Press X to Hide in Mass Grave

This comment in the latest Bombcast got me thinking. Games sometimes try and make us do something disturbing or shocking in order to evoke a particular emotion. In this case revulsion and racism, I guess? Anyway, I can only think of a couple of examples of 'Press X to do something EXTREME!'. The mass grave scene in Homefront, hiding in the pile of bodies in the fountain in Call of Duty, burning civilians with white phosphorous in Spec Ops etc. Surely this is a more prevalent thing? Surely there are a tonne more examples of this? Anyone else come up with anything specific?

Generally those moments in Black Ops when you get so close to a soldier you can see the fear in their eyes as you slash their goddamn throat open. And then the game yells "WAR IS AWESOME, YEA!!!".

Dunno, most of Heavy Rain?

@Yokelbloke said:

Anyway, I can only think of a couple of examples of 'Press X to do something EXTREME!'.

I don't know, duder. I think Jason is a pretty EXTREME guy. He's always doing crazy stuff like getting lost or stopping cars with his face.

@Video_Game_King said:

Generally those moments in Black Ops when you get so close to a soldier you can see the fear in their eyes as you slash their goddamn throat open. And then the game yells "WAR IS AWESOME, YEA!!!".

You say that as if 90% of video games released today didn't glorify violence in one form or another.

I didn't mind the mass grave part as much as the crew appeared to. If that was in Half-Life 2 it would be genius, but it's in Homefront so it's awful.

That's not a defense of Homefront, Homefront is awful. But I don't think that part crossed a line or something.

On topic, God of War tried to one-up itself with every execution. When you rip Helios' head off with your bare hands. When you thumb out Poseidon's eyes. When you cut off Hermes' legs. When you crush that girl in the wheelwell because she happened to be convenient.

@StarvingGamer: Press X to JASON!

@StarvingGamer: I'd say that Heavy Rain tried to treat things with a more consistent tone and weight. It isn't about how EXTREME Ethan is, rather its about controlling at all the horrible things Ethan will have to do to save his son.

In Xenosaga's case, you press X to launch into a 37 minute cutscene. That's pretty extreme.

The only EXTREME game I know is Ninety Nine Nights 2.

Personally I find it hard to be shocked and disgusted by what I'm doing if there's a prompt telling me to do it. For me to get shocked it takes a lot I'll admit but games need to learn to handle it better. For example the more I look back on it Fallout 3 and New Vegas might be some of the most shocking games I've played in a while. Everything you're doing in the moment is based on survival, everywhere you go is almost by accident, every choice you make shapes you as a person in this world. I was never told to do anything there was no X prompt telling me to kill everyone I meet I chose to, and that's shocking that deep down in me is something much worse than any X prompt telling me hide in bodies.

The SAW games? I have personally never played them but the entire point of that franchise is to see some EXTREME f'd up s. In the case of the games, use the analogue stick to FUCK UP YOUR EYE DAWG.

@Brodehouse said:

I didn't mind the mass grave part as much as the crew appeared to. If that was in Half-Life 2 it would be genius, but it's in Homefront so it's awful. That's not a defense of Homefront, Homefront is awful. But I don't think that part crossed a line or something. On topic, God of War tried to one-up itself with every execution. When you rip Helios' head off with your bare hands. When you thumb out Poseidon's eyes. When you cut off Hermes' legs. When you crush that girl in the wheelwell because she happened to be convenient.

I think the difference is that God of War does it knowing that it's a stupid action game aimed at angsty teenagers who love tits and swords, whereas Homefront wants to be shocking. Homefront, however, doesn't earn that right; it opens up with mass executions and a tour of the police state. "And if you look to your left, you'll see women and children being raped!" it just shoves everything in to your face and goes, "SEE? SEE? PRETTY SHITTY WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE, RIGHT? AREN'T YOU ANGRY ABOUT IT!"

Other people have brought up Heavy Rain, which spent the better part of ten hours cementing that fact that all of these characters are normal people put in extraordinary situations, and doesn't begin to layer on anything insane until the final stretch of the game.

