A Time to Destroy: Spoilers

3:00 PM on 12.24.2008   |   Atlas

49 comments

[Editor's note: Did I just promote Atlas? Ironically enough, BioShock's twist was ruined to me because of Atlas. Thanks, dick. -- CTZ]

There is more than one way to destroy. You can obliterate, crush, and maul in a game, but there is only one true way to destroy a game itself. Spoilers.

Yes, spoilers. This can destroy in such a potent way that is not comparable to others. Games can come crashing down from the highest peaks of joy and bliss with just a few words. No other destruction comes close.

People who spoil games are dicks. It is so much worse than spoiling a movie. Imagine spending days upon days of your life devoted to one single game only for someone to ruin it moments before you see what you have been working so hard to earn. Spoilers are the bane of any story-driven media, whether it be books, movies, or videogames.

Who is Atlas?

BioShock is a game driven by it's amazing twists and turns, and while it definitely cools down by the finale, a certain twist in particular is so amazing that it immediately earns the entire game a playthrough by gamers of any creed. To ruin this twist is to ruin the entirety of the game. This twist is not the question above, but it is amazing none-the-less and inspired me in ways a book or movie never could. I even attempted to read the book "Atlas Shrugged", a thousand page drudge of unrealistic ideals that were greatly borrowed by the game. Hell, I am Atlas solely because the game had a level of awesomeness that I had never seen before. The story made the game, and spoilers break it.

The revelations in the Star War films are enough to give a wanna-be Jedi a wet dream. Once this spoiler hit the fan, there was no going back. Few spoilers are more prevalent in our society. I have to admit, I came to the whole Star Wars scene a decade too late. It wasn't my fault, but by the time I saw the movies, I knew the spoilers and a part of me wanted to scream. For anyone who actually cared about Star Wars to know about the major twists and turns before they had watched the films is devastating. The wind was blown out of this one before I even had a chance to enjoy it.

Spoilers ruined pivotal scenes -- I knew what was going to happen. For me, the movie lacked the impact it gave to so many others, surprised at the sudden turn of events. Spoilers permeate every facet of our media, nothing is safe.

Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker. Worst spoiler ever imagined for young Jedi.

Once you know the spoiler, it will stay with you forever. You will never forget it, and even if you think you do, then wait till you fire up an old game for the second time. It will come back to you. You will remember everything. Everything. As fun as the core gameplay is, you will never be able to finish that game for the first time again. The first time you experience a fantastic game the memory will stay with you forever, and it can never be lived through again. The tension, the suspense, driving you forward to play the game for just one more minute -- all gone once everything has been revealed.

BioShock was an amazing game in it's own right, but who has beaten it twice? All the wonder, the awe, and the sheer joy of the well-paced plot being revealed to you piece by piece will be but a distant memory the second time through a game. Spoilers tear out the beating heart of a game and once it is gone it will never come back. Ever.

To destroy a game, to truly annihilate the best it can offer, is to reveal prematurely its heart and soul. Spoilers are the bane of many games existence and so I ask you; I beg you, would you kindly keep our games free of spoilers, for our sakes, and for yours.