303: The Ballet of Death

[octafish]

snip.
While the trailer is extremely effective and poignant, the final game is going to have what I like to call the 'Sweeney Todd Problem', where audiences see the trailer and flock to see the movie until they realise it wasn't what they were expecting (in the Sweeney Todd case, no-one was aware it was a Sondheim Musical until it was too late for a refund).

Wait, people didn't realise it was a Sondheim musical? That's why I went to see it. Weird.

OT: Ballet of Death? That trailer is nothing like Once Upon A Time in The West.

 

[evilstonermonkey]

the trailer was widely dubbed on Twitter as "the best videogame trailer ever,"

I would call this an extremely good short film on zombies, but I would not call it a good trailer. I loved it, it told a story and almost effortlessly evoked emotion, but it told me nothing about the game and judging by information from other sources was maybe even misinformative.

And to the people debating child violence: horrible things are not exactly rare in horror movies, and people get a real visceral feeling of horror when they see children get harmed. Children being attacked/eaten by monsters is not new by any stretch. Furthermore, zombies are by their nature a contrast - a human turned monster, a perversion of the natural order of life and death. This contrast is even more striking when it is a child - not only is their the horror of a life cut short, but the contrast between the innocent smiling child it used to be and the ravenous bloodthirsty monster it has become is far more than when fat bubba from the gas station is shambling toward you. Also, just because they are in the trailer doesn't mean that zombie kids will be a common enemy, or that they will even exist outside of that one clip.

With that said I have the suspicion I have been trolled. Anyone who tries to declare monsters attacking children to be on the same level as people molesting children is either an idiot or after a reaction.

 

[Nurb]

As long as I've played games, and since the corporate age of gaming began in the 2000's I've learned to have no expectations and assume the worst from the get-go. That way you're not disappointed when it does suck or you're pleasantly surprised when it doesn't.

So it selling based on mood is probably going to backfire, and games aren't supposed to be movies or theme park rides.

 

[DaHero]

I thought it was lame. Don't ask. I'm just that color of insane.

Nah, I totally thought it was lame as well.

I'm still not getting the hype over this stupid trailer. Why is everyone acting like it's the 2nd coming of zombie jesus?
It's cheesy as crap.
OMG THEY ARE PLAYING IT BACKWARDS! NEVER SEEN DAT BEFORE! OMG EMOTIONAL PIANO MUSIC! IT'S SOOOOOOOOOO ARTISTIC!

Please...

I feel like gamers live inside such a tight little bubble of constant rehashes and repetition that the second someone does anything remotely different, even if it's not that great by most standards, it gets lavished with praise.

Or spammed/flamed for being nooby, depends on the game.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

Am I the only one who didn't feel anything emotional from the trailer? I just saw it was manipulative crap. It was just out to get a bunch of people to buy the game. I guess that's the point of trailers but it seemed like just a thing where you show a kid get killed because its "OH CRAP! A KID DIES!" You know, that kinda thing. Its like killing dogs and stuff, just done for shock.

 

[GvidaZ]

Too bad this "trailer" (actually a "preview" because it precedes, rather than follows, the release of this game) crosses the line from entertainment to exploitation by graphically depicting violence against a child. In a movie or TV show, a child can fairly be the subject of a murder investigation, but they always refrain from showing that child getting strangled, or shot, or stabbed, or slaughtered like an animal and thrown out a window. Otherwise, everyone associated with the production of that movie or TV drama would be fired for exceeding the bounds of good (or bad) taste. This Dead Island preview is a prime example of going too far. The counterpoint to this cinematic mistake is Dead Rising, in which the protagonist, Chuck Green, fights to save the life of his daughter. This game achieves emotional resonance because everyone can instinctively understand a father who wants to keep his little girl safe. Although there is tension because she is under threat, the developers of Dead Risng never set her on fire, or behead her, or bludgeon her with a sledgehammer... because that would be disgusting.

And before any of you SHOUT at me that Dead Island is just a game, and that I need to learn the difference between reality and fiction, try to understand that creating fiction does not mean all rules no longer apply. If fiction means you can do anything, then video games about child pornography would be featured on the shelves of your local Wal-Mart.

i agree whith you...Child violance is a edgy place in society....Actually video games that actualy show child violance are BANNED in germany and some other countrys...Theres a reason when if you fail to give zombrex to katey(i think that was her name)they never actually show her zombie form...Myself i think that the reason that we catch the atention of this particular trailer is that it prety much focuses on just that...And if they do actually put that kinda stuff in game youll lose a lot of paying countries.And that isn't good for anyone.
Now zombie games need some kind of style...We have the co-op zombie game(left 4 dead),the multiplayer(killing floor),the crazy and varid(dead rising),the spooky and creepy(resident evil) etc...You wont get away just by shooting zombies with guns now...And if this one does focus on the creepy,deadly and humanic game it probably wont be on a clear sky daytime island.So developers you just dug a hole for yourself...If this game doesnt end up the edgy humanic one like the trailer,people are probably gona be pissed....Good luck

 

[spielberg11]

snip.
While the trailer is extremely effective and poignant, the final game is going to have what I like to call the 'Sweeney Todd Problem', where audiences see the trailer and flock to see the movie until they realise it wasn't what they were expecting (in the Sweeney Todd case, no-one was aware it was a Sondheim Musical until it was too late for a refund).

Wait, people didn't realise it was a Sondheim musical? That's why I went to see it. Weird.

Yes, there were a lot of die-hard fans of the musical, but if you watch the trailer it barely has any singing, and that's why it was such a disappointment to some expecting a Tim Burton gothic horror movie (who were expecting at most a brief flashback while Johnny Depp sings).

...we've seriously gone off topic here. Uhm, good trailer, probably bad game.

 

[duchaked]

the actual gameplay looks promising

obviously didn't get to see much story elements, but even then not sure it could hit the same emotional high even if the overall game turns out to be very good