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        <h1><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i><a href="../../index.html">loonygames</a><br>
          <font size="1">a <a href="http://www.bluesnews.com">blue's news</a> 
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<p>&nbsp;</p>Vol. 
                2, Issue 13<br>
                February 23, 2000</b>
              <b> 
                </b>
              
                <b><i>Pixel 
                  Obscura:</i></b></p>

                <b><i> 
                  In Pieces</i></b></p>
                by 
                  Josh Vasquez</p>
              
              <p>
                

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              <i>Sudden 
                histories revisted.</i></p>
              A&nbsp; 
                few columns ago I wrote about 
                intros to games that try to encapsulate a mountain of back-story 
                in an almost comically brief span of time, such a set up being 
                pretty precarious.&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>Septerra Core</b>, a new game 
                from Valkyrie Studios and Monolith, is yet another example of 
                the tightrope this narrative technique forces creators to walk.</p>
              Of course, 
                no one is forced to do anything.&nbsp; Choose a style and fail 
                and you can’t turn around and blame it for your downfall.&nbsp; 
                Not that <b>Septerra</b>’s opening is the kind of thing that would 
                promote as dramatic a thing as a &quot;downfall,&quot; maybe just 
                a slip.&nbsp; The game’s opening is a perfect example of frantic 
                plot weaving.&nbsp; While we watch a series of vague images, a 
                woman recounts a myth that presumably gives depth to all the goings-on.&nbsp; 
                The result is neither ridiculous nor sublime, instead coming across 
                as rather bland.&nbsp; </p>
              In this 
                case being unremarkable is a more serious problem, however, highlighting 
                the piece’s otherwise relatively minor flaws.</p>
              The &quot;film&quot; 
                opens with the image of a spinning armillary sphere on a desk 
                in some polished study.&nbsp; The sphere is replaced with the 
                image of a planet composed of various layers, all revolving around 
                one another.&nbsp; A female voice tells us that this is the world 
                sphere, a site of great power.&nbsp; Long ago “the Creator” took 
                off for parts unknown but not before sealing some kind of unimaginable 
                force in the sphere, leaving his son Marduk to protect it.&nbsp; 
                The only thing that can unleash the world sphere’s strength is 
                the Key, which apparently vanished soon after Marduk did.&nbsp; 
                But now the time approaches when the key must be found and used 
                to reawaken whatever waits in the sphere and thereby save the 
                universe.&nbsp; All pretty simple...except that it isn’t.</p>
              The narrative 
                tries desperately to take root but isn’t given much of a chance 
                by the breakneck pace of the delivery.&nbsp; The most damning 
                thing is that the narrator speaks farcically quickly.&nbsp; Now, 
                I know that time is a factor for the designers but this really 
                seems a tad too much.&nbsp; Might as well get that Micro Machines 
                guy to do it and save valuable seconds.&nbsp; It doesn’t help 
                much either that the actual visual presentation is a bit wilted.&nbsp; 
                While the animation of the sphere is quite nice, the epic battle 
                between Marduk and the villain is a let down, both looking like 
                figures straight out of street fighter with none of the acceleration.&nbsp; 
                And even though the sphere is indeed nicely realized, fine detail 
                with a hint of the mysterious, the overall effect is numbed by 
                the rushed pace.</p>
              Despite 
                these complaints, I must admit that <b>Septerra Core </b>has a 
                definite charm.&nbsp; The hurried pace, while absolutely detrimental 
                to the piece, is also appealing on a gut level.&nbsp; You feel 
                as if time really is running out and you’ve got to suck it all 
                in before being shot out into the game’s universe, like a skydiving 
                instructor shouting last minute instructions in your ear before 
                pushing you out the plane door.&nbsp; Such a fiendish jumble of 
                facts also gives the impression, whether deserved or not, of control 
                and confidence, the narrative so sure of itself that it can afford 
                to hurry (“hey relax, it will all pan out in time”).&nbsp; I can’t 
                say this is deliberate on the creators’ part, given the nature 
                of the piece that would be patently ridiculous, but the technique 
                can be seductive.&nbsp; Just think about how those thrillingly 
                brief movie trailers put it to good use, drawing you in even when 
                you know the film will most likely stink up the screen.&nbsp; 
                Make the audience think they’re seeing more than they actually 
                are, and they might just bite.</p>
              <b>Septerra 
                Core’s</b> opening is, overall, nice to look at and for a short 
                introduction it deserves some praise, especially for it’s somewhat 
                skillful juggling of complicated backstory.&nbsp;&nbsp; The information 
                is pitched wildly, but moves with enough grace that it doesn’t 
                completely fly over the viewer’s heads.&nbsp; The problem is that 
                there just isn’t all that much to be caught.&nbsp; A few bizarre 
                names and dramatic bits about heritage and saving the universe 
                are not enough to hold it all together.&nbsp; Much like the multi-layered 
                sphere itself, <b>Septerra Core’s</b> opening waits for something 
                to unify its glittering pieces.</p>

              <i>- 
                Joshua Vasquez is the resident film critic here at loonygames. 
                He also writes for the Internet film site Matinee 
                Magazine</i></p>
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<p><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2">Credits: Print CGI is 
  &copy; 2000 <a href="http://www.square8.com">Square Eight</a>. Used with permission. 
  Article is &copy; 2000 its original author. All other content is &copy; 2000 
  loonyboi productions. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited. You got that??</font></i></p>
 