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Gears of War Visual Exploration

Posted by Zonk on from the ooo-shiny dept.

Shacknews has images from a small product information piece about Gears of War. The scans show off a booklet full of beautiful imagery and some interesting insights into the game. From the booklet: "Since Emergence Day, the residents of Sera have been paying the price. Crumbled buildings and ruined monuments loom over the battlefield as somber reminders of what the Gears fight for. The glory of Sera and everything that mankind has struggled to achieve collapses in upon itself, yielding to an unstoppable force. A brutal and protracted war has dashed this planet's veneer to pieces, and left the shattered bits to be picked up by the most unlikely few. The Gears of War continue to turn."

43 comments

  1. Slashdot... by Dizzle · · Score: 4, Funny

    ads for nerds. Products that matter.

    --
    -Dizzle
    "I most likely AM so interested in myself."
    1. Re:Slashdot... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      oh no! Someone is sheding light on a game being made for a MS console! MUST... FIND... REASONS... TO... TRASH....

    2. Re:Slashdot... by SeekerDarksteel · · Score: 2, Informative

      Err...I think the trashing probably has more to do with the fact that the "article" is just a bunch of pretty pictures without any information whatsoever. There doesn't seem to be any point other than "ooh, lookie the screenshots. Sure, they're screen caps of cutscenes, not actual game play, so they don't mean jack shit. But they're pretty."

      --
      The laws of probability forbid it!
    3. Re:Slashdot... by RealityMogul · · Score: 1

      I'm not even sure those are from cut scenes. If I have to sit there and watch a static book flip through page after page I'm popping a different game in.

    4. Re:Slashdot... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We wipe our asses with this type of stuff at work.
      It's cheaper than toilet paper and we certainly don't make articles out of it. Concept art is everywhere in game dev houses.

      Slashdot has got to be getting major marketing bucks for the barrage of MS/xbox hype articles. It does look like it is backfiring though from the constant negative reaction to the stories. I think even the diehard xbox crowd is getting tired of it.

    5. Re:Slashdot... by MrCopilot · · Score: 1
      Slashvertisement or no, I have added one more to the list of games to try.

      Plus now they don't have to ship a manual we've all read it.

      --
      OSGGFG - Open Source Gamers Guide to Free Games
  2. How about a date? by alexandreracine · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Is this game will ship before Duke Nukem Foreever? Or Lonworn? (eee... the next windows, watever the name is.)

    --
    No sig for now.
    1. Re:How about a date? by prockcore · · Score: 1

      everything I've read says that Gears of War is an xbox360 launch game. So it'll come out the same day as the xbox360.. november sometime.

    2. Re:How about a date? by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      I think Epic denied that but still, they don't tend to delay their games very long.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    3. Re:How about a date? by Babbster · · Score: 1

      Negatory. The current projection on Gears of War is early 2006.

  3. Call it what you will... by HanClinto · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...whether you think this is astroturfing or not-news, I still think this is incredibly riveting.

    Am I the only one who believes this sort of thing is going to be the future of video gaming?

    Games are just the next level of interactivity. It was books, then radio, then movies, now video games. It's just the next level, and I for one am looking forward to getting some "good literature" out there in the form of video games. Classic storylines that are powerful and mean something and stir something from within us.

    The concept of "destroyed beauty" in the article's pictoral essay is quite good imho, and if you like the storylines of games like Half Life, Myst, FFX, or other games with rich, involved storylines, you may find Gears interesting.

    Here's hoping they don't b0rk it up and turn it into a cheesy shoot-em-up, but remain true to the concept and retain some of the good storyline.

    The only part that I'm worried about is the cheesy cliche'ness of the protagonist, but perhaps they can pull it off.

    I'll be watching this one with interest.

    1. Re:Call it what you will... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The concept of "destroyed beauty" has already been done with Guild Wars. And quite beautifully pulled off might I add.

    2. Re:Call it what you will... by snorklewacker · · Score: 4, Insightful

      God I hope this isn't the future. The writing adjacent to all the concept art is frightfully awful, hokey, cliched stuff. I'm talking high school melodrama here.

