Tag: plot

Game Development, Gaming

Blog 728: If I Wrote… C&C4: Tiberian Twilight

Rao Dao Zao

I was interested in C&C4: Tiberian Twilight, despite all the rumours of its horror. The core concept — trading standard base building and assault for a mobile super-vehicle — seemed quite interesting to me. For a man that favours the ultra-versatile solo operatives of RPGs and FPSes, the conceit had legs.

The game did not deliver anything of what I imagined; it is exactly as bad as everyone says. So instead of delving into that den of iniquity, let’s indulge instead in what it could have been, had somebody with dreams more like mine been at the helm…

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Film

Blog 674: World-Building for World-Destroyers

Rao Dao Zao

I’ve been in the mood for giant monster movies for ages now. With Toho’s return to the stage Godzilla: Resurgence approaching soon (though without sign of a UK release), I had a re-watch of 2014’s excellent western reboot.

My love for Godzilla might have stemmed from the ridiculous 60s and 70s films, but the reboot continues to impress me with its details — which deftly ground the giant monster in some semblance of gritty verisimilitude without precluding any of the original run’s rule-of-cool hilarity.

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Film

Blog 669: If I Wrote… Pacific Rim 2

Rao Dao Zao

There is little justice in this world. While Cloverfield, a dreadful film (let alone monster movie), has a sequel almost ready to drop, the much-desired sequel to one of the finest action-adventure films of recent years continues to stumble along in development hell. 2018, maybe? Harrumph.

But if they won’t give me Pacific Rim 2, then I’ll just have to dream my own version.

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Nondescript

Blog 559: Get the Balance Write

Rao Dao Zao

It’s an age-old struggle I find myself in — where to strike the balance between a believable, internally consistent world, and a world that’s fun and interesting?

Everything a plot tries to deliver is for nothing if it has shaky foundations, but on the flip-side, if a plot has too-solid foundations it is all too easy for it to paint itself into an incredibly dull box.

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Nondescript

Blog 551: Train of Thought

Rao Dao Zao

I am a seasoned commuter by now. I’ve had some adventures along the way, though for a while there I managed to work in Glasgow city centre and avoid anything worse than a ten-minute train ride bookended by pleasant walks.

Of course that was never going to last. I’ve recently fetched up in Edinburgh, which for the uninitiated is a 55-minute train ride from Glasgow city centre.

It is quite a long journey, but the trains are fairly comfortable and there aren’t many stops — as long as you can get wedged into a good window seat, it’s safe to chow down on some more meaty activity than is usually possible…

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