Gamers Detriment - Attack of the 'intellectuals'
- Thread starter solidd
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When I played GTA 4 and was given the option to either kill someone or let them live, the first time I played it I always let them live, simply because I felt bad otherwise. And if a character is with me throughout a game, especially if they've been helping me a lot, and they die at some point, I always want vengence. Games can get to your emotions, and you can become very attached to their characters.
it simply depends on how pathetic the character is
the more pathetic they are the less i care and its the same in films tv shows and books i frequently find myself rooting for the bad guy because the good guys are too pathetic
however it also works the opposite if a character is well developed and not as useless as a ... very useless thing then i care about them alot i was very sad when dogmeat got killed also a little for Sarah Lyons too
and i always care about the main character because of course its me and i care about me and many other gamers care about me ... well themselves anyway
conversely in films and books i find myself wanting the main character to die by the villians hand
the more pathetic they are the less i care and its the same in films tv shows and books i frequently find myself rooting for the bad guy because the good guys are too pathetic
however it also works the opposite if a character is well developed and not as useless as a ... very useless thing then i care about them alot i was very sad when dogmeat got killed also a little for Sarah Lyons too
and i always care about the main character because of course its me and i care about me and many other gamers care about me ... well themselves anyway
conversely in films and books i find myself wanting the main character to die by the villians hand
It is many of our personal experiences that those who are not gamers are very quick to decry anything potentially good about games, and claim they are of no real use. This is a perfect example. Games, if done well, can make you more attached to characters in the game than eny other media ever could, because you are in their world. You interract with them, you change the world around them and yourself, and you can choose to fight to protect them.solidd said:
Like the citizens in Half-Life 2. They are so eager to follow the One Free Man that they can't sit still for more than a few seconds without following you once again, and despite as annoying as it is, even these copy-pasted characters tug at my heart-stings again because they are trying their best to keep you alive.
Then there's Aeris/Aerith from Final Fantasy 7.
Your teammates in Call of Duty 4 are a GREAT example. (I hated seeing Gaz, Griggs and the others die... not to mention the pilot of the helicopter that you very much die trying to save)
Oh, and all your AI partners in Left 4 Dead. Okay, they're annoying, they can get in the way, they do things you don't want them to, and yet they heal you with their medkits and pills even though their own health could be even lower than yours is. You really don't want to see those guys die. They're annoying, but they're trying to help. In fact, I played the L4D2 demo for the first time, we were a short distance from the last safe house in the demo, we were all on low health, but Nick was on his 'third strike' and was killed. I actually caught myself saying "Nick, no!" under my voice. I'm not kidding.
In certain games and for certain gamers this would be accurate (I personally could not care less about pretty much all of my allies in Halo 3) but this is largely determined by a) the type of game it is and b) who is playing it.
If you have a casual gamer playing a simple and straight foward shooter then it goes without saying that they may sympathise less with the characters because, frankly, what is there to sympathise with? If you have a more avid player in a deep, narrative driven RPG then you might find a level of connection and empathy that surpasses some books.
Like I said, I didn't care about the red shirt marines in Halo but I was saddened greatly when
I'd grown attached to both him and Reznov over the course of the game and that moment came as a great shock to me.
If you have a casual gamer playing a simple and straight foward shooter then it goes without saying that they may sympathise less with the characters because, frankly, what is there to sympathise with? If you have a more avid player in a deep, narrative driven RPG then you might find a level of connection and empathy that surpasses some books.
Like I said, I didn't care about the red shirt marines in Halo but I was saddened greatly when
Chernov died in Call of Duty: World at War
Are you really trying to write a 50,000 word novel by the end of this month?The_root_of_all_evil said:She's already been attacked for this "assumption"
Links: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1153583/Social-websites-harm-childrens-brains-Chilling-warning-parents-neuroscientist.htmlWiki said:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/7909847.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/feb/25/social-networking
TLR - Carol Vorderman may be good at Countdown, but would you trust her diet book/hair care regime or insurance adverts? Same with Baroness Greenfield, I believe her studies into Parkinson's/Alzheimer's have far more worth than just making up new truths, like "Doctor" Gillian McKeith.
Is that an actual quote or something that they would say? Because it's really hard to tell with those guys.Jark212 said:
Carlos
Alyx
Companion Cube
My Engineer
Any of the survivors
Compare them to say... (the first book I see) Max Ride from the Maximum Ride books. If memory serves, she gets beaten and locked in a shed at one point. Big woop. Someone kills my Engineer on TF2? No-one touches my Engineer! *spins minigun*
Alyx
Companion Cube
My Engineer
Any of the survivors
Compare them to say... (the first book I see) Max Ride from the Maximum Ride books. If memory serves, she gets beaten and locked in a shed at one point. Big woop. Someone kills my Engineer on TF2? No-one touches my Engineer! *spins minigun*
You aren't trying to save the princess in the book, generic twat is. You're just spectating, at least in gaming you ARE generic twat, or Mario, depending on the game. While I did find myself attached to the characters of Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (the gothic novel, not the Disney movie) or the characters in Passchendaele (The only good Canadian movie in a while) Or some animes, hell even Sgt Johnson and Eli Vance's deaths pissed me off (why do they always kill the awsome black guy? That just pisses me the fuck off and I'm WHITE) I never felt like I was the one saving the princess or fighting jerry or piloting the robot. Videogames give you that, and that's something this broad needs to get through her head.
For me it all depends on the characterisation and not the medium. If I read a book where a princess is involved then I'll care about her if she's well written and not just a shallow love interest to give the MC something to do.
Same with a game, and there's often an added element of caring with a well written game character because her survival depends on my actions, rather than some unseen author's.
Same with a game, and there's often an added element of caring with a well written game character because her survival depends on my actions, rather than some unseen author's.
This is the case when a game designer utterly fails at being a game designer. Which is sadly, often the case. Obviously, we can all say no one has played every video game ever, but I assure you a connoiseur could show her a game that would cause her to abandon her entire argument.solidd said:
Braid may be a good example. There is a princess in the game, but most of the character focus is on Jonathan, the protagonist.
Funny thing is that people who criticize games are most often the people who've never played one before...True I'm not deadly attached to Princess peach cuz she's hardly a likable chararcter, Zelda on the other hand goes somewhat deeper and I actually think saving is a good motive for a game. I actually dare say I find it more easy to like video game characters then characters in books because you have the impression of actually interacting with them proof: I thought "Bummer" when Gandalf died in the first Lotr book but when either Ashley or Kaiden had to die I did the mission over five times(Seriously) to have them both survive before actually wetting my eyes after choosing Kaiden over Ashley
So am I, no whoever dares to say guys don't cry I will...make you cry like a guy!Diserasta said:
I remember this one bit from Robot Chicken where Link had saved Zelda and he was expecting "tasty treats" as his reward, instead she just complained that it was here 8th time being kidnapped, gave him a few coins for his troubles and jumped out the window.
It's hard to care about the spoiled brats you have to rescue in some games.
It's hard to care about the spoiled brats you have to rescue in some games.