinion of the split screen gameplay in the final showdown between Raiden and Vamp. I was taken out of the experience because I wanted to play the fight or at least watch the whole animation between the two but I was stuck with playing the dirty work.

While the microwave scene was very powerful for me. Pounding on the button while snake became slower and slower brought a feeling of hopelessness. Snake is a character that has been in my life since I was 10. So memories of all the time that has passed started rushing back. While seeing all the characters come to a significant end. It made me cry because I knew no matter how hard I press that button this era of my life was coming to a close.

Now everything after that, I don't feel as strongly about but hey that is Kojima's choice.

Now everything after that is

Anonymous said...

god of war 3 is a painting come to life it is fuckin great

Anonymous said...

haha hey David Jaffe, First off, I have to say that you are one of the few people that I think are honest (and know your shit!) in the video game industry.... I seen an interview awhile back now but I remember that you looked CRUNKED and talking about a game (forget what it is) and not saying anything bad but not PR friendly and he tried to step in and say a few words but he didn't really help. I got a good laugh at it but anyways,

MGS 4 was the first in the series I played, and I started to get teary eyed at the end of the game and I really connected at that part in the game where he is crawling through.

Do you think that your knowledge of films and cinema kind of took you out of the moment because you knew what they were going for?

I don't know if you will respond but since i know your big into movies too what are some of your favorite movies, just interested in what style and types of movies you like.

Anonymous said...

Hey Dave, you need to learn to cough in your arm and not in your hands.....germ spreader.

TheUsedVersion said...

David, do you think that maybe your lack of an emotional response in videogames could be attributed to the fact that you work on games? Knowing what goes on behind the scenes and what all is involved might somehow limit you in simply enjoying the scene for what it is. Just a thought anyways.

Anonymous said...

God of War III looks seriously epic from that trailer. I've loved the other God of War games so I can't want to play this one.

I see what you mean about MGS 4 as well, I'm not a big fan of lots of cut-scenes as I find it personally breaks the immersion. Although it had a very good story I prefer my games story to be told more like in Bioshock or Half Life where you don't leave the game making me feel much more invested in the game world.

Bigrhyno said...

That microwave sequence was actually one of my favorite moments in video game history. I was pounding away at one button so hard, that I was starting to sweat. I thought Kojima set it up brilliantly to make it look like you weren't going to make it. I'm not looking at it in context of the story, but as the response the sequence had on my physically. It was one of the most intense sequences I have experienced in a game and all I did was press 1 button.

Unknown said...

I saw GOW3 trailer today... it was awesome!!! I can't wait for the game!

Anonymous said...

I was thinking about hitting up McD's for breakfast this morning myself. I havent had an egg-a-moobie muffin in a long time.

But.. I didn't.

Brice Gilbert said...

awwwwww thats too bad about that Metal Gear scene. THAT scene touched me and no i'm not joking or anything. In fact that is the scene that many people cite as the best part of MGS4. The majority of people I know (including me) during that scene were pounding on the button and the entire time were thinking "come on!! get up! Don't die you can do it!" and I wasn't even thinking that I was pounding on a button in a videogame for 5 minutes. Of course the second time you do it it doesn't play as well, but damnit that first time I was an emotional wreck.

There were about 3-4 times in MGS4 where I cried. I have played the 3 previous games at least 5 times each so maybe i'm so far engrossed that it all works on me. And i'm someone who watched almost a 100 films a year so i've seen it all. I think it's just different tastes for different people. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don't.

There has been only one other game that has made me cry and that was Shadow of the Colossus.

Anonymous said...

tbh, i expected so more from the visuals of GOW3. so far the graphics aren't that good. i hope they get better

Anonymous said...

I grew up with solid snake. If you played the whole franchise from the beginning you would understand why kojima placed that microwave scene in. I understand if this your 1st mgs game david...but come on.....you have to think about the people who grew up with this wonderfull franchise.

Gazzo said...

Man, lots of comments.


So, I kind of agree with what you're saying. I think that games can be great forms of storytelling, but I don't really think Kojima has found a good method yet. I'm a big fan of the Metal Gear series, and to be honest, not even I wanted to sit through some of those cut scenes. I'm sorry, but geeze.

Anyway, I actually picked up God of War II today. Yeah, I know, a bit behind. I actually rented the game with a friend of mine a while back because he's a big fan of the series and, obviously, so am I. The disc was scratched to all hell so we never got to finish it. I always planned on buying it anyway though, seeing as I have both God of War and Chains of Olympus. Might as well make a small collection. :)

Haha. McDonald's, gotta love it. Have a good weekend.

By the way: That new trailer was killer. It was definitely a 'painting come to life' as you said. Good stuff.

David Jaffe said...

Just to be clear- I LOVE Snake! One of my fave video game characters, and could very well be my all time favorite.

I LOVE the cut scenes in MGS4 even tho overall- as a technique- I had cut scenes and would always prefer the game tell the story without them (including my own).

This is one of my fave games of the year and there are sequences that are some of my fave gameplay of all time.

And I have played all the MGS games since the PS1 MGS. Never played the original NES version.

