Park / Wasteland
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29-December 15
- Views 6,797
- Downloads 763
- Fans 8
- Comments 23
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77.50%(required: 70%) Gold
Chocotopian 85% pierrot 85% alex 80% disneylandian192 80% inthemanual 80% Cocoa 75% Kumba 75% Liampie 75% Louis! 70% nin 70% 77.50% -
Description
About Wasteland
Wasteland is not a theme park. It's an apocalyptic recreation within the RCT2 engine.
In Wasteland, I had two main goals that I wanted to accomplish.
1) Find beauty within the ugly
2) Extend the realm of roller coaster tycoon
Both of these goals have intrinsic value to me, but I felt that if I accomplished them well, it would have a tremendous impact on the RCT community as well. Of course, the biggest bar from people’s enjoyment of the project is likely to be that it isn’t a theme park. So, with goal number two in mind, I would ask that everyone view it with an open mind, and try to see what RCT can offer beyond the realm of theme parks.
Juxtaposition
The most prevalent theme in Wasteland is juxtaposition, which allows me to mix feelings of awe with feelings of discomfort. It makes for a confusing viewing, it’s not exactly clear if you should be feeling one or the other, but that’s what I wanted to hit on; how close discomfort can be associated with awe. I will go through a number of major examples of juxtaposition, from macro to micro.
Rugged Natural Beauty vs. Human Creation
The first thing people notice when they open the park is the vast natural landscape. I used map object manipulation to raise land blocks above the natural height limit in the game, allowing for mountains more accurate in scale. The snow capped peaks, sharp cliffs, dried up rivers and dense forests inspire the awe of natural beauty. Immediately juxtaposed to these beautiful mountains is the immensely scaled downtown area, also showing the grandeur and awe of human creation. The meaning behind the comparison is explained in the small town area, where nature is reclaiming human creation. All the houses are packed with dense foliage, returning to nonexistence. Ultimately, the juxtaposition reminds the viewer of the temporary nature of human creation, despite both sides being able to inspire awe through immense scale and beauty.
The Gas Chambers vs. The Train Station
On one hand, the ugliest act of humanity, killing, is on full display. Rows of people waiting to enter the chambers, completely subject to authority. Unlike most of downtown which is cramped and difficult to view, in many ways the gas chambers are on full display. The glass chambers allowing the viewer to see the death taking place. The people in a fenced off line are able to see their fate. On the other hand, the towering gothic train station is adjacent to the chambers. Large, beautiful, inspiring, creating awe. The train station proudly displays humanity at its best; harboring prideful creation. The technological value of trains, and the value of the connection they provide. The juxtaposition compares humanity at its best and at its worst.
The Theme of Absurdity
Wasteland tells a story, and it’s an experiment the absurdist philosophy. In the book The Stranger by Albert Camus, the main character does strange and sometimes heinous acts like murder. As a reader, he is an incredibly frustrating character because of his nonchalant attitude. We try to assign meaning to his actions, like that he had a purpose for murdering someone. However, the truth is that he did not have a reason, and his acts are random and absurd, like the universe we live in, and that trying to assign meaning to his or the universe’s random actions only ends in frustration.
Similarly, Wasteland is an absurd story. There seems to be biological warfare, mass murdering, and torture. The city is in complete decay, yet the courthouse is scrubbed clean, shining white, and well guarded. The world is coming to an end, yet people are still being killed in mass quantities. The highway seems to be well maintained, but leads to a city in decay and a fallen bridge. As logical and empathetic viewers, we want to make sense of the situation, to try and understand how these things could take place, but we can’t because they are absurd, and trying to make sense of it only ends in frustration. The events in wasteland have a story, but they are just as absurd as the universe it takes place in. In the end, we find things to appreciate in the viewing, the nuggets of beauty in the apocalyptic environment. Letting go of the absurdity allows us to enjoy beauty, no matter the situation.
Outro
I hope these things will provide clarification to what I can only guess is a very unorthodox creation to view. I have poured several years of my life into this project, and no matter how the community takes it, I can be satisfied that I stayed true to the goals I set out to accomplish. I hope you will find something to appreciate in this project, I truly feel it has a lot to offer.
Thank you -
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Yes, it´s a bit brownish, yes I´m missing undergrowth in the forest areas and yes there could have been a bit more debris in the upper town area but man this was awesome.
I love the concept of nature coming back into empty/destroyed cities and I think you nailed the atmosphere very well. I have to admit I love "The Last of Us" and you basicly recreated the whole concept of that game in rct2.
This is, despite having nothing to do with themeparks and rollercoasters, one of my favorite rct creatons ever.
Well done!
This was excellent. Actually the first RCT work I opened since H2H and I wasn't disappointed. The whole thing is very well done. Composition is perfect, the huge mountains work very well. I'm rereading the Walking Dead comics at the moment so I into this setting anyway. And you really caught the amtosphere (I helped with some music though while viewing).
