I'm sure, but it's a page of writing! That's like posting a page out of a book and saying it's a beautiful image because, if you read it, it's a great story. All well and good, and yet I can't help but feel that communication is starting to break down at that point. I don't think this was meant to be a controversial topic!
Fair enough. This shall be my last post that doesn't contain pure screenshottage.
That is basically what it looks like when you're playing the game, but surely whether or not it resembles a cutscene has nothing to do with whether or not it is an evocative image? I think you may be imposing far too much "this is what I think the game ought to play like" onto a simple "this is an evocative image" statement. The player need not be either of those characters.
No, this is true.
To me, it is less evocative like this. I cannot identify with any person in the scene. As has been implied and mentioned several times throughout this thread, this is all subjective. It would be rather hard for me not to show something of my personality when saying what a particular screenshot evokes in me.
You're suddenly going to hold this game to critical standards far higher than you would expect of anything else? I hope you're not sulking! Sure, tastes vary, but calling that screenshot out for looking too crap to fit the bill is pushing the boat pretty far out
Well, you're kinda putting words into my mouth here, just a little bit. I said and meant nothing of the sort! He looks comical like the final boss did in Lylatwars/Starfox 64, that is to say, funny, not sad or pathetic. No matter how "good" a screenshot of that is, I'd still laugh and say "hee hee, it's a monkey!"
The fact that the big guy looks a little awkward and pathetic to you shows that it's evoking quite well.
More words in my mouth, but never mind, eh? Now that you mention it, I can obviously see where you're coming from, but if we're talking about just the images on their own, then all I really see is a big, funny-looking guy who maybe does seem a little awkward, just sort o standing there, but the little guy is running away, so is he being chased, or what?
I'm sure you guys really do imagine a whole lot of vivid stuff while playing Roguelikes, but a screenshot of a Roguelike is just a bunch of coloured ascii. If it evokes anything, it is surely just that sensation of playing a Roguelike. You may as well say that "##....$..@..." is an evocative image (please don't...)
Maybe we need a little clarification here. My post was basically supposed to be a counter-example to your previous statement, which was "I think if you have to have played something before the screenshot is seen to be evocative, then it probably isn't an evocative screenshot."
The definition of "evocative" in my mind definitely includes the term "evokes memories". So a screenshot of a roguelike evokes memories of that game, or a similar game. I was saying, "if this statement is true, then the SOTC screenshot is as evocative as the RL screenshot, i.e. not at all". But I guess I just got a little too riled up.
ANYWAY, it's all moved on, so here's a lovely screenshot (which I hope doesn't get destroyed by hotlinking):
Also, CASTLEVANIA FTW
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