All I am saying is, the in game storytelling- for me- didn't work. And it COULD be that because I am in the biz, it is harder to get me on board some of this. I concede that for sure. But for whatever reason, I was distracted by the microwave scene more than I was moved because the emotion I was being asked to feel had NOTHING to do- in my opinion- with the gameplay I was being asked to perform. Perhaps if they blended better...as someone said: play BRAID. Need to finish it.

Great weekend ya'll!

David

Anonymous said...

"Who gives a sh** about Snake dying?"

We do!!!

Or at least I did. But I do get your point, Jaffe. It is hard to have an emotional response when you're concentrating on mashing buttons.

I would recommend playing it again on the Big Boss Extreme difficulty, with no kills, no alerts, and a total game time under 5 hours, but I'm sure you're too busy for that. I would do it myself, but I don't have that much time either, and I'd probably get too frustrated to finish it.

On a different note, have you considered getting Burnout Paradise? I don't know if you've played any of the other Burnout games, but it's another great arcade racing game, except this one is in an open city! A lot like Burnout 3, or the later games, but Crash mode has been replaced with Showtime mode, basically a moving Crash mode. If you do get it, I'd definitely get The Ultimate Box. It comes with all of the free updates Criterion has released, plus the new premium Party pack.

You can get it for $30 on the Playstation Store, and also in retail stores for the 360, PS3, and the PC, which makes this game the first Burnout game on the PC! I think a demo is still on Xbox Live, and the Playstation Store, and there's a new demo for the PC.

You can also buy the game by itself for $20, and get the Party pack seperately as a download for $10, but you're better off getting The Ultimate Box.

Unknown said...

Ok, I have to agree with Andrew on this one.

I really did care if snake died. One of the reasons I loved Metal Gear Solid so much is for the character development of Solid Snake. When he would cough a draw nearer to death i got a not in my stomach. I didn't want to see Snake die! I was with him through Shadow Moses and all that shit! He's a great character!

I don't think the cut scenes evoked emotions it was Snake's actions for me. Maybe I just get lost easier in games then most people?

Anonymous said...

I get David's differentiating points here. I understand cause the games that have come out of your head(& your team's head), GoW & Twisted Metal franchise are very different from a connection-more immersive point of view. The vast majority do think that was probably one of the most emotional parts of MGS4, me to.My point, is obviously for you the story telling out of GoW was much more your style & taste. Makes sense cause GoW wouldn't have been GoW without your mindset. I hope this makes sense I had a bit to drink. Best of luck to all.

Hellhound30 said...

you know the only thing that got me in the last act of Metal Gear was the fact the he got up... I mean I thought he was going to die for sure at the end..... I don't know for me Metal Gear Solid 4 is my game of the year. I uderstand what you're saying though... Its like you don't have time to sit there and empathise with what going on with snake...
God of war 3 is awesome!! Being a huge X-box 360 fan Killzone 2, God of War 3 are probably the only games keeping my hope up for Sony's mighty system. That and the bug rumors of you working on a new Twisted metal..... but we all know thats just a rumor..... right?

Anonymous said...

hey david!

well, i saw the GOW3 new trailer, it´s was amazing!!!!

My question is... You really like it?

Anonymous said...

I think it has to do with the physicality of your hands and the controller/dualshock 3. I mean, yeah, its obviously a button mashing session, but how hard do you have to press it? So much so that it distracts you from the imagery? Maybe, for you, you just had to put in a little more effort to pull it off. But personally, these days with the dualshock3, the controller is really light and I sometimes don't even notice I'm holding a controller at all, even when it vibrates. Especially with surround sound and shit. Totally immersive. So I didn't even flinch at that part. I saw good ol' snake pushing for dear life to save the world...and it was sad as shit.

Anonymous said...

God of War 3 is awesome!!!!

You create the story for the game?

(LOOKS very nice)


You are a hero for Argentina!

See ya!

Gazzo said...

The problem MGS has, for me, is that the story telling and game can be terribly separated. MGS1-3 weren't too bad, but even they suffered from this. MGS4, on the other hand, is like you play for awhile, long-ass cut scene, play for a while, etc. It doesn't flow very well at all. Like Dave said, I prefer the game itself to tell the story. Not a 2 hour cut scene. That's just me, feel free to disagree. (Like I have to tell ya. :) )

Anonymous said...

sorry david, but i hate mgs 4 im not gonna sit and watch a 50 minute cutscene, not my game

Anonymous said...

david who do u like better

sweet tooth

or the GOD OF WAR

sorry wanted to be dramatic

Anonymous said...

hey, what is your opinion on the "Titan" levels and the riding cyclops mechanic for GOW 3

SonyJunkie said...

I was also thinking of the God of War details that have been released. Them making the scale of this game bigger could hurt the game some. They are letting you ride cyclops now, are they adding that cause it is important to gameplay or just because they can do it with the PS3 now. Same with the 50 characters on screen, are they just doing this cause they have the power or will it actually do something for the game.

What are your thoughts on those things Dave??

Anonymous said...

well sonyjunkie, i kind of like the TITAN level concept, im kind of skeptical of the cyclops riding,i mean why does kratos need to ride a cyclops he eats cyclops for brealfast, but i also believe sony wont fail us so thats my take on all of that

Anonymous said...

