/ Previews /
Adventure / Big Brother / Page 3
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This game isn't just a great story line with some cool graphics. It's a creative masterpiece.
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While games like Quake and other first person shooters take place in a basically static world with a few animations, the world of Big-Brother is a working world in a constant state of change. Even steam runs through interlocking pipes powering the city. Near the beginning of the game you must get your section of the city running again by opening some steam valves. Most things that would be animated in real life are animated in Big-Brother. Animations don't need to take place on a single plane like in other games. They can be all over the place making the world come alive.
Opening those steam valves is a great example of the type of puzzles in Big-Brother. In most games you might have to get a key to get to the steam valve room and kill the guy with the steam valve access card. In Big-Brother there is a simpler, yet more logical approach. Find the freakin' wrench. That might not sound as fun as killing people, but it adds to a more realistic experience overall and a more satisfying one when the game progresses and puzzles become more difficult.
One reason for the great atmosphere and mood of the game is the tools MediaX used to create it. Their philosophy is that if they put control of the technology in the hands of the artists they can make the game a work of art in itself. So they created some tools that allow artists to do some things that would normally also require a programmer's help with. They describe it as looking at technology creatively rather than just looking at what can be done with the technology at hand for the sake of doing something. Like when a webmaster first discovers Java applets and decides the world might want to see every bit of text on the page jiggle, move, and in a ticker tape. The results show themselves quite a bit in Big-Brother. It has the most amazing mood I have ever experienced while playing any game, right from the time you take your first virtual step. It has much the same atmosphere as the book, which is quite a feat within itself.
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