Dev Game Club 009: Hitman 2 (part 4)

In this second beta edition of Dev Game Club, we continue to examine System Shock 2, moving through R&D and ultimately into Hydroponics B/C. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: R&DCargo BaysEngineering Control/Engine Core Hydroponics B/C Podcast breakdown:0:36   Intro1:15   Discussion of SS2 begins (with level persistence)55:22 Break55:43 What we're playing/next time Issues covered: level data persistence, navigation cues or lack thereof, lack of clarity to certain interactions, not focusing the player, health buffs and de-buffs, inversion of RPG skill-ups, using the environment to kill your foes, the world continuing while you interact with inventory and HUD, Brett's biggest scare in games, monkey terror, enemy introductions, emergence and player agency, exploitability of AI, do sleeping robots notice you?, cargo section as stealth, quantum entanglement reconstruction tank expert use Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Half-Life, Doom, Souls series, Outlaws, Far Cry 4, Bioshock, Unreal engine, Dishonoured, Republic Commando, Dead Space, Quake, Deus Ex, Warren Spector, Elder Scrolls series, Fallout series, Skyrim, Thief, Alien: Isolation, Alien (film series), Super Mario Bros. What we've been playing:Brett: Uncharted (PS4 remaster), Tim: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt To play for next time:Remainder of Hydroponics, through Ops and into the end of Recreation.

In this third episode of discussing Hitman 2: Silent Assassin on Dev Game Club, we talk about the next six missions in the game in-depth, spending some time talking about stereotypes and controversy surrounding the game. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played:Basement KillingGraveyard ShiftThe Jacuzzi JobMurder At The BazaarMotorcade InterceptionTunnel Rat Podcast breakdown:0:33      Intro1:40      Segment 1: First three levels this episode54:28    Break 154:37    Segment 2: Other three levels this episode1:31:58 Break 21:32:21 Final Segment: Next time, Brett's meta-story Issues covered: stereotyping (target and gender), controversy, mission briefing videos, the uses of laundry chutes, playing the map and visualizing scripting vs emergent behaviors, map symbology, imagining the perfect playthrough, the silly potato chip maze -- the uncanny valley of the world itself, a difference between movie and game environments, games are Hawaiian shirts, realism and abstraction, VR, stylization, sneaking around a mundane environment, designer-forced experiences, audio occlusion, generic "Arab" setting, stealth interaction and action buttons, Brett's second Silent Assassin rating, controversy around Motorcade Interception, sexualized nuns with guns, othering and abstraction, Silent Assassin rewards, jump height and death, the torture victim, night vision goggles, weird story stuff at the end of the levels we played, Father Maguffin, teaser: iteration, applying a meta-narrative and visualization, the Hitman niche and evolving verb sets. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: La Femme Nikita, Superman and Lex Luthor, John Cusack/Better Off Dead, Beyond: Two Souls, David Cage, Hal Barwood, Hitman: Go, Jedi Starfighter, Tim Schafer, Emil Pagliarulo, Fallout 3/4, Oblivion, Kill Bill vol 1, Silence of the Lambs, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Thief, Alfred Hitchcock, North by Northwest, Marnie, Tippi Hedren, Orphan Black, Hitman (2016), Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Dishonoured, Jedi Knight, System Shock 2, Hitman: Absolution. Next time:Finish the game! Temple City AmbushDeath Of HanneloreTerminal HospitalitySt. Petersburg RevisitedRedemption At Gontranno @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclubDevGameClub@gmail.com