I want GOD OF WAR 3 NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWww

Anonymous said...

God of War 3 is epic

Unknown said...

that God of War trailer got me all excited again. I hope that the devs do some cool and different stuff with the camera. The scenes where the camera got close in on Kratos's back to show something in the distance I particularly liked, and I think something similar to this could be really cool if used in game.

Anonymous said...

Me and a couple of other anonymous think that the titan cocept is pretty darn cool, i think it will be cool fighting in gaia or atlas

Anonymous said...

definitely agree with GoW being amazong looking in that trailer :)
also about MGS4, it's still one of the best games of last year no doubt but it does seem to bring out the Hollywood influence that games had to the forefront. I'm so glad that you said that about how games shouldn't look to it as a level that needs to be reached, games (as a medium) are like opera in my opinion, you've got everything from a story to music, to video to it and you have this "4th dimension" so-to-speak of interactivity with the player, if we think everything should be intensely cinematic then we are not being ourselves as an industry or a medium. At some point we need to go off on our own. Great to hear you and hope that you can be one of the proponents in helping games come into it's own :)

Anonymous said...

David, maybe if you didn't take so long to finish the game you would have been more immersed in what was going on towards the end. I find it hard to enjoy stories in games when I take several day breaks. It's like watching a movie but only watching 15 - 30 minutes here and there every once in awhile.

Anonymous said...

As an aspiring game designer, I agree with your comments on MGS4.

To me, it was just a button mash sequence where I had a nice cut scene, at the top of my screen, to look at. Did it make me feel like I was Snake? Not in the least, removing control from the player and turning it into a button mash sequence while attention is diverted to the actual cut scene isn't a good way to convey emotion.

I think developers need to divert from this idiotic interactive movie mind set and instead let the player retain his control while still having story unfold at the same time and be able to interact with it and affect it in some way, not take control away from the player.

Even games like Half Life are barking up the wrong tree in terms of story telling in my mind. Retaining control and yet being able to launch cans at the characters speaking to you, easily ruins any emotional connection you may have.

I think story telling in video games needs to be more dynamic. While a set narrative, found in other media, can be predicted often times; video games have the potential to surprise the player through interactivity more so than any twist in a movie.

As for emotional attachment, I believe the best way to attain a response is to build a relationship with the character you're portraying through actually playing the game and making decisions that will in some way affect his fate, as opposed to knowing Snake is going to die or he's not going to die when the game comes an end.

I think games like The Sims do this very effectively. You get attached to your little Sims, whose lives you have full control over, and if they happen to die in a freak stove fire accident, you have a strong emotional response to it, either sadness, frustration or something entirely different. I think games with consequential outcomes that aren't set in stone is a great way to tell a story. In the case of Sims you actually end up telling your own.

I also believe that having the ability to save and then reload once something negative happens, needs to go away to some extent. I'm sure a lot of people ruined Fallout 3 for themselves by doing just that. I, on the other hand toughed it out and carried on. For example, one of my companions got killed by a Super Mutant with a rocket launcher and I felt sad enough to even give him proper send off (after avenging him) by picking him up and tossing him into the river, just as the sun was sinking below the horizon.

I think there's room for highly scripted cut scenes but I get a larger emotional response when something completely unexpected happens as a result of my actions and not the narrative.

Anonymous said...

Hey david, I would love to hear your thoughts on flower and its storytelling.

Anonymous said...

I loved that freaking trailer!

Space Captain Steve said...

I was surprised at just how engaged I was during the microwave sequence. It did such a great job of really capturing the tension of the moment.

As players we know Snake is going to life through to the end (well could be hard to tell with Kojima) but there was still the anxiety of "Am I going to make it through this without dying?".

I did think the split-screen storytelling was a little distracting and may well have been handled better by cuts but then again that might have given you too much of a breather.

Definitely my favorite game moment of 2008.

Anonymous said...

I saw the extended trailer for GoW3 on Kotaku and you know, this is it.

This is one of the reasons I bought a PS3, to finish up this epic series. It's one of, if not the best looking game I've ever seen. I am a huge fan of cinematic quality in games, since I'm such a film fan. GoW has always been such an epic series that to me, captures a very film like presence in a "they couldn't do this in a movie" way. The silhouette scene from the second game in particular will always stand out for me, as do the quick camera cuts.

You know how after you've played PS3 games for a bit and you look at PS2 and the graphics aren't good anymore? Well after playing MGS4, the Killzone demo, then seeing this beautifully rendered footage of G3, I've never been able to look at my 360 game's graphics like they're good anymore. I look at them just the way that I look at the PS2's. I'm being completely serious.

There's just a huge sense of scope that (aside from Gears of War 2) can't be captured with the 360. This is the game that I've been waiting for since the minute the credits rolled for the second one. From the three minutes of footage I saw, this is definitely going to live up to the hype. Couldn't be more enthused.

Anonymous said...

Is it possible to be emotionally invested in games.

I mean..if you die...you just restart the level.

Having said that, Kojima's games (and Bioshock) are the closest thing to emotional investment I've had in a game.