The zombie area was my favourite. It had more detail in the buildings. You could tell from every building what is has been once. The freight depot was excellent. Maybe I missed a bit that the town was hit with the apocalypse just in everyday's life. There was a too little chaos it seemed too tidy.
In the downtown area this was ok as there were still people living. The genocide thing was really creepy but I need more explanation for it as it does not explain itself in the park. The courtyard was nice. What I did not like in the downtown area was the station building. I didn't understand the missing walls on the edges and why would there only be two tracks in this large station? It was a majestic station but it had a so small purpose in the former life? also the backside was a bit lacking there.
The rest of the map was also great. The landscaping worked well, as said. Bridge was stunning, the glitching in the water beneath wasn't.
In the whole park you went for a very pessimistic take on the theme. I missed hints on the last ascendance of humanity in here or some hope for survival out of the facistic remains. But doesn't change the quality of the park of course it's more on the interpretation side.
Great work, That Guy! I hope to see more of this kind of work sometime, maybe from me even. For example Morrow World was great, too. I think I like the take on RCT away from theme parks.
The advertising is what made this truly special. I just wish the overall project was as micro as the pictures... This scales off. Either way, I'm so glad you finished this. it's oozes with wonder, both demented and natural.
This is absolutely awesome stuff. Not only is it emotionally powerful but it's also a damn impressive display of RCT (especially the zombie area). I'm not sure how this will score but who cares, this just goes way beyond convention and it's great to see the game being used for something like this.
Awesome work!
This is an amazing accomplishment, congratulations on that.
I do think however, that you could have told a bit more stories. Just small stories of individuals struggling in the world you created. Maybe you did and I missed it.
The atmosphere was pretty uncomfortable and scary, so you did that well.
wow, i really felt something when looking at this. a truely emotional experience throughout. 87.5% yes to spotlight!!!!
It was all quite extraordinary. The city was the best area for me because it was more subtle in its execution and creation of atmosphere. For creating something so dark and twisted in a game about roller coasters and theme parks, this is something I really commend you for.
Just look at the project page. It's another reason why I loved the advertising.
I was torn between voting for this based on it being a park, or based on being a concept creation. In the end, I went for it being a creation and voted it highly for achieving what it set out to do. The goal itself was demanding, rather than being something easily achievable like "create a Utopian park", and thus I felt it was already in a high scoring bracket because of the thought and mindset behind it.
As for the specific points you mention, I believe they were all prevalent: the beauty and ugliness, nature and human creation, and the juxtaposition and absurdity of it all. There were a lot of atmospheric scenes, all very powerful yet tinged with a sense of irrelevance and lack of meaning - making me feel rather uncomfortable and unsatisfied and thus, again, fitting in with your aim. Excellent detail work, both on the large and small scale, and on both architecture and natural landscapes, as well as the occasions where the two overlapped and nature was reclaiming the humanisation.
My only criticism would be that you could've perhaps used rides more to your advantage. The use of tracitecture was excellent (especially on the bridge), but after claiming to want to "extend the realm of roller coaster tycoon", I feel that there were some missed opportunities given that rides are a large part of the game and could've been pushed as much as you did with the scenery tools. I think that something like a train derailing or plummeting into the ravine after an extended period of time could've made a nice impact, especially if it occurred unexpectedly. Or even pulling up to a broken piece of track and then backing away slowly again out of sight, unable to reach the citizens. Perhaps a bit gimmicky sounding, but it's something I believe you could've pulled off well to fit your theme.
Other than that, a truly excellent park that really has set new boundaries for what can be done with the game. The use of peeps, all in grey and shuffling, was very cool, as was the lack of any music or sounds other than the rain.
This park was very unnerving, very atmospheric, and very successful all round.
The use of terrain to split the urban and rural areas was quite clever, eliminated a huge difference in scale as well. Kind of wish that it was all rural area however, the city wasn't nearly as good as the rest of the map to me. The collapsed building and suspension bridge were quite cool though, probably my favorite non rural bits. Overall a nice little map, just wish it was a bit bigger and wasn't such an awkward shape.
I dont really know how to score this, its nice and all but there's no park. Kind of something that in my opinion that is beyond accolades, but thats probably a little unfair.
Yeah I followed the advertising. That's exactly why I expected a bit more storytelling in the park itself as well. Just being able to follow around some individuals and their story through clever use of names or hints, etc.
Just had another look at the advertising folder. It's a pity that you took out so many things. The harbour looked so awesome as did the scenes with the tanks. I guess it's the whole corner that is cut off from the map. Why did you do this?
@MCI - Thank you! I agree on your critiques, lack of objects made things like the forest underbrush pretty pricey, I wish I could have put more detail into it and decaying some of the downtown buildings a bit more.
