The 3rd Space

sweep

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Edited By sweep Moderator

BLOGGER OF GIANTBOMB

is a title I have never deserved, although in recent weeks I feel especially embarrassed to be at all linked to the mere potentiality of some kind of blogospheric recognition. I have many excuses though few that would alarm or entertain so I shall merely apologise and resume your usual blogging schedule.

I was reading EDGE the other day (with my eyes) and columnist N'Gai Croal breached the topic of exactly what makes Left 4 Dead so awesome. The article is fairly basic and no-doubt those of you reading this could have come up with a similar list of features which are the difference between an ordinary shooter and an intense barrel-roll of zombie fuelled carnage. The most important feature is obviously the fact that the game has been designed from the ground up to be experienced with 4 human players. The interactions both in-game and in realtime are those that force communication and co-operation like no other. You cannot complete the game by yourself, unless you have the reflexes of a Fox on RedBull laced with Kryptonite and Heroin. You heard me.

The basic management of Health and Ammunition is prominent - albeit in a simplified form - but Croal's interesting concept of managing "a third space" really got me thinking. The idea of having to manage the space between yourself and your allies is an interesting one - especially when your allies' movement is as erratic and self preservative as the minds of 3 human players. You must bear in mind the reaction time, the rescue time, the revival time, the communication time and the retrieval time. So great is the threat of losing a team-mate that a constant chatter is required from your comrades to ensure survival. Human players bring many great attributes to a game - be it an understanding and awareness of their surroundings, a logical sense of preservation and an ability to prioritise objectives with economic accuracy. They also bring savage manipulation of a game in the name of brutal efficiency, lack of reliability, selfishness and uncooperative behaviour. Left 4 Dead works great with a team of like-minded individuals, but finding a group of similarly enthusiastic zombie hunters in the netherworld of the internet is harder than it seems. Online play is great - its a lot more entertaining and rewarding than single player. At the same time it completely deconstructs every atmospheric environment an interactive video game could hope to achieve. In the context of Left 4 Dead - a Survival Horror - there is little to find horrific when your team-mates are loudly discussing the results of the SuperBowl.

People are desensitised to violence more than they know. Video Games and Television may have exacerbated the amount of violence we are exposed to but the extent of human malice is apparent in everyday life. For as long as humans have been alive people have been dying, naturally or otherwise. Death is something we are all exposed to, and violence comes hand in hand with death, via pain and suffering. There is little now that I would find truly shocking in a video game, having seen violence articulated with such gritty realism by the media both in reality and in fictional scenes of aggression. Left 4 Dead is a Survival Horror - yet there is little content inside which I would consider Horrific. My reaction would probably not be the same in reality, but fortunately a zombie apocalypse has yet to darken our innocent little existence. It's only a matter of time...

Humans enjoy scaring the shit out of themselves. That's why they ride Rollercoasters and watch Horror Films. Unfortunately computer games have now developed to a stage where it is neigh impossible to share that experience of being scared out of your fucking mind. A solo romp through Dead Space can manage it. A duo-run of Resident Evil 5 cannot. The buzz of hearing another human player in your ear ultimately destroys any empathy you might have with a character ingame. I played Gears 2 completely in co-op, and that worked fine because the story in Gears 2 is "GO HERE AND SHOOT STUFF!" The most depressing scene in that game was shrugged of. That doesn't work so well in a game that attempts to be excessively meaningful and story-driven.

I love playing online, given the choice I would always opt for a co-op experience. Gaming should be social - the more so the better - because sharing entertainment with your friends makes everything more entertaining. But I don't want to sacrifice any sense of immersion to do so. Unfortunately the source of the issue lies with the mentality of the players, not with the intentions of the games designers. The ambiguity of finding randoms on the internet means that any sense of sincerity will be completely disregarded in the name of efficiency.

Its a problem. I hope someone, somewhere is working on a solution.