Anonymous said...

well it doesn't look like a painting come to life but it sure does look amazing

Anonymous said...

Well, it doesn't really matter what you think. Millions of people have been intrigued by the Metal Gear Solid story, for over ten years.

Without the story, it would never have been as popular. Same goes for Final Fantasy, and hell, even Tekken! - which they are also making a movie about.

And why do you just sit around rambling about this anyway. Why don't you go try make a new killer game instead.

If you think you can rise above pretty much all the storytelling games out there, you give off the impression that you know it all. So if you know it all, please make a game with a story - where you use all the best storytelling tricks out there, since obviously, its so easy for you.

Anonymous said...

I thought the microwave parts of MGS4 were some of the best parts.

I was so INTO it. I WAS snake, If I didn't try hard enough, if snake didn't try hard enough... all would be gone. I had to try my best, press the triangle harder and faster than I ever have, for our (snake and I) sake. I was immersed into it, emotion and all.

If any part of MGS4 is a little "disconnecting" I'd say it's the Europe follow part. Amazingly done, and a good challenge, but seemed too robotic, imo.

Anonymous said...

OH wow, to the anonymous who said this:
""And why do you just sit around rambling about this anyway. Why don't you go try make a new killer game instead.

If you think you can rise above pretty much all the storytelling games out there, you give off the impression that you know it all. So if you know it all, please make a game with a story - where you use all the best storytelling tricks out there, since obviously, its so easy for you.""

FUCK YOU. He IS spending his time to make a game. Didn't he just state how he just came back from Utah?
And I don't think he's saying he's a know it all, at all. He can criticize and review any game he wants, just like we can. He didn't say he's trying to 1up MGS4 or any game. He's saying that we, all of us and all game designers need to try new directions with ways to immerse the player.
I'm not trying to be a kiss ass, but dude. You're an asshole.

Diehardgamer said...

I'm sorry David, but I'm gonna have to disagree just like the majority of the Metal Gear fans have disagreed with you.

I've been a fan of this amazing series ever since the original Metal Gear Solid on the original PlayStation, and the character as well as the visual graphics weren't really like they are today, so some people give it crap just because of the way the graphics look which goes into a totally different discussion and topic altogether.

Anyhow, I did get pretty sad and still do at various points throughout each game in the series, and there's some pretty sad moments that I'm sure alot of the fans can tell you about. Hell, I still get a little teary eyed everytime I watch the ending for MGS3 because of what happened in that game storywise.

There's alot of fans such as myself that haven't played all the games in the series that do fell differently than you do because we grew up with Metal Gear, and at least in my opinion, after playing the games for so long and as many times as fans have, you do become attached to these characters as if they were a member of your own family in a way, and that can also count for Snake himself.

As far as the microwave scene goes, I have felt and gotten the same kind of emotional responses that alot of the select number of Metal Gear fans were feeling & getting while going through that portion of the game, and I was absolutely pressing the triangle button as fast as I could press it while Snake was getting himself electronically barbecued as well as shocked, and I was absolutely freaking out as well.

And I also got teary eyed when it to the cutscene where Snake was gonna kill himself just like I got teary eyed at the end of MGS3, and all the cutscenes did keep my interest in the game the whole time and got different emotional responses out of different parts of the game including the mission briefings later on in the game.

And I'll agree with one of the anonymous comment posters when they said that they think games are a source of storytelling as movies are, if not more, because it puts you in the eyes of the character, and that holds true to many Metal Gear fans such as myself, because you are playing the games through the eyes of the character, which in this case is Solid Snake, except for MGS2, MGS3, & Portable Ops.

Kojima does a very amazing job of making the players feel that your playing through and being part of an interactive movie with the right mix of gameplay, and storytelling in all of the Metal Gear games & MGS4 was definitely no exception, so it definitely deserves the coveted GOTY in my opinion.

The only people who are going to get that same kind of feeling you did are people who have never played any of Kojima's games or any of the Metal Gear games before, which is understandable. You have to familiarize yourself with Kojima's work and the way he makes these games to get these kinds of responses as Metal Gear fans such as myself often do.

Anyways, I haven't seen the new God of War III footage yet either, but I'm gonna download it on the PlayStation Store and watch it for myself later on, but I will say that it looks absolutely very amazing.

Sorry if this seems a bit too long for you, I kind of like to ramble about stuff myself now and again.

GrYnder McDuff! said...

CliffyB,

I understand your point about not being able to experience video games cinematically the same way you would experience a movie, but perhaps part of that stems from the fact that you work in the field of gaming.

See, sometimes during a game I can get totally lost in the experience, whether it be an emotional cutscene or a tense one, almost to the same extent a movie might. The only difference between them is that during a game I'm "on the edge of my seat" while playing a game because the game can suddenly say "Here, have control of your character" and suddenly I'm in the middle of whatever was just happening. Obviously movies can't do that. But otherwise, if done correctly like MGS, a game's cutscene can be as emotionally engaging as any movie.

