#is this slightly my fault because i invest myself in series where characters are walking death flags from day one maybe

[theeyeofthetigger]

I've seen the mha leaks and honestly I'm at the point where I don't even want to read this chapter or the finale

What's the point of having such good villain characters and a theme of saving people when this is how their stories will end?

I was gonna try and stick it out to the end but this is all feeling so hollow at this point, it's just making me upset

[goauldendelicious]

okay so, safe in the knowledge that few people I know irl follow this blog and that y’all ain’t gonna snitch, here’s the thing: Chloe Price has killed me this week, and it’s only fair. I really enjoyed Life is Strange when it came out. The Oregon setting, the small-town-with-secrets vibe, the lack of time-pressure (lol) for having to make decisions... it’s all my jam. But in hindsight playing it episodically meant I never fully INVESTED. A lot of real world bidness happened in between me playing each episode. The immediacy of the story faded a little, dimmed a little, each time. So I really liked, but didn’t really love. Until I hit the last act of Polarised, Episode 5. #spoilers btw And that final nightmare walk through past memories really brought home to me why I’d liked the game so much, and why - if I’d played it without months-gaps - I would have loved it. Because of Chloe Godsdamn Price. As Max I’m walking past all these memories I have of my time reuniting with Chloe, the tensions of the past five years of absence slowly eroding, the in-jokes, the new frustrations, the dancing, the tears (oh, gods the tears)... And it slowly dawns on me, that while I’ve been spending time carefully deliberating all of Max’s decisions, whether she should rewind to fix every little detail, whether it’s acceptable to re-do conversations so people like you more, or just to find The Killer (FUCK YOU, JEFFERSON AND PRESCOTT although this really requires its own unpacking that doesn’t belong here...) that something more fundamental has been seeping in, and I’ve noticed only the crest of it: an emotional iceberg. Namely that Chloe Price - oh-so-perfectly voiced by Ashly Burch - is the heart of this game. Not Max, not Rachel Amber, not the abstraction of “time-travel”... But Chloe. And so as that dark lighthouse looms closer, I realise (undoubtedly quite late) where this path leads, and why. And I fucking HATE IT, because I know what choice I have to make. I have to sacrifice Chloe Price. Sure enough, stood under the shattered lighthouse, limned by lightning flashes, the Storm rolling ever closer, Chloe tells me to go back one last time and Not Save Her. She tells me to save her mom. She tells me to save Arcadia Bay, this home shit home she was so desperate to leave. And most importantly she tells me to make those fuckers pay for what they did to Rachel. And after I return to my computer from the floor where I’ve been curled up sobbing because I’m a grown-ass adult who can’t handle this fucking shit, I do it, I do as she says. Because I’d done the same in episode four’s alternate universe when she’d asked. Because as much stick as Arcadia Bay gets, its residents are not all total dicks deserving devastating wind-based murder. Because being responsible for the deaths of hundreds (if not more) on the grounds that I love this dear friend would kinda destroy the moral high ground over Jefferson (especially since he’d probably NOT be killed, being currently hogtied in his own godsdamn hellbunker...) Because in this universe where Rachel Amber’s doe-spirit has guided us towards her resting place, I can’t NOT believe Chloe could be reunited with her. Because of SO MANY REASONS. Because it’s the godsdamn only choice to make. Chloe and Max kiss, the past set back on its original course, Foals’ Spanish Sahara winds up, and I return to sobbing on the floor, hating myself) (as an aside, after watching the bae>bay, ending, I begin to feel *slightly* better, because...it seems really off and way too cheery considering what’s just happened, especially when Chloe smiles at Max as they drive past the ruins of the diner Joyce is lying dead in, like wtf?) Skip ahead to my playthrough of Before the Storm. I’ve avoided playing it for months since it’s actual release because I know what effect it’s going to have on me. But I decide it’s time. So I clear a nice sobbing-patch on the floor and begin... And it’s perfect. Chloe is the same, but earlier (and yes, no Ashly Burch voicing, but she helped write Chloe’s script and you can absolutely feel her there, and Rhianna DeVries did a wonderful job embodying her). It’s a beautiful game, and a heartwarming one, and a heartBREAKING one, and everything I hoped it would be. And throughout, I intermittently go to my weeping-place because I remember what’s coming, where this all leads. I’m not angered by this. Unlike many players and reviewers, I don’t see the final choice I made in the original game as invalidating any of the events that preceded it, which extends to the events of Before the Storm. Life is Strange is not a game to be WON. You’re never awarded points, gain levels, ranked on a leaderboard. Rather, it’s a game that asks what is most important to you, what you care about, about great power and responsibility, and lightly nudges you towards thinking before you speak and act harshly. It’s a game where Chloe Price’s world falls apart, through next to no fault of her own. It’s a game where a wanna pirate loses her father, best friend, and spark of hope for the world. And when that spark is rekindled, some fucktographer and his broken protege snuff it out again. Chloe is filled with anger and pain and cynicism and confusion in the original game. The opportunity in Before the Storm to see her in happier times with Rachel Amber and with Max (in the Farewell bonus episode) is blessing and curse. The painful imagery of her as storm-sprite Ariel in The Tempest. The first donning of William’s clothes. Her first kiss with Rachel. The blue hair. I rejoiced with her, and mourned her loss ever-more. And so I have once again returned to replay the original game. Not with the intention of changing any choices, not even the Final Choice. But because Chloe deserves to have those five days where she remembers that she is not completely alone, that her pirate companion loves her dearly, and that Jefferson is going to fucking PAY. They are not pointless days; there the best we could expect in this shitty situation, and by the gods we made the most of them. When the butterfly reunites with the doe, I trust they’ll both know this. You know those “what’s you’re favourite x,y,z?” questions, and some it’s really hard to give an honest answer to? Ice-cream flavours are notorious for this effect. Well id never had that problem with “who is your favourite fictional character?”: even before the questions over, I’m thinking “His Grace, His Excellency, The Duke of Ankh, Blackboard Monitor, Vetinari’s Terrier; Commander Sir Samuel Vimes” (see Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series). But now... now my heart is torn between him and my faithful chauffeur and companion, my sidekick, my Scary Punk Ghost: Chloe Price. 🦋💙