Thanks For Reading.
Love Sweep

15 years ago

sweep

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#1 Edited By sweep Moderator

BLOGGER OF GIANTBOMB

is a title I have never deserved, although in recent weeks I feel especially embarrassed to be at all linked to the mere potentiality of some kind of blogospheric recognition. I have many excuses though few that would alarm or entertain so I shall merely apologise and resume your usual blogging schedule.

I was reading EDGE the other day (with my eyes) and columnist N'Gai Croal breached the topic of exactly what makes Left 4 Dead so awesome. The article is fairly basic and no-doubt those of you reading this could have come up with a similar list of features which are the difference between an ordinary shooter and an intense barrel-roll of zombie fuelled carnage. The most important feature is obviously the fact that the game has been designed from the ground up to be experienced with 4 human players. The interactions both in-game and in realtime are those that force communication and co-operation like no other. You cannot complete the game by yourself, unless you have the reflexes of a Fox on RedBull laced with Kryptonite and Heroin. You heard me.

The basic management of Health and Ammunition is prominent - albeit in a simplified form - but Croal's interesting concept of managing "a third space" really got me thinking. The idea of having to manage the space between yourself and your allies is an interesting one - especially when your allies' movement is as erratic and self preservative as the minds of 3 human players. You must bear in mind the reaction time, the rescue time, the revival time, the communication time and the retrieval time. So great is the threat of losing a team-mate that a constant chatter is required from your comrades to ensure survival. Human players bring many great attributes to a game - be it an understanding and awareness of their surroundings, a logical sense of preservation and an ability to prioritise objectives with economic accuracy. They also bring savage manipulation of a game in the name of brutal efficiency, lack of reliability, selfishness and uncooperative behaviour. Left 4 Dead works great with a team of like-minded individuals, but finding a group of similarly enthusiastic zombie hunters in the netherworld of the internet is harder than it seems. Online play is great - its a lot more entertaining and rewarding than single player. At the same time it completely deconstructs every atmospheric environment an interactive video game could hope to achieve. In the context of Left 4 Dead - a Survival Horror - there is little to find horrific when your team-mates are loudly discussing the results of the SuperBowl.

People are desensitised to violence more than they know. Video Games and Television may have exacerbated the amount of violence we are exposed to but the extent of human malice is apparent in everyday life. For as long as humans have been alive people have been dying, naturally or otherwise. Death is something we are all exposed to, and violence comes hand in hand with death, via pain and suffering. There is little now that I would find truly shocking in a video game, having seen violence articulated with such gritty realism by the media both in reality and in fictional scenes of aggression. Left 4 Dead is a Survival Horror - yet there is little content inside which I would consider Horrific. My reaction would probably not be the same in reality, but fortunately a zombie apocalypse has yet to darken our innocent little existence. It's only a matter of time...

Humans enjoy scaring the shit out of themselves. That's why they ride Rollercoasters and watch Horror Films. Unfortunately computer games have now developed to a stage where it is neigh impossible to share that experience of being scared out of your fucking mind. A solo romp through Dead Space can manage it. A duo-run of Resident Evil 5 cannot. The buzz of hearing another human player in your ear ultimately destroys any empathy you might have with a character ingame. I played Gears 2 completely in co-op, and that worked fine because the story in Gears 2 is "GO HERE AND SHOOT STUFF!" The most depressing scene in that game was shrugged of. That doesn't work so well in a game that attempts to be excessively meaningful and story-driven.

I love playing online, given the choice I would always opt for a co-op experience. Gaming should be social - the more so the better - because sharing entertainment with your friends makes everything more entertaining. But I don't want to sacrifice any sense of immersion to do so. Unfortunately the source of the issue lies with the mentality of the players, not with the intentions of the games designers. The ambiguity of finding randoms on the internet means that any sense of sincerity will be completely disregarded in the name of efficiency.

Its a problem. I hope someone, somewhere is working on a solution.