In this fourth episode of discussing Hitman 2: Silent Assassin on Dev Game Club, we wrap up our play-through, and then turn to a discussion of what we feel are the game's pillars, discuss iterating on a series, and announce both a guest and our next game! Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Temple City Ambush Death Of Hannelore Terminal Hospitality St. Petersburg Revisited Redemption At Gontranno Podcast breakdown: 0:24        Intro 4:38        Segment 1: Discussion of final five levels 1:00:45   Break 1:01:26   Segment 2: Pillars, series iteration, guest, next game Issues covered: professional vs silent assassin rating, level clockwork vs more open plans, limitations on character models, padding for length and content, voice acting and the strength of the LucasArts voice department, voice talent in European vs Japanese games, evolution of localization, Brett's personal story arc with Hitman 2, cinematic set-up and production scheduling, when timing looks like scripting, reading designer intent, when the series really shines, competence wish fulfillment, heist planning, planning out how to pace missions over the course of a game, story arc construction and story influences, "Hitmen don't take the bus," artistic moments vs the "bro" aesthetic, wishing for an opposite and equivalent enemy, making last level something different from the rest of the game, MDA framework, iteration on smaller scale and behind closed doors vs in public, supporting a feature fully, full support of player intent, the limitations of direct combat as a basis for games, sanding away rough edges, usability testing. Specific links: Philippa Warr, Rock Paper Shotgun: <a href= "https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/04/20/the-witness-island-design/">The Great Outdoors: The Witness Stephen Totilo, Kotaku: <a href= "http://kotaku.com/what-a-fan-learned-about-game-development-by-making-his-1772325300">What A Fan Learned About Game Development By Making His Own Star Wars Games Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Philippa Warr, The Witness, Jedi Starfighter, Charlie Rocket, Sterling James, David Cage, Ellen Page, Willem Dafoe, Beyond: Two Souls, Life Is Strange, Quantum Break, Fallout 4, FX, Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Hitman: Blood Money, Clue, House of Cards, Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino, Starfighter, TIE Fighter, Aliens, Blade Runner, Star Wars, In the Line of Fire, Clint Eastwood, Assassin's Creed, Doom, Quake, Half-Life 2, Timothy Olyphant, Hitman (2007 film), Lara Croft, Hitman (2016), Hitman: Absolution, Project: Spark, Half-Life, Uncharted 4, Ratchet & Clank series, Republic Commando, Tomb Raider, Square Enix, Eidos, IO Interactive, Ken Levine, Final Fantasy (VII, XV, Tactics, and of course, IX), Baldur's Gate, The Witcher III, Metal Gear Solid. Next time: Interview with Janos Flosser Next game: Final Fantasy IX! Play up through Beatrix and ensuing cutscene. @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

In this inaugural beta edition of Dev Game Club, we talk about the relevance of System Shock 2, its precedents and antecedents, and cover the first couple of hours of the game. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Show notes: DGC Ep 1 Sections played: Opening area, tutorial, character customization area, von Braun Med/Sci and Crew Quarters. Podcast breakdown:0:00:33 - Reason behind 'cast0:02:27 - History of hosts0:05:00 - Expected 'cast layout0:07:55 - History of System Shock 20:29:05 - Break 10:29:25 - Talk about beginning parts of SS2 in depth1:24:14 - Break 21:24:34 - What we're playing, plans for next episode Brett & Tim Common History: Star Wars Starfighter, Star Wars Jedi Starfighter, Star Wars Republic Commando. Brett History: Fallout 3, Skyrim, Fallout 4 Tim History: X-Wing v TIE Fighter, Mysteries of the Sith, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, Tomb Raider 2013, Halo 5. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: System Shock 1, Ultima Underworld, Ultima series, Doug Church, Warren Spector, Ken Levine, Thief, Starfighter games, Republic Commando, Tomb Raider 2013, BGS games, Naaughty Dog, Insomniac Games, Jonathan Chey, Freedom Force 1&2, Paul Neurath, Other Side Games, Junction Point Studios, Epic Mickey 2, Marc LeBlanc, Randy Smith, Harvey Smith, Dishonoured, Arkane Studios, Quake, Doom, Bioshock, Half-Life, Enemy Territory, Team Fortress Classic, Fallout, Baldur's Gate, Halo 5, Alien, Star Wars, Star Trek, Blade Runner, Mad Max, Mass Effect series, Oxenfree. One interview in which Doug Church talks about eliminating conversations: http://gillen.cream.org/wordpress_html/676/doug-church/ What we're playing: Brett discusses the similarities and differences in the beginning Firewatch, Tim talks about Metal Gear Solid V, Witcher 3, and his ten year journey on Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth To play next: R&D through the end of Hydroponics B/C. @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclubDevGameClub@gmail.com