Sunday, November 05, 2006
Battlestar Galactica and The Apollo Diet
I'm really digging the new season of Battlestar Galactica. It's got some sincerely impressive special-effects moments. Like the much-discussed atmospheric drop / jump scene...
Good science fiction (and fantasy) is about people, and real-world human problems. It blows it up to larger-than-life proportions so we can see it without the need of a magnifying glass. By taking uncomfortable topics and couching them in a fantastic setting, they can be explored more "safely," stripped of their entangling real-world baggage.
Battlestar Galactica has been doing this. Sure, the special-effects-heavy episodes have been awesome, but at it's heart it's about people and the human condition.
But I do have some beefs with the show. With this weekend's episode - I have to ask - what kind of diet / exercise regime has Apollo been on? He's lost 50 pounds in about two weeks? They make such a big deal about him porking out earlier in the season, mentions that he's got to start jumping rope, and then this episode just has him weighing in and saying the equivalent of, "Whew, I'm glad that's over with!" That was a lot of jumping rope! Cop out!
I was also bugged by some of the previous episodes introducing problems that have supposed to have been existing all along (like the black market thing), which haven't really been hinted at before. I guess I've been spoiled by shows like Babylon 5, which tended to telegraph major plot events entire SEASONS ahead of time.
In spite of my nitpicks, it's a good show. Well Worth Watching.
But as I could stand to lose a few pounds, I gotta learn more about the Apollo Diet. Jumping rope, huh?
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 5:37 PM (Permalink)
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Battlestar Galactica is a great example of a show that changes itself enough to consistently surprise its audience, yet retains enough of a thread to keep us caring about it. On the other hand, "Lost" was a show that changed too much for me (next time on "Lost," Locke reveals that he's made out of psychic marshmallows). And, on the gripping hand, there are plenty of shows that simply don't change at all.
Drawing an analogy to indie games, there are so many titles where you'll play through the demo levels and say, "That was nice. But I pretty much know how the rest of the game is going to go. Next!"
Why do we write these games?
Drawing an analogy to indie games, there are so many titles where you'll play through the demo levels and say, "That was nice. But I pretty much know how the rest of the game is going to go. Next!"
Why do we write these games?
Because the alternative is hard.
It is it hard to judge if your audience will like the changes when you are still in design and development. Remember the adventure games of the early 90's that threw in some arcade-style sequences near the end of the game? Brilliant idea for adding some fresh gameplay towards the end-game, where the game tends to drag a bit. Except that your players are probably playing an adventure game instead of an action game FOR A REASON.
Players (in general) hated it.
Then there's the extra development cost of keeping level after level fresh and new. I'd have been done with Apocalypse Cow six months ago if I hadn't started getting worried about players going through level after level of the same thing.
It is it hard to judge if your audience will like the changes when you are still in design and development. Remember the adventure games of the early 90's that threw in some arcade-style sequences near the end of the game? Brilliant idea for adding some fresh gameplay towards the end-game, where the game tends to drag a bit. Except that your players are probably playing an adventure game instead of an action game FOR A REASON.
Players (in general) hated it.
Then there's the extra development cost of keeping level after level fresh and new. I'd have been done with Apocalypse Cow six months ago if I hadn't started getting worried about players going through level after level of the same thing.
Hrm... jumprope. I own one of those. Now if it didn't scare the roommate when I use it and it wasn't so cold outside. Maybe I'll stick to the elliptical machine.
Though Apollo may have gotten a boos from being in space and all since people stretch. :)
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Though Apollo may have gotten a boos from being in space and all since people stretch. :)
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