Randy Pitchford Talks Aliens: Colonial Marines

Started by ikarop, May 04, 2012, 08:12:31 PM

Author
Randy Pitchford Talks Aliens: Colonial Marines (Read 43,083 times)

Predaker

Quote from: SpreadEagleBeagle on May 15, 2012, 08:55:31 PM
Quote from: Xenomrph on May 15, 2012, 08:20:26 PM
But that's not what they're doing at all, especially since they didn't say Alien3 sucks. ???

As mentioned, they pointed out significant flaws - the mystery egg out of nowhere is a flaw, and it's one that has bothered both fans and casual audiences for literally two decades now. Addressing it in some fashion isn't a bad thing. It's not like they're going to retcon out Hicks' death and have him blasting away Aliens or something.

QuoteStuff like that alienate them from a large portion of the Alien fan-base
Considering the current results of the "ACM & canon" thread poll, it looks like more people support them than don't. It didn't matter what they did, something would alienate some of the fan-base. That's the nature of fandom, it's completely unavoidable. 'Aliens' alienated some of the fandom of 'Alien' (you're an example, too). 'Alien3' alienated some of the fandom of 'Aliens'. Colonial Marines is bound to not satisfy everyone, but it's not like they're retconning Alien3 out of existence. They're fixing an actual problem with the movie.

I know that I sound pretty melodramatic at times. What I was trying to say here was that when you are a game developer and you're dealing with a franchise with a very diverse fan base - diverse in the sense when it comes to what the fans like about the movie(s) - you better behave. There is no need to belittle, patronize or talk shit about Alien 3 or A:R. That's just lame.
The devs and/or Randy Pitchford never did any of that, though. Some of the people conducting the interviews did.

Xenomrph

Quote from: SpreadEagleBeagle on May 15, 2012, 08:55:31 PM
Quote from: Xenomrph on May 15, 2012, 08:20:26 PM
But that's not what they're doing at all, especially since they didn't say Alien3 sucks. ???

As mentioned, they pointed out significant flaws - the mystery egg out of nowhere is a flaw, and it's one that has bothered both fans and casual audiences for literally two decades now. Addressing it in some fashion isn't a bad thing. It's not like they're going to retcon out Hicks' death and have him blasting away Aliens or something.

QuoteStuff like that alienate them from a large portion of the Alien fan-base
Considering the current results of the "ACM & canon" thread poll, it looks like more people support them than don't. It didn't matter what they did, something would alienate some of the fan-base. That's the nature of fandom, it's completely unavoidable. 'Aliens' alienated some of the fandom of 'Alien' (you're an example, too). 'Alien3' alienated some of the fandom of 'Aliens'. Colonial Marines is bound to not satisfy everyone, but it's not like they're retconning Alien3 out of existence. They're fixing an actual problem with the movie.

I know that I sound pretty melodramatic at times. What I was trying to say here was that when you are a game developer and you're dealing with a franchise with a very diverse fan base - diverse in the sense when it comes to what the fans like about the movie(s) - you better behave. There is no need to belittle, patronize or talk shit about Alien 3 or A:R. That's just lame.
What about the AvP movies? Is shit-talking those okay? Because it happens nearly non-stop on these forums. :P Just sayin'.

And like I said, he wasn't belittling 'Alien3', he was talking about a legitimate problem that most people have with Alien3, even fans of the movie.

SpreadEagleBeagle

Quote from: Xenomrph on May 15, 2012, 09:09:38 PM
Quote from: SpreadEagleBeagle on May 15, 2012, 08:55:31 PM
Quote from: Xenomrph on May 15, 2012, 08:20:26 PM
But that's not what they're doing at all, especially since they didn't say Alien3 sucks. ???

As mentioned, they pointed out significant flaws - the mystery egg out of nowhere is a flaw, and it's one that has bothered both fans and casual audiences for literally two decades now. Addressing it in some fashion isn't a bad thing. It's not like they're going to retcon out Hicks' death and have him blasting away Aliens or something.

QuoteStuff like that alienate them from a large portion of the Alien fan-base
Considering the current results of the "ACM & canon" thread poll, it looks like more people support them than don't. It didn't matter what they did, something would alienate some of the fan-base. That's the nature of fandom, it's completely unavoidable. 'Aliens' alienated some of the fandom of 'Alien' (you're an example, too). 'Alien3' alienated some of the fandom of 'Aliens'. Colonial Marines is bound to not satisfy everyone, but it's not like they're retconning Alien3 out of existence. They're fixing an actual problem with the movie.

