Recently I watched Tony Garcia & Mike Stout's Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando and Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal developer commentary on the Useless Podcast YouTube channel. Those are really great, you should give them a watch sometime. Anyway, they pointed out a few times how Sony would not publish PlayStation 2 titles if they had any clear loading screens, and given the big focus on Solid State Drives in this new generation of consoles, this really hit me. These games only really load every 30-40 minutes or so, and they disguise these load times by showing a repeated shot of a spaceship flying to its destination. This really goes a long way in making the player... AHEM... "feel like the character". You really feel like you're traveling the galaxy on your own accord, piecing together the antagonist's scheme by exploring this fully realized world.
This all sounds great, but what happens when the loading is not necessary? Well, you have to watch 20 seconds of repeating shots of a spaceship flying on a shitty PS2 JPEG. A fantastic little touch in 2002 is now a useless animation that keeps you from the action. Obviously these could be removed in a remaster, and replaced with just a few transitional shots, but if they touched these games again, there would inevitably be other changes (ones that I wouldn't necessarily call good). Purists may argue that playing games with modern technology isn't a valid way to experience a game, and normally I would agree. But, unfortunately, every PS2 and every CRT will eventually be dysfunctional. Emulation on evolving computers and screens is how 99.9% (or more) of people who play Ratchet & Clank by the time the Earth ends.
So, was it all worth it?
.....................
...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................I don't fucking know
Edit: Actually stir up a conversation! I made this mostly so I could see what others think about this idea.
This all sounds great, but what happens when the loading is not necessary? Well, you have to watch 20 seconds of repeating shots of a spaceship flying on a shitty PS2 JPEG. A fantastic little touch in 2002 is now a useless animation that keeps you from the action. Obviously these could be removed in a remaster, and replaced with just a few transitional shots, but if they touched these games again, there would inevitably be other changes (ones that I wouldn't necessarily call good). Purists may argue that playing games with modern technology isn't a valid way to experience a game, and normally I would agree. But, unfortunately, every PS2 and every CRT will eventually be dysfunctional. Emulation on evolving computers and screens is how 99.9% (or more) of people who play Ratchet & Clank by the time the Earth ends.
So, was it all worth it?
.....................
...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................I don't fucking know
Edit: Actually stir up a conversation! I made this mostly so I could see what others think about this idea.
