New Gamasutra HR interviews

[JackShandy]

You guys know these are trailers, right? As trailers, they're going to focus on the super-cool WOAW cutscene bits. That's the nature of things.They're hardly going to have a sequence where Adam spends several minutes sacking crates to access an alternate route into a building or something.

It's like how movies always have stupid puns as taglines, no matter what they're actually like inside.

[Pretentious Old Man.]

Originally Posted by JackShandy

You guys know these are trailers, right? As trailers, they're going to focus on the super-cool WOAW cutscene bits. That's the nature of things.They're hardly going to have a sequence where Adam spends several minutes sacking crates to access an alternate route into a building or something.

It's like how movies always have stupid puns as taglines, no matter what they're actually like inside.

If you can give me one movie that had a stupid pun tagline that was good, I shall give you a cookie. I promise you won't, however.

[FrankCSIS]

As trailers, they're going to focus on the super-cool WOAW cutscene bits. That's the nature of things.

That' s just one way of doing it. An easy, tried tested and true way of doing it. If we're in it just for the sales aspect, you will find that easily-impressed public is actually swayed even more by the "deep shit" than they can ever be about yet another round of flash bangs to the face. As such, many trailers have been more efficient at gathering attention all the while describing the story than they were through any demonstration of force.

Speaking of of the trailers, I had a bit of a laugh this week-end. I was looking for some HD content to test a laptop screen, and went for the E3 trailer. My brother's attention was gathered by the prettiness of it all, and so naturally inquired about what it is I was looking at. About a minute and half in, he goes "What's this, a movie trailer?" After explaining it was a game, he asked if it was released yet. As the trailer goes on, he says "Ok but what's the game like? What is it about? This is just some never-ending animation going in all directions, it doesn't tell me anything!"

I thought it was quite telling, marketing-wise anyway. For I had someone entirely neutral on all Deus Ex topics, who didn't know this game was being made, who had an honnest to goodness reaction to a trailer he was presented. Again I say, there is something off with the promotion department.

[AxiomaticBadger]

Originally Posted by Donvermicelli

Why do you have to be a smoker? why do you have to be a drinker? sure it can tender to the story...

...And you have your answer. The more definition a character has as a default the more material you have for the story.
Please note, I'm not claiming that this is necessarily better, just stating that it's a possibility.

Personally I don't really see that much of a difference between preesing a button for a takedown and pressing a button to make my character reload his weapon, or between having a cutscene and having a character run up to me to force me into a dialogue.
To be completely honest, if I play a game and it switches perspectives on me, I usually don't even notice.

Originally Posted by FrankCSIS

That' s just one way of doing it. An easy, tried tested and true way of doing it.

Can you actually name a game that has a pre-rendered trailer that doesn't do this?
I can't.

[lithos]

Originally Posted by AxiomaticBadger

...And you have your answer. The more definition a character has as a default the more material you have for the story.
Please note, I'm not claiming that this is necessarily better, just stating that it's a possibility.

Aye. It's definition, characterisation. At least he smokes cigarettes, not cigars.

I'd also imagine it's a nod to the noir genre upon which cyberpunk has its base, which was in, as William Gibson might say, "the golden age of smoking." The whiskey and the cigarette are classic noir devices.

[Viktoria]

Originally Posted by lithos

I'd also imagine it's a nod to the noir genre upon which cyberpunk has its base, which was in, as William Gibson might say, "the golden age of smoking." The whiskey and the cigarette are classic noir devices.

With you on this one.