Tangent: Pacific Rim 2 Worries Me. It Worries Me Quite a Bit.

People who know me will tell you that I will forgive almost anything where giant robots are involved. I am an admitted fan of Battletech, Warmachine, and Warhammer 40,000. My second favorite anime is Big O. I play Terran in Starcraft. I supported the Kickstarter campaign for indie miniatures game Mechadrome for no other reason than that it involved robots. I saw all 4 Transformers films in theater, opening night, even though I knew the later 3 were going to be crap. I'm a firm believer that as long as you halfway give a shit about your product, it's hard to go wrong with giant robots. Which isn't to say that I'll give anything with giant robots a pass, sometimes no amount of heavy metal can polish a turd.

I'm looking at YOU, Robotech.

Needless to say, I loved Pacific Rim. The 2013 robot punch-fest was a pet project of amazingly awesome visionary director Guillermo del Toro. It is a fantastic example of everything that I love about the giant robot genre (I refuse to call it "mecha"). It's fight scenes pretty much kicked all of the ass, which quickly gained it a cult following. It managed to clear almost double its budget at the box office as well, which made it seem pretty likely that we would see a sequel. 

Del Toro has spent a significant amount of time and money fighting for that sequel, but it seemed like the film was going nowhere fast. Legendary Pictures and Universal Studios were going through a rough patch so, despite del Toro's best efforts, the film was stuck in development hell. Imagine my joy when they announced that the movie was finally going forward. Imagine my horror when I learned that Guillermo del Toro had been kicked off of the project.

That's right, they decided that a film that really only succeeded because it was the product of a visionary director could succeed without that vision. Not only that, but they have decided to throw out del Toro's script in favor of one penned by Prometheus scribe John Spaihts, because that movie wasn't a giant turd. Del Toro and co-writer Travis Beacham are going to be credited for having created the characters, and that's that.

Admittedly, to say that del Toro was "kicked off" the project is a little dramatic. He is still going to be one of the films producers. How much influence he'll actually have, though, will be in question. I'm going to try and remain optimistic, but it's hard to believe that sequel will retain the charm of the original without its creator at the helm. 

I guess all I can do for now is follow Guillermo's advice: Dream of Kaujus and Mecha. 

Random Thoughts

Wow, I haven't posted in two weeks. When I started this thing the goal was to post once a week. I guess I didn't realize how easy it is to lose track of time.

Honestly, I was a little burnt-out after that string of Grim Dawn posts. Partially because, for me, it was a lot of writing. Partially because I was a little discouraged by the reactions I received. But hey, nobody writes on the internet to make friends. At least negative reactions are reactions, right?

I don't have anything specific in mind to write about today. I just wanted to get something up here again to keep me motivated to write. I have had a few random ideas floating around these past two weeks, none of which have evolved into much yet. These may or may not become full length posts in the future.

The Significance of Story
Several people reacted to my last post about Grim Dawn with the assertion that RPGs aren't meant to have stories. In their words, RPGs are all about the stories you create while playing. I agree that organic storytelling is an important part of good RPG design, but I disagree with the premise that the game doesn't need a core plot to tie it all together.

Cinematics and Cutscenes
There was also a lot of kickback regarding my belief that a few more cutscenes would have greatly improved Grim Dawns storytelling. I understand that that is a controversial idea, many games take cutscenes and such way too far. I believe that there is a proper way to use cutscenes and cinematics, one that changes the overall experience of a game for the better.

Most Impactful Cinematics and Cutscenes
One respondent made the claim that they had never, in their entire lives, played a game where a cutscene or cinematic improved the experience. They claimed that cinematics and cutscenes only ever ruin games, they don't make them better. My initial reaction was to blow them off as an idiot, but after some thought it occurred to me that I don't know anything about them, their story, or their struggle. Maybe they have a very legitimate reason for feeling that way? Anyway, I want to compile a list of in game cinematics and cutscenes from my gaming experience that I feel did enrich the experience.

The Blank Slate Fallacy
Another response that I saw a lot was that the player character in Grim Dawn and other RPGs isn't meant to have a background story. I want to address this idea.

A Return to New Eden
I recently returned to one of my great gaming loves, Eve Online, after a multi-year hiatus. I want to discuss my feelings on going back to a game that has such a rich backdrop and tight, active community. The things that, to me, have changed or not changed and why I decided to go back.

Anyway, those are the barest glimmer of article ideas that I have been mulling around these past two weeks. Maybe I'll expand on them, maybe I wont. I guess we'll see what shakes out next week.