Jimquisition: Crying Through The Laughs
- Thread starter Jimothy Sterling
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Boom, done in one. That andportal_cat said:
Mordin got me legitimately choked up.
Gonna agree: I actually thought DA 2 had some better moments, emotion-wise such asAmaror said:
Anders' betrayal. It wasn't "sad" per se, but it was devastating emotionally. And Merrill's entire arc with the mirror really got to me, but that's partially because she was, in my opinion, an amazing character.
Sounds like Jim needs to try some Nakige visual novels. That is basically a whole genre based around that principle, with a light-herated, comedic first act, a heartwarming romantic second act, and a third act that will make you cry.
WARNING! IT'S NAKIGE, WITH AN "A". UNDER NO CONDITION SHOULD ANYONE TRY THE "NUKIGE VISUAL NOVEL" GENRE, WITH AN "U", OR DO AN IMAGE SEARCH FOR "NUKIGE".
WARNING! IT'S NAKIGE, WITH AN "A". UNDER NO CONDITION SHOULD ANYONE TRY THE "NUKIGE VISUAL NOVEL" GENRE, WITH AN "U", OR DO AN IMAGE SEARCH FOR "NUKIGE".
Was I the only one who was annoyed with Titus for being a whiny little prick? That he deserved all his hopes and dreams being blown to bits for being a self important whiny water polo celebrity? Just me? Oi....
I don't know if you read these (I often don't!), but I wanted to tell you that I thought the video was particularly good this week. So many weeks I think you are on the -cusp- of something great, but just miss it by simply restating your point over and over. This week you did a great job of giving supporting evidence from multiple games, which does a lot to improve your otherwise solid points. As you jumped from game to game, you were inspired to hit the different sides of your theme. Very nice.
(Sorry, if I sound like a teacher it's because I am. But I love video game analysis, and love it when you're -on-.)
(Sorry, if I sound like a teacher it's because I am. But I love video game analysis, and love it when you're -on-.)
You're not alone. Tidus is the FF hero I hate the most. Any sense of tragedy was completely lost to me when it came to him. Half of the time it felt like he was complaining about everything. Yeah he was an upbeat character like Zidane, but I found Zidane to be FAR more endearing and likable in the long run. However, I could sympathize and feel for Yuna's tragedy much for what Jim had stated. Not once did Yuna complain about her pilgrimage and always focused on keeping everyone's spirits up, so seeing her break down before Tidus decides to make out with her really tugged at my heart strings. The tragedy worked for her, just not for him.th3dark3rsh33p said:
I think the problem is that the writing can't reconcile him being a stuck up jock ("Star player of the Zanarkand Abes" and all that shit) with him also being a whining crybaby with massive daddy issues.th3dark3rsh33p said:
I mean maybe this is supposed to be a clue that he's only a pretend person, but even then he's supposed to have been from an internally consistent simulation space, so he should be an internally consistent personality, and he isn't.
Anyway, who cares, FFX stole all its best story elements from Grandia and Grandia 2 (To the extent that I basically had every major twist figured out from the Mi'hen highroad because I played Grandia and immediately recognised it).
I agree... and Honestly I felt I would have enjoyed FFX so much more if Yuna had been the main character. She had a character arch that I at least felt was deserved... at least in X. In X2 it was about her wanting to get her only sense of self importance back from the dead.roushutsu said:
Agreed. Walking Dead is getting emotional for me though. I'm not in the business of spoilers, but let's just say I welled up around the time I got the train moving...
For IX you had to scream "hurry the fuck up", the game was so slow.Gizmo1990 said:
The laugh scene in FFX gets so much hate that it is now good. In other words, it is not as bad as people say it is so that puts it squarely on the good side rather than the bad side. People don't seem to comprehend that it was MEANT TO BE A FAKE LAUGH and therefore it sounds like a fake laugh.
As for the video, I agree. I don't know what else can be said though.
I know a lot of people will disagree with this, but I'll say it anyways.
The gaming industry has not yet evolved to the point where they know how to make truly emotional experiences happen within their medium.
This is because they don't understand how to make the player really relate to the protagonist and major characters on screen. If you're playing a videogame in the first place, chances are you're doing it for FUN. Fun, as in you enjoy it. As in you're capable of experiencing joy and happiness. Which, as Jim pointed out in this episode, is something you rarely see in game characters these days. People are complex. People are multifaceted. Therefore how can we relate to something that is seemingly one dimensional?
The only game that actually had any emotional effect on me was God of War. God of War even begins in a way that breaks the mold. He attempts suicide. How many games do something as radical as that? He's lost all hope to the point where he no longer wants to live, but it means that at one time he did have hope and a reason to keep on going. Then as you play the game you see his origins. You see how he came to be the monster he is through his mistakes and Ares' betrayal. You see how he lost everything he loved and seeks redemption at whatever cost. That moved me because I saw the humanity in Kratos. I saw a bit of myself in him and it made me feel sympathetic... Until 2 & 3 took his character in a completely new direction, which rendered him a mindless ball of fury and testosterone -__- But still, it was nice to see that games are very capable of evoking an emotional response. They just don't know how to properly strike a balance yet.
The gaming industry has not yet evolved to the point where they know how to make truly emotional experiences happen within their medium.
This is because they don't understand how to make the player really relate to the protagonist and major characters on screen. If you're playing a videogame in the first place, chances are you're doing it for FUN. Fun, as in you enjoy it. As in you're capable of experiencing joy and happiness. Which, as Jim pointed out in this episode, is something you rarely see in game characters these days. People are complex. People are multifaceted. Therefore how can we relate to something that is seemingly one dimensional?
The only game that actually had any emotional effect on me was God of War. God of War even begins in a way that breaks the mold. He attempts suicide. How many games do something as radical as that? He's lost all hope to the point where he no longer wants to live, but it means that at one time he did have hope and a reason to keep on going. Then as you play the game you see his origins. You see how he came to be the monster he is through his mistakes and Ares' betrayal. You see how he lost everything he loved and seeks redemption at whatever cost. That moved me because I saw the humanity in Kratos. I saw a bit of myself in him and it made me feel sympathetic... Until 2 & 3 took his character in a completely new direction, which rendered him a mindless ball of fury and testosterone -__- But still, it was nice to see that games are very capable of evoking an emotional response. They just don't know how to properly strike a balance yet.
Easily one of your best episodes, couldn't agree more. I'm an amateur writer that holds this very notion to heart. Tragedy doesn't mean anything if there isn't anything to fall from.
All of my most favorite games of all time fit that formula of high contrast in one way or another. FF9, FF10, Persona 2, 3 and 4, Baldur's Gate 2, Suikoden (most of em), Metal Gear (most of em), etc. Even the darkest stories need their fair share of comedy or happiness. Heck, even Silent Hill 2 has comedic-ish moments to lighten things up (Eddie in the bowling ring, UFO endings).
All of my most favorite games of all time fit that formula of high contrast in one way or another. FF9, FF10, Persona 2, 3 and 4, Baldur's Gate 2, Suikoden (most of em), Metal Gear (most of em), etc. Even the darkest stories need their fair share of comedy or happiness. Heck, even Silent Hill 2 has comedic-ish moments to lighten things up (Eddie in the bowling ring, UFO endings).
I think this again has to do with game developers not being very good writers, and the growing sense among the gaming community that every game has to be 100% straight-faced with no signs of light-heartedness in sight, or else people will fear that "GAMES WON'T BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY!!!!!" again...
Yeah just you buddy. No one on the internet has ever accused Tidus of being whiny.th3dark3rsh33p said:
Seriously, it is never just you. Why do people still start posts this way? It's even more annoying when they are stating a popular opinion after saying "is it just me".
See I think most people forget that intentionally bad is still bad... It's still annoying, it's still terrible voice acting... I mean the Titus' voice acting through out the game was generally terrible as a rule... I another TERRIBLE scene equiv to that is Titus breaking down at Al Bhed when he figures out Yuna's fate. He was playing it straight and it ended up being over the top melodramatic and just terrible.Crono1973 said:
Yeah the that was intended argument can't defend that voice acting job... or the terribad writing involved with Titus.
I think the voice acting was fine. You want bad voice acting, see Star Ocean 4 or listen to Vanille for a minute or two. Also, I think that the voice actor did his job and made an intended fake laugh sound fake.th3dark3rsh33p said:
Whatever though, 10 years this laugh has been made fun of as well as the character of Tidus. It won't stop now but it does get more annoying everytime it's mentioned. It would be more effective to use Vanille to display bad voice acting.