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      <h5><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">//<a href="../../../index.html"><font color="#7C420E">loonygames</font></a>://<a href="../index.html"><font color="#7C420E">issue 
        2.9</font></a>://<a href="index.html"><font color="#7C420E">From the Mouth 
        of Madness</font></a>://1, <a href="index2.php"><font color="#7C420E">2</font></a></font></b></h5>
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                      <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0000FF"><i><font color="#904C10" size="2">From 
                        the Mouth of Madness:</font><font color="#904C10" size="4"><br>
                        <font size="3">Some Thoughts on Game Design</font></font></i></font></b><br>
                      <div align="right"> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">By 

                        Jason &quot;<a href="mailto:jason@loonygames.com">loonyboi</a>&quot; 
                        Bergman</font></div>
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                    <h5 align="right"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#00025E">Vol. 
                      2, Issue 9<br>
                      January 24, 2000</font></b></h5>
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              <h5 align="right"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></font></h5>
              <loonystart> 
              <h5 align="right">&nbsp;</h5>
              <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Half-Life</b>: 
                there&#146;s not much I can say here that hasn&#146;t already 
                been said. Let&#146;s face it, <b>Half-Life</b> brought storytelling 
                back with a vengeance. Amen.</font></p>
              <p align="left"></p>
              <p align="left"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Grim 
                Fandango</font></b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">: 
                It&#146;s been over a year since <b>Grim Fandango</b> was released, 
                and incredibly enough, there hasn&#146;t been a game this original 
                released since. There have been some interesting games, but not 
                a single one of them draws upon as many diverse sources to create 
                an original whole like <b>Grim Fandango</b> did. I don&#146;t 
                know what Tim Schaefer was thinking when he thought of mixing 
                Mexican mythology with film noir, but I&#146;ll be damned if he 
                didn&#146;t create a masterpiece in the process.</font></p>
              <p align="left"></p>
              <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Final 
                Fantasy VIII</b>: I think this game deserves a mention, since 
                well, it sucked me in like few games can claim to do (I barely 
                did anything else for the week or so it took me to finish it) 
                but also since it has such a large, involving plot. In many ways, 
                the previous<b> Final Fantasy </b>games did too (most notably 
                VI and VII) but the characters didn&#146;t interact as well as 
                they do in this latest installment. Play this game, and you&#146;ll 
                be clamoring for more. </font></p>
              <p align="left"></p>
              <p align="left"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">System 
                Shock 2</font></b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">: 
                loonygames&#146; pick for 1999 game of the year was more than 
                just another first person action title, it was a genuinely creepy, 
                creepy story, that sucked you in and refused to let you go. Considering 
                that 90% of the game&#146;s cast is dead before the game even 
                starts, somehow the various crewmembers actually have their backstories 
                filled in, and by the time you&#146;re done with the game, you 
                find yourself knowing a great deal about them. Stop what you&#146;re 
                doing and pick this up. Now. Really. :)</font></p>
              <p align="left"></p>
              <p align="left"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Oddworld: 
                Abe&#146;s Exoddus</font></b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">: 
                Ahh...<b>Oddworld</b>. It&#146;s difficult to describe how <b>Oddworld: 
                Abe&#146;s Exoddus </b>moves its story forward, because it does 
                it in such a unique way, that it comes across feeling natural. 
                Considering the game is a 2D side-scroller, you wouldn&#146;t 
                expect such a well thought out plot and universe, but boy is it 
                ever a great story. Like <b>Grim Fandango</b> it's also a truly 
                unique vision. Most games borrow heavily from science fiction 
                novels, or movies, or (heaven help us all) other games, but both 
                <b>Oddworld</b> and <b>Grim Fandango</b> are like nothing else 
                out there. Both obviously have their influences (heck, that&#146;s 
                part of the charm of Grim Fandango) but it&#146;s still a genuinely 
                unique vision. Don&#146;t believe me? Go play &#145;em, and tell 
                me if you&#146;ve ever seen anything like it. </font></p>
              <p align="left"></p>
              <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">There 
                you have it, seven, count &#145;em, seven games that have come 
                out since that article I wrote two years ago that feature genuine 
                storytelling. But the strange thing, is that there&#146;s lots 
                more than just the seven I listed above. There&#146;s <b>Outcast</b>, 
                <b>Nocturne</b> and <b>Omikron</b>, not to mention <b>Baldur&#146;s 
                Gate </b>and <b>Heretic II</b>. And those are just a few that 
                I&#146;ve come up with off the top of my head! Believe me when 
                I say, that we are entering a real renaissance in game design. 
                As computers get more powerful (and consoles along with them) 
                designers get more and more freedom. And it looks like all that 
                technology is going to be in the right hands.</font></p>
              <p align="left"></p>
              <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Until 
                next week, stay loony!</font></p>
              <p align="left">&nbsp;</p>
              <p align="right"><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">- 
                Jason &quot;loonyboi&quot; Bergman is the editor in chief here 
                at loonygames. </font></i></p>
              </loonystart> </loonystart>
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<p><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2">Credits: Illustration 
  &copy; 2000 Dan Zalkus. From the Mouth of Madness is &copy; 2000 Jason Bergman. 
  All other content is &copy; 1999 loonyboi productions. Unauthorized reproduction 
  is prohibited, you cartoonish villian, you.</font></i></p>
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