But for you, now correct me if I'm wrong, but you tend to think about how things are done as they're happening. From a production standpoint. As you said during your blog, during this cutscene you should be "lost" in the scene but you just aren't captured by it as you would be a movie.
But maybe that's because you're thinking about the game as a whole instead of being entirely engaged by the story being told. During a scene you could be thinking something like "I can see what the creators are trying to do with this type of scene, and good on them". From what I see, you're still thinking about the BIG picture. You're thinking from a director or developers standpoint by thinking of what the production team was going for instead of just being engaged like someone else. You're not quite getting lost in the game.

Now I wonder... Can Steven Spielberg get lost in a film the same way you and I do? As he's watching a film unfold, does he think about how scenes have been shot? Does he think about how he would have tried something else to get the emotion across? Maybe the way you look at games is how he views movies. Always thinking about the bigger picture instead of getting lost in the story trying to be told.

Or maybe I'm completely off the mark here.

Oh, and you posted your blog at 11:11. Awesome.

GrYnder McDuff! said...

Oh. I do agree with your final point. To perfect the emotional context within games, creators will need to come up with unique devices to get their story across.

One MORE thing! On a different subject. About the McDonalds breakfast (Which is SO AWESOME :O)
Maybe your kids wont remember times like these but I'm sure you will. And hey, that matters too right? They're only kids once, and you only get to live through young parenthood with your first kids once. Memories are nice :)

TrevDogg said...

ppl are stupid if they thought u were trashing MGS4. what idiots :-D

Anonymous said...

Crap, I don't check your blog for like an hour, and there's 6000000000 comments...

In my perfect world Dave's making the best TM game, and everyone's drooling/anticipating it like a GOW/MGS game. Oh yeah, and Angelina Jolie is sitting on my lap....

To your point on immersiveness/emotional attachment, it obviously can be done (MGS1, ICO are 2 that come to mind) but gaming is still in its infancy and quickly changing, so I believe it is still the creativeness of the ideas that can produce this, even if it is a very corporate industry.

And, oh, these shmucks that call Dave a know it all...the reason I tune in is to hear his view from his perspective, as someone from a creative and technical background.

ITS NOT BEING A KNOW IT ALL YOU SMALL MINDED RETARDS...ITS EXPRESSING AN OPINION.

Staircase said...

I think Metal Gear, and even God of War prove that games can be a great form of storytelling. I find myself looking as much at the story in video games now as the actual gameplay and content. Some games have obviously lost their touch over a series expands, but i still find myself buying the later games to add more to the storyline experience. I think if not just storyline, video games are also a great way to pass on your own message to other generations.

Josh Freeman said...

I hope you've seen Dead Fantasy and Haloid if your playing Afro Samurai

Anonymous said...

I think the reason why you felt disconnected from the story is because you are a games developer yourself.

I have seen many interviews with other game developers talking about how gaming is just not the same anymore for them and i think if you were a film director you would feel the same about films too (Not so much though).

I love metal gear solid 4, i think it is the best game i've played on the current generation of consoles for many reasons so i disagree, but i can understand where you are coming from.

Anyway, god of war 3 looks fucking amazing i want that game, NOW!

Anonymous said...

David what is your take on Sony adding all this stuff to GOW 3, do you think there doing it cause they can or it will make the game funner

starblinky said...

lol you cry at diaper commercials? lol.

Also btw it must be hard to deal with all these little kids or perhaps childish adults that make claims about you like that. Maybe since you have kids of your own its easier to deal with that and naturally you have more patience? I dont know.

But yeah I am also someone who cries at everything! I played through MGS and I did cry a little. The part most people speak of for this game was when Snake (SPOILER) had a gun in his mouth and shot, they were all sad because they thought he died.
Thats not where I cried, I cried at the scene on the water where all the guns stopped working etc. I dont know why, I guess because it felt so well put together I had to cry for it. I dont know, maybe you can tell us why you think you cry during diaper commercials and I might know more of why I am the same way. :P :P :P

lol diaper commercials (I cried during spiderman 3)

David Jaffe said...

starbliniky- you cried during a cut scene.

And it was a GREAT cut scene.

But once again, it sort of proves the point.

People have been making folks cry via linear media since around the dawn of man (assuming cave paintings brought folks to tears)...but you get my point even if my time line is a bit off. :)

But crying in a MGS cut scene- or crying when Aeris dies in a CUTSCENE in FF7- is not the same as the game mechanics- the game itself- making you cry.

At least to me it's not the same.

David

Gazzo said...

It's not the same. I don't think so, anyway. This kind of ties into what I stated earlier.

Cut scenes do not equal game play. They're not the same thing, obviously. I think part of what makes a certain game play part tear jerking or whatever, is the fact you're so immersed into it. You're the one that's doing it. With cut scenes...you're just watching a story unfold. You're no longer part of the story.

Anonymous said...

Okay ya,i understand where your coming from, good points.And let me just say if theres a game to make us all cry and teary eye'd,i'd put my money on heavey rain.
any chance you could tell us when you'll be able to tell us some detail on your new game??tomorrow??a week??2 months?? anything??

Haber said...

just being critical, but you said "happy VD day" but that's like saying "day" twice. No biggie AT ALL. Keep up the great work, love playing your games and reading your blog

Rock Lee said...

