Not to get overly political, but I've noticed that post-9/11 storytelling has gotten a lot darker and more nuanced when it comes to narratives. The better-written examples tend to leave open-ended questions and give you "this is the least terrible option" choices, whereas the worst ones tend to use this as a platform to push a very polarized, us-vs-them mentality.Darth_Payn said:It still feels good to be a real hero in a video game. Something many "mature" PC's could stand to learn.
You mean "r"Elementary - Dear Watson said:My favourite bit is where Rad is cut off in the first pannel..
Because I know the next letter is a 'u'!
Indeed, is it weird that the most interesting games with war as a theme in recent years, (at least in my opinion) have been the unfun Spec Ops:The Line, The SMT Devil Survivor games, and Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey? I mean, with each one, it gave some interesting ideas on either war, or the nature of Good and Chaos. With Spec Ops, it delved into another man's PTSD, pointed the finger at the gamer themselves, and called the power fantasy most games use building you up, pathetic. I bring up the Devil Survivor games and Strange Journey for a reason; namely, one of how the depiction of Law versus Chaos, not Good or Evil, and how one may pick a different path than they expect. Example: (Oh, by the way, SPOILERS on the choices near the end of Strange Journey) Law Path: Mastema (The angel that's been helping you and Zelenin deal with the demons in the Schwarzwelt) is helping you complete your mission, destroy the demons, and make the world a better place with the power of God. Sounds nice, right? Well,it really isn't. There was a weapon earlier on that helped the crewmen combat a demonic sickness that made them go berserk. The weapon essentially calmed down, or euthanized that part of their mind that made them go crazy. What the angel plaaned on doing, was use it on THE ENTIRE PLANET. Yes, the world would be rid of demons, and be made a happier place...but we would be almost with wills of our own. Our personalities might be....neutered. The Chaos ending wasn't much better, either! It creates a world here only the strong can survive! The Neutral one is your best bet for a happy ending for the game, wherein you fight both Zelenin (Law, empowered by Mastema) and Jimenez (Chaos, fused with Bugaboo).Norithics said:Not to get overly political, but I've noticed that post-9/11 storytelling has gotten a lot darker and more nuanced when it comes to narratives. The better-written examples tend to leave open-ended questions and give you "this is the least terrible option" choices, whereas the worst ones tend to use this as a platform to push a very polarized, us-vs-them mentality.Darth_Payn said:It still feels good to be a real hero in a video game. Something many "mature" PC's could stand to learn.
In the civilized world colour is spelled with a uXan Krieger said:You mean "r"Elementary - Dear Watson said:My favourite bit is where Rad is cut off in the first pannel..
Because I know the next letter is a 'u'!
OT: This sounds like a bad idea, I'd have sold out Gunny so fast the aliens would forget all about how Rad hypersonic teabagged one of them.
That would be a hell of an ending this story xDFogHornG36 said:And now they are dead...
They are just going to pump them full of lazer and it will be game over.
What you described is in no way unique to strange Journey. In fact practically all the SMT games in the series use this formula, sometimes with additional bits dropped in there (like Nocturne, which lets you choose from three different flavors of "bad endings" instead of two), but the whole "Law and Chaos are both bad, and breaking the entire alignment system is always the best though hardest path" has been the central philosophy of the series since 1994.ArcaneGamer said:Indeed, is it weird that the most interesting games with war as a theme in recent years, (at least in my opinion) have been the unfun Spec Ops:The Line, The SMT Devil Survivor games, and Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey? I mean, with each one, it gave some interesting ideas on either war, or the nature of Good and Chaos. With Spec Ops, it delved into another man's PTSD, pointed the finger at the gamer themselves, and called the power fantasy most games use building you up, pathetic. I bring up the Devil Survivor games and Strange Journey for a reason; namely, one of how the depiction of Law versus Chaos, not Good or Evil, and how one may pick a different path than they expect. Example: (Oh, by the way, SPOILERS on the choices near the end of Strange Journey) Law Path: Mastema (The angel that's been helping you and Zelenin deal with the demons in the Schwarzwelt) is helping you complete your mission, destroy the demons, and make the world a better place with the power of God. Sounds nice, right? Well,it really isn't. There was a weapon earlier on that helped the crewmen combat a demonic sickness that made them go berserk. The weapon essentially calmed down, or euthanized that part of their mind that made them go crazy. What the angel plaaned on doing, was use it on THE ENTIRE PLANET. Yes, the world would be rid of demons, and be made a happier place...but we would be almost with wills of our own. Our personalities might be....neutered. The Chaos ending wasn't much better, either! It creates a world here only the strong can survive! The Neutral one is your best bet for a happy ending for the game, wherein you fight both Zelenin (Law, empowered by Mastema) and Jimenez (Chaos, fused with Bugaboo).Norithics said:Not to get overly political, but I've noticed that post-9/11 storytelling has gotten a lot darker and more nuanced when it comes to narratives. The better-written examples tend to leave open-ended questions and give you "this is the least terrible option" choices, whereas the worst ones tend to use this as a platform to push a very polarized, us-vs-them mentality.Darth_Payn said:It still feels good to be a real hero in a video game. Something many "mature" PC's could stand to learn.
That's old english, here in the modern world we speak english 2.0.cdjones2112 said:In the civilized world colour is spelled with a uXan Krieger said:You mean "r"Elementary - Dear Watson said:My favourite bit is where Rad is cut off in the first pannel..
Because I know the next letter is a 'u'!
OT: This sounds like a bad idea, I'd have sold out Gunny so fast the aliens would forget all about how Rad hypersonic teabagged one of them.