# routine alpha gameplay review // video here there needs to be two times more interactive objects / systems in teh game as well as a stronger sense of being entirely in over one's head andor pay grade needs more of the sense that the scientist isn't just some arbitrary tourist in a space helmet - but that they and the strange events at the station are somehow directly related even if something just makes a funny noise andor reacts in a surprising but not necessarily useful way it will improve teh game. make everything in it dynamic (??) the overall feel is slightly too passively creepy'; somehow be more aggressive; cool sure - just somehow more visceral and actively hostile right off the bat the trailer leads with the logo instead of teh game itself; the logo is separated from teh game (and therefore also somehow from teh game developers themselves); it should be overlayed - perhaps displayed in-game as a 3d logo don't fade in; this isn't a film or a memory (even a future one) but a direct demonstration of potential scientist fun with no frills the idea of the cinematic in video games must be entirely ripped out (andor at least radically reapplied; the medium needs to more truly exist on its own terms with its own rules and feel two extra layers of gameplay depth need to be added to this game space before something unique can occur; another layer of depth of interaction and a deeper layer of storytelling - ala gone home? the speed with which the scientist moves through the train is an indication of the degree to which the scientist will successfully ignore all the hard work put into that space precisely because it does not contain enough interactive elements example additions for this space: interactive adverts (see total recall) - simple clickable flash-style adverts with dark humour some floppies / cool magazines on the seat something small smashes against the glass while the train is moving leaving a tiny crack the information board made of cork looks distinctly out of place; bring it to (odd) life there's not enough of a fanfare announcing the scientist's arrival in the public sector (by comparison see the scene in 5th element when they arrive on the cruise ship); what kind of public space was this before everything went wrong? either it's all about the scientist the direct impact ir actions have on teh game - andor all about teh game space which - despite the scientist's actions - acts under its own will (and therefore against them) the cute public information droid scuttling along simply *has* to be a character - make them able to follow the scientist allow the scientist to be able to click on its (cheerfully animated) face and get information if the scientist shoots the tiny droid have it fizz and collapse into a protective white cube like wall-e allow the paper strewn on the ground to be picked up and read - they could contain eg. amusingly meaningless bureaucratic space station data factoids and trivia soundwise looking pretty good; dig the deadpan steven wright k-billy dj announcer and hope to hear more of ir voice the pda screen is the most interesting thing in the demo because it's fully embedded into the gamespace itself - something which the scientist can directly latch onto and manipulate; often only through direct manipulation of the gamespace may the scientist feel themselves part of that space / narrative. note this has less to do with that awful term immersion - the point is to ensure a gamespace is merely logically self consistent the doors need to sound like there's a little more happening inside with ir ancient grinding internal mechanisms - also make them open a little less cleanly more steam from iron underfloor gratings lit by floor level inset neon lighting strips (ok this isn't doom 3.. just that it looks cool) have some of those panels in the floor removable with a special tool so you can travel in the sub-floor beneath between rooms make the 3.5" floppy diskettes a more important part of teh game; again meaningful interection with physical objects embed the scientist make the killer robots walk slightly slower and then move audibly faster when they spot you; more flashing warning sounds needed to alert scientist to detection and make them scarier (perhaps ir eye color switches to red) when the scientist fires at the robot make more sparks and movement glitches - yet the robot needs to still be moving forward inexorably (ala terminator 101 model) teh game is about feeling alone and dis-empowered; reduce the noise that the gun makes - even it's size; make it look cheap and plastic rather than always attack immediately on sight have the robots sometimes pause two whole seconds before running toward you - as if thinking like cats than suddenly crouch and watch before pouncing such a gamespace needs more physical spaces to hide - eg. the hollow insides of the drinks dispensers (ala outcast) or underneath desks (ie. crouching and feeling small = good) if you're going to use grittyness then you also need to physically distort surfaces rather than merely layer dirt on top; make some deep scars into the metal as if raked by horrible unseen space mutants now _this_ is raw cyberpunk: video here to increase the barely survived nature of some of the scares have one of the lifts suddenly glitch out and require hand-cranking in order to shut the doors (eg. an emergency side panel pops open with a wheel inside) play with the spatial dimensions relative to the scientist; narrow some of the corridors and make some the ceilings far higher make the sound of the sewer monster far louder and more like the distorted sound of a lion and it's face more like this (it's all about the eyes) remember this is one of the more freaky moments in doom 3 - the beserk powerup. note the deliciously awful sudden drop of the floor / scientist right into raw sci fi survival horror // republic of bob