Jaffe, you should REALLY be on the lookout for Heavy Rain!!!

There will be no cutscenes, the whole story will be told while you play. The gameplay will look like cutscenes! AMAZING!

Anyways, I thought the scene where Raiden saved Snake from the submarine was pretty sad. Especially because he was reminiscing about how he first met Rose.

Anonymous said...

Jaffe just wasn't as immersed as we were. He's just not the same type of gamer, plus his business mentality makes him dissect more than experience. Besides, MGS4 is for the fans, Kojima said it himself. For the fans, it was meant to be played and finished in a matter of days(weeks at most), not for months at a freaking time, completely destroying any form of build up between scenes and chapters(especially if you lead a busy life). And fans take everything in from this game, even the shit that extends far beyond the 4th wall.

But hey, its jaffe's OPINION. Though just because he's in the biz doesn't mean he's right.

Anonymous said...

I actually agree with you David, Snake should of died in the microwave - hell, even if he didn't get to battle Ocelot - it'd make it that little bit more tragic, and possibly sad enough to trigger tears during gameplay.

Thanks for sort of answering me about Flower in your post update :)

David Jaffe said...

Rock Lee...great scene...again, a CUT SCENE.

And again, LOVE the cut scenes in MGS4 and to judge the whole product as something that elicits emotion is to judge the gameplay AND the cut scenes as those are part of the package. I get this.

I'm just saying that IN GAMEPLAY I find eliciting emotion to be something that is hard if not impossible to do on a consistent basis.

David

vu12345678 said...

SPOILERS

The overall ending to MGS4 is what disappointed me... WHen snake was in the microwave, I wasn't expecting him to die. Its Snake! I was expecting Raiden to die.

Actually the game would've been much better if Snake actually shot himself in the end, Raiden died when he was fighting the goons with a blade in his mouth, and johnny and meryl die during their battle for survival.

Anonymous said...

David, what is ur take on the new features for God of War 3 do you think Sony is doign that so they can or it will make the game more funner

Brice Gilbert said...

Nooooo!! You used me (the 4 cry guy) as an example. I don't want to be that guy who you think is hating on you for not liking one little aspect of a game. I am 100% honest about this. I know other people too who cried during MGS4, but like I said its all about the individual experience. I'm an easy cry (I love crying too) and for me it just worked. Some people it didn't. I know people in real life where it didn't work, and I understand why. Sometimes it has to be the perfect storm of pacing, acting, or state of mind at the time or whatever.

starblinky said...

RE:

Ahh, so the gameplay itself making you cry. I think anything is possible. There's a women here in Vancouver who developed some technology that you hook up to yourself and it will send data to a computer of what emotions that person is feeling. She's actually using it now for video games, I'm not sure what devs are using it, but I know shes out there right now.

Maybe that's all we need, more research on the topic. Flower is probably the closest we've come to having 'actual gameplay' give someone real emotion.

I bought FLOWer too btw and it was really amazing, actually I found it helps me sleep if I play it before I go to bed.

But anyway there's something I always wondered about games storylines, why is there never a love interest!?! Its seriously like tradition in movies, you HAVE to have a love interest or else you don't even have a story.

Oh my god, by the way have you seen Benjamin Button? You will cry in every single freakin scene, seriously the movie theater was a waterpark when I saw it, EVERYONE was crying.

So perhaps the best way to make someone cry is an amazing storyline that the player can relate to? Love is basically the only thing everyone on the planet can relate to. And since games have never even been about love then how are we going to know if a game can make you cry?

If a person can relate to whats happening in the game, then I think thats when real emotions can come out. I just don't think most people can relate to zombies taking over a mall, a go kart that uses bananas to make other go karts slip and crash, a guy named snake running around under cardboard boxes killing people etc.

Maybe ask a war vet to play COD4.

Anonymous said...

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/198/godofwarer3.jpg

Elías said...

Hoy (día 14)a sido el mejor día de San Valentín que he tenido en mi vida... me he despertado y en mi sesión matinal navegando por internet, me he topado con el nuevo trailer de God of War III

Y me he quedado con la boca abierta. Que guapo!

Que ganas de jugarlo ya!

Gracias por crear esta saga David

Un saludo de un fan de Kratos

P.D. Perdona que te escriba en español, pero es que el inglés no se me da muy bien

Anonymous said...

http://img152.imageshack.us/my.php?image=godofwarer3.jpg

FernandoDANTE said...

Dude, SPOILERS!!!!! Seriously. An alert would be nice.

Anonymous said...

I thought mgs4 was a bit lacking in gameplay really, there weren't any truly memorable moments like the stealth and boss fights and twists in the original, and the boss fights werent as ingenius as mgs3... BUT MGO is the best thing ever, logged more than 450 hours so far and would be a lot more if I didn't play so many other games (currently have 730 trophies and dont waste much time on them)...But if you dont have at least 10 hours a week to spare you probably cant get into mgo very much. It's such a hardcore game that generally it's easy to beat people a lower lvl than you and hard as fuck to beat people a higher level.

Anonymous said...

