SOTA Opening Cinematic

Ok I admit I was not a fan of the cinematic. I found the narration to be kind of odd I guess *not sure how to put this* The music that plays at the end is nice but does not fit the scene at all. It didn't make me more excited to play the game or wonder what is ahead. If just made me think "what the heck?" I think considering the low budget they are working with I think a cinematic may have not been a good idea. Especially since most will probably skip it after watching it once. Maybe a nice title screen with some nice music right before it goes into the login screen would have been ok. But this kind of feels like a waste of money to me. I mean don't get me wrong I don't think the game will be bad because I think the cinematic is bad but I do worry about the impression this cinematic will give to potential new backers. Though maybe I am being too harsh, I will try watching it again later now that I know what to expect and see what I think then. But my initial impression is not good.

 

Animated pieces of still drawings is used to good effect in the intro cinematic for EVE Online, I had no problem with those graphics. I took it as an introduction to the game, not a trailer for the game - I wouldn't expect to see any gameplay depicted. My issue was with the script the narrator had to follow, it just seemed overly wordy and enthusiastic somehow. It would probably not look at all out of place in the Tracy Hickman novel but when read out aloud it didn't work for me.

On a side note, I agree - it's amazing how easily the male gamer stereotype is accepted as the norm. This could have been shown as multiple cuts to the camera zooming in on different "players" / "otherworld dwellers" having the same experience

 

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LOL I am a female and don't feel alienated, and I liked the Harry Potter feel and no worries to me if it is male or female if the point gets across. I am a big fan of Harry Potter though.

 

I agree about the stereotype of the male gamer. It would have been nice for them to have scenes of both male and female gamers.

 

An androgynous gamer would've worked quite well for me..

 

And don't forget the cats...

 

The idea is always the same.

But at the end it does not matter if it is a train, a pill, a rabbit hole, a tornado, a cupboard, a book, a laptop, a magic gate, or a false wish "to take the baby away" that transfers us to a other world.



What counts is that we will end up in a great adventure at the end.

 

that I don't thought about male or female watching this Opening.

yeah, David Bowie...liked this film alot

 

Enjoyed the cinematic.

Music in the second half does not fit: perhaps substitute with Handel's 'Sarabande'.

Great work. Regards.

 

No offence but the cinematic looks like something I'd do in Windows Movie Maker in an hour if I didn't want to spend money on a quality animated intro....
sorry....

 

I really liked it. The fact that we're playing *ourselves* in this game is one of the things that sets it apart from other RPGs and MMOs, so I'm glad they really emphasised that.

It would be even cooler if they could somehow make an interactive cinematic that hooks into your webcam/Facebook/whatever and shows your own face staring into the screen...

 

I showed it to my wife and she loved it.

 

I like the music at the end. To me it evokes a sense of "adventure" versus the sense of "drama" that most game themes go for.

 

That's what I thought too, nicely said.

Also, to those who are talking about having 3D stuff from the game in the cinematic, remember this isn't a trailer... it's the in game 'cut scene' ala Ultima 7 etc which gives that buildup to 'entering the world'. It does feel right to me as a 'spiritual successor' to the Ultima series.

There will be plenty of 'trailers' made using in game footage, I'm sure of it.

 

It was kind of Harry Potterish, but I thought it pulled off the androgynous look well - they were going for "could be male or female" and I think it worked.

I like the artistic style. I wouldn't have really cared for the narration if it wasn't The Guardian doing it, though. Actually, I think it would have been better if he was the voice of some sinister character in the world speaking to us, rather than just a narrator.

I think there could have been more specific indication of game plot/events, or more of a sense of present drama or danger, as you see in the Ultima intros. By the time we are watching the intro (ie. when we boot up the game) many of us have already seen those mysterious texts and diagrams, we already know of New Britannia, and we obviously are already being drawn in.

So, watching the intro is like watching a recap of something we all already experienced, rather than being introduced to something new to start us off. I think it is very well done if that was the intent, though I would have leaned towards what I mention above. :3

 

All the best cinematics begin with a nerd staring at his computer at 2 in the morning....

 

Nox, anyone

 

I liked it, and I loved the music.

 

Why the all seeing eye?

 

That eye is nothing less than the EVIL EYE of New Britannia! RAWR!