I posted this on my blog laffingfish.com. Just trying out some blogging. Interested in everyone's thoughts.
Thanks
For the most part, I try and stay out of the “video games as art” conversation. I have no strong allegiance to one viewpoint or the other, I just like playing them. Yes, I cried at the end of Persona 4 when you leave all your friends behind in Iniba and pumped my fist in the air when the Pillar of Autumn landed on Reach, but does an emotional resonance make something artistic? Is it possible for an interactive medium to fully convey the creator’s vision? When watching a film or examining a painting all the intent is laid out on the table. There’s no way for you to alter what you’re ingesting. The message is set and there’s very little room for interpretation. Video games are unique in that the observer is in complete control. I’ve seen many a YouTube video of people playing Heavy Rain simply to break the experience and make it appear silly. No matter how many times you watch Seven, you’ll never be able to make Brad Pitt look silly. You’ll never be able to instantaneously break the mood and derail the momentum. I’m sure game developers would love to think everyone plays their game the “right” way and has the intended experience. Something as simple as clipping through a wall or noticing an uneven texture can break the illusion, reminding you it’s all polygons. As gamers, we condition ourselves to ignore these things to the point of ignorant bliss. But, every now and then, something so egregious shows up that even a seasoned gamer can’t ignore it.
The Assassins Creed series is a great example of interesting gameplay converging with a great setting and story. All the faults of the first game aside, I’ve grown close to the characters and enjoyed my time exploring the world they inhabit. That is, until I experienced the strongest case for the “games can’t be art” argument since it began. While playing through Brotherhood I received a quest with a huge emotional attachment for fans of the series. No big spoiler here but at the beginning of AC II, most of Ezio’s family is executed. The quest in Brotherhood is to sneak past the guards, collect the bodies of your loved ones and send them out to see before they’re throw into an open grave to be forgotten forever. Had this been a painting depicting the events I imagine dark colors, shades of red and black. Ezio holding his father’s body screaming at the sky if he weeps. Had this been a film, we’d be treated to a slow motion sequence as Mr. Auditore finally sees the bodies. The orchestral score would swell up and we’d share in his pain as he collect all that’s left of his family as he says his final goodbye’s. The video game version of this heart wrenching tale went a little differently. After dispensing with the guards I approached the gallows. There, laying on the floor, glowing yellow so I know they can be picked up, was my family. Trying to ignore the glow and stay in the moment I picked up my little brother. After awkwardly slinging him over my shoulder, I look for the boat. I don’t know how I wasn’t able to see it before, what with the huge objective circle around it and all. As I arrive at the blinking destination, I see the prompt to put my brother down into the boat. After some terrible rag doll, Petruccio lay in the boat, looking as much an object in the environment as the crates on the dock did. After the same, emotionless farewell to my remaining family members, a cut scene triggered and I was off to the next mission.
I love Brotherhood. I think it’s a fantastic game. The story in the Assassin Creed series is fantastic. It, like many other narratives suffers from the constraints the chosen medium has. There will always be a large segment of the market that doesn’t care about Ezio’s family, they just want to stab guys. Those people need to be catered to. Can games transcend if they have to explain and handhold?
Why Ezio, Why?
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