And what's your point about Half-Life 2? Jeff doesn't hide the fact that he has always had a certain distaste for Half-Life 2, Ryan said he thinks the pacing is shitty and the story isn't anything great, and the other dudes don't have much to say in defense to it. None of the main crew are particularly attached to HL2.

Is pulling right trigger to shoot people not pretty extreme? Hiding in a pile of bodies sounds tame by comparison, to me at least.

I don't really see the issue with a game allowing the player to use corpses as cover. I mean, any sane person, given the choice, would rather do something else given how horrible an experience that would be. But if you're trying to avoid getting killed and hiding in a pile of corpses is your best best, then yeah, I can understand doing that.

I don't really see the issue with a game allowing the player to use corpses as cover. I mean, any sane person, given the choice, would rather do something else given how horrible an experience that would be. But if you're trying to avoid getting killed and hiding in a pile of corpses is your best best, then yeah, I can understand doing that.

I think the Crew's problem with the scene was that Homefront hadn't earned that gravitas prior to that scene, and so what was intended as an extremely serious and emotional moment was absorbed as a cheap, immature prod.

I haven't played the game, but I don't think the developers were trying to convey racism.

@mlarrabee said:

I haven't played the game, but I don't think the developers were trying to convey racism.

Yeah, sorry. Should have been clearer. I meant hatred for the Korean soldiers who are creating the mass graves.

And yes, not sure why I didn't think of the self mutilation scenes in Heavy Rain. And the Jason searching scenes.

@pyromagnestir said:

Is pulling right trigger to shoot people not pretty extreme? Hiding in a pile of bodies sounds tame by comparison, to me at least.

This

this is not some new thing. Bionic commando. Mortal kombat.

@Yokelbloke:

Spoilers dude.

@Dagbiker said:

@Yokelbloke:

Spoilers dude.

Yeah was about to say this, gladly I just finished Spec Ops before coming here.

I've got a name for the concept page.

Shock and awww it's just a quick time event....

I don't think Spec Ops is an example of this at all.

@Hailinel said:

I don't really see the issue with a game allowing the player to use corpses as cover. I mean, any sane person, given the choice, would rather do something else given how horrible an experience that would be. But if you're trying to avoid getting killed and hiding in a pile of corpses is your best best, then yeah, I can understand doing that.

I don't think it was about the action itself, especially since it's basically "Hit X to activate scripted cutscene where you hide under corpses" more than they tried and failed to make it meaningful and shocking (perhaps... EXTREME) by having you "interact" with it. Even though you just hit X then sit there for a couple kinda tense minutes, then the level ends. Came off as insulting the intelligence of the player more than anything.

But whatever, that's not even close to Homefront's biggest crime of being a bad game.

Have you guys ever played any online games? People hump dead bodies and stuff.

@George_Hukas said:

Have you guys ever played any online games? People hump dead bodies and stuff.

lol

@Notfontain said:

Personally I find it hard to be shocked and disgusted by what I'm doing if there's a prompt telling me to do it. For me to get shocked it takes a lot I'll admit but games need to learn to handle it better. For example the more I look back on it Fallout 3 and New Vegas might be some of the most shocking games I've played in a while. Everything you're doing in the moment is based on survival, everywhere you go is almost by accident, every choice you make shapes you as a person in this world. I was never told to do anything there was no X prompt telling me to kill everyone I meet I chose to, and that's shocking that deep down in me is something much worse than any X prompt telling me hide in bodies.

This. Doing something you have no choice in doing or not isn't shocking because I didn't make the conscious decision to do it. If we've been trained to do anything in the last several years by recent games it's when you're in trouble and a button prompt comes up on screen, you better fucking press that shit or something bad is going to happen.

I suppose this also, however, brings up the argument that, to the character (who is really doing all the thinking for the player in these situations) saw that it was the only real choice he had, and by extension, the only choice the player has. In this way there is, I think, some form of realism in sort of acting on instinct, however unrewarding it is to the player to simply press a button to not die.

In Infamous 2's Evil Ending

Press X to shower!

[spoiler] Finally found the right sample, you got no idea how much this had me raging having avoided all spoilers about the game beforehand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3knYvZxH2w&feature=plcp [/spoiler]

You should put a spoiler thing up duder