I'm at
work and I'm bored. There are only so many
YouTube videos you can watch before your head melts clean off.
So, I started thinking about stuff.
Kasumi,
tits,
poo,
cigarettes,
BioShock... Now, before you all run away, this isn't just another vapid post about "OMG!!! TEH BYOSHOKZ IS 1337 WINSKI SNIZZLE FIZZ!!!" etc (well, not entirely anyway), I have some actual observations to to share with you.
See, I was sitting here thinking about how absolutely amazing the game is when it dawned on me that in the game I am actively seeking exposition. I am craving the story, searching every nook and cranny for the audio logs and playing them all through the pause menu so I can read the transcription too so I don't miss any details. I am scanning every wall, floor and ceiling for the
graffiti that hints at a backstory I have yet to discover. I am relating the audio clues to the environment itself, seeing signs of a struggle here, a
dead body with a backstory there.
Then, another revelation hit me. I never do this. I am Mr Cutscene Skipper, I'm all about the gameplay.
See, the thing is, videogames to me are very childlike and cartoonish in their stories or characterisations. They are, most of the time, full of
one dimensional stereotypes with blatant drives and a penchant for the dramatic and on the occasion a videogame tries to give a character some depth, some humanity, it just becomes a
laughably immature caricature of actual human emotion (except in the case of Rock* who are intentionally satirical), hence, my complete lack of interest in anything except the gameplay.
A shining example of the above, and I realise this will make me about as popular as a turd in a swimming pool, is Metal Gear Solid. Behind the fascade of insightfull socio-political commentary lies a story that is pure childish fantasy. No matter how poetic Snake's bitching about war may sound, the actual content is fucking ballbaggery. That is a series masquerading as having mature themes and being story driven but the real challenge is in sitting through the fucking endless, baffling, pointless cutscenes.
This may sound like flame-bait, or indeed, one man's campaign of hatred against Kojima but the same can be said of all games that claim to be story driven and for a mature audience. e.g. Farenheit (Indigo Prophecy), Condemned, F.E.A.R., Parapa The Rapper... okay, maybe not that one, but these games all merely have the illusion of being mature, or having a story with a modicum of intellect. If you scratch the surface then the story is infact boring, childish, simple and stupid.
Indeed, BioShock too has a silly ass storyline. Fucking stemcell producing sea slugs? Plasmids that let you freeze bitches then break them into peices with a wrench because you took a 'super hard' tablet? It's bollocks isn't it...
It's the integration of this story, the way you feel like Columbo peicing it all together, it's the atmosphere, it's the...
...aw, fuck it. BIZZLE SHIZZLE IS THE SNIZZLE!!!
p.s. got bored of hyperlinking stuff so,
y'know...
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You make a valid point in some respects, but I think games are coming along leaps and bounds in terms of mature storytelling. They may not be grounded in reality, but who would want to play a Metal Gear Solid game in which you posted CND leaflets through letterboxes for 12 hours?
Games by definition are fun, or at least they should be. Movies have an easier time of it because they a) exist as a much more mature medium and b) don't require any interaction from the viewer.
Personally I see a market for games that do follow a more lifelike storyline, with branching conversations which determine relationships with other characters and so on. This isn't so different from what has been touched on with titles like Kotor (and probably Mass Effect). However until the AI is up to scratch, games cannot easily present the human condition as narrative.
The best we can hope for are engrossing titles which force us to make interesting decisions that say something about ourselves, in the same way that the best films can often be interpreted differently from one viewer to the next.
Regardless of how fantastical a gaming story may be, the best single-player games use their story to great effect, with the story becoming the impetus for progression and a reward within itself. Half Life 2 is a good example, so is Final Fantasy 7, and the God of War games in my opinion.
This is still a very rare thing to come by in gaming. While most of us will say that Bioshocks crowning feature is the thick atmosphere and exceptional story, none of us would feel comfortable saying we felt the same about other recent titles (looking at my shelf provides a few examples - Gears of War, GRAW, Guitar Hero II). I think beyond any other positive aspect of Bioshock, this storyline is in itself why the game is so damn important. It will force developers to realise that the same tired old stereotypes will not cut it anymore. We've moved past being dazzled by sexy graphics and jiggly boobs. The modern gamer asks for more, and Bioshock is one of the first titles to really show us how a story can be told within the framework of a game without compromising its genre. It's as close to a 'Citizen Kane' as we're likely to see for some time, and I hope it kicks every other developer squarely in the balls. Whereas every game for six months was intent on looking like Gears of War, I hope every single-player, story driven game that goes into development from here on out will take into account that a strong story is a major selling point. That we are no longer stunned cows blindly accepting the huge gaps in logic and tired story archs of the past. We shall see.
