What Scene Made a Game Art?
- Thread starter Alakaizer
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I can think of a few (some already mentioned):
Journey: Collapsing on the snowy mountain, and seeing your partner falling in the snow beside you as they valiantly try to make their way ahead.
Deus Ex: The "Kill Bob Page" ending, which ends on the hand holding the globe and Morgan Everett saying, "...and together, we will lead them into the day."
Deus Ex: Human Revolution: The Jaron Namir boss fight in the room of bodies, complete with alternate cutscenes (whether or not you got the Biochip) and Namir's speech - "You've lost her, Jensen. Men like us? We never get back the things we love."
Super Metroid: The completely non-obtrusive way the game introduces you to walljumping, via the creatures in the passage demonstrating it. No cutscenes or asides whatsoever - they just keep doing it, and you'll realize you can try it to. Breaks the game wide open, and is completely immersive.
Infamous 2: The "Kill The Beast" ending - the "Let go" shot in front of the Church with John broken down in the background.
Mass Effect 2: A toss-up between controlling Shepard as s/he moves through the depressurizing Normandy in the prologue, or the whole Omega-4 Relay sequence (with all its variables).
Mass Effect 3: Shepard looking up at the Shroud as it collapses, then seeing the genophage cure on his/her hand as Wrex walks into the sunlight and looks up and "Vigil" plays. May not have made the entire game art, but made the scene much better than the rest of the material.
Metal Gear Solid 2: The moment in the ending when Raiden truly breaks the fourth wall for good and throws his dogtags (inscribed with the player's name) away, with the remark that he'll be his own man.
Final Fantasy VI: So many moments, but I've always loved the sequence in Setzer's crypt for Darryl - learning about the two of them and their rivalry, discovering the second airship, and breaking the waves out of the ocean as "Searching For Friends" triumphantly plays and you get access to the world map. It's beautiful.
Journey: Collapsing on the snowy mountain, and seeing your partner falling in the snow beside you as they valiantly try to make their way ahead.
Deus Ex: The "Kill Bob Page" ending, which ends on the hand holding the globe and Morgan Everett saying, "...and together, we will lead them into the day."
Deus Ex: Human Revolution: The Jaron Namir boss fight in the room of bodies, complete with alternate cutscenes (whether or not you got the Biochip) and Namir's speech - "You've lost her, Jensen. Men like us? We never get back the things we love."
Super Metroid: The completely non-obtrusive way the game introduces you to walljumping, via the creatures in the passage demonstrating it. No cutscenes or asides whatsoever - they just keep doing it, and you'll realize you can try it to. Breaks the game wide open, and is completely immersive.
Infamous 2: The "Kill The Beast" ending - the "Let go" shot in front of the Church with John broken down in the background.
Mass Effect 2: A toss-up between controlling Shepard as s/he moves through the depressurizing Normandy in the prologue, or the whole Omega-4 Relay sequence (with all its variables).
Mass Effect 3: Shepard looking up at the Shroud as it collapses, then seeing the genophage cure on his/her hand as Wrex walks into the sunlight and looks up and "Vigil" plays. May not have made the entire game art, but made the scene much better than the rest of the material.
Metal Gear Solid 2: The moment in the ending when Raiden truly breaks the fourth wall for good and throws his dogtags (inscribed with the player's name) away, with the remark that he'll be his own man.
Final Fantasy VI: So many moments, but I've always loved the sequence in Setzer's crypt for Darryl - learning about the two of them and their rivalry, discovering the second airship, and breaking the waves out of the ocean as "Searching For Friends" triumphantly plays and you get access to the world map. It's beautiful.
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Art is supposed to create an emotional reaction in the person experiencing it.
With that said:
Any time a vocal song pops up in Red Dead Redemption. Oh, and the ending too.
The ending of FFX. So many un-manly tears.
Bastion's narrator, and ending and the music that accompanies it.
With that said:
Any time a vocal song pops up in Red Dead Redemption. Oh, and the ending too.
The ending of FFX. So many un-manly tears.
Bastion's narrator, and ending and the music that accompanies it.
The ending of Shadow of the Collossus.
So a party of monks arrive at the temple that's the center of the game's story. They see the girl they had sacrificed lying on an alter and start giving her some last rites...
Then the last statue holding back the god of that land shatters, shocking the head monk...and then they see the hero staggering towards them from the center of the temple. He's been totally consumed by the essence of the collossi he's slain, he's got horns and many other corrupted looking alterations. the head monk orders him put out of his misery. The hero is hit with an arrow and yet he still stumbles forward....then you see though his eyes that he's just trying to get back to the girl he risked everything to bring back to life.
and then he's put down.
...At which point the god of that land takes his body for it's own and (in gameplay) you drive the monks from the temple. While the head monk activates a seal in the entryway that is meant to seal away the god once more.
And then...As the seal activates, the hero's monstrous new shape is torn away and (In gameplay once again) you are dragged backwards, away from the girl you've been trying to save this whole game. And no amount of struggling, sprinting, or anything can counter the pull of the seal. And as you're yanked up the stairs to the seal, you can even grab desperately onto the stairs if you want and hold on until your stamina finally gives out.
That whole scene....Holy shit. You feel so powerless, just trying to get to that girl, only to get pulled away helplessly, any struggles totally in vain. That....That was amazing and totally made the game for me.
Then the last statue holding back the god of that land shatters, shocking the head monk...and then they see the hero staggering towards them from the center of the temple. He's been totally consumed by the essence of the collossi he's slain, he's got horns and many other corrupted looking alterations. the head monk orders him put out of his misery. The hero is hit with an arrow and yet he still stumbles forward....then you see though his eyes that he's just trying to get back to the girl he risked everything to bring back to life.
and then he's put down.
...At which point the god of that land takes his body for it's own and (in gameplay) you drive the monks from the temple. While the head monk activates a seal in the entryway that is meant to seal away the god once more.
And then...As the seal activates, the hero's monstrous new shape is torn away and (In gameplay once again) you are dragged backwards, away from the girl you've been trying to save this whole game. And no amount of struggling, sprinting, or anything can counter the pull of the seal. And as you're yanked up the stairs to the seal, you can even grab desperately onto the stairs if you want and hold on until your stamina finally gives out.
That whole scene....Holy shit. You feel so powerless, just trying to get to that girl, only to get pulled away helplessly, any struggles totally in vain. That....That was amazing and totally made the game for me.
The ending to Shadow of the Colossus
Also the fact that it has about as much story as the first few Zelda games, and to be able to pull off this much emotion and character with so little words or explanation is basically the very definition of art.
This is the perfect example of a good bad end. You play this game doing something evil, and gradually becoming something evil, all to save someone you love. It's not just a matter of self sacrifice, it's 'giving the world the finger' because your special someone is more important then it.
Also the fact that it has about as much story as the first few Zelda games, and to be able to pull off this much emotion and character with so little words or explanation is basically the very definition of art.
I don't doubt that the scene is good, nor do I contest it's ability to enhance a work. I wasn't trying to belittle a scene or throw it's greatness into doubt. What I was trying to make a point of was the incredible lack of context given. Not having played inFamous 2, I can't say the scene affects me very much, but that's because I have no idea of what surrounds it. How does it work with the game before and after? What makes it more than just a good cutscene.Alakaizer said:
What worries me is that if we keep on posting cutscenes and scripted scenes as the reason for games being art without giving a context that actual involves the game, we aren't making an argument for video games being art, we're making an argument for video games simply being dressing for the already established art of cinematography.