[aurimeanswind]

Your Emotions in Gaming—Sunday Chats (9-3-17)

Hey! Welcome back to a fun Sunday Chats where I get so ask the audience a question! It was really fun to do this again, and even though this one is a bit more of a lengthy-response time for tweets, I think the turnout was still amazing.

There are a couple of things I want to get out of the way before I get into this first-sunday-of-the-month tradition.

FIRST

Irrational Passions Podcast is switching it’s recording date back to Friday. Yes, it’s a big deal, we have been recording on Saturdays for a little over two years now, but we are going back to our original day of the week that was FRIDAY. It’ll be effective starting at the end of this month! Yay!

SECOND

Irrational Passions is launching a new, seasonal, YouTube Podcast! It doesn’t have a name yet, but the first episode should be recording a week (ish) from today! It’ll be all about Destiny 2! It’ll be our equivalent to Fireteam Chats, and will incorporate a bunch of awesome podcasters from different podcast networks! I am super excited to have a type of show like this, which is more focused on Destiny, for Destiny fans, by a bunch of would-be industry Destiny fans. 

It’ll be a bi-weekly show with a rotating cast with a few permanent seats, and be only on YouTube (for now). Currently it will definitely be on YouTube.com/IrrationalPassions, with maybe incorporating other YouTube channels into it as well.

Stay tuned for more details!

Okay, with all that housekeeping done, let’s get into the big editorial of the month.

Games Give You Feelings. Full Stop.

My question today, which I asked my lovely twitter followers and the readers of Sunday Chats, was this:

I like to refer to myself as the “total emotional sap”, which is just the slightly more nice way of saying I’m a bit of a crybaby/emotional wreck when it comes to media, especially video games. I get highly invested in my games, and my stories especially. I’m always perplexed, what with the seemingly constant criticism of video games’ storytelling devices, that people seem to never stop hating on gaming stories. 

The recent argument about gaming stories and why they’re more irrelevant than we might think still boggles my mind, and it’s a subject I come back to all the time.

Today I asked you all about the game stories that affected you the most. The ones that touched you in a way that evoked some kind of emotional reaction out of you, whether that be good or bad. 

Much like last month, I am gonna post everyone’s answers here, and discuss what folks have sent in. If you’d like to be a part of Sunday Chats like this, just look for my tweets on Sunday Afternoons (Eastern Daylight Time) with the hashtag “#SundayChats” in it. Responding to that tweet with an appropriate answer will pretty much guarantee you a spot on the roster, so with that said...

Let’s get started.

I think Uncharted is a big one, especially Uncharted 4. There is a series of scenes between Nate and Elena that occur very late in the game that just solidify so many things foreshadowed in the very opening of the game. The scenes toward the beginning of Nate and Elena at home, playing Crash Bandicoot, hanging out, sharing dinner, and kind of spacing on each other all have such a natural and organic feel because of 1, the talent of the actors, but 2, the amount of lore and chemistry built up between the two of them.

The scenes where Nate and Elena have that tension of something they really need to overcome together are like, horrifically painful in a way that is hard to describe. It’s such a satisfying end to character growth for Nate, someone we’ve seen struggle with understanding his own faults in the past.

Uncharted 4 holds itself in such high regard to me specifically because of that last third that features a heavy emphasis on Nate and Elena.

I mean