Re: Marathon Book?


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Re: Marathon Book?

Posted By: thermoplyae Date: 1/5/06 7:57 a.m.
In Response To: Re: Marathon Book? (Dave)

: I've never really understood the dislike that some of the marathon fans have
: for the halo series. The only criticisms come from the story, but isn't
: the story only part of the reason you play the game? I love a good story,
: but I don't see it as necessary thing to have in a good game. It's an
: added bonus; like the toy you get in your happy meal. I'm not disparaging
: Halo's story here, I think it is just as good as Marathon's, but the
: difference is in backstory. Marathon puts a lot of it's backstory into the
: game because of terminals, whereas Halo has (horrible) novels and game tie
: ins and all sorts of merchandising stuff instead to do this.
: I think it's fairly obvious that most people like Halo's way of doing things
: compared to Marathon's. And in conclusion that is why a million people
: play solitaire and 7 people play Myst.
The solitaire / Myst comparison is more than just a little unfair and irrelevant; there are a lot more factors there than just what people enjoy in a game.
I'll admit it: I am one of those guys who doesn't like Halo much. My beef with Halo is that it handles poorly... and that the story sucks. Both of those reasons are extremely subjective. It handling poorly is something that's come out of many years of me playing Half-Life, Marathon, and Unreal Tournament. Halo just doesn't feel like those at all to me. It wasn't even meant to; it's a very different style of movement. For some people, that'll make it great. For me, it made it horrible.
As for the story being a tiny factor in whether or not you play a game, the opposite is definitely the case for me. The games I play are either historically famous and have sentimental value from my childhood (e.g. Lemmings) or have wonderful stories (e.g. Marathon). If a game doesn't have a good story, that doesn't mean I won't automatically dislike it. Take Wipeout: Pure for the PSP for example. Fantastic game, mostly because it just looks way too good to be a handheld racing game. But will I still pick it up from time to time in a year? Almost certainly not. And that's because the gameplay can be exhausted and what little story there is is not worth going back to read or see again.
I played all the way through Halo once. The guys looked cool. I got a kick out of shooting the vent cores. I liked the beam effect that the sentiel weapons had. I liked the way they put me in situations with outright ugly amounts of Flood and I really had to fight to stay alive. Punching through Keyes's face was fantastic... but I didn't get any real joy out of any of that.
When I played through Marathon the first time, I was extraordinarily young and had an extremely hard time. First, I only had the demo, so my level progression went Waterloo Waterpark, What About Bob, Curioser and Curioser, Eat It, Vid Boi! I never made it past What About Bob in that demo, and I had to fight for my life on kindergarten to make it through Waterloo. I'm not really a fan of impossible games, but at the time those graphics were pretty astounding (compare with games like Blake Stone) and the way that the story was written was absolutely amazing. Real literary talent at Bungie there. And so I kept playing.
Finally, in 6th grade (1998), I got a copy of M2:Win in the mail. I started playing pretty much immediately and got to Curioser and Curioser by the skin of my teeth on Normal. Each time I read one of those terminals, I put Durandal's character on a little higher of a pedestal. I continued the play the game from the beginning and get stuck on Curioser and Curioser, but then one day I finally made it through. From there it was smooth sailing all the way to Begging for Mercy, and on that level, I'll be honest: I was actually sad that I had to kill Durandal. I didn't see that plot twist coming until it finally happened.
The rest of my Marathon adventures are unimportant.
The point is that Marathon seriously drew me in because of its story. (Oooh, so did Max Payne. If you guys haven't given that a shot, you definitely should.) Halo did not. And, apparently, a story is what makes or breaks a game for me.

dreeeeeam sequences

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Pre-2004 Posts

Replies:

Marathon Book? twiztedambience 12/26/05 9:45 p.m.

Re: Marathon Book? kyjel 12/26/05 10:59 p.m.

Re: Marathon Book? twiztedambience 12/27/05 1:17 p.m.

Re: Marathon Book? Ender 12/27/05 4:14 a.m.

Re: Marathon Book? twiztedambience 12/27/05 1:23 p.m.

Re: Marathon Book? Andrew Nagy 12/27/05 1:55 p.m.

Re: Marathon Book? twiztedambience 12/27/05 4:56 p.m.

Re: Marathon Book? Bob-B-Q 12/28/05 6:00 a.m.

Re: Marathon Book? twiztedambience 12/28/05 9:31 a.m.

Re: Marathon Book? thermoplyae 12/28/05 2:28 p.m.

Re: Marathon Book? Callie21V 12/31/05 12:09 p.m.

