Aesthetics of SWAT 4.

Chapters:
1. City of Fairview - 0:00
1.1 Insides of a city - Identity, History, Psychology - 2:23
2. Environmental Storytelling - 9:47
3. Criminality in the world of SWAT 4 - 14:31
3.1 Fairfax Residence - 23:27
3.2 Duplessis Wholesale Diamond Center - 32:08
3.3 Children of Taronne Tenement - 34:36
4. Atmosphere: Weather - 43:55
4.1 Time of day - 45:48
4.2 Lighting - 46:39
4.3 Soundscape - 47:56
4.4 Soundtrack - 49:59
5. Ethics behind rules of engagement - 51:17
6. Mechanics - 57:49
7. Psychology - 1:07:43
8. Voice - 1:14:58
9. Immersion - 1:20:11
10. Legacy - 1:28:51

Attribution:

#swat4 #aesthetics

[FaceFullofEyes]

Chapters:
1. City of Fairview - 0:00
1.1 Insides of a city - Identity, History, Psychology - 2:23
2. Environmental Storytelling - 9:47
3. Criminality in the world of SWAT 4 - 14:31
3.1 Fairfax Residence - 23:27
3.2 Duplessis Wholesale Diamond Center - 32:08
3.3 Children of Taronne Tenement - 34:36
4. Atmosphere: Weather - 43:55
4.1 Time of day - 45:48
4.2 Lighting - 46:39
4.3 Soundscape - 47:56
4.4 Soundtrack - 49:59
5. Ethics behind rules of engagement - 51:17
6. Mechanics - 57:49
7. Psychology - 1:07:43
8. Voice - 1:14:58
9. Immersion - 1:20:11
10. Legacy - 1:28:51

[ryguy]

I love the way SWAT 4 handles its controls. So many simulation games think that "simulation" means making every action as awkward as possible, when they should be making them smooth yet limited. When you go to grab something, or push a button, do you spend 5 seconds flipping through menus to perform such a basic action? No. So why is this being made so much harder? SWAT 4's context sensitive system largely solves this and I love it.

[ashleykettle]

From what I’ve seen, mechanically Ready Or Not looks like a real successor, but I haven’t seen this level of environmental storytelling throughout. At least while it’s in early access

[calebthecoomer]

You look at media in a way that really appeals to me. You go deeper than the surface level, and I'm glad that you and the people watching get to enjoy and examine these deeper perspectives.

[marreco]

"You can turn this game into a psychopath simulator if you wish, but that'd be like reading a book backwards:nobody would deny that you are reading it, but you're only engaging with it on the level of an object. [...] The game expects a certain level of seriousness from the player and it counts on it."
THANK YOU! I'm so done with those ridiculous arguments about ludonarrative dissonance, it's like saying a theater director is responsible for drunken hecklers.

[pineapplepeter]

I have never felt this exited upon seeing something, like witnessing a ressurection. Glad you're back.

[CsubAzUrmedve]

1:07:43
This whole part right here is why SWAT 4, in my mind, is a league of its own compared to games like Ready or Not.
Some suspects act rather slowly, hesitate, or run away. Some will fire on sight. Some of them will be unpredictable. It depends on the context, on the level itself, and even on the type of suspect. Some will surrender the moment they see you, some will try to ambush you (solo or in a group), and they will be more likely to surrender if you catch them off guard, like from behind. They can surrender if you hurt them. They can surrender if they see one of their own die. Or run away, making a final stand in a room. There is self-preservation most of the time or at least you can count on it. That's quite impressive for a game from 2005. Nowhere near perfect—or polished—but it's impressive.

In Ready or Not, the suspects are in a "victory or death" mindset 24/7 while jacked up on speed, trained by Max Payne himself, unless you shoot them with a less lethal option. Even a lowly thug can do a 180° and headshot you in less than half a second while their arms clipping through their own body. They can see through walls. They can hear a door opening from INSIDE the house while they are OUTSIDE next to speakers blasting music. If they have a sidearm or knife, they WILL use it. A suspect, if he sees your damn toenail even once, will track you down with a frenzy of a shark, with a rage of a thousand supernovas, to end your existence in every timeline. Some suspects will just roam around all willy-nilly, making you walk the entire map all over again for one guy who's just walking around his arrested/fallen comrades. Even civilians are assholes with Forrest Gump syndrome and Stockholm syndrome combined, and they'd rather run the whole map and hug the nearest suspect instead of listening to the police while they are shouting for the police. There is little to no self-preservation. Yes, it's in Early Access, but these are problems that plague the game for over a year now. I hope they will tone down the AI a bit. It has the potential to be something amazing.

[julianjaimes]

1:02:11 I just now am realizing Laurence built this tunnel using the equipment he stole from his job site. In the mission briefing, it's mentioned he has a job as a carpenter which he lost after being caught stealing from the job site. That's why this tunnel is covered in plywood, and it explains the lights and other things that look like those you'd find in a construction site

[rasmustagu]

30:04
The long silence followed up by "glue is spilled on the floor" is weirdly comedic

[BeerHombre]

I like how mods have addressed the issue of "OP" less lethal weapons. Like less lethal shotguns can kill if you hit someone in the head with the bean bag. This game really shines when played with mods.

[simonsimons]

SWAT 4 and FEAR 1's cities are some of the strangely comfiest in any games I've ever played.

[burningspoonful]

I love the everloving heck out of your videos man! But the ashtrays on 33:47 are actually gorilla hand ashtrays, an (illegal) product of poachers in the same vein as banned ivory trading. It was hilarious to me to hear human hand though, ahhahaha cheers mate

[Nnnope]

The most immersive solo fps experience I ever had in a shooter was playing swat 4 with voice commands on. If you have a mic, try it out: this game is a masterpiece and voice commands remove the only unimmersive aspect which is the order menus.

[danbarr]

Ken Levine(who worked on this game too) talked about in the Bioshock director's commentary how he and another designer would go around and create a backstory for every little scene or piece of set dressing. How did this gun get there? What conflict killed the guy who's body you see now? et cetera. Then they would adjust the scene based on their story. You can see some of that approached used in this game. Seems like a really effective way to create a believable world.

[ChickenFingers]

I never played this game. I'm blown away by the detail in the environments, they look amazing and are incredibly thought out.

[jjayala]

"Element, Open and Clear. Sting it."
"Copy."



This game was the first PC game I played when I was 6. I will always remember this game and how sick it was. The first level of this game really sets the mood for the rest of the game. There is nothing like prime swat 4 with friends

[shifty]

Swat 4 definitely did their research. When this game was released in 05 oxycontin was taking over and people would pay $80 for an eighty milligram oc. Or maybe some of the devs were having fun on the weekend and knew from experience 🤣

[knowtheplan]

Your content is easily on a whole different league of quality it’s good to see you back!

[CMDRSweeper]

This is where Ready or Not falls short on SWAT 4.
The environments are built incorrectly, they are built from a tactical problem scenario and then furnished / garnished.
From watching this the base building was to make a classic house / building from what you could expect to find and then start fleshing out the story and building on it.
Which does lead to very good story telling and environments and things that makes sense, unlike Ready or Not that features a ton of loopback routes here and there that causes issues with it being a house or hotel.
You can feel the game isn't out to let you fight crime, but camouflage tactical challenges to throw at you.

[Sethar]

Top notch video, as a lover of the swat 4, this video is an absolute treat. There's a lot of detail in that game I never noticed before, like the element that the diamond wholesaler's top exec is a prolific hunter and that they were employing child labour.
Thanks for another excellent analysis!