Thanks For Reading.
Love Sweep

15 years ago

Robster

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#2 Edited By Robster

Totally agree with the mentality of the players thing,

I've been on so many online games where I've had people talking about how shit the game is, or how game X is so much better,
or yes, the superbowl results, and it can kill a games atmosphere.

15 years ago

albedos_shadow

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#3 Edited By albedos_shadow

Totally agreed.

Also, blogospheric. Great word.

15 years ago

End_Boss

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#4 Edited By End_Boss

Interesting read, Sweep. Most of all it made me want to play L4D. I will no doubt be sending you an invite this weekend and you will accept or face the consequence of not making it.

15 years ago

Player1

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#5 Edited By Player1

Jesus, you make so many good points. You deserve all that recognition, don't make yourself think otherwise.

Glad your back in full force.

Oh and, this line "I was reading EDGE the other day (with my eyes)" made me lol.

15 years ago

ZeroCast

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#6 Edited By ZeroCast

I had the opportunity to play L4D ,finally, a couple of days ago, and you're right, without any kind of communication that game is basically dead,i didn't know where to go, i was shooting like an idiot and eventually we all perished without even reaching the third stage.

So yeah my experince has been narrow so far with the game, but as far as Teamwork is concerned, L4D needs a lot of it, like a really good use of that 3rd Space.

15 years ago

BiggerBomb

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#7 Edited By BiggerBomb

I haven't finished reading the blog, yet. But I had to stop and applaud you on this: "unless you have the reflexes of a Fox on RedBull laced with Kryptonite and Heroin. You heard me."

I got a really good kick out of that, much to my dad's chagrin. He's on a conference call! :O

15 years ago

jakob187

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#8 Edited By jakob187

You write too much. All those words hurt my eyes. = P

15 years ago

pweidman

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#9 Edited By pweidman

The 3rd space concept is right on. Makes me think of the game and the team's necessary survival in a different way. Kudos to whomever made the point originally....good stuff overall as well Sweep.

15 years ago

Osaladin

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#10 Edited By Osaladin

Well said, my brother and I have been saying this to each other since I got the game. Oh and btw, the entire shared experience is multiplied when you are playing online with someone in the same room with you. First of all, I feel way more loyal to my brother when we are playing versus, and will risk my life way more often then I would with a stranger online, even if they are really good. It also greatly multiplies the effect of the horror aspect of the game. It makes it even less so in my opinion. But it still makes it much more fun to play with someone in the same room, specially if you are really close to that person, or recognize their habits.

Great blog.

15 years ago

Oni

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#11 Edited By Oni

Good blog as usual. Looking forward to some RE 5 co-op!

15 years ago

Claude

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#12 Edited By Claude

I'm trying to come out of my shell. The lone gamer... the hero.

That one game hasn't reached me yet... that one game that turns me into a co-op monster, searching for my next friend or friends to do battle with.

I've played Team Fortress 2, but I can be silent and play, so I'm still in my shell... I'm safe.

I'm so old, but so new. I guess... I'm still afraid of the dark.

15 years ago

Red

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#14 Edited By Red

Nice blog, as always.

15 years ago

Virago

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#15 Edited By Virago

There is little now that I would find truly shocking in a video game, having seen violence articulated with such gritty realism by the media both in reality and in fictional scenes of aggression

Yeah, totally. CSI has changed my views on death and murder irrevocably. yet... I dunno, violence in video games is so much more intimate? because you're the one doing the shooting, chainsawing, etc, i guess. anyway. Riveting. thank you, sweepums
<3 v

15 years ago

deactivated-61da50756e1e4

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#16 Edited By deactivated-61da50756e1e4

its not meant to be scary at all, there is no story or atmosphere at all, it is pure epic zombie killing with cheezy posters for each level, BILL!

15 years ago

Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead puts players in the role of one of four survivors during a zombie apocalypse. Survivors will depend on co-operation to get from one safe house to another, while facing hordes of "Infected", four of which can be controlled by human players in certain game modes.

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