Re: Marathon Book? Blayne 1/3/06 6:29 p.m.

Re: Marathon Book? twiztedambience 1/3/06 8:38 p.m.

I'd love to help. MrHen 1/7/06 12:39 p.m.

Re: I'd love to help. twiztedambience 1/8/06 6:50 p.m.

destiny MrHen 1/9/06 5:31 a.m.

Re: Marathon Book? Matt 1/1/06 7:40 a.m.

Re: Marathon Book? Dave 1/5/06 2:38 a.m.

Re: Marathon Book? thermoplyae 1/5/06 7:57 a.m.

Re: Marathon Book? Ripcurl 1/16/06 7:52 p.m.

Regarding Jjaro.net Blayne 1/17/06 10:26 a.m.

An addendum Blayne 1/17/06 10:35 a.m.

Re: An addendum thermoplyae 1/17/06 1:08 p.m.

Re: Marathon Book? Andrew Nagy 2/19/06 2:23 p.m.

Re: Marathon Book? Ender 2/19/06 4:24 p.m.

Re: Marathon Book? Andrew Nagy 5/10/07 10:33 p.m.

Re: Marathon Book? Ender 5/11/07 11:30 a.m.

Look at me! I can read previous posts! *NM* Ender 5/11/07 11:32 a.m.

pro'ly should've changed title to "M.Movie Script" *NM* Andrew Nagy 5/11/07 5:53 p.m.

M.Movie Script and the MaraFF *LINK* Blayne 5/14/07 11:09 a.m.

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Pre-2004 Posts

Your Name:
Your E-Mail Address:
Subject:
Message:
: The solitaire / Myst comparison is more than just a little unfair and : irrelevant; there are a lot more factors there than just what people enjoy : in a game. : I'll admit it: I am one of those guys who doesn't like Halo much. My beef : with Halo is that it handles poorly... and that the story sucks. Both of : those reasons are extremely subjective. It handling poorly is something : that's come out of many years of me playing Half-Life, Marathon, and : Unreal Tournament. Halo just doesn't feel like those at all to me. It : wasn't even meant to; it's a very different style of movement. For some : people, that'll make it great. For me, it made it horrible. : As for the story being a tiny factor in whether or not you play a game, the : opposite is definitely the case for me. The games I play are either : historically famous and have sentimental value from my childhood (e.g. : Lemmings) or have wonderful stories (e.g. Marathon). If a game doesn't : have a good story, that doesn't mean I won't automatically dislike it. : Take Wipeout: Pure for the PSP for example. Fantastic game, mostly because : it just looks way too good to be a handheld racing game. But will I still : pick it up from time to time in a year? Almost certainly not. And that's : because the gameplay can be exhausted and what little story there is is : not worth going back to read or see again. : I played all the way through Halo once. The guys looked cool. I got a kick : out of shooting the vent cores. I liked the beam effect that the sentiel : weapons had. I liked the way they put me in situations with outright ugly : amounts of Flood and I really had to fight to stay alive. Punching through : Keyes's face was fantastic... but I didn't get any real joy out of any of : that. : When I played through Marathon the first time, I was extraordinarily young : and had an extremely hard time. First, I only had the demo, so my level : progression went Waterloo Waterpark, What About Bob, Curioser and : Curioser, Eat It, Vid Boi! I never made it past What About Bob in that : demo, and I had to fight for my life on kindergarten to make it through : Waterloo. I'm not really a fan of impossible games, but at the time those : graphics were pretty astounding (compare with games like Blake Stone) and : the way that the story was written was absolutely amazing. Real literary : talent at Bungie there. And so I kept playing. : Finally, in 6th grade (1998), I got a copy of M2:Win in the mail. I started : playing pretty much immediately and got to Curioser and Curioser by the : skin of my teeth on Normal. Each time I read one of those terminals, I put : Durandal's character on a little higher of a pedestal. I continued the : play the game from the beginning and get stuck on Curioser and Curioser, : but then one day I finally made it through. From there it was smooth : sailing all the way to Begging for Mercy, and on that level, I'll be : honest: I was actually sad that I had to kill Durandal. I didn't see that : plot twist coming until it finally happened. : The rest of my Marathon adventures are unimportant. : The point is that Marathon seriously drew me in because of its story. : (Oooh, so did Max Payne. If you guys haven't given that a shot, you : definitely should.) Halo did not. And, apparently, a story is what makes : or breaks a game for me.