      Actually just about anything titled "noun Of War" is off to a bad start, cliche-wise.

      --
      I am no longer wasting my time with slashdot
    3. Re:Call it what you will... by Marc_Hawke · · Score: 2, Interesting

      As the conversation with my friend went:

      Me - "Look at Gears of War."
      He - "It's just another Doom."
      Me - "It's supposed to be about story and 'cover'"
      He - "Is it a single-player FPS?"
      Me - "Yes"
      He - "It's Doom."

      It'll take a whole lot to make something other than a Doom clone. When you try, you mostly end up with a 'boring Doom clone.'

      Best of luck.

      --
      --Welcome to the Realm of the Hawke--
    4. Re:Call it what you will... by Kassiopeia · · Score: 2, Informative

      No wonder, Eric Nylund is listed as a writer of the texts. He's the one responsible for the novels based on Halo. "The Master Chief runs down a corridor, then the Spartan kills a Grunt dead, and so the supersoldier saves the lives of his team."

    5. Re:Call it what you will... by Lynxara · · Score: 1

      There are very few video games that aren't full of frightfully hokey writing, if you start judging them by the same standards as movies or novels. Generally, the audience for video games doesn't have very refined taste in writing and doesn't value originality or sophistication very much.

      This for the very good reason that the cheesiest, silliest video game stories are often attached to the most fun games. So, most companies put minimal effort into storytelling, or intentionally go for the high school melodrama vibe knowing it'll appeal to their core audience. It usually works, too; I mean, people take Halo's story seriously, gamers seem willing to take any plot seriously if there's a fun game attached to it.

    6. Re:Call it what you will... by Screaming+Lunatic · · Score: 1
      He - "Is it a single-player FPS?"

      Me - "Yes"

      It's actually a 3rd person game: Link

    7. Re:Call it what you will... by Rayonic · · Score: 1
      What's so great about your friend's outlook is that it's unassailable.

      Me - "Look at [ System Shock /Deus Ex / Thief ]."
      He - "It's just another Doom."
      Me - "It's supposed to be about story and [ exploration / choices / stealth ]"
      He - "Is it a single-player FPS?"
      Me - "Yes"
      He - "It's Doom."
      --
      [PowerPoint] is a tool for capitalist presentation
    8. Re:Call it what you will... by Repton · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, like that _Art of War_ book ... Man, that guy could have used a decent editor.

      --
      Repton.
      They say that only an experienced wizard can do the tengu shuffle.
    9. Re:Call it what you will... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It looks like it's going to be Resident Evil 4 of War. Third person, zoom in over shoulder to fire. Giant creature. Hordes of "not zombies."

      If so, the game will play like this.

      - Run to the corner of the next open area.
      - Stand in corner in aim mode shooting until the bad guys stop mindlessly coming at you.
      - Repeat.

    10. Re:Call it what you will... by Solder+Fumes · · Score: 0, Redundant

      "Noun of War"...that's brilliant! I'm going to write a video game set in...a bleak future. OK! I'm done!

    11. Re:Call it what you will... by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      Doom 3 actually had story and cover. No stealth, exploration or real choices, though.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    12. Re:Call it what you will... by HanClinto · · Score: 2, Interesting
      There are very few video games that aren't full of frightfully hokey writing, if you start judging them by the same standards as movies or novels. Generally, the audience for video games doesn't have very refined taste in writing and doesn't value originality or sophistication very much.

      If you think about it though, there are very few books and movies that also aren't frightfully full of hokey writing. The ratio of "great" literature to the amount of "okay" literature is very small. For every really good book published, you probably have a couple hundred or thousand trashy romance novels published. I wouldn't expect it to be any different with video games.

      The OP was talking about a call to higher literature in video games. I'm really looking forward to there being classic-literature quality stories in the form of video games. It's been done with movies, it's been done with books, it's been done with radio drama -- why can't it be done with video games? Why are we so jaded into thinking that video games can't hold to higher standards? It's like saying "well we certainly can't hold movies to the same standards as books, because all moviegoers want to see are adventure, sex, and violence" but that certainly isn't true.