I know that I sound pretty melodramatic at times. What I was trying to say here was that when you are a game developer and you're dealing with a franchise with a very diverse fan base - diverse in the sense when it comes to what the fans like about the movie(s) - you better behave. There is no need to belittle, patronize or talk shit about Alien 3 or A:R. That's just lame.
What about the AvP movies? Is shit-talking those okay? Because it happens nearly non-stop on these forums. :P Just sayin'.

And like I said, he wasn't belittling 'Alien3', he was talking about a legitimate problem that most people have with Alien3, even fans of the movie.

I admit that I haven't been that clear about who exactly it is that I'm talking about here. Sorry about that!
I'm referring to all the A:CM related videos and articles I've seen and read so far, including the stuff said by Pitchford.

If they made an AVP game I would find it very odd if they started bashing AvP:R. Of course I would've thought it was amusing since I don't like AvP:R, but I would still think it was very unprofessional of them to bash one of the installments from the franchise they're dealing with.

Predaker

Quote from: SpreadEagleBeagle on May 15, 2012, 09:31:31 PM
Quote from: Xenomrph on May 15, 2012, 09:09:38 PM
Quote from: SpreadEagleBeagle on May 15, 2012, 08:55:31 PM
Quote from: Xenomrph on May 15, 2012, 08:20:26 PM
But that's not what they're doing at all, especially since they didn't say Alien3 sucks. ???

As mentioned, they pointed out significant flaws - the mystery egg out of nowhere is a flaw, and it's one that has bothered both fans and casual audiences for literally two decades now. Addressing it in some fashion isn't a bad thing. It's not like they're going to retcon out Hicks' death and have him blasting away Aliens or something.

QuoteStuff like that alienate them from a large portion of the Alien fan-base
Considering the current results of the "ACM & canon" thread poll, it looks like more people support them than don't. It didn't matter what they did, something would alienate some of the fan-base. That's the nature of fandom, it's completely unavoidable. 'Aliens' alienated some of the fandom of 'Alien' (you're an example, too). 'Alien3' alienated some of the fandom of 'Aliens'. Colonial Marines is bound to not satisfy everyone, but it's not like they're retconning Alien3 out of existence. They're fixing an actual problem with the movie.

I know that I sound pretty melodramatic at times. What I was trying to say here was that when you are a game developer and you're dealing with a franchise with a very diverse fan base - diverse in the sense when it comes to what the fans like about the movie(s) - you better behave. There is no need to belittle, patronize or talk shit about Alien 3 or A:R. That's just lame.
What about the AvP movies? Is shit-talking those okay? Because it happens nearly non-stop on these forums. :P Just sayin'.

And like I said, he wasn't belittling 'Alien3', he was talking about a legitimate problem that most people have with Alien3, even fans of the movie.

I admit that I haven't been that clear about who exactly it is that I'm talking about here. Sorry about that!
I'm referring to all the A:CM related videos and articles I've seen and read so far, including the stuff said by Pitchford.

If they made an AVP game I would find it very odd if they started bashing AvP:R. Of course I would've thought it was amusing since I don't like AvP:R, but I would still think it was very unprofessional of them to bash one of the installments from the franchise they're dealing with.
Gearbox did not bash any of the movies. Some of the people interviewing them did, but not gearbox. They hyped up the game, and that is what the interviews are for. The interviews were not about their personal opinions, it was all hype for the upcoming game.

Chris!(($$))!

I think they themselves have said that some of the people at GBX love ALIEN 3 while others dislike it basically the same as these forums.

SpreadEagleBeagle

I guess I'm being oversensitive.

Xenomrph

Quote from: SpreadEagleBeagle on May 15, 2012, 10:30:24 PM
I guess I'm being oversensitive.
It's probably best to wait for the actual game to come out and judge it on its own merits/flaws. :)

SM

Quote from: Ash 937 on May 15, 2012, 08:57:02 PM
Quote from: Xenomrph on May 15, 2012, 08:40:11 PMThe biggest problem in the movie was the egg's placement - how did it get affixed to the underside of a table or something? It would have been a non-issue if the movie had the egg attached to the landing strut of the dropship or something (the Alien3 bluray does this, incidentally).

