Superheroes, Cities, and Empty Streets

Really really interesting article @austin_walker. I get what you mean about Gotham. For me, the city that I've felt most alive in a video game is L.A. Noire's 1947 Los Angeles. Despite being manifestly uninteractive in many ways, because the historical attention to detail was so fastidious it presented a really convincing rendition of the city. I just loved walking down the street in that game. The gameplay may have been resolutely linear but it had some really interesting, well developed characters.

THE BEST.

Superhero games in a world with innocent, vulnerable civilians are far more interesting of course. But I fear it's pretty much impossible to do in a Batman-licensed game. We can be sure there are very strict licensing contracts that prohibit Batman hurting a civilian, even when the player gets "punished" for doing it. And having civilians just be invincible is just plain dumb. The only way I could see them allow for an inhabited Gotham is to split the game in a Bruce Banner part and a Batman part. In the 'Bruce Banner'-part you go around doing investigations, gathering intel,... mostly during the day (and perhaps some fancy parties). Trying to hurt a civilian as Bruce would just get you arrested and result in an immediate Game Over. But at night (and for example when entering a "hostile area" during the game, you would get the Arkham-style Batman gameplay because you would be sure you would almost only encounter criminals.

The Infamous games started doing something more interesting in which your behaviour mattered, but it mostly ended up in just having a meter going one way or the other, and civilians cheering or booing you. I hope some more superhero games start exploring that route, but I'm afraid they will have the extra problem of having to create a new IP to base the game in. Very few famous superheroes are of a "whatever gets the job done" mentality, save perhaps Watchmen or Wolverine. Most recent successful characters are all of the "I can't kill/hurt anyone ever"-type (Batman, Daredevil, Arrow, Flash,...), even to the point were the hero is allowing more innocent civilians to be killed because they refuse to take out the big villains...

Divinity: Original Sin also did this an interesting way. You could kill absolutely everyone in that game. But it would also make it a lot harder when every NPC treated you as an enemy or refused to talk to you. Much more combat, no way to buy/sell gear, repair,... And if a Kickstarter game can build a world like that, big AAA-games should be able to do that as well...

@tomba_be: That'd be a hell of a cross over game between marvel and dc

Austin is cool.

Bravo....I must say sir, this was my very first article I have read that you authored. I am completely blown away. This is some damn good writing, no doubt about. I mean seriously, great piece bro, great freaking piece.

Onto the topic at hand. I have played and thoroughly enjoyed a lot of Batman games through out my life, and I must say that Rocksteady's Arkham Asylum is definitely in my Top Ten of all time, Arkham City on the other hand.....it was fun for a few days but just started to feel dull and repetitive to me. I....like you have always longed for a studio to grace us with a proper Dark Knight title that encompasses all the things we love about DC's great detective's universe, which is of course, the live and vibrant metropolis city of Gotham, and everything that comes with it. I agree with everything you said about superheroes and the city they stand for.

Yes, the villains and criminals and action matters, but why not give us a real, tangible, organic open-world city with all the fixings. I mean, I want the developers to take it back to the pioneer days of superheroics and show us the people and city they live in that we, portrayed as the superhero, are obligated to defend and protect at all costs no matter the circumstances. Show us the innocents riding on the buses and standing in line at the airport and walking down the street with their nose stuck in a phone. Give something upfront and in our face to show us CONSTANTLY why we, as the hero, are doing what we are doing. I feel like that should be the number one priority whenever a studio decides to recreate a superhero's story from the comic books or even if it is an original idea, whatever the case may be, us as consumers and more then likely fans of superheros, crave that huge, living, breathing open-world city we are obligated to protect and serve.

That is all I have to say about the whole thing. It is 2015 and large, populated, happening cities are loved and here to stay in the gaming world and they [the developers] better wrap their heads around it and give us [the consumer] what we want damn it, lol

I must give you some more praise though on the intricacy and dynamic writing you have given us, I absolutely adored it. I am a huge fan of great writing and I loved this part.

[quote]So he swings back towards the neon of the theater district, towards that objective in the corner, towards the cause of the evacuation that he paradoxically already hovers above. He runs under the light of the cheap motel sign, past the prop-like vehicles, swerving around the locked bodies in this lifeless world.[/quote]

@vsharres: See, I'm with you in that I feel like the "Arkham" name is important here. I always took it as a reference to Batman himself, though...a huge theme of the series (and especially "Arkham Knight" is pushing Batman to his mental and emotional breaking point. Literally fighting off his own insanity.

See, I would play a Batman game where Gotham had JUST a night cycle of residents 90% who are good (mostly) law abiding citizens. As Austin said you woudl imagine Gotham woudl have nightclubs, like in teh 1950s sense, and casinos, and gala balls tha the museum and a restaurants, and of course the activities of the underworld. It would be awesome for Batman to have to navigate and maybe lure criminals out of populated streets in to alleys, or have to scoop up criminals from committing a mugging on the open streets.

It woudl be cool to be Bruce Wayne at the nightclub, at the casino, at the gala ball, at the high class brothel, and among the people of Gotham, right? Imagine a game where you could control Bruce Wayne for just as much as you woudl like. There are few mission with him, but most of the other stuff is just fun gambling, carousing with super models, and just chatting with people who all have interesting dialogue options and interesting conversation arcs. Hell, have a race track in Gotham and have Wayn have its own race team so you can race any time you want...you choice of races F1, NASCAR, Grand Touring racing. As Bruce Wayne you meet people who will show up in other areas of teh game in other activities, clues you learn from loose lips at a party provide clues for the Dark Knight sections.

Game play is often about overcoming the restraints of a world, finding the way to get around the obstacle skillfully or use the obstacle as an advantage. I think having civilians to protect and serve and Bruce Wayne sections, would add a new dynamic/depth to the game. Also, playing as Bruce would be freeing - he's the fun one! Batman can't punch a judge, but Bruce can! Also, maybe you could have a side story where as Bruce he takes down a criminal organization by cheating at cards at the casino...he breaks their bank...but what are they going to do...beat up Bruce Wayne? He's famous...he's powerful...he's liked by powerful people...he's a bit untouchable. Batman anyone can attack, because the public expects it and accepts it because he is a vigilante; but Bruce Wayne the rich celebrity is untouchable by the weird rules of our civilization.

Yesssssss. Always look forward to Austin's articles. Well done sir!

"Pauli's Diner" -- Paul Dini ... I just got that! :O

This was a good read Austin, More deep dives to come hopefully!

Hit the nail on the head. Everything I've been feeling about the series.

This article is great. So often games and comics are these separate worlds, and people in one just shrug off the other as fluff. It's really nice to see someone examine their relationship with respect for both.

The Arkham games do such a great job of translating so much of what makes Batman great into a video game. The combat and traversal let you feel how he moves. The detective vision reminds you he's a thinker first. His gadgets become Metroid-esque progress upgrades. His huge rogues gallery becomes a Mega Man type slate of bosses. But Batman as a defender is the big aspect that gets left out. I imagine it's hard. Games have trained us into this "run over anyone" mentality that it seems hard to break.

It's so important though. People always talk about superheroes being "power fantasies", which is true, but not always for the reasons they think. Bruce becomes Batman not to live out the fantasy of beating people up. The wish fulfilment there isn't beating the shit out of Joe Chill, the fantasy is having the power to save his parents from harm.

Great article Austin.

Keep em coming Austin!

Austin is great. Isn't Austin great?