| An Apology | |
| by Ian Klinkhamer (alcritas@att.net) | |
| Lew Titterton’s Review | |
An Apology is easily the most cinematic scenario ever designed — which is to say, this is a very linear scenario where the party — and player — do a great deal of watching and not too much playing. Even the fighting, which is often intense, and rewardingly so, is structured in such a manner that there’s really only one way to do it — you will fight this battle at this time, and you will either succeed or die.
As Blades goes, the movie edge here is pulled off splendidly. Insanely complex strings of specials cause creatures to teleport in and out, portals and magical forcefields to appear and disappear, and even a rather gruesome execution of women and children. Typically, Alcritas uses his wit and penchant for morbidity, esp. in that last example. Custom graphics are used excellently and extensively — my only gripe is that a statue of a giant acolyte has been enlarged by 4X, but the resolution is the same. This looks very sloppy, a rare example of graphical laziness that Alcritas also inexplicably did with the “Mother Roach” in Redemption. For a guy who works so hard on his scenarios, and to such great results, why not spend another fifteen minutes and make these larger graphics better defined as well?
Still, Apology is an expertly done scenario — on a technical level, very possibly the best ever, better than even classics like Redemption. So why does Apology leave me so empty, frustrated, and even pissed off? No, it’s not the difficulty — first, if you find it so hard, there’s an easier version, and second, I liked the challenge and played the hard version, enjoying its toughness. No, my problem is that Apology has a fundamentally flawed concept: to be a Blades movie. Let’s face it, no matter how good a designer you are — and Alcritas is the best — Blades isn’t about graphics and sound, the two components of cinema. Blades offers just 100 sounds, all of them pretty chintzy, and there’s no custom sound feature. Putting some Steely Dan on your CD player while you play never hurts, but then, that has nothing to do with Blades, does it? Even Blades graphics abilities are limited — no matter how good a custom designer you are, your custom sheet can only be so large (there are somewhat low maximum numbers for most types of graphics), and the degree of animation in Blades is limited to a maximum of four measly movements for any terrain or character, and no movements for any other type of graphic! (Dialogue pics, items, etc.) Quite simply, the fun of Blades is playing it, yet playing Apology is secondary at most. You’ll read lots of text — well-written but not extraordinary — and you’ll watch a lot of action — which, again, is done as well as possible, but “as possible” doesn’t mean that much in Blades. You’re initial reaction to a lot of specials will be, “Wow! I’ve never seen that in Blades before!” but your lasting impression, or at least mine, was “Actually, it still looked pretty lame.”
Thus, I’m faced with a dilemma: this scenario is a 10 — plus when it comes to programming and custom graphics, with no noticeable bugs, few typos, and fine writing. But it just isn’t that fun. The concept just didn’t work for me, with enjoyment often only in the 5 out of 10 range. Thus, I’ll average the two and give it a 7.5. I feel bad about it, but in the end, I enjoy being able to choose what towns I go to next, what battles I fight, who I talk to, what I do.
If I want to watch something, I’ll go to the video store. If I want to play something, I’ll open up Blades.
Still, let’s hope Alcritas and other designers take the fine use of cinematic specials and incorporate them into new scenarios with many routes of gameplay and choice. Yes, keep your plot structured, but give options as well, and make sure everything you watch or read is complemented with at least one or two things you DO (not necessarily fight, just do — solve a puzzle, choose a path, etc). Cinematic design should accentuate and improve the scenario, making the good great — but cinematic design should not BE the scenario.
Score: 7.5
— Lew Titterton