E93: Blade Runner

Explicit content warning

09/05/22 • 77 min

Blade Runner is one of the most exceptional and influential works of science fiction to ever grace the silver screen. It brought the works of Phillip K Dick to life from its opening shots of geysers of flame erupting in the shadow of the Tyrell Corporation’s Egyptian skyscrapers. The technology might be fantastical and the world transformed, but the people of the city were the same, and Blade Runner knows it. To this day it is considered one of the best explorations and examinations of humanity, even if its slow pacing and flat characters might be off putting for some.

15 years after the release of the movie saw the release of the point and click adventure game of the same name. Blade Runner (1997) follows the journey of Ray Mcoy in a parallel side story to Deckard, as he investigates bombings, hunts down replicants, and otherwise gets tangled up in something far beyond his simple job. It was released to widespread critical acclaim, with reviewers both praising both its detailed environments and dynamic gameplay.

But 25 years later, point and click adventure games are a dead artform, cursed and largely forgotten. Blade Runner itself got a shot in the arm with its sequel, and for many that’s the only exposure they have to this world. Is it possible, all these years later, that this game could possibly still hold up today?

On this episode, we discuss:

How well does Blade Runner capture the atmosphere of the movie? In what way does it use sound, audio and animation to convert high resolution film to a low resolution, voxel based video game?
Blade Runner’s story is extremely dynamic, with clues, identities and even entire scenes playing out completely differently for each playthrough. Does this come across as confusing and incoherent, or is this a brilliant type of storytelling that should never have been retired?
Blade Runner is a point and click adventure game that barely features puzzles. Does stripping this feature fix what makes this genre rotten to the core, or has it been replaced with something far worse?

We answer these questions and many more on the 93rd episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Blade Runner OST: Frank Klepacki

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Which piece of Blade Runner media do you think is best - the book, one of the first movie cuts, or the sequel? Is the gameplay of Blade Runner more sophisticated and clever than we gave it credit for? Is there another modern game that uses the systems present here? Come let us know what you think and join the conversation on our

community discord server

On this episode, we discuss:

How well does Blade Runner capture the atmosphere of the movie? In what way does it use sound, audio and animation to convert high resolution film to a low resolution, voxel based video game?
Blade Runner’s story is extremely dynamic, with clues, identities and even entire scenes playing out completely differently for each playthrough. Does this come across as confusing and incoherent, or is this a brilliant type of storytelling that should never have been retired?
Blade Runner is a point and click adventure game that barely features puzzles. Does stripping this feature fix what makes this genre rotten to the core, or has it been replaced with something far worse?

We answer these questions and many more on the 93rd episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

—

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Blade Runner OST: Frank Klepacki

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community discord server

Previous Episode

Episode 92: Fire Emblem Path of Radiance

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, as the ninth game in the series, did not radically alter the formula that made the series what it is. Take one pinch of tactics, mix liberally with some RPG mechanics and bake together into a cohesive fantasy world, and at the end of it you’ll have a Fire Emblem game. It did, however, introduce some new features and changes that did make it stand out.

Released for the Gamecube in 2005 and developed by Intelligent Systems, Path of Radiance was the first 3D Fire Emblem game. It changed the magic system, introduced a new species (the Laguz), and perhaps most importantly of all had a ‘Base’ where you could regroup and make conversations happen between your different soldiers. Bonus Experience was introduced, where completing chapters quickly or pursuing additional objectives could give you a nice bump towards levelling up. It's easy to see why Path of Radiance is so well regarded - it introduced many mechanics that have since become genre staples.

But for all that it introduced, exactly how enjoyable and well developed are the RPG/Tactics systems in the game? Does the story actually hold up as a well told military fantasy story? Or is this just yet another iteration of an outdated and tired concept, with nothing to offer over modern tactics/rpg titles?

On this episode, we discuss:

How well structured and realistic is the structural world building in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance? Is this a believable fantasy world with realistic factional conflict, or a nonsensical grab bag of moustache twirling villains and monotone heroes?
How well developed are the RPG systems in Fire Emblem? To what degree can you customise the units under your command, and how emotionally invested does the storytelling allow when your character roster is so large?
Is Path of Radiance a good tactics game at its core? Does the game provide deep tactical decision making and tossing up opportunity cost, or do the RPG systems override and restrict the possibilities open to the player?

We answer these questions and many more on the 92nd episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance OST: Yoshito Hirano, Saki Haruyama, Naoko Mitome, Atsushi Yoshida, Kanako Teramae

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Are we wrong about the vulnerability of certain units warping the strategy? Is the concept of the Fire Emblem better embedded than we thought? Which Fire Emblem game do you think would suit us best, that we should play next? Come let us know what you think, recommend us a game, or simply be part of the conversation on our community discord server!

Next Episode

E94: Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie

Peter Jackson made history with the release of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but as far as he was concerned he was just getting warmed up. A mere two years later saw him remaking King Kong, with the marketing department splashing his name all over the place so there could be no doubt that this was indeed a Peter Jackson film.

Like with the LOTR hack and slash games, a video game was developed at the same time as the film with the actors reprising their roles, and it even released a few weeks before the movie premiered. It's an adaptation of the film, a weird retelling of events that focuses on the gameplay experience rather than spend an hour wandering around a boat as a slow romance blossoms. Developers Ubisoft Montpelier wanted to bring Kong Island to life, from the giant monkey to the dinosaurs, so it’s not long before you’re spearing insects and other native wildlife.

Does King Kong accurately capture the spirit of dense and haunted Kong Island? Does the focus on telling a cinematic story clash with the gameplay of shooting and spear throwing? Or does King Kong, in trying to unite these ideas, fail to make the most of its medium?

On this episode, we discuss:

King Kong was praised by critics on release for its gorgeous graphics, minimalistic UI and reactive sound effects. Have these elements held up in the wake of modern advancements in cinematic storytelling in video games?
King Kong boasts some fascinating gameplay systems - the spreading of fire, how your spear interacts with bait, and the way animals eat each other in a deadly ecosystem. In what ways does King Kong utilise these systems to create a deeper gameplay experience?
How well does King Kong capture the aesthetic and spirit of the movie? To what degree does Jack Black carry the story?

We answer these questions and many more on the 94th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

King Kong OST: Chance Thomas

King Kong Widescreen and FOV fix

This only works with the ‘Gamer Edition’ of King Kong, not the regular version

The excellent Nintendo DS version that we didn’t play for some reason

How does the King Kong movie (2005) stand up when compared to the other King Kong films? Are the other versions on different consoles worth playing (particularly the gba one)? Did you find Jack Black as hilarious as we did? Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!