JeanLuc761 said:
Chris Batson said:
lumenadducere said:
Chris Batson said:
Conan, Andrew, and the audience basically had the same reaction as me when I saw that "spike through the head" death a couple of weeks ago. Almost TOO brutal for my tastes.
Yeah, I usually don't care at all about game violence, but that seemed unnecessary. Like, things in ultra-violent games like MadWorld, Manhunt, Postal, etc. aren't an issue for me, yet that made me uncomfortable. I really have to wonder who thought that was a good idea and why the rest of the dev team listened to them.
Exactly! The aesthetic of those environments makes me feel that the graphic violence is justified, if not necessarily "easy" to watch. In this instance though, it just seems - like you said - unnecessary and out of tone with the rest of the game.
I know from the promotional material that the development team wanted to make the world of Tomb Raider more realistic with an emphasis on danger, but this looks downright exploitative. I mean they have her struggle for a few seconds after she gets impaled! Too harsh of a "punishment" for an inexperienced college student.
Well, one could make the argument that the phenomenally brutal deaths in the Dead Space series is too harsh of a punishment for an engineer, but I don't remember there being much of a backlash to those.
Before I go any further, let me just say that my comment about being an inexperienced college student was a bit of an afterthought and my argument could probably do without it. I also don't want to sound hyperbolic, so please forgive me if I am and alert me of my behavior. And I definitely don't want to detract from the outstanding video anymore than I already have, so I'll try to keep this to the point.
Now, I definitely do agree that Dead Space did feature some phenomenally brutal deaths for Isaac, and I've always felt very sensitive watching those as well. However, I think the difference between the scenarios for both games - at least for me - is the unexpectedness and matter-of-factness of the death, and the vulnerability present in Lara.
With Dead Space, the reason I don't think there would be much backlash with Isaac's deaths is that everything about the creepy, isolated environment of Dead Space is rooted in a cultural understanding that the brutality featured in the game was somewhat expected. That's to say nothing of the marketing, which openly acknowledged the Alien series - a series at least partially known for its gruesome deaths - as a major influence. Plus, there was almost always some sort of indication that the player's failure to complete a task (whether through an environmental challenge or combat with the necromorphs/humans) would result in an unfortunate, terrifying demise. Even in the infamous "giant needle in the eye" segment in Dead Space 2, there was a definite period of time to prepare yourself for what would happen (DON'T WATCH IF YOU'RE SQUEAMISH http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KCjVeYNS3c).
All of this is to say that with Lara, I don't feel the player is given the proper "head's up" that something like THAT would happen. There's also the matter of context, which is what I meant with my "inexperienced college student" comment, as well the matter-of-factness of the death, and the vulnerability present in Lara. In this rebooted origin of Lara Croft, we are taking our heroine - a wide-eyed, studious, totally green archaeologist - on a harsh, but rewarding, journey of self-discovery and confidence as she strives to rescue her friends and learn about her surroundings. If we were to end this journey here, we would be left with a clear view of all this potential ? all the inner-strength to be found, the safety of her friends to be assured, and the mysteries to be unlocked ? dashed away due to one error. And the worst part is that you can see those thoughts crossing Lara?s mind in her expression as she fights to undo her mistake, but sadly can't. Not to say that her efforts would be for naught and shouldn't have been made at all, but who wouldn't want to see a better ending?
With Dead Space, while I definitely feel an emotional connection to Isaac and a longing for him to complete his story, it's clear that the space he occupies ? while important ? is part of a much bigger story. In Tomb Raider or in this game at least, the setting seems to act as the background for Lara's development, and as such every story point should be used to inform Lara as character so we can know how she ticks when we play her in future games. If she were to somehow survive this traumatic event I don't think there would be too much room for adventuring when she's dealing with the post-traumatic stress. Or if she were to gain a second wind and be able to complete every part of her quest, I think we would get a very different, tragically-determined Lara.
When I am saying that this death seems "too harsh," I'm saying that while the road to growing up and learning about yourself is fraught with many mistakes, I think it's important to know that you can always learn from these mistakes and reach your true potential. This death, and the way it's presented, metaphorically tries to negate that idea. Granted, this could be an intentional design decision on the part of the developers so the audience can build an emotional attachment with Lara. Its graphic nature too could also be a "wake-up call" to show players what the stakes are, but it still rings hollow to me. It feels like the development team is messing with a natural part of growing up in order to manipulate me and its audience into caring for Lara, and in the end I think THAT's what upsets me more.
...Wow, so much for "keeping this to the point," huh?
Well, let me type "thank you" for responding. I think this topic was definitely worth exploring and. I have a little more thought on the subject, but I really need to get back to my schedule. I hope I was able to communicate my ideas effectively and that any of the probable spelling/grammar errors won't detract from my point. Please feel free to respond with any comments or critiques and I'll try get back to you as soon as possible, this is definitely a conversation worth continuing.
Have a great day!
Also, if any Crystal Dynamics devs should happen to read, no disrespect intended. I'm actually super looking forward to this game. [/wishful thinking]