      I dunno', perhaps it's just an unjustified soapbox of mine, but I really wonder if we could finally start seeing some good literature come out of interactive fiction in the form of video games.

    13. Re:Call it what you will... by Lynxara · · Score: 1

      Oh, certainly, there are more trashy books than good ones. The problem video games have as a storytelling medium right now is that a good video game story is more likely to resemble a trashy book, in terms of writing quality, than a good one.

      This doesn't reflect on the possibility of telling great stories in video games, more on the likelihood. There's no reason to presume telling a good story in video game form is impossible, but also no reason - yet - to presume that doing so is a necessary or desirable thing.

    14. Re:Call it what you will... by HanClinto · · Score: 1
      There's no reason to presume telling a good story in video game form is impossible, but also no reason - yet - to presume that doing so is a necessary or desirable thing.

      Certainly it's not any more necessary than it is for movies to achieve a higher excellence, but that seems to be the way culture is headed. I personally think a good imagination beats special effects any day (hence why the LotR books will always be better than a movie effort), but people aren't turning to books for their entertainment as much as they used to.

      So just as it's good for a society to have excellent writers in books (Victor Hugo), film (Akira Kurosawa), animation (Hayao Miyazaki), I'm looking forward to seeing who will do this sort of thing in video games.

    15. Re:Call it what you will... by Lynxara · · Score: 1

      My point is more that you can make an excellent game with little to no story at all, or a story that would simply not be workable in a medium like film. Pac-Man, Tetris, Katamari Damacy, even the archetypal FPS multiplayer... these aren't gameplay styles that are compelling because of storytelling. They're compelling because they're fun experiences. Similarly, a lot of fun and compelling new games - Lumines, Meteos, Electroplankton, Nintendogs (arguably) - are fun and compelling precisely because they embody gameplay styles that have nothing to do with storytelling.

      The only genre where I can see a concrete argument to be made in favor of enhanced storytelling leading to more sophisticated and fun gameplay is with RPGs, simulations, and other genres that rely on immersion in a particular worldsetting to ground the gameplay experience. Even then, you have to be careful not to hurt gameplay while trying to tell a more complete story. A lot of Japanese RPGs, for example, have become cinematic to the point where interactivity is often limited to saving your progress between cut-scenes. Even if such a game was telling the greatest story in the world (which they never do, but I digress), there is a point at which you must wonder if it's succeeding as a story while failing as a game.

    16. Re:Call it what you will... by Sylver+Dragon · · Score: 1

      I would imagine that, much like books, and movies, we'll see a split between the "literary" and the "fun". In literature, Charles Dickenson is considered a great writer. Sure, there's probably lots of made up reasons why this is, but his books are terminally boring. Terry Prachet on the other hand is not listed among the "greats" and his books will probably never be classic, but they are fun to read.
      In the same way, Tetris, and the million or so clones, will never have a grand, thought provoking storyline. But they will be forever addictive and fun. RPG's hold some promise to actually tell a good story, and one day we might actually get past the painful melodrama in them and see a really good story told in one of them.

      --
      Necessity is the mother of invention.
      Laziness is the father.
    17. Re:Call it what you will... by Lynxara · · Score: 1

      Dickens is considered great more for historical influence than quality. A lot of books have been critted and duly acknowledged as really quite dreadful, but very popular. This is why you don't read too much Dickens in secondary school, but then get buried in it in English courses (or so I'm told, anyway).

      he Pratchett comparison is a bit more on the mark, though I'd argue that Pratchett is considered a very great writer in a lot of quarters and just doesn't get much attention because of his genre. I imagine he'll be regarded as kindly as Douglas Adams in the long run, and I think I've seen Pratchett novels on assigned reading lists.

      All this in mind, I can't say I really agree with that assessment; I don't see how Tetris is any less a classic piece of game design for simply not having a plot. It's just a game where storytelling is not a part of the game experience, and I failt to see how that makes it any "less" than a game with a narrative.