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Marathon Book?	twiztedambience	12/26/05 9:45 p.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	kyjel	12/26/05 10:59 p.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	twiztedambience	12/27/05 1:17 p.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	Ender	12/27/05 4:14 a.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	twiztedambience	12/27/05 1:23 p.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	Andrew Nagy	12/27/05 1:55 p.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	twiztedambience	12/27/05 4:56 p.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	Bob-B-Q	12/28/05 6:00 a.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	twiztedambience	12/28/05 9:31 a.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	thermoplyae	12/28/05 2:28 p.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	Callie21V	12/31/05 12:09 p.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	Blayne	1/3/06 6:29 p.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	twiztedambience	1/3/06 8:38 p.m.
I'd love to help.	MrHen	1/7/06 12:39 p.m.
Re: I'd love to help.	twiztedambience	1/8/06 6:50 p.m.
destiny	MrHen	1/9/06 5:31 a.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	Matt	1/1/06 7:40 a.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	Dave	1/5/06 2:38 a.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	thermoplyae	1/5/06 7:57 a.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	Ripcurl	1/16/06 7:52 p.m.
Regarding Jjaro.net	Blayne	1/17/06 10:26 a.m.
An addendum	Blayne	1/17/06 10:35 a.m.
Re: An addendum	thermoplyae	1/17/06 1:08 p.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	Andrew Nagy	2/19/06 2:23 p.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	Ender	2/19/06 4:24 p.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	Andrew Nagy	5/10/07 10:33 p.m.
Re: Marathon Book?	Ender	5/11/07 11:30 a.m.
Look at me! I can read previous posts! NM	Ender	5/11/07 11:32 a.m.
pro'ly should've changed title to "M.Movie Script" NM	Andrew Nagy	5/11/07 5:53 p.m.
M.Movie Script and the MaraFF LINK	Blayne	5/14/07 11:09 a.m.



	Your Name:
	Your E-Mail Address:
	Subject:
	Message: : The solitaire / Myst comparison is more than just a little unfair and : irrelevant; there are a lot more factors there than just what people enjoy : in a game. : I'll admit it: I am one of those guys who doesn't like Halo much. My beef : with Halo is that it handles poorly... and that the story sucks. Both of : those reasons are extremely subjective. It handling poorly is something : that's come out of many years of me playing Half-Life, Marathon, and : Unreal Tournament. Halo just doesn't feel like those at all to me. It : wasn't even meant to; it's a very different style of movement. For some : people, that'll make it great. For me, it made it horrible. : As for the story being a tiny factor in whether or not you play a game, the : opposite is definitely the case for me. The games I play are either : historically famous and have sentimental value from my childhood (e.g. : Lemmings) or have wonderful stories (e.g. Marathon). If a game doesn't : have a good story, that doesn't mean I won't automatically dislike it. : Take Wipeout: Pure for the PSP for example. Fantastic game, mostly because : it just looks way too good to be a handheld racing game. But will I still : pick it up from time to time in a year? Almost certainly not. And that's : because the gameplay can be exhausted and what little story there is is : not worth going back to read or see again. : I played all the way through Halo once. The guys looked cool. I got a kick : out of shooting the vent cores. I liked the beam effect that the sentiel : weapons had. I liked the way they put me in situations with outright ugly : amounts of Flood and I really had to fight to stay alive. Punching through : Keyes's face was fantastic... but I didn't get any real joy out of any of : that. : When I played through Marathon the first time, I was extraordinarily young : and had an extremely hard time. First, I only had the demo, so my level : progression went Waterloo Waterpark, What About Bob, Curioser and : Curioser, Eat It, Vid Boi! I never made it past What About Bob in that : demo, and I had to fight for my life on kindergarten to make it through : Waterloo. I'm not really a fan of impossible games, but at the time those : graphics were pretty astounding (compare with games like Blake Stone) and : the way that the story was written was absolutely amazing. Real literary : talent at Bungie there. And so I kept playing. : Finally, in 6th grade (1998), I got a copy of M2:Win in the mail. I started : playing pretty much immediately and got to Curioser and Curioser by the : skin of my teeth on Normal. Each time I read one of those terminals, I put : Durandal's character on a little higher of a pedestal. I continued the : play the game from the beginning and get stuck on Curioser and Curioser, : but then one day I finally made it through. From there it was smooth : sailing all the way to Begging for Mercy, and on that level, I'll be : honest: I was actually sad that I had to kill Durandal. I didn't see that : plot twist coming until it finally happened. : The rest of my Marathon adventures are unimportant. : The point is that Marathon seriously drew me in because of its story. : (Oooh, so did Max Payne. If you guys haven't given that a shot, you : definitely should.) Halo did not. And, apparently, a story is what makes : or breaks a game for me.
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