Getting inside the player's head
Games are a mindfuck, and I love it.
Examples that I've seen:
Silent Hill 2
Modern Warfare 2 ("No Russian" segment particularly)
Bioshock
MGS3
Shadow of the Colossus
questioning commands - what the game is making you do.
more moral decisions made, stronger ties to the content.
These aren't 'are you going to make your character good vs. evil' scenarios (though I dig those too.) but rather forced evil scenarios. Where the player is being told to do something they are very uncomfortable with.
We go along with the game and follow the track it gives us blindly - Bioshock's "will you kindly..." is an example of how this can be twisted in on itself.
I've always considered games to be just as much an art as anything else, and they've affected my life deeply. However, it's only recently, being an art student, that I've truly appreciated what they do - and more recently, when actually PLAYING games, that I've realized their potential for telling stories in ways other media just can't.
I used to do a lot of WATCHING games be played by my family. So playing games more often has made me love them a lot more, and see them for what they are.
The three big games I've played recently are Metal Gear Solid 3, Phoenix Wright (1&2) and Silent Hill 2. And all have affected me pretty deeply, but in different ways.
MGS3, I learned how to sneak. I developed a sense of paranoia, chanting 'please don't find me, please don't shoot me... D:' Now I watch movies and see where some tactical hiding would be in order. It also made me feel pretty badass to be fuckin' Big Boss, and when I'd successfully sneak away, or pick off an enemy, or do cqc (lol, did that EVER happen?) it was pretty awesome. The story was entertaining in some bits, heartbreaking in others.
But my GOOOOOOOOOD the END. D8 *SPOILER SPOILER* when you have to shoot the Boss, it is THE SADDEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE in a game. I forgot you were supposed to pull the trigger yourself, and I hesitated quite a few seconds before I did so.
But pushing that one button to pull the trigger makes it so much more profoundly mindfuck than if it was just shown onscreen.
Phoenix Wright is the most lighthearted of the games I've played, but it too affected my thinking. I was writing an English paper on Hell, I believe, at one point while playing it, and could point out every contradiction in their logic. XD It made me fiercely analytical and I tried to 'solve' everything. XD It was amazing.
Silent Hill 2 though... DAMN that game gets under my skin. Between bashing monsters that represent females, in general, to getting you to scream "KICK IT!! DIE!!!" at them, to being able to hit Maria, and getting annoyed at her and calling her a crazy bitch, to simply the paranoia and breathless tension it builds up in you... this game can UNDO a person. It puts you in James' shoes almost creepily well.
I nearly had a panic attack, realizing I had to go out, biking, in town, at 9:00 at night to go to an event. But then I realized it wasn't just the fact that my town sucks for having crime, but also the fact that I'd been playing a game in which going outside meant the streets were roamed by monsters that would attack you. I was literally afraid of being raped, mugged, and murdered. Which, I should still fear. But I hardly saw ANYONE out and about, and in a way, that was creepier than what I expected.
But playing a game as a character who I KNOW is NOT GOOD, for a goal as tenuous as figuring out WTF is happening, is a lot different than playing the hero who fights for truth and justice in a world being taken over by evil. And I love that.
Even games like that suck you in, though. Ocarina of Time had me totally, completely absorbed back in the day. And even fighting games, though they aren't heavy on story, are great for taking out aggression and feeling badass.
It's just been so long, I had forgotten.
My point is, I'm excited at this aspect of storytelling. I LOVE fucking with people's heads - and having mine fucked. It's an "experience" for lack of a better term. I'm just fascinated at how sticking a controller in someone's hands is such a powerful shift in viewpoint. Comparing the Silent Hill movie to the game, in places where they showed Rose running around and finding clues, you're certainly curious, but you're not figuring it out yourself. Fighting the monsters, you're scared for her - but not YOUR LIFE. It's funny how a character's life turns into your own so quickly.
And you don't even need 3D or a motion controller to do that. All you need is a shoddily controlled character running around a spooky town by flashlight.
Games like FUCKING UNCHARTED 2 are simply GORGEOUS, and make me lust heavily for the next gen. If Silent Hill looked like that I'd die happy, lol. XD I just want to see what new things people will come up with gameplay-wise as well, like Heavy Rain. That shit looks crazy.
It makes me wonder what Kragsyde would be like as a game. 0_0 Rek said a lot of people would probably get screwed over in it, and she's probably right. XD I still am leaning towards it being a watchable (as opposed to playable) thing, but it's something to think about.
I WOULD totally endorse a fighting game based on it though, lol. XD
GOD YOU COULD CONTROL SEAN AND USE TRIGGER'S DEMON POWERS OH GOD.
*ahem*
BUT AAAAAAAAAAGH. I feel I must concur with the phrase:
"FUCK I love vidya games!!"