On a final note, I urge anyone who has not yet bought this game to do so. Hell, if you don't like it I'll buy your copy and recirculate via the magic of ebay. This is a really important title, a step in a direction much more progressive than any motion sensing control or leap in graphical capability. This game deserves your money, and you, as a gamer, deserve this game. In parting with cash for this title, you send a strong message to the industry that we are not so easily pleased.
Thankyou, and also cocks.
I find that Bioshock's "less is more", leaving much to the imagination of the player style is a smart one. Avante garde film makers, the X-files creators, and the writers of Wolverine have known this for some time.
Kojima sort of knows this as well. He always leaves more questions than answers. And though I respect Banj's point about the MGS games not being Shaksepere, I don't think they were ever intended to be. I think the appeal of the MGS story and the way it's told lies in that it seems to be half parody/half tribute to hollywood spy movies. That's not a bad way to go. One second it's laughably stupid or just plain weird, the next it's incredibly detailed and captivating.
MGS is to Spy movies as Evil Dead 2 is to Horror films. The fact that seemlessly segways from legitimate to farce is the magic of it.
i find all thse comments to long....TITS
...I don't agree with that much at all. I've had a think about it and I think it's deeper than that. This post really, shook me, because I thought I kinda knew the video game market, but apparently, it's just not enough to make a great game on it's own... I dunno, let me just explain my thoughts.
First off, I don't think you can necessarily criticize a game for it's direction. The developer's intent in creating a game is mostly irrelevant. All that matters is did they do it well. I don't mind if there are a million WWII shooters out there so long as they are all great, the problem is that they are often just mindless money makers with no depth or immersion, and most of them don't even hold up the standards of decent control or a worthwhile amount of fun. But that's not a problem with the intent that the developers are taking, but the quality of the final output.
Storylines... well, I dunno what to say really. In fact, I walked away from my computer with a full head of steam, ready to come out with all this insightful stuff about games that you possible hadn't thought of, and now I'm not really clear on anything. I suppose... I think that a storyline is effective if it's believable. The fact is that nothing is certain in this universe - I know it's a cliché but it's true. Yes of course there are certain constraints that we experience that lead us to believe we're bound by them, but then a few hundred years ago, people would never have believe we could invent aeroplanes. Wild storylines that have no real relation to this world are based around this idea, that we don't know what the universe is capable of, and so they get away with it. The real trick comes in making the scenario believable; the characters reactions, the world around them, the way everything reacts to these ridiculous, unfathomable absurdities... could you actually imagine it happening?
The premise of Fahrenheit (SPOILERS HERE) for example was that this actually could happen. To you. You could in fact just be minding your own business, leading you own life, and then suddenly, you become a possessed slave to an insidious clan. Of course the premise is ridiculous, but the execution made it believable. Now, you might say "well, what about all the supernatural shit that was rubbish actually", to which I'd say "Yes, but how dull would that game have been if they followed someone without the chroma powers? they would have killed themselves straight after the murder and the story would have been non-existent." The whole point is that it's following the exceptional story, not the dull ones that are happening every day that people can experience in the real world if they so desired.
I can understand the things your saying entirely, I really can. I can understand the whole idea of make the player want to be immersed rather than trying to drag them in kicking and screaming. I can understand wanting a game to be more than just storylines. I guess i just don't agree. I don't like sports games or racing games, but the difference between you and me is that I won't ridicule their existence, I'll just not play them.
Look, let me get down to no nonsense genuine proper honest knaawhatimsayin gov BRASS TACKS here. If you don't want the kind of things you get from unique and engaging games like Fahrenheit or similar story driven games, play Tom Clancy or the Sims.
PS, I wish this post could have been a bit more well constructed, sorry it's not.
"Look, let me get down to no nonsense genuine proper honest knaawhatimsayin gov BRASS TACKS here. If you don't want the kind of things you get from unique and engaging games like Fahrenheit or similar story driven games, play Tom Clancy or the Sims."
I do want those thing, I wasn't berrating games for having stupid stories (I even said BioShock is stupid), I was merely saying that no "mature" and "story driven" game has even impressed me before as far as immersion goes.
It really is not a question of taste. BioShock is the new yardstick by which all other story-driven FPS's shall be measured simply because it is undeniably immersive, atmospheric and totally effective in making the player (even someone as jaded and cynical as me) give a fuck about what is going on.
In other news...
My wife, who will only play games that require no committment or attachment like Tetris and shit, has created a secret profile on my 360 and has been playing BioShock all weekend while I've been at work. This is simply because she became intrigued just watching me for 10 minutes the other night.
This is a person who will ALWAYS pass comment on the stupidity of videogames (although, I suspect this is a mechanism designed to push my buttons) "why is he doing that? you wouldn't do that in real life." is her fucking mantra. She's managed to see past all this with BioShock, although she'll never admit it, hence the secret playtime.
p.s. also, my blog was partly tongue-in-cheek so don't take it as a personal assault on your opinion.
Ugh, all these blogs reminding me that i still don't have the game...
Fuck you people. BE CONCISE.