Even if this operation failed and got over 500 pilots killed, the Terrans are on the threshold of the Vasudan’s home system and it’s clear that the Vasudans are outclassed, especially when we meet them for the first time in game. Immediately we’re told that the latest operation failed and that the Vasudans still have the path to - Vasuda Prime - secured. The opening you just watch didn’t happen… It’s a slow, dispassionate, and disturbing bit of exposition compared to the terror and panic of the opening cutscene. It makes the first words the game addresses you with (beyond the tutorial) a complete 180. They aren’t characterized at all while the Terrans and Shivans are. Of particular note is that the Vasudans are only mentioned three or four times in the opening, and even then, the only things we know at this point are that we’re fighting them and that they’re probably alien. When coupled with the rest of the game’s introduction, it allows the pettiness of the initial conflict to poke through more than if it was a dry piece of exposition about the Terran-Vasudan War. By itself it’s a good hook and tone setting cutscene. The first thing Freespace shows you is what you’ll ultimately be up against and the terror the Shivans and the Lucifer bring. There’s often as much meaning and intent behind what isn’t shown or told as what is. Note: I originally wrote this as a script for a video (found here) and have made a few edits to the original draft. The first glimpse of the Shivans in Descent: Freespace the Great War
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