Writing on Games | Hitman, Improvisation and Gleeful Absurdity - Writing on Games @WritingOnGames | Uploaded March 2016 | Updated October 2024, 2 hours ago.
In this episode of Writing on Games, I examine new release Hitman on PC - one of the most absurd games I have played in a long while, and some of the most fun I've had with a recent game as a result. I examine the way the game allows for true mechanical self-expression through player improvisation, linking the idea back to the way improvisation works in other artistic media such as music. It's messy, it's uncanny, it can be riddled with mistakes, it requires the audience to recalibrate their ears to make sense of the non-formal art they are experiencing, but ultimately it allows for a deeper connection between audience and the systems they are interfacing with if they are willing to work around the chaotic quirks. Hitman arguably fulfils many of these qualities in a way that few games do. It's not a shooter or even a stealth action game, but an uncanny toybox, and it requires the player to think outside the box, and within a somewhat broken system. This, as I posit in the video, is a good thing.
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Patreon: patreon.com/writingongames
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As I state at the start, footage is a little choppy here because the game doesn't run well even on my R9290 and the lowest graphical settings. Also, for disclosure's sake, review code was provided for this game by Square Enix PR, and the video goes into why that is something I feel I should state given this game's rocky road to release.
Thanks very much for watching! Your continued support of the channel is immensely appreciated. The channel recently hit 700 subscribers which may seem tiny, but to me is kind of crazy. As always, if you like what you see and think someone else might dig it, if you share it with them I would greatly appreciate it. New videos every fortnight!
Follow me on Twitter for some truly spicy memes - twitter.com/OFFICIALhamishb (the 'OFFICIAL' bit is a joke obviously)
In this episode of Writing on Games, I examine new release Hitman on PC - one of the most absurd games I have played in a long while, and some of the most fun I've had with a recent game as a result. I examine the way the game allows for true mechanical self-expression through player improvisation, linking the idea back to the way improvisation works in other artistic media such as music. It's messy, it's uncanny, it can be riddled with mistakes, it requires the audience to recalibrate their ears to make sense of the non-formal art they are experiencing, but ultimately it allows for a deeper connection between audience and the systems they are interfacing with if they are willing to work around the chaotic quirks. Hitman arguably fulfils many of these qualities in a way that few games do. It's not a shooter or even a stealth action game, but an uncanny toybox, and it requires the player to think outside the box, and within a somewhat broken system. This, as I posit in the video, is a good thing.
---
Patreon: patreon.com/writingongames
---
As I state at the start, footage is a little choppy here because the game doesn't run well even on my R9290 and the lowest graphical settings. Also, for disclosure's sake, review code was provided for this game by Square Enix PR, and the video goes into why that is something I feel I should state given this game's rocky road to release.
Thanks very much for watching! Your continued support of the channel is immensely appreciated. The channel recently hit 700 subscribers which may seem tiny, but to me is kind of crazy. As always, if you like what you see and think someone else might dig it, if you share it with them I would greatly appreciate it. New videos every fortnight!
Follow me on Twitter for some truly spicy memes - twitter.com/OFFICIALhamishb (the 'OFFICIAL' bit is a joke obviously)
