Wait... Old People Make Games?

Editorial Note: I know, it's been a while. I expect to be welcomed back with open arms and eyes welling with tears of admiration. YOU should expect a wordy article about nothing in particular and massive spoilers for Last of Us, Bioshock Infinite and Tell Tale's The Walking Dead.

It's been a rough few weeks for me. First I had to slog my way through Bioshock Infinite, then drudge past TellTale's Walking Dead, then shortly after submit myself to the agony of Naughty Dog's Last of Us. After severe depression and fits of uncontrollable sobbing I realized something; Becoming a father has made me soft(er). Let me set the record straight, I've always been a man who is in touch with his emotions (just ask me to explain the "Alternate Ending" comic for Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends) it's just something that has gotten worse, if that's the right word, since Hayden arrived.

 

Spoilers from here

The Last of Us opens with a surprise. You actually begin the game controlling Joel's frightened daughter, 20 years before the game proper begins. There is much to be said for this design choice, but this article isn't really about game design, it's about things that make me cry, because that's what you want to read about. After a short drive you gain control of Joel as he runs away from all the chaos holding his daughter, who is then killed, not by infected, but by military quarantine.

Sure, this scene tugs at the heart strings, but it's nothing compared to the end. The climax of the game is a mirror image of the opening, with Joel clutching Ellie, running through the madness of the hospital trying to escape. I lost it. Again, not terribly out of the ordinary, but the impact was greater on me. It was so simple for me to put myself in Joel's headspace.

The same goes for The Walking Dead game (That would be TellTales, NOT Activision's). It was simple for me to get into Lee's head and care about Clem, because she represented exactly what she was supposed to, something beautiful in a world destroyed. Lee getting bit resonated more with me than every single zombie bite I have ever seen, movies, comics, games combined. That fact can be attributed to Clem, the thought of leaving her alone and unprotected in that world was devastating.

 

Finally there is Bioshock Infinite. This game pulls a bait and switch. I went in expecting grand themes, painted broadly on the canvas of Columbia, the floating city. That is how the game begins. Where the original bioshock played it's sociopolitical commentary a bit closer to the vest till the end, infinite comes out swinging. It throws patriotism, racism, fanatic religious behavior, and overt violence at you within the first few minutes. The difference is that these themes serve as more of a red haring for Infinite's true purpose.

At it's core Infinite is a game about blinding regret. At the games conclusion you are left with the complete picture of a broken man, who sold his daughter to pay for gambling debt, and spent the rest of his life torturing himself for it. I know some people didn't quite like the way it wrapped up, and that the alternate universes let a bit to many story conveniences in. I found the resolution to be engaging and heart breaking. That moment when you realize you've been playing as Elizabeth's father this entire time is heart wrenching. Again, the feeling is compounded knowing there is an infant in the other room that is completely reliant on me.

So what do all these games have in common, other than being crazy depressing? These games made me realize something, video games are growing up. As an industry we have evolved from "Save your Girlfriend" (who was probably kidnapped by ninjas, or an over sized lizard... thing) to "Play as this guy, and through this guy view the complex and emotional path of parent hood, a thing mostly reserved for adults, but you can have a taste in delightful long form visual story telling utilized to near perfection."

I know that is quite the mouthful, but it's the truth. Granted, games have grown up in other equally artistic ways, but the exploration of the dynamic between parent and child is something so core to the human experience, it practically trumps everything else. This is not just entertainment. These games represent a way to gain insight into a core human experience.

For me, The Last of Us takes the cake (in the saddest way possible). While I love all these games, it holds the most water in terms of human interaction and storytelling. The evolution of Joel and Ellie's relationship is more than simply believable. I mean, I believe Lee would do anything to keep Clem safe, and I believe thank Booker was so wracked with guilt he would do anything to make up for it. Believability isn't everything, it's part of an organic whole with so many moving parts it's amazing how right each of these games got it.

There is a moment in Infinite that is a rather touching Easter egg where Booker plays the guitar while Elizabeth sings. It's very moving, and touching, and other sappy words, but the Last of Us has small moments like that (even something as insignificant as Joel glancing at his watch) throughout the entire game. I would recommend any gamer who is or will someday be a parent play these games. In all honesty it will prepare you for the harsh reality that parenthood is terrifying.

Don't get me wrong, being a parent is perhaps the most amazing thing ever in the universe, it's like life's bacon. There is, however, a flip side to that happiness. That is the stress and worry of having something you love so much more than you ever thought possible be so incredibly fragile.

Bioshock Me Once, Shame on You. Bioshock Me Twice...

***SPOILERS AHEAD, ye be warned

I hold the original Bioshock on a very high pedestal. Its approach toward deconstruction of a linear narrative was, in a word, phenomenal. I was near giddy when I heard the good people at 2k were planning a return trip to that underwater paradise (lost) Rapture. Then the news broke that you would be playing as a Big Daddy, and in my mind from then on it seemed much more like a cash grab then a fully fleshed out sequel.

Honestly, that is what it feels like most of the time. It just doesn't seem like a story that anyone really wanted to tell. Bioshock was a big enough hit that they had to make a sequel, so they started with the idea (gimmick) that you would play as a Big Daddy. From there they made a decent story to wrap reason around exactly what you're doing in Rapture.

They just went in the wrong direction with Bioshock 2. The reason Rapture was so captivating in the first was due to the mystery. Seeing a mans dreams and ideals be destroyed by human nature was riveting. Almost all that effect is lost in Bioshock 2. Ironically, they started with the right idea. The opening cinematic shows Rapture as it was before it went to hell in a hand basket. The rest of the game I couldn't shake the feeling that I wanted to be playing that game. I wanted to see Rapture in all its glory, talk to normal people, watch someone record an audio diary.