  4. originality by apoc06 · · Score: 1

    seems like a cool game, and probably the only reason other than the promise of halo3 for people to buy and xbox 360.

    but seriously, screenshot 10 talks about how they were looking for something unique and original to go for the lead characters look, but doesnt he look eerily reminiscent of the models for the upcoming unreal and UT? maybe its just me. or maybe they are just using the same engine. who knows... but ive definitely seen this episode before.

    1. Re:originality by jinzumkei · · Score: 1

      it's because it's running on the U3 engine.

    2. Re:originality by jericho4.0 · · Score: 1

      In fact, if you go to the Unreal Tech sight, all the screenshots and models are the same as these. That leads me to belive that they've been working on this for a while.

      --
      "A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
  5. stunning but... by psychopsybin · · Score: 1

    anyone else think that those shots are a mix of the game and some artistic embellishment?

    1. Re:stunning but... by tremspeed · · Score: 1

      uh exactly. i'm pretty sure i can make out brush strokes in the one i looked at.

  6. An odd paradox by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I find myself exibiting an odd reaction to information about next generation videogames. It seems that as I am looking at pictures and videos I become instantly impressed at how far the graphical techonology has come; at the same time as I read about the game play dynamics and the story lines I become instantly disapointed at the little progress that has been made in these areas.

    I may just becoming old and cynical but it seems to me that there are (almost) no companies that can merge interesting gameplay with impressive graphics. For the most part the interesting game ideas are usually less impressive visually.

    Not to divert attention from this game but ...

    It seems to me that ever since Iwata has become president of Nintendo there is a far greater focus on inovation in videogames. Games like Warioware, Nintendogs, and Kirby Canvas Curse are great examples of unconventional game ideas that are interesting. The thing that actually has me interested in the Revolution more than anything else is probably the Nintendo DS (although I don't own one yet). Even with it's small game list, and limited upcomming supply of games, it has far more unconventional (and interesting) games than any platform at this point in its lifespan. I think regardless of whether you will own an XBox 360, PS3 or High-End PC Nintendo may give you reason enough (through inovative games) to buy a Revolution.

    1. Re:An odd paradox by rAiNsT0rm · · Score: 1

      It is a big shift in videogames right now. I have been gaming since the Atari 2600 and had been a member of the videogame media for 4 years covering PS2 titles... I have the exact same feelings as you. After a while (especially to those of us who remember what fresh and innovative games really meant) all the FPS, Sports, Psuedo-movie RPG/MGS, Cliches, etc. become tiring.

      I have been predicting that the Revolution will actually be the real "winner" of the next-gen. As someone who has a bit more mature outlook on games, gaming, and the likes the Revolution is the one that is appealing to many gamers looking to break out of the monotony. I don't want to spend $400+ on a console that tries to be everything, I want to spend a normal amount on a dedicated gaming console that has some old favorites, and some innovative new additions... as do many.

      If Nintendo fails I am predicting this to be the second crash of the videogame industry. High priced systems that will have very few games over their lifespans (and even less diversity) are going to put off a lot of people who are used to expecting multiple releases per week/month. The cost of producing titles for the PS3 and 360 are prohibitive, and the time investment is also staggering to produce for these systems. Nintendo is appealing to the small/indie developer and I hope, for everyones sake, that this takes off. A lot of disillusioned fanboys on both sides of MS and Sony are going to be clinging on to the one or two banner titles for their system of choice for a good while before they are going to see another noteworthy title.

