Jimquisition: Crying Through The Laughs

[BreakfastMan]

Sorry, but um... Duh? This is pretty basic story-telling stuff you are commenting on right here. Did people really need this pointed out to them? 'Cause I thought most had already realized this. :\

Well it doesn't seem that many developers got that memo, since the later Final Fantasy games, Gears of War, God of War, and David Cage games all fit into this GRIMDARK pattern.

I think we all know by now that developers often don't get the memo on a lot of things that are considered obvious by a whole crap-ton of people...

 

[Richardplex]

snip.

And now some people might not get to feel those awful moments, since you blurted that out unspoilered, good job.

 

[ex275w]

Sorry, but um... Duh? This is pretty basic story-telling stuff you are commenting on right here. Did people really need this pointed out to them? 'Cause I thought most had already realized this. :\

Well it doesn't seem that many developers got that memo, since the later Final Fantasy games, Gears of War, God of War, and David Cage games all fit into this GRIMDARK pattern.

I think we all know by now that developers often don't get the memo on a lot of things that are considered obvious by a whole crap-ton of people...

Well then we need for them to get the memo or laugh as they fail to do the obvious things, it's a win-win situation for the audience watching. Either video game stories get better or they are treated as a punchline or as a warning for future games as what NOT to do in a video game storyline.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

snip.

And now some people might not get to feel those awful moments, since you blurted that out unspoilered, good job.

1) The game has been out for almost a year.
2) This entire episode and thread are about the sad moments in games, so spoilers should be expected.
3) Several of the deaths I mentioned do not always happen.
4) Despite all of this, I'll still spoiler it, just for you

There, I fixed it.

 

[Thedutchjelle]

A reference to Illusion of Gaia! Didn't expect that. That game was very good though. It's sad scenes were indeed sad, or atleast they were to me when I was a young gamer.

Never did any of the FF games so I have no idea what's that all about

 

[Rob Jacobs]

what about Mass Effect 3? It was really sad when Thane died (or at least it was for me).

It was sad because it was a poorly written, terrible scene.
It didn't matter if you romanced thane or how nice you were to him, you get the same generic prayer (that actually makes zero sense in the context).
Mordin dying, now THAT was something.

 

[Elephant Walker19]

Whats the game where the pig fried its self?

 

[Richardplex]

snip.

And now some people might not get to feel those awful moments, since you blurted that out unspoilered, good job.

1) The game has been out for almost a year.
2) This entire episode and thread are about the sad moments in games, so spoilers should be expected.
3) Several of the deaths I mentioned do not always happen.
4) Despite all of this, I'll still spoiler it, just for you.

1) 6 months and a bit actually, and I could ruin Spec Ops the line by saying it's been out for a whole .
2) Jim doesn't do spoilers that not everyone knows about, and by that I mean have entered it-was-his-sled level of knowledge like Aerith's death, and didn't actually mention ME3. By that logic, I'm not allowed to enter anything discussing sad moments unless I've seen everything that might have a sad in it ever.
3) True, but the first 2 happen if they are alive, or if some very specific circumstances are met. But despite all that
4) is true, so thank you :>

 

[Fr]anc[is]

Good to see you are still capable of putting more effort into something than just copy pasting facebook comments and calling it news Jim.

 

[wwmcfar]

They're letting Elton John into Mississippi, really. Maybe they think it's a lynching.

 

[Punch You]

I guess I'm te opposite to most people when it comes to FFX. I thought Tidus was reasonable in his whining. I mean, he was forced out New York City and sent to Afghanistan (Moving from a culturally and technologically advanced city to a place obsessed with religion and shuns technoogy).

Daddy issues? It's one thing having a horrible dad, but having a dad you hate and everyone else glorifies? Ghandi's son committed suicide, you know.

I also think Auron is a boring, flat character.

 

[Triaed]

That applies to people too. There are a few out there that they are always so gloomy that when something "bad" happens to them, like they lost their job, or flunked school, etc is difficult to feel bad for them.

That is not to say that one is not empathetic; in a true "tragedy" I am there for them... but I just try to avoid being sucked into their misery.

 

[GamemasterAnthony]

I definitely agree with this. Any amount of brevity, regardless of how tragic the situation, can help nail the emotion home a lot better and make the tragic parts stand out and work better.

Actually, this could work in reverse too if done correctly. Take a look at Portal. This has some very dark imagery, yet comes off as very lighthearted and not to be taken too seriously. The pitch-black humor (as Yahtzee calls it) really helps bring the humor home while still retaining a sort of eerie feel.

Butthead of "Beavis and Butthead" said it best: "You've got to have stuff that sucks to have stuff that's cool."

Tragedy is when Aerith cuts her finger
Comedy is when Lighting falls into an open sewer and dies.

Mel Brooks directing Final Fantasy? I like it.

I am the Gamemaster, and I approve this idea. In fact, I am picturing such a game...and it is AWESOME!!!