Apparently the only thing to do in Rapture is record your thoughts

This is still a Bioshock game though, and at its core it delivers with a finely crafted twist. The entire game you are chasing after your Little Sister, who was taken from you by Sophia :amb, the new villian. While the first game took the path of slavery vs freedom, Bioshock 2 leans toward the act of choice. Namely that the choices you make don't really effect you. You can be a nice, mean, or neutral Big Daddy, but what you won't realize till the end of the game is that your actions were never meant to shape you, they were shaping who Eleanor (your "Daughter") would become. In the end that is all that really matters about the game, and as a person standing at the precipice (read: several years away from) of parenthood, I found the message quite resonating. Who you are is not as important for yourself, not in the long run. When you have children, who you are can directly effect who they become.

So Bioshock 2 wasn't so bad after all. It didn't quite have the same impact as the first, but it did better than most. Lamb's anti-Ryan persona makes for a terrific antagonist, and filling in some of the blanks from the first game (even though done through audio diary) was a great touch. Also, there is a very cool scene toward the end where you play as a Little Sister, and you see Rapture through their eyes, very interesting stuff. If you were a fan of the first Bioshock I'd highly recommend it... If you haven't already played it... At the very least it can well stem the tide before Bioshock Infinite, which lets face it, looks AMAZING!

New subject matter for Infinite... Can't wait!

On Being Evil

I am getting married in a little over a month and I could not be happier. However, there is one unfortunate side effect of my pre marital bliss, saving money. I know what you're thinking, "but Matt you handsome rogue, saving money is a good thing" and you would be right. The problem lies within the fact that the only thing I could really cut back on was buying games. I can only hope my future wife appreciates the magnitude of the sacrifice I've made here.

So with my new games flow reduced to zero I've been forced to play some titles on my back catalogue. These are games I've been meaning to replay either because they were just plain awesome or had something else to offer I hadn't tried yet. First on my list was Infamous, and yes, I aim to misbehave.

For the uninitiated, Infamous is a PS3 exclusive super hero sand box game developed by Sucker Punch, the folks behind the awesome and sometimes over looked Sly Cooper games for the PS2. It looks good, runs smooth, and was overall a killer app for the PS3 circa 2009. You play as Cole, a rough and tough courier who delivers a package that explodes, destroying several city blocks. Somehow you survive and develop the ability to shoot, throw, drain, and travel with electricity. No, you don't ever get some sweet Superhero name, a missed opportunity in my opinion.

The City is put under quarantine because of a plague and crime jumps through the roof. I mean, talk about not being able to see the best in people. Every other person in Empire City must've been a raving lunatic. The characters and developments over the course of the game are great. Sure there are redundant side quests, but the gameplay itself is so fun and engaging qualms can be easily overlooked.

On my first play through I did what I always do in games with "morality", I played the savior. It just comes natural to me, I don't care that its just a game, I have to do what is right. In Infamous playing the morally upright character isn't easy. You have to carefully aim every bolt, grenade and explosion to make sure you don't accidentally take out an innocent bystander.

That said, playing through on Evil isn't exactly easy, sure you can fire at anything that moves, but its the morality that makes the difference. One thing I really loved about Infamous were the "Karma Moments". This is essentially Cole just doing some inner-monologging. He generally offers up some valid reason to be evil. For instance: The first Karma Moment you come across is at the very beginning of the game. The army just dropped off some medical supplies and when you get to the scene Reapers arrive (Think Reavers in Hoodies with AKs… and not quite so horrifying). You fight off the Reapers then the Karma moment starts. You can either let the crowd of people rush in and take most the supplies you worked for, or you can zap one of the people so they back off, and you and your friends live a few extra days with the supplies.

Now obviously there is a good and a bad decision there, I mean, its not rocket science. That did make me take a step back in hindsight though, what if it were my fiance? What if we were starving and I had this power… It actually made me stop and think about it. There is another point later in the game, and I won't spoil it, but I made an evil decision unknowingly, simply because I was attached to the characters, now thats power in story telling.

As for my evil play through, I've found the logic slowly diminishing over time. I don't have a problem with this because the simple fact of the matter is with each bad decision I'm making Cole more and more evil. He doesn't need to justify why he does something, he's more powerful than anything and he can do what he wants.

While I can accept this here its something I couldn't quite swallow as the silent pro/antagonist of Fallout 3. I felt as though I was cartoonishly evil, there was no point to it, it just made life easier. No matter what you did it all led to the same place with the same terrible ending. Don't get me wrong, I think Fallout 3 is a great game and I will get New Vegas, even if it is just an overpriced expansion. The difference lies in motivation.

Infamous puts you kind of a slippery slope, being evil can get addicting in that game. Sometimes while I was playing my Fiance would ask why I did something (usually because it was very mean) and I'd almost always have an explanation to lend to the development of Cole. However, when asked the same while playing games like Bioshock and Fallout 3, all I could come up with was "well… because I'm bad".

That just doesn't cut it for me. As an inherently good person I want motivation and reason if I'm going to play through as a bad guy. Ultimately thats what most games are lacking. Sure there is the overused "antihero" but to be a bad guy there needs to be more substance than just to feed sadistic gamers there half. Until these decision engines evolve though, all we're going to get is Shining Holy Savior, Middle man, and Mustache Twirling Evil. We need the equivalent of the Watchmen but for video games, and I'm thats a long way off.