Probably the best review of a game I've ever seen. He really manages to highlight what gave Half-Life strong immersive effect, how Half-life knew exactly what to prioritize on a game (no mission pointers, no fake walls, almost no bugs). All game developers should watch this video.
The reason Half-Life 1 did not use waypointers is because those where not in use in most games back then, it was not, as you imply, some brilliant decision, just the norm. Also you forget a huge part of the train ride, the view. At the time Half Life was new technology and that view from the train made it into every PC magazine of the era. Obviously, its a forced, unskippable 5 minutes of 3D Game vistas with moving characters. Not only does it promote the game well, it sets the player up for a cinematic experience.
It didn't seem to me that he was implying it was a brilliant decision, just rather pointing out how we didn't need to have them and the games were better for it.
IN THE NO russian case in COD MW2 first came out you had to shoot or you would fail there was so much stupid backlash by media and other's that they updated the game so you didnt have to shoot and you could still pass the mission.
That mission is too violent and controversal. Teenage players are literally given the power and more importantly the intension to shoot at people in public (even though it's virtual reality with fake people, it's still very immersive in feeling)
It was a very entertaining and you got into it very deep even though it had bad graphics, still my best exploration game i have played. I got into a different world, didn't notice outside world, It doesn't happen nowadays in games I play, it was fun and I will always remember my moments and getting scared moments in halflife 1
Ahh DayZ days... No tutorial, millions of little things to explore in extreme environments. 5k hours with our squad. I will never forget first seven planes that it took for our driver to figure out how to land without rapid unsheduled disassembly or 9/11 reconstruction. Or hauling big ass gun that took almost entire biggest backpack that we had to not find ammo for it for about a month and then use it to hunt rabbits because we were starving. Or that one time when we team killed our friend 7km away when zeroing our guns on a hill. Or that one golden bullet that killed a rotor of a heli full of loot killing all inhabitants on impact and we were able to repair it, I carried that macarov all the time after that action and always went to retrieve it after death. It was a game of best things a game can offer, simple yet complex, shallow zombie survival yet with epic military tactics, with thriving community of friends and foes alike. I'm so sad that it's dead and official game is a dumpster fire...
Your review is good but I would change some of the terminology you use to describe the aesthetics. When we say fantasy we usually refer to narrative that's less grounded in reality, when you're using it to describe the exact opposite. I know "immersion" can be a bit of a buzzword, but it really would be more appropriate here. Also I wouldn't exactly categorize narrative as an aesthetic. It's more a collection of tons of different design and aesthetic elements, or perhaps its own category entirely. On a much more pedantic level you called three tentacles a "pair". Now, I'm not one of those people that thinks calling three or four things a "couple" is incorrect, but pair actually does very specifically only apply to two things. But seriously, though I criticize I would really just love to see you improve, because this was a really great video. Between this and your bitwise series, you certainly earned a sub from me. You break this stuff down really well and analyze elements that, while I may have subconsciously known were there, I had never really thought about. PS. I disagree with the other guy, I don't think your voice is monotone (I mean, look at the WoW youtube channel MadSeasonShow, and he's got about 300k subs). I agree it's a tad slow, but that's just kinda a preference thing. I believe perhaps the reason why he thinks this is actually a bit of a misattribution, I honestly think this problem could be completely solved with some low-key background music to help things be a bit more auditorily interesting (a lot of channels use Kevin Macleod, or most kinds of game OSTs and fan remixes). It would also add some continuity to the abrupt cuts to the section headers, make them feel more natural.
I realize this is an old comment, but for anyone curious why he chose these words: The MDA model that DigiDigger uses in this video defines "aesthetics" as favorable emotional responses invoked in the player. The eight aesthetics the creators of the MDA model suggested were Sensation, Fantasy, Narrative, Challenge, Fellowship, Discovery, Expression, and Submission.
I'm sure your analysis was great but I couldn't make it more than a few minutes in. Your voice is so monotone and robotic, so much so that it's almost comedic. Definitely work on getting a better flow, it'll make the videos faster and more interesting. Look at Game Theory for example.
TheWinterDrake Looking back at this video now I know exactly how you feel. The slow pace and monotone narration make the video boring to watch. Thanks to your feedback, and the feedback of many others I was able to improve the quality of my videos. So thank you for your advice, it really helped me out!
It's not called "Magic Circle"... rather Suspension of Disbelief and it's an actual term. Please use your wording accordingly and don't try to invent words that make no sense when there is already a good term for what you are trying to explain. Makes it easier on the ears.
It is actually called "Magic Circle", and it only took me a couple of seconds to find a Wikipedia article about it. Suspension of Disbelief applies mostly to movies and other static media, not really to the dynamic world of videogames. Next time make sure you are correct before you post something lol.
Probably the best review of a game I've ever seen. He really manages to highlight what gave Half-Life strong immersive effect, how Half-life knew exactly what to prioritize on a game (no mission pointers, no fake walls, almost no bugs). All game developers should watch this video.
This video is pure gold man. Nice research, keep it up !
The reason Half-Life 1 did not use waypointers is because those where not in use in most games back then, it was not, as you imply, some brilliant decision, just the norm.
Also you forget a huge part of the train ride, the view. At the time Half Life was new technology and that view from the train made it into every PC magazine of the era. Obviously, its a forced, unskippable 5 minutes of 3D Game vistas with moving characters. Not only does it promote the game well, it sets the player up for a cinematic experience.
