Topic: Chis Hecker's GDC rant: Fair Use

[idolminds]

Skip to the 5 minute mark in the first video to see it with audience reactions. The second video is just a direct feed of the "rant".

[gpw11]

It might be because I have a cold but I watched two and a half minutes and didn't take anything away. What's he saying?

[idolminds]

Basically it was a "rant" on this PR speak. Like the Killzone footage...yeah, all that extra RAM is going to deliver...uh...better characters? Or Humvee doors are heavy and thats an important detail because we have a cutscene where a dude pushes a door open. And the big build up of the Orwellian nightmare we currently live in, maybe this is a subject that we can tackle in a meaningful way in ga....nah, superheroes.

Its not particularly deep, but hey its a rant so it doesn't have to be. I thought it was cute because he didn't even have to say anything, he just presented the things the other people were saying themselves and you can see how absurd they are. I still don't get what the guy was talking about with the humvee door. How was that important enough to point out in that cutscene? What did that even add?

[W7RE]

I still don't get what the guy was talking about with the humvee door. How was that important enough to point out in that cutscene? What did that even add?

In the talk he was talking about doing extensive research and how inspiration for something in a game can come from things you wouldn't expect. He was talking about being around military vehicles showed him that humvees don't have flimsy canvas doors anymore, but big metal ones. This translated into a scene where instead of just opening the door and climbing out, the door is pushed open slower because of it's weight, giving a slightly slower reveal of the destruction around. It's a detail that's super subtle, and I doubt most people cared.

I found it a little interesting. I feel like one of the primary differences between a good game and a great game, is sometimes in the little details. The things you don't necessarily notice, but they all add up to make a much more believable or enjoyable experience. I'm not saying Modern Warfare 3 (the game he's talking about) is one of these great games, I haven't played it and wouldn't know.

[gpw11]

Okay, that makes sense, I tuned in and couldn't figure out why he was talking about a door and why it mattered, and then spent the rest of the time confused.  I probably should have watched the direct feed.

[W7RE]

Okay, that makes sense, I tuned in and couldn't figure out why he was talking about a door and why it mattered, and then spent the rest of the time confused.  I probably should have watched the direct feed.

I think it was a DICE talk on research and inspiration for games, or something like that. The guy is Glen Schofield of Sledgehammer Games (also creator of Dead Space, before he left Visceral).

EDIT: the link in the youtube description had a link to it if you're interested. Here:

EDIT2: It was DICE, not TED. Not sure why i thought it was TED.