What is with all these ppl raving about flower? It's beautiful, but it's dull and not much of a game. I didn't feel any emotion playing it, other than given by music, which is the same as any other game. The only game I've cried to was lost odyssey, and that was just one of the long text parts not anything in the game! No game yet has made you feel like the character, I just feel like a camera and a brain when I'm playing a game, until that changes dont expect to feel much.

Jakob Free said...

Jaffe-

I got to disagree with you my man. Just let me say that I think you are very talented and intelligent. I respect and enjoy your work immensely. But I think you are being a little too hasty in your statement that games don't have the ability to effect gamers emotionally.

I felt something during that microwave scene. And it's not the only time that something like that has happened. If you ever played Shadow of the Colossus, I'm assuming you have as it is one of the best games in the last 10 years, you may or may not have forged an emotional connection to your avatar's horse Agro. When Agro supposedly died, I for one felt a great deal of sadness as if I was watching a movie that evoked a similar emotional response. I believe I am not alone in this. Now maybe your gripe is with the lack of emotionality when gameplay is considered, but I really think there are two sides to this. Snake is a great character, one I have invested a huge amount of time in. It was very difficult for me to not feel anything when he was being melted to smithereens. Whether or not that emotional response was cheapened by the resurrection is for another time but I just hope you understand that your point of view is one sided and--I hate to say it--slightly narrow minded.

You, after all, are the guy who has been pushing this move for greater depth in gaming. What I think you have failed to realize is that we are already there. Not completely mind you, but we are there...at a beginner level.

Anyway, I felt like I had to speak up for the other guys who may feel the same way. No disrespect, I admire you and your work greatly. God of War remains one of my favorite games and Twisted Metal was one of the first games I ever played and got me into gaming.

You are the man though, you just need you to know there was another side.

Good luck on the new game.

Unknown said...

Ok. I misunderstood you with the first comment but now I get it. We all love the cut scenes and felt emotional by it. You were talking about the actual control sequence. I guess I pushed out the word "gameplay" somehow when thinking of a response but I get what you meant and agree with you to a certain extent.

I don't think that comic-style cut scene in the middle of the microwave hallway was to evoke emotions though. I think it was a way to tell the player that shit was going down while he was actually playing. So that it wouldn't be like Metal Gear Ray attacked coincidentally right when Snake reached the end and the other cut scenes happened.

The button mashing camera changes ingame were to give an emotion to the player when Snake was near death though.

You were able to see that actual pain and struggle of Snake upfront. It didn't make me cry (I don;t think that's what Konami was going for) but it made me want to get Snake out of their EVEN more! So see a person/character you "love" getting hurt in a realistic way (not just some canned animation that's repeated in-game) would make the player fight harder to survive. Does anyone agree with me or am I alone?

Anonymous said...

@Jakob Free ,

WOW shadow of the colossus made me tear so much at the end, and its funny because i was 17 at the time. Like the whole game gave you time to connect with the main character and the horse (agro), by adventuring places like ruins, castles, mountains, caves, and other places......wow just thinking about the ending makes me sad....:(

grasshopper said...

I've got to say I was quite disappointed Snake didn't die as well. I think it would have been a great end to the series. Make it just far enough to save the day...then x_x

Anonymous said...

Hey David!!!
Glad youfinished MGS 4, welcome to the club!!!
I was kind of sad just thinking it would be the last game that might start Solid Snake as he and Kratos are my 2 favorite gaming characters.
But hey if it is, Amazing fucking ride huh? (same with Kratos).

P.S.
Hope both characters come back for more!!!
Keep it up I love the Blog.

Anonymous said...

You should check out Flower for an emotional videogame experience that can only be brought form a videogame. Really just phenomenal.

Vitter said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Vitter said...

Hey David, after and during i was playing flower(and completely falling in love with it), i was thinking how fantastic would it be, to use the same mechanics, but making a game about flying, like a dude trough the sky, clouds, maybe some level in outer space, looking that sharp would be unbeleavable and so relaxing, i would call it freedom hahaha.
And yeah that trailer for GoW 3 Looks phenomenal, even though i wish they would have let you tell your kickass story, or did they?

see ya

Rock Lee said...

David, I understood your whole blog and vlog and the point you were making completely.

I was just pointing out a sad cutscene.

Anyways, I think the "exclusive" storytelling gameplay you are talking about will come in the form of Heavy Rain.

You should REALLY read up on Heavy Rain. I also hope Kojima will adopt a lot of techniques used in Heavy Rain.

Matias said...

Though I thought it was a pretty emotional scene, i coundn't belive Snake was able to fight Ocelot after that. So, I can see why you didn't feel anything. But c'mon, returning to Shadow Moses was the best part of the game. There was plenty emotion there!

I think videogames are perfectly capable of creating strong emotions. ICO has got to be the most emotional game ever, at least for me.

Alex said...

it took you too long to beat it imo jaffski because everyone i know cried at mgs4. obviously you became detached from the storyline.

Anonymous said...

I have to agree with David, i kind of think it was a little ridicoulous with the whole microwave thing, Snake should of died in that, cause what was the whole point of that whole thing if he gets back up, MGS 4 was a amazing game, one of my favorites but like David said the ending kind of.. well you know

Anonymous said...

