CLOUDPUNK GENRE DRIVERS
CLOUDPUNK GENRE DRIVER
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Though the amount of interactivity is up for debate, it really depends on what you are looking for. ThereвЂ™s a lot to ponder, but I do think we should hold video games to their вЂњinteractive mediumвЂќ title, if only to differentiate them from their companion art forms. It was an interesting experiment that was abandoned entirely within itвЂ™s sequel but I still ask, what is the expectation? Other games like Dear Esther and EverybodyвЂ™s Gone to the Rapture weave stories within what we lovingly call вЂњwalking simulators.вЂќShould players expect a higher level of engagement based on video games being known as an interactive medium of art? Or can their stories be as passive as say, film? Oftentimes mechanics can enhance a story, but can stories play out around a player with zero engagement? The first Titanfall attempted this with a multiplayer deathmatch game and a radio play audio story progressing within each match. How much activity is appropriate? Sometimes gameplay can get in the way of an amazing story. That left me questioning how videogame stories keep the player engaged, keeping people clicking inputs to move plot points. I felt like I was removed from the video game entirely. While interesting, I didnвЂ™t find it engaging. This effectively makes the gameplay feel almost passive, like listening to a radio play while you direct the hover car to the next waypoint.

You control Rania as she flies her hover car from point to point, following whatever route you see fit, so the story is more or less spoken AT you (well voice acted mind you.). While the pacing proves problematic, what really vexes me is how the story is told within the gameplay of Cloudpunk. Cloudpunk and its DLC would do well with itвЂ™s pacing to shorten up the steps in the story beats to tighten up a pleasant but dragging experience. Cloudpunk has some things to say with itвЂ™s story but does so at a snailвЂ™s pace, dragging out the enjoyment until its ultimately satisfying conclusion. I was always mildly amused by these stories, but the length of time it took for a measured chuckle felt longer than necessary. While the stories are mostly interesting, the game spends a lot of time setting them up to mildly entertaining conclusions. Unfortunately navpoints only work on a flat map, not when you can go up and down multiple levels of a said city block of complicated maze-like markets. Also with the labyrinthian layout of Novalis, navigating to package delivery waypoints can prove frustrating and confusing. The up close character designs look less amazing, especially since the developers have added a first person mode. The sheer size and variability in the floating city with that look adds a layer of immense depth. The art design is a sleek voxel look that when shown in a mass metropolis, feels grand. ItвЂ™s as if someone had amassed bite sized tales from the future and combined them into a loose fitting narrative, which works just as much in its favor as to its detriment.

Getting small morsels of independent story beats between deliveries is the most interesting part of Cloudpunk.

CLOUDPUNK GENRE DRIVERS

Discovering rogue cult AI or drunken futuristic race car drivers are all part of the package that is this megacity in the clouds, and itвЂ™s quite the package indeed. The individual stories of Novalis are what drive the narrative. Rania is accompanied by her lovable dog AI Camus, and together they circumvent the dangers and thrills that Novalis brings while also interacting with the shady inhabitants of every walk of life the city has to offer.

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From there, itвЂ™s an ongoing series of jobs that lead to mystery and intrigue the likes of any detective thriller. Rania is new to the mega city of Novalis, and with only a few credits in her pocket, signs up for illegal delivery and taxi company Cloudpunk.

The story of Cloudpunk follows Rania and with the DLC, a secondary protagonist Hayse.

CLOUDPUNK GENRE DRIVER

Playing a cab driver in this world brings interesting twists and turns in a Noir genre thatвЂ™s befitting, but calls into question the nature of storytelling in videogames. The most accurate comparison is the world of The Fifth Element вЂ“ lots of smog, rampant street drugs, and classism based on the cloud layers. Conversations About the Nature of StorytellingД¬loudpunk and itвЂ™s accompanying City of Ghosts DLC are stories around a futuristic city in the sky, but not an idealistic one.

Cloudpunk genre