Do you mean to say that there is an entirely different shot of the egg on-board the Sulaco for the blu-ray edition of Alien3???

I don't own a blu-ray player so this would be news to me.  Do you have a pic of this shot?

No.  It's just the menu for the disk.  There's a schematic of the dropship and it pops up with "foreign material" or something and it focuses on the rear landing gear well as the location of the egg.

As for retunring to Fiorina - it's a more logical place to return than a smoking crater; oops I mean magically restored colony.

Xenomrph

Quote from: SM on May 15, 2012, 10:53:26 PM
As for retunring to Fiorina - it's a more logical place to return than a smoking crater; oops I mean magically restored colony.


escroto

Once upon a time GB talked about a more than probable return to Fiorina in ACM...

Predaker

We might see a multiplayer map on Fiorina 161, but probably not in the campaign. Unless that is where the sequel happens. ;)

RagingDragon

To take this another direction, I have to express my feelings.

This game, especially in light of the most recent delay, could be one of the biggest heartbreakers in fan history.

I mean, it's obvious that if the game fails, it won't be due to lack of effort.  With all of the shiz that GBX has done so far, and their apparent enthusiasm for the game, I think they've already proved that they're going to give this the old college try.  I mean Syd Mead, talking to Ridley about Prometheus, the film grains, it's just an above-and-beyond effort for a game based on a 26 year old film...

If it bombs, it will be because of improper focus.  Too much emphasis on recreating every single thing in Aliens, including the colony (lololo), and having fancy additions like the dynamic lighting system and not enough effort put towards the meat of the game, which is gameplay, a solid, replayable campaign, and tight, well-done multiplayer.

I'm just worried that all of their enthusiasm will carry them off in the wrong direction.

Hopefully this delay is in part due to all of this effort going into the graphics and atmosphere, so that they have enough time to devote to critical game elements and making sure they get the basics right.

Xenomrph

The thing I really took away from the latest trailer is that the game looks like 'Aliens' if 'Aliens' were made today with an infinite budget. It's got a huge cast (reads: huge body-count), an insane amount of apparent "set-piece" battles that would have been largely impractical or too expensive to put in 'Aliens'.

The linchpin in this comparison is James Cameron's quality as a filmmaker/storyteller. He actually got audiences to give a shit about the characters and build tension and mood. We'll see how Gearbox fares in that department.

chupacabras acheronsis

at this point RD, I'm not seeing those factors as signs of true dedication anymore, but as fan-servicing gimmicks. i feel like we haven't been shown a real deal of what the actual game is about(as you said, the gameplay), and unlike Prometheus, it's very bad when a game doesn't want to show you something of such importance.

my enthusiasm got slashed in half when i learned that this was going to be a co-op game as it means i will never get to play the game to it's full extent; first, i do not have the hardware or connection to make a co-op game work flawlessly, second, i do not have the time to organize a game, i am available at very odd hours and days; third, i absolutely suck at pronouncing and i am very hard to understand over the mike in Spanish, let alone in English, and i don't know anyone who will buy and play this game that lives even in the same continent; and fourth, i am very anti social and detest the way some people play and prefer doing things my way, relaxed, without having to work with a team when I'm trying to enjoy the campaign.

i have competitive multiplayer for that, i want the campaign to be a thing for myself. and i know i could do just that, but then the rest of the marines become worthless NPCs i can't make use of because there seems to be no order system whatsoever, nor any tactical elements, which was, incidentally, the only reason this game originally caught my attention some years ago. oh bother.

so now i have a game that i will never get to play like it was meant to; that fail(ed) to expand the universe in a meaningful way and all it does is awkwardly stumble around the setting in an irrelevant mix of fanservice and unimaginative marketing decisions; that reeks of consoleitis, from the railed and minuscule sections of the campaign we saw, to the slow and synthetic movement and ludicrous contextual actions and QTEs, to the presence of hit boxes and fixed spawn points of the aliens, to the goddamn field of view...

and that i can't even get in time?


Predaker

I will play with you at odd hours.  ;D I can dig a relaxed approach. Games are supposed to be fun first and foremost.

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