cexantus

@tunaburn said:

if people cant handle seeing it in a video game then maybe those people really should think about what happens to people in real life. all the torture and rape and mutilation you see in games does happen in real life. its sad and disgusting but it happens. these people should focus thier efforts on the real life shit going on and stay out of the video game world.

That's not the issue though. Yes rape and torture happens in real life as well; the problem is often their depiction in the medium: torture, and violence in general, is often glamorized--it's made to look cool; Rape-as-drama is a hackneyed trope used either to lend "depth" to female characters, used as a plot device for male characters, or the threat of it to make females into "damsels in distress." Just because it's a video game doesn't make it any less of an issue.

As I've said countless of times: If we want games to be better, we have to expect it to be better. And if a game developer is going to create a game that contains such serious subjects like rape or torture, then I think they should give those topics the gravitas they deserve.

@Lazyaza: It's not really weird. Valve is a company, right? And companies like to make money, right? This makes perfect sense--tapping into that demographic that might typically pick up a console rather than a PC. It's more money in the pocket.

Perhaps it's because I'm getting older, but this certainly does nothing to get me excited about owning the next Final Fantasy or even a next-gen console.

@JohnstonThistle:

Yep. Guess how I felt while playing was completely artificial and unfounded. Thanks for showing me the way, man.

Seriously, "overrated" should be stricken from usage in any argument.

@hejklyscha:

YEAH MAN. WHY BE EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED TO ANYTHING--THERE ARE PEOPLE DYING IN AFRICA, BRO!!!

@bushpusherr:

And that's absolutely fine. Video games, after all, are a subjective medium.

@bushpusherr:

And I understand that; but then it's really a matter of opinion--and I don't think that has anything to do with whether or not TWD is an actual game.

@bushpusherr said:

And the two games you mention happen to have those stories that draw you in, but they ALSO have the gameplay to back them up. That's the point. They didn't abandon gameplay for the sake of the narrative. In my opinion, a game who's sole quality is that it's "fun to play" is much less deficient than a game who's sole quality is that it has "awesome writing".

And this is, sadly, where I'm going to have to drop the "well, like, that's just your opinion" card because I certainly believe that TWD also had gameplay to back up its narrative.

@Karkarov:

But that's certainly not just it; look at the actual television show and the reaction for that show is decidedly mixed. People are reacting to it because it's a well-crafted story that takes place in an established fiction, yet is able to stand apart from it.

aka: you don't need to like the comic-book or television show to enjoy the video game.

@bushpusherr:

I never said that gameplay isn't important, and in my most recent post, I said as much. What I am saying is that gameplay and narrative should co-exist, each of which playing off of the other and I think that's the case with TWD Obviously, I don't think I should have to say that not all games have to do this; games like Hotline Miami can certainly work without much focus on the story.

However, if it's a game like "Assassin's Creed" or "Persona" where the characters are at the forefront of the action, then absolutely I expect a good narrative to draw me in. A games whose sole quality is that it's "fun to play" is no different than a sub-standard action film: they're fun to look at enjoy for a couple hours; but then you put it back and don't really think about it.