Monthly Archives: July 2007
You read about “Number 6″ appearing at ComicCon and you think “Oooh! Patrick McGoohan!” Not Tricia Helfer from Battlestar Galactica (Oh yeah, that Number 6).
But seriously, The Prisoner (starring McGoohan) is without a doubt one of the more under appreciated TV series of all time. Especially for game developers, considering the series is a hallmark of episodic narrative. To this day, fans of the show debate the chronological order of the episodes.
The episodes have an uncanny method of delivering information that in the context of viewing next episode takes on a whole new light. If you think Lost has at any point had good writing, they are (along with a few other very serial TV shows of recent memory) quite clearly inspired by the The Prisoner (Buffy includes pretty direct references in season 4 for instance).
Ok, episodic narrative is kewl, sure. But the 17 episode series is also about something – the key theme is the conflict over the needs of the individual vs. the needs of society (most clear in the the season finale). One of the more philosophical TV series I’ve seen, to be sure.
Check it out.
(There was also a text adventure loosely based on the TV series - if anybody knows where I might be able to find a playbale version of it, let me know).
Gamespot’s interview with Neil Young where he clarifies LMNO is only a code name for the game. Now notice the Gamespot reporter’s response to that…
GS: So tell us about LMNO, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game you’ve been working on.
NY: OK, well, just to clarify, that’s a code name.
GS: Yeah, I can’t believe people thought that was real.
What is the title of Gamespot’s page on the game? Code Name: LMNO (working title)
Yeah, I have no idea why someone would think that was the title of the game.
Sigh.
I could only make it a few hours into Killer 7 but you still have to respect a man who’s willing to try to reinvent player controlled navigation through 3D space just to get a better looking camera angle of a shotgun wielding luchador. Needless to say, in the interview he expresses his opinion on tentacles.
And with that, I’m off on vacation for a little while. See y’all later.
Still have a lot of thoughts about Manhunt 2 that are bouncing around in my head and won’t leave me alone until they bounce out. It seems that, while is the issue is muddled, there are at least two camps of reactions: the people who are dismissive of the violence and argue for it’s release, and the camp that says we make games that are too violent so maybe that’s not such a bad thing it was banned. Because I really don’t want to align myself with the first camp, the likes of which hold up Gears of War as the pinnacle of modern game design (No, I’m not being sarcastic, these people really do exist. Depressing, isn’t it?). But I’m conflicted about the second as well…