It didn't seem to me that he was implying it was a brilliant decision, just rather pointing out how we didn't need to have them and the games were better for it.
@@smokeynope5781 Well... That was 5 years ago! I don't remember this video!!
@@Ex0dus111 Oh i didn't notice, sorry. BTW rewatch this video, its great.
This is how a review should be done... Thanks for the content ❤️
you are underappreciated man, keep up the good work.
"Add a dialogue tree"
*shows Harold the tree from fallout*
Amazing joke my dude
I've probably seen a dozen videos reviewing and revisiting this game, and this one is already one of my favorites
Very nice work!
Your game analysis is truly awesome! I had no idea that one needs to pay attention to such minute details in game development.
I'm a simple man, I see Half-Life I press like.
Great analysis! Would love to see you plunge into Deus Ex.
IN THE NO russian case in COD MW2 first came out you had to shoot or you would fail there was so much stupid backlash by media and other's that they updated the game so you didnt have to shoot and you could still pass the mission.
That mission is too violent and controversal. Teenage players are literally given the power and more importantly the intension to shoot at people in public (even though it's virtual reality with fake people, it's still very immersive in feeling)
Great video, man.
To be fair back in the day Half Life 1 trainride intro was probably pretty awesome given the technology of the time
This is a really good analysis...
It was a very entertaining and you got into it very deep even though it had bad graphics, still my best exploration game i have played. I got into a different world, didn't notice outside world, It doesn't happen nowadays in games I play, it was fun and I will always remember my moments and getting scared moments in halflife 1
Ahh DayZ days... No tutorial, millions of little things to explore in extreme environments.
5k hours with our squad.
I will never forget first seven planes that it took for our driver to figure out how to land without rapid unsheduled disassembly or 9/11 reconstruction.
Or hauling big ass gun that took almost entire biggest backpack that we had to not find ammo for it for about a month and then use it to hunt rabbits because we were starving.
Or that one time when we team killed our friend 7km away when zeroing our guns on a hill.
Or that one golden bullet that killed a rotor of a heli full of loot killing all inhabitants on impact and we were able to repair it, I carried that macarov all the time after that action and always went to retrieve it after death.
It was a game of best things a game can offer, simple yet complex, shallow zombie survival yet with epic military tactics, with thriving community of friends and foes alike.
I'm so sad that it's dead and official game is a dumpster fire...
Thank you :)
Your review is good but I would change some of the terminology you use to describe the aesthetics. When we say fantasy we usually refer to narrative that's less grounded in reality, when you're using it to describe the exact opposite. I know "immersion" can be a bit of a buzzword, but it really would be more appropriate here. Also I wouldn't exactly categorize narrative as an aesthetic. It's more a collection of tons of different design and aesthetic elements, or perhaps its own category entirely.
On a much more pedantic level you called three tentacles a "pair". Now, I'm not one of those people that thinks calling three or four things a "couple" is incorrect, but pair actually does very specifically only apply to two things.
But seriously, though I criticize I would really just love to see you improve, because this was a really great video. Between this and your bitwise series, you certainly earned a sub from me. You break this stuff down really well and analyze elements that, while I may have subconsciously known were there, I had never really thought about.
PS. I disagree with the other guy, I don't think your voice is monotone (I mean, look at the WoW youtube channel MadSeasonShow, and he's got about 300k subs). I agree it's a tad slow, but that's just kinda a preference thing. I believe perhaps the reason why he thinks this is actually a bit of a misattribution, I honestly think this problem could be completely solved with some low-key background music to help things be a bit more auditorily interesting (a lot of channels use Kevin Macleod, or most kinds of game OSTs and fan remixes). It would also add some continuity to the abrupt cuts to the section headers, make them feel more natural.
I realize this is an old comment, but for anyone curious why he chose these words: The MDA model that DigiDigger uses in this video defines "aesthetics" as favorable emotional responses invoked in the player. The eight aesthetics the creators of the MDA model suggested were Sensation, Fantasy, Narrative, Challenge, Fellowship, Discovery, Expression, and Submission.
A E S T H E T I C
13:00 i wanna see a metroidvania half life now
You need more views and likes
Not gonna talk about run think shoot live?
You never answered the most important question...
Why do we have to wear these ridiculous ties?
I got to defeat the gonarch, i nevera won the game bit i still enjoyed it
I noticed that Zen sucked XD
I'm sure your analysis was great but I couldn't make it more than a few minutes in. Your voice is so monotone and robotic, so much so that it's almost comedic. Definitely work on getting a better flow, it'll make the videos faster and more interesting. Look at Game Theory for example.
TheWinterDrake Looking back at this video now I know exactly how you feel. The slow pace and monotone narration make the video boring to watch. Thanks to your feedback, and the feedback of many others I was able to improve the quality of my videos. So thank you for your advice, it really helped me out!
DigiDigger No problem, I'll check out your new stuff sometime~!
It's ok to me thou
yeah it's not that bad
It's not called "Magic Circle"... rather Suspension of Disbelief and it's an actual term. Please use your wording accordingly and don't try to invent words that make no sense when there is already a good term for what you are trying to explain. Makes it easier on the ears.
It is actually called "Magic Circle", and it only took me a couple of seconds to find a Wikipedia article about it.
Suspension of Disbelief applies mostly to movies and other static media, not really to the dynamic world of videogames.
Next time make sure you are correct before you post something lol.
Excellent analysis.