tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-733718838239486712.post4561337566293514592..comments2023-11-03T04:33:59.583-04:00Comments on Experimental Progress: Game retrospective: Avadon: The Black FortressPerson of Consequencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04788436443987713504noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-733718838239486712.post-62898443875534739992012-11-15T15:46:31.890-05:002012-11-15T15:46:31.890-05:00I think you're right; further, it would depend...I think you're right; further, it would depend on whether or not the player attempts the fight with Redbeard. If you side with him, and never even see the battle, then you wouldn't have any qualms about declaring the ending you get to as the "real" ending (there's a few epic fights leading up to it that would take care of that). But once you attempt to fight him, even if you sided him with the first time through, not beating him will stick with you, at least in a "mountain unclimbed" way if nothing else.<br /><br />The issue of endings and closure remind me of that beat 'em-up that was released recently, Karateka. You get three lives to save the princess-figure from the enemies; the trick is that each time you die, you become a new character, someone less to the princess' favor. So unless you complete the game on one life, there's going to be a clear sense that you didn't really complete it.Person of Consequencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04788436443987713504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-733718838239486712.post-7645458305854482792012-11-14T11:56:01.813-05:002012-11-14T11:56:01.813-05:00Very cool. As I'd noted elsewhere, it's pa...Very cool. As I'd noted elsewhere, it's particularly interesting that Redbeard looks an awful lot like a burlier version of Jeff Vogel (the game's designer/developer/hypeman/whatever.)<br />This kind of choice reminds me of Streets of Rage, where you always have the option to side with the final boss. Of course, if you were playing with someone else, you'd then have to fight them to the death before the game ended.<br /><br />That said, I wonder if players are left with a lack of closure if they don't fight Redbeard. I guess, given Vogel's insistence on giving you morally ambiguous choices all the way through, once you get to the end, you've probably decided for yourself whether Redbeard's tactics are viable or not, so the decision of whether you confront your situation pragmatically or heroically (suicidally) has a lot more weight to it.RPPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02837651081758351033noreply@blogger.com