@Cocoa - Glad you enjoyed it, it's been a long time coming! I can understand that a lot of people won't like the vagueness of the story, but what gives me confidence in it is that you say it reminds you of 3 different games, all of which have better stories than I could write. Even though I didn't make a story, I think people imprinting their own story lines onto the scene is a lot better than anything I could ultimately do.
@Tolsimir - So happy you liked it! I agree that the small town is better than the city, it was a lot more fun to build and was a bit more inspiration fueled. The small town being oddly tidy is just a result of the way I built, which was to make 'normal' buildings first then decay them. Unfortunately doing that leads to a lot of spots still being 'perfect' because I forgot to decay them. Eventually my eye just glossed over everything so I don't even know what looks right anymore. Hitting the object limit led to me cutting out the section of the map with the tanks, harbor, and other train stuff (which truly was a last resort because I enjoyed that stuff). I had some pretty grand plans for the train station, and I'm really disappointed with how it ended up because I totally agree that 2 train tracks for that thing is ridiculous. I actually planned on this being a 2 map release, with evidence of the army 'advancing' into the city and such, taking hostages and the like. Unfortunately I no longer had the time or patience to do that, but ideally that whole corner would've stayed and helped the project get a little clarity.
@djbrcace - Thank you! Yes, more details would have helped a lot of areas, I'm not sure what I would have ended up doing if I hadn't hit the object limit.
@Coasterbill - That's very much appreciated, thank you. I'm glad you see the positives of having a really unorthodox release like this.
@Faas - Thank you, it means a lot coming from the person doing the complete opposite style that this park was made in haha. The individual stories is also something I missed out on. Although I think that would've been fun, I have to say I think it's a bit more impersonal and vague not having those smaller stories, and lets people imprint their own stories onto the landscape, which is way better than any story I could tell myself. All these people viewing say it reminds them of one game or multiple games, which to me is what you gain when lose out on telling the small stories. It's a give or take situation, I would love to do the opposite as well and see what it turns out like.
@Poke - I'm glad somebody liked the city area, thank you. This project definitely tested my patience, having to make something completely dark with all the basics of the game working against you, I'm glad you can appreciate that.
@Chocotopian - Thank you very much for the in-depth review. I'm so glad you mentioned that 'extending the realm' with trackitecture and such. I originally intended for this park to be a much more active viewing, where roller coasters were launched underground so they could act as bombs in the war torn areas. Helicopters, gunfights, lots of action all around the park. Laziness, impatience, and one object limit later I gave up on a lot of those ideas. I think it can work, but on this kind of scale I just never could bring myself to do it.
Either way, thank you for the compliments on the park, it's great to see people getting as much enjoyment out of it as I did creating it.
@G Force - I would've had much more fun making the whole map the rural area, because I agree that I think it works a lot better than the city. However, I think viewers would've gotten bored, and I would've received critiques that the map was too 'samey' throughout. The awkward shape comes from having to cut out that part to save objects so I could complete the map, I hate it as well. I agree that having this map be an accolade puts everyone in a bit of an awkward position, but not having a concept creation section anymore kind of forces my hand. I think it deserves some kind of recognition, it's not meant to be released just for download, but ultimately the panel will have to decide how it fits in since it has to be lumped in with conventional parks. It's not an easy thing, not sure that I had much of a choice though.
Thanks for the comments everybody! Looking forward to answering some more.
I have been waiting so long to see this in full, and I have to say, I was not disappointed. It actually does tell a story, not with words or dialogue, but just plain incredible visuals and detail. You can almost dream up the words to follow this up, if having not already been provided by your haunting storytelling in the lead-up
The countryside is fantastic: just the right mix of ramshackle houses and businesses, and the greenery that has overrun them. The little town looks like it could be right out of an FPS with all the buildings looking abandoned and run donw. I particularly like the little things, like the bonfire in the church, and the buildings over the rail lines.
The giant wall and the transportation on either side is fantastic, especially with the guards mounted on it. Just as well, those roads and train lines look super realistic against the landscape.
And then, the city. Good Lord, where do I begin?
The bridge, the crumpled building, and those HUGE skyscrapers. I mean, I've seen people build things of scale in RCT before, but not like this. Each building looks unique and splendid in its own way, especially the ones where the signs of wear are fully present. The collapsed skyscraper looks just so darn haunting.
And when I thought it couldn't get any better, I saw the courthouse and the train station. Those have to be my two favorite buildings I have EVER seen done in RCT2. The courthouse being one of the only buildings constantly maintained, the train station probably being the other. The train station is downright beautiful, and huge, but still has all the detail needed to get the point across.
But the beauty in this is also in the small details as well, like the subways, the tanks, the sewers, and the gas chambers. Every single little thing just oozes with story detail
So yes, this is the best non-park thing ever to be done with RCT2, if not one of the best things to be done in the game in general.
Are you going to comment on each park that Louis has voted 70% or higher on?
Congrats on the accolade!