I have to say David, the God of War III trailer was AMAZINGLY AWESOME. ALL OVER MY FACE OH GOD! Corny humor aside, I have to agree with what you said about MGS4. I thought the game was great, and was one of my favorite games of 08. However, I also didn't really care about the microwave scene. A friend of mine called me crazy when I mentioned this to him, especially when I told him that I sniffed a bit at MGS3's ending. I tried to justify my reasoning for as to why I hated that scene by saying, "You cannot elicit tears from me when all I'm doing is pressing Triangle repeatedly."

Anonymous said...

heavy rain will have good story to get u into the game. im sure it will

Anonymous said...

heavy rain, what is that

Anonymous said...

I wasn't really a fan of the MGS games, i dont feel like watching a movie on my ps3 i want to play a game, im not saying it had bad cutscenes, its just i rented a game not a fuckin movie

Anonymous said...

hey David, I completely agree with you on mgs4. I took the trouble to finish the game enjoyed it but didn'\t even bother finishing the end cinematic. IT was just soo much story that I just was like; Meh I killed Ocelot I dont care about the ending anymore. TOo much story and animeesque. I worshipped snake eater but 4 was a bit of a let down.

Anonymous said...

Maro i agree with you 100%, i was like yeah i killed ocelot, im going to bed" even though big boss had his what 2 minutes of fame or whatever, i was yeah whatever cant wait for GOW 3" haha

Anonymous said...

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Mokuu said...

Yo Jaffe, did you have time to get into Metal Gear Online?

Im impressed at the way the keep it up to date and reward players with customizable items, titles and more.
Its a big kick from their last Metal Gear online and also seems to be updated often (removing glitches and abuses).

Check it out when you got time.

Anonymous said...

David, this might get lossed on the conversation now, but did you ever play Shadow of the Colossus? At the end when your character gets taken over by Dormin you are in control of this huge god-like thing, at the same time you are finding out that that your goal of bringing the girl back to life will not happen and you game partner (the horse Agro) has just died. I see how someone could get emotionaly wrapped up in the GAME-PLAY segment.

PeterK said...

Dear Jaffe,

I really liked the trailer, but was it the stuff you have seen and made you sweat and you were really hyped about it.

Stig Asmussen claimed, that this trailer was ready last fall, while you mentioned, that you have seen brand new thing when you visited SCEA in Californiea in December..

Thanks
PeterK

Anonymous said...

Heavy Rain, David. Heavy Rain.

Anonymous said...

Hi Dave,
Now that you're no longer with SCEA I must admit that I'm a bit concerned about what will happen to the story of GoW3. I was worried by your statement in an interview where you said the story isn't the one you would tell. My view is that no one would know better than you how to end the story. After all, you started the franchise. I have no doubt that GoW3 will have amazing graphics and gameplay. However, I can assure you that I'm not the only fan who's concerned by this project lacking your creative input. Could you ease the fans' concerns by perhaps elaborating a bit on how the current team is going in a different direction plot wise? Will the story still examine the core ideas you had in mind?

Raphaël said...

Hello (second try ;)
i'm not sure it's the appropriate way to get in touch with you but... i'm working for a french magazine and we'd like to do an interview of you! So if you're ok, mail me to slanyeh@yahoo.fr

Graham Waldrop said...

I am one of the people who cried during MGS 4. MGS is the only gaming series to ever pull at me emotionally. I get what you're saying, but I was totally blown the fuck away by the microwave scene. There was so much power in that. The struggle of Snake, everyone else's struggles.

I think MGS 4 is the closest that any game has come to giving games an emotional drive (same could be said for the whole series), at the same time I see what you're saying, Jaffe. But to me, I thought it was damn amazing.

GL to ya sir.

-G.W.

Anonymous said...

In regards to your MGS4/video games aren't emotion story mediums, What are your thoughts on MGS3? What you have to do at the end is mind blowing for me and I feel that game is a step in the right direction for video games to become good story mediums. I was just forced to sit back and reflect on what I just did. But I agree I didnt feel anything for Snake as he got microwaved in 4.

Anonymous said...

Have you ever played Final Fantasy 7 Jaffe? Would be curious about your thoughts on it if you did.

If you have yet to play it I'd really recommend trying it sometime, though I can see a lot of possible reasons as to why you wouldn't like it. But wow, that game did a really good job of making me feel emotionally involved.. The music being a big reason for that. It did an incredibly good job of capturing/defining the sentiments of the world you explore, and combined with the incredibly epic story, it all makes for a very beautiful experience you cant help revel in.

Anonymous said...

Also Jaffe, I came across a game called "World of Goo", which is a really awesome, easy to get into, construction-type of game. If you haven't tried it yet, you should seriously do yourself a favor and check out the FREE DEMO on Steam.

Roger Adams said...

Metal Gear Solid 4 taught me how to make eggs... and to forgive.

Anonymous said...

God of War 3.......DUDE why didnt they show THIS one at the VGA's????? I love the first two, and I had high expectations, but what i saw on tv sucked, and then i see this and im scratching my head!! This footage is really amazing....i was told this was actual gameplay footage, is that true??

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