Your idea and why it sucks

by Cody Miller , Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Saturday, June 01, 2013, 21:40 (3983 days ago) @ narcogen
edited by Cody Miller, Saturday, June 01, 2013, 21:46

You may use it because you wish to extend and add to what it says. This is good because it's more efficient. But Bungie didn't do this. Point me to a new idea that springs from that work with the proper insight only they can provide. Can't? Dang not looking good.

You may also use it to explicate part of your content, which Bungie did here, illustrating how what appears to be otherwise ordinary looking gameplay sequences (one dude takes out a bunch of dudes, then three dudes face off against one big dude) illustrates a key concept in Bungie's new world-- emphasis on cooperative play not as an afterthought but as a core concept of the game, and a world built to exploit that concept: a world that punishes lone wolves and rewards the pack.

And you really think a text, that I guarantee you was not written with Bungie in mind and has no connection to them whatsoever is the best way to do that? Why not write something of your own tailored specifically to this ad, and to Destiny? Further, explaining how your game works doesn't really count as creative expression… unless you pretend it does.

You may use it to set tone, which Bungie did here. Mythic science fiction, as they have said, taking a classic adventure story and transplanting it into a science fiction seting.

Which means Destiny will be full of clichés and generally not the thing that gets people to admit games are serious when it comes to stories.

I think you're projecting your own insecurity onto Bungie. Bungie, I think, references literary works they like in games they make because they like those works, because they like exploring some of the same themes as those works, and because they like the idea of injecting a bit of literature into popular entertainment.

Why do they like injecting it? Again if you want to explore the same themes as somethign you inject, you had better extend the analysis. The best works do not reference. They are referenced.

Why use Giancarlo Esposito? Why use Jon Favreau? I'm serious, anybody could have directed that piece.

Maybe they like him? Maybe he'll be doing a voiceover in the game? Okay I admit, Favreau maybe was just a bit of name-dropping, but many film directors start off in commercials and some even move back and forth. Esposito, Favreau, and Bungie may just be fans of each others' work without it meaning much of anything beyond that. If Bungie/Activision can afford them and they are available, why the hell not?

Dude, being a fan of someone isn't a good reason to cast them. You cast someone because he is best for the part. For the record, I'm not going to criticize his casting, because frankly it is awesome and effective at doing what was set out to be done. Also let me remind you of the shitty job Laura Prepon did in Halo 2 as a marine. She might have been a fan, and they might have been a fan. So what? Her performance was bad and it hurt the game.

What sucks is the meta idea you've projected onto it that comes more from your head than anyone else's. Yeah, I agree, that kinda sucks.

This to me is prima facie about the games industry envying, and wanting to be takes as seriously as hollywood. I cannot believe this is not apparent to anybody else, but I understand why such a thing will be denied.