IT'S RUBBING OFFFF!!!
Examples that I've seen:
Silent Hill 2
Modern Warfare 2 ("No Russian" segment particularly)
Bioshock
MGS3
Shadow of the Colossus
questioning commands - what the game is making you do.
more moral decisions made, stronger ties to the content.
These aren't 'are you going to make your character good vs. evil' scenarios (though I dig those too.) but rather forced evil scenarios. Where the player is being told to do something they are very uncomfortable with.
We go along with the game and follow the track it gives us blindly - Bioshock's "will you kindly..." is an example of how this can be twisted in on itself.
I've always considered games to be just as much an art as anything else, and they've affected my life deeply. However, it's only recently, being an art student, that I've truly appreciated what they do - and more recently, when actually PLAYING games, that I've realized their potential for telling stories in ways other media just can't.
I used to do a lot of WATCHING games be played by my family. So playing games more often has made me love them a lot more, and see them for what they are.
The three big games I've played recently are Metal Gear Solid 3, Phoenix Wright (1&2) and Silent Hill 2. And all have affected me pretty deeply, but in different ways.
MGS3, I learned how to sneak. I developed a sense of paranoia, chanting 'please don't find me, please don't shoot me... D:' Now I watch movies and see where some tactical hiding would be in order. It also made me feel pretty badass to be fuckin' Big Boss, and when I'd successfully sneak away, or pick off an enemy, or do cqc (lol, did that EVER happen?) it was pretty awesome. The story was entertaining in some bits, heartbreaking in others.
But my GOOOOOOOOOD the END. D8 *SPOILER SPOILER* when you have to shoot the Boss, it is THE SADDEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE in a game. I forgot you were supposed to pull the trigger yourself, and I hesitated quite a few seconds before I did so.
But pushing that one button to pull the trigger makes it so much more profoundly mindfuck than if it was just shown onscreen.
Phoenix Wright is the most lighthearted of the games I've played, but it too affected my thinking. I was writing an English paper on Hell, I believe, at one point while playing it, and could point out every contradiction in their logic. XD It made me fiercely analytical and I tried to 'solve' everything. XD It was amazing.
Silent Hill 2 though... DAMN that game gets under my skin. Between bashing monsters that represent females, in general, to getting you to scream "KICK IT!! DIE!!!" at them, to being able to hit Maria, and getting annoyed at her and calling her a crazy bitch, to simply the paranoia and breathless tension it builds up in you... this game can UNDO a person. It puts you in James' shoes almost creepily well.
I nearly had a panic attack, realizing I had to go out, biking, in town, at 9:00 at night to go to an event. But then I realized it wasn't just the fact that my town sucks for having crime, but also the fact that I'd been playing a game in which going outside meant the streets were roamed by monsters that would attack you. I was literally afraid of being raped, mugged, and murdered. Which, I should still fear. But I hardly saw ANYONE out and about, and in a way, that was creepier than what I expected.
But playing a game as a character who I KNOW is NOT GOOD, for a goal as tenuous as figuring out WTF is happening, is a lot different than playing the hero who fights for truth and justice in a world being taken over by evil. And I love that.
Even games like that suck you in, though. Ocarina of Time had me totally, completely absorbed back in the day. And even fighting games, though they aren't heavy on story, are great for taking out aggression and feeling badass.
It's just been so long, I had forgotten.
My point is, I'm excited at this aspect of storytelling. I LOVE fucking with people's heads - and having mine fucked. It's an "experience" for lack of a better term. I'm just fascinated at how sticking a controller in someone's hands is such a powerful shift in viewpoint. Comparing the Silent Hill movie to the game, in places where they showed Rose running around and finding clues, you're certainly curious, but you're not figuring it out yourself. Fighting the monsters, you're scared for her - but not YOUR LIFE. It's funny how a character's life turns into your own so quickly.
And you don't even need 3D or a motion controller to do that. All you need is a shoddily controlled character running around a spooky town by flashlight.
Games like FUCKING UNCHARTED 2 are simply GORGEOUS, and make me lust heavily for the next gen. If Silent Hill looked like that I'd die happy, lol. XD I just want to see what new things people will come up with gameplay-wise as well, like Heavy Rain. That shit looks crazy.
It makes me wonder what Kragsyde would be like as a game. 0_0 Rek said a lot of people would probably get screwed over in it, and she's probably right. XD I still am leaning towards it being a watchable (as opposed to playable) thing, but it's something to think about.
I WOULD totally endorse a fighting game based on it though, lol. XD
GOD YOU COULD CONTROL SEAN AND USE TRIGGER'S DEMON POWERS OH GOD.
*ahem*
BUT AAAAAAAAAAGH. I feel I must concur with the phrase:
"FUCK I love vidya games!!"
IT'S RUBBING OFFFF!!!