Post 2 Methods of Development Part 2

   4. Comparison: The only game series that I think is similar to the MGS series is the Assassin's Creed series. This is one of the only game series that is in anyway related to MGS is what I said in the last M.O.D, stealth. Within both games, you must utilize sneaking, camouflage, and being unseen to advance in the story line and kill whichever target is crucial to the mission. Though Assassin's Creed's level of stealth is not nearly as immersive and crucial as in MGS, it is one of the only games in which it has some sort of meaning within the game and level upon which you play at, while in most games just to run in and slaughter everything is usually the best and easiest way of going through things.

   5. Specific Example:
Point: MGS can teach patience and how to control your rage through extremely difficult gameplay.
Specific Example: When I first got really into MGS (only 2 years ago), I was really impatient and stupid, so MGS may not have seemed the best buy for me in the early stages of playtime. I bought MGS 2 and MGS 3, and boy was it annoying. It was the first time I played a game where it required me to be patient and plan ahead, to really think about what I was doing. It was hard. I had heard about it, but when first going through, everything about the game was bad, except the guy controlling it, I would die constantly, get stuck, die some more, until finally through sheer luck I realized I needed to get something I had passed about 6 times to advance. But throughout the games I slowly improved, made plans, and was finally really enjoying it. So I got angry less and less, and was patient in my game. So by the time I finally got around to MGS 4, there was no real problems for me. MGS had helped out in teaching me patience and how to control my anger.

   6. Contrast: There are a lot of games that have almost nothing in common with Metal Gear Solid, but throughout this post the game series that I believe is the most dissimilar with MGS is the Call of Duty series, (the later installments). The latest games Call of Duty has made, are so similar to each other that it can be said they are 2 parts of the same game. They are now entirely fictional, one of the only similarities with MGS, and like I said before, the easiest path in each campaign is to run and gun, no thought required. Back in it's early days, Call of Duty produced games that actually weren't just a rehash of it's last game, and could actually pose some kind of difficulty to the player, (I know this from experience). This is totally unlike MGS , which as I mentioned before, is very challenging and requires complex thought. The only other similarity I see between these games besides fiction, is that they both use guns as weapons...

Post 2 - Methods of Development Part 1

For the second ISU post on Methods of Development, I will be examining the video game series of Metal Gear Solid (MGS). Six methods of development that apply to the video game series are

1.     Historical Reference: Throughout the 3rd instalment of the series, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater, it is taking place during the Cold War. The main antagonists of the storyline are Russian communists, and you are an American operative trying to stop them obtaining a highly mobile missile launcher that would swing the odds of the Cold War highly in the favour of the Soviet Union. The historical reference is obviously towards the Cold War that occurred between The Soviet Union and The United States of America that happened in the span of time immediately after WWII to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The historical reference clearly helps develop the storyline for the game, and it is not limited to this game only, all other instalments have historical reference, mostly to terrorism in the middle east, but some add-on towards the Cold War reference in MGS 3: Snake Eater. 

2.     Division: The game series MGS is divided up into 4 main instalments, with some of them having small expansion games. The first game, Metal Gear Solid, begins the series by introducing the protagonist for the series, Snake, and later on in the game, Otacon. They destroy the nuke launcher Metal Gear Rex and escape the island upon which it is based, Shadow Moses. The second instalment, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, sees the introduction of a new protagonist Jack, codenamed Raiden, after Snake supposedly dies sinking a new Metal Gear. Inevitably, Raiden destroys the new Metal gear and saves the day. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, sees Snake's predecessor Big Boss A.K.A. Naked Snake stop the communists from acquiring a prototype Metal Gear. Finally, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Snake in his final days stops a huge conspiracy within the American government being controlled by an incredibly powerful group, the Patriots.

3.     Classification: The game series MGS is classified in one of it's on specified game genres, tactical espionage action. It says so right on the box. All 4 games are this supposed tactical espionage action genre, and as far as I know, no other game or series shares this classification. And the reason for this is that no other game is really like MGS. Within MGS, you can't just blindly run in guns blazing, that's a surefire way to get killed! Though some parts of the game do demand violence, most of it is sneaking and using the general video game guard's stupidity to your advantage. Stealth is your best friend in this game, a rare statement for games these days.