      --
      http://teasphere.wordpress.com - A little spot of tea
    2. Re:An odd paradox by Sylver+Dragon · · Score: 1

      I really hope that the Revolution does well, the problem with it, as has been Nintendo's problem for a while, is that they focus heavily on producting fewer, supposedly higher quality games. The problem is, that this leads to not being able to find games you want. It's because of this that I have been unwilling to buy a Nintendo system since the N64. When it came out it had one or two interesting titles. After that it took forever for them to come out with anything else for it which I wanted. In the end, I think I owned 4 games for the system. When the Cube was announced, I looked that the launch title list and only saw one game that caught my interest. Even now, I can count on one hand the number of games which catch my interest.
      To me, Nintendo's focus on "quality" games is killing them. If thier idea of quality and a gamer's idea of quality don't line up, they are going to lose that gamer to Sony's idea of "if you throw enough shit at a wall, something is bound to stick". Granted, if the Xbox360 and PS3 both realeas at the prices people are throwing about, I'll probably give up on consoles and just stick to my PC. Ya, it's more expensive over time, but I tend to find games I like for it far eaiser than on a console.

      --
      Necessity is the mother of invention.
      Laziness is the father.
    3. Re:An odd paradox by rAiNsT0rm · · Score: 1

      I find no fault with your comment, but I would ask that you look at this offering with a bit more open mind. Nintendo has already stated that they are commited to making development as open as possible with the Revolution. Nintendo is well aware of its mistakes, moreso than most game companies, and it is smart at combating them with innovation and style.

      Knowing full well the mass-produced junk that is out there by the hundreds, they strive to be different. Sometimes it is just too much and puts people off (Nintendogs, Pikmin, etc.) This more open approach will allow all of the smaller game studios that could never afford the resources, money, or time to produce for either the PS3 or the Xbox360 (of which there will be TONS) it may even allow homebrew type games, this is big. When the other systems will have maybe one title a month, the Revolution could potentially have 10-100 or even more. This will bring fresh blood and ideas (both sorely needed) and move away from hollywood-like games which are killing the industry slowly. Think of a hundred games as innovative as Katamari Damacy on one system and that is the potential for the Revolution.

      I'm not bashing the PS3 or Xbox 360, it is just fact that it will take massive time and money to devel for them which means big-budget titles only from big-name developers and not many of them, also the architecture of these systems lends them to FPS/sports/eye candy over AI and creativity. I will be happy to pay even $299 for a Revolution where I can play old favorites for a reasonable amount (~$5.00), 1st party Nintendo titles of which there are generally 10 or so that most gamers can find that fit them on either N64 or GC, and then experience the third-party and indie/homebrew games that come about. That sounds like a well rounded gaming system and experience to me... much better than a big expensive, complex, media center that happens to play the latest overhyped EA sports title, FPS, GTA/rapper, and HD eyecandy pwns j00 title. I think most people feel this way that are not 13-16 year old boys, and those of us with the money to "vote" are out of the MS/Sony Demographic these days.

      --
      http://teasphere.wordpress.com - A little spot of tea
    4. Re:An odd paradox by Sylver+Dragon · · Score: 1

      I do intend to look at the Revolution seriously. Granted, I'll wait until it, and the other systems, have been out a year or so before buying one. The thing is that Nintendo is going to have to show a willingness to get more and different games on the system.
      I do agree, though, that both Sony and MS are pushing way to hard for this "media center" idea. What I want is a console to play games, not a stripped down PC to do a bunch of stuff half-assed. I'm not sure if I am alone in this, but I tend to like to have dedicated devices for different functions in my living room. I want a DVD player, a DVR, and a game console. That way, if one goes down, I can replace it easily. Also, if that TV is in use, I can grab the device I want and take it to another TV.
      As with the last generation of consoles, I'm going to wait and see where they go. Maybe Nintendo will get past thier elitism and not drive the developers off.

      --
      Necessity is the mother of invention.
      Laziness is the father.
  7. hmm by jamoan · · Score: 0

    Judging from the bits of story that TFA provides i think this would make a good book too!

  8. No duh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's by the same people who make UT.

  9. I would like to point out... by Seraphim_72 · · Score: 1

    ...that I do not have "destroyed beauty". :P

    Sera

    --
    Slashdot, where armchair scientists get shouted down and armchair theologians get modded up.
  10. Um ok how is this a visual exploration? by Some_Llama · · Score: 1

    All of the pictures in the article are drawn/created... none of them are in game screenshots... how can this be representative of the games actual beauty/graphics?