LogFAQs > #947921560

3. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective - Zigzagoon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX0ra5DXfOI

Like a good novel, this intro grabs you early on with an intriguing hook. Youre already dead.

In fact, the main characters inner thoughts read like a novel. My head feels fuzzy, kind of like Im swimming through darkness. You dont tend to see a lot of descriptive language like that in video games because they can just show you whatever it is they want you to know (as long as youre not talking about the Zork era). But this intro cleverly doesnt show you anything but a black screen with some dialogue when it begins. Because that puts you in the main characters perspective, and at that moment, all hes aware of is being conscious, and nothing more.

Then in a further stroke of genius, the intro shines a light on a woman as the main character becomes aware of her, followed by the man with the gun. Bit by bit, the important parts come into play, leading up to the big reveal. And I love the way the main character casually introduces that reveal, thinking I have just one little problem... Im already dead myself, as the lighting shifts to reveal the corpse at the center of the screen.

This is fantastic storytelling, conveying so much information in such a brief span of time. And to top it all off, the intro ends with a cliffhanger that makes me really eager to see what happens next. A mysterious voice inside the main characters head tells him this is no time to be lying around. Youre the only one who can save her! A hook within a hook. Not only are you dead, but you somehow have the power to save the living. Now thats how you do an intro!

While Im most impressed with the quality of the writing in this sequence, its also worth mentioning the music is really good too. I liked the way the song, much like the plot, comes together piece by piece. First, just the ominous synthesizer to get your attention, then the bass comes in, followed by that cool part at around 0:45 right after you first see the corpse, and finally the percussion is added near the end to enhance the building sense of tension. And then the music stops all at once when the mysterious voice interjects near the end. So the intro effectively uses music as part of the way it tells a story. Theres not a single thing happening in this intro that isnt intentional.

This intro was a wonderful surprise, and exactly the kind of sequence I was hoping to discover by doing this project.



Top 2 later today.