 

[SoDaRa]

Throughout the whole thing I couldn't help but think about Chibi-Robo. The game is overall very happy, but when its sad it really hits hard. Yet, I've always loved how the game never wallowed in its dark themes, but used them to instead to accent the main moral, spread the happiness.

 

[ItemCrisis]

I am really glad that FFXI is featured in this video. Not only is it one of the most interesting and sprawling story lines in the series, it is also the most underrated FF game. Garnet losing her bloated, power-hungry mother is tragic, Vivi's feelings toward death mirror our own (and he is missing from the end sequence/or so it seems), and Zidane goes through a wash of emotions.
Is it the art style that puts people off?

Nice to see you this weekend, Jim. Thank (insert deity of choice)for you.

 

[Morghuk]

I'm probably not the first to mention this.. and i'm expecting the trollfire...

but

i'm guessing the US version of FFVII had a different spelling for Aeris' name... threw me for about half a second... then i couldn't help but think "did he just mispronounce that? surely not."

well.. i suppose it's not the only change square made when they published it on both sides of the pond.

 

[Elyxard]

I'm probably not the first to mention this.. and i'm expecting the trollfire...

but

i'm guessing the US version of FFVII had a different spelling for Aeris' name... threw me for about half a second... then i couldn't help but think "did he just mispronounce that? surely not."

well.. i suppose it's not the only change square made when they published it on both sides of the pond.

The original US version of FFVII was spelled Aeris, but in all the followup material (Advent children, Crisis Core, all the other sequel stuff) that it was "corrected" to be "Aerith" to be a more accurate translation of the Japanese name.

Personally, I still resent the change. Aeris was perfectly fine to me.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Final Fantasy 9 was my all-time favorite in the Final Fantasy series. The ending always makes me tear up to a certain degree because of how overwhelmingly happy the ending of the game is. Final Fantasy 6 was another one that had happy, slappy moments interspersed between extreme sadness (fucking Doom Train) but I don't think that counts as much since it came out on the Super Nintendo: a console in which half of the player characters were neon personifications of happiness.

Dammit Jim, I fucking love you and your videos! We all know you surpass us Jim in every way Jim: THANK GAWD...FOR YOU.

 

[uluviel]

I think contrast is really what's important. A tragic moment in an otherwise happy game will have a lot of impact, but so will a moment of happiness or hope in an otherwise depressing world.

Spoiler: Dragon Age 2 spoilers

I may be in the minority, I really liked the character of Anders in Dragon Age 2, and was really disappointed when he blew up the church, because I thought that meant there was no way he was going to live to see the end of the game, and if he did, he would run away and he may as well be dead when it came to Hawke & co. But then not only was Hawke offered the chance to spare his life, but Anders can actually stick around if you play your cards right.

So while the ending is very depressing overall, that little moment when Anders asks if Hawke will following him into hiding made me ridiculously happy.

 

[Xisin]

ehh, i find when people make this argument against characters like cloud or Leon, the expect them to be happy. why? clouds life is complete shite literally from sun up to down shite mentally scarred shite. why would they be happy, i understand tidus or zadane they never had to be a super soldier engineered for battle having to work for a company that is destroying the planet then having them lie to you and having your girlfriend killed, or under a beyond corrupt murderous government. oh im sorry should they smile should they be jokey, no one asks this of Bruce Wayne or wolverine.why not be happy though all that melancholy that they have the moral compass to do the right thing. and atleast those two dudes have something to do at the end of the day , alot of these characters are left as misplaced murderers in a world that doesn't need them anymore

I understand jims point lightning was a rather good one, but why expect happiness from character who's life is shit. If they do get a bit nicer,like for example wolverine, its nice but you don't expect it and nice but it aint necessarily going to happen to everyone, not everyone who goes though shite just gets happy or even gets better, thats life sometimes people just dont get better. i understand happier stories, but the final fantasy examples were kinda... eh. i could have though of better ones, ryu hayabusa, riku (in the begging of kingdom hearts) and many others.

People call these characters whiny but let me ask you lets take a notoriously dark back story, if you were made as a weapon of mass destruction, and your existence had gotten everyone you had grown to love killed, you were frozen and then revived decided to give everyone a benefit of the doubt and do the right thing for a world who dealt you a bad card, and then though the incompetence of another who is supposed to help you , you almost die and loose your memory just have it brought back by someone who had a hand in your creation showing you how vile your insides actually are, then finding out that being is basically your father, and then having to kill him.

no one, no effing one, would be smiling , his life is a pile of shite on shite wheat and to expect a happy moment is completely insane, showing your complete misunderstanding of the character. they don't have to be happy but learning to be better people is what is important, or descention into madness if that's your thing.

aside from all that jim has a point and the video was funny

I have to disagree with you. A person can not be sad without also, at one point, being happy. It is impossible to always be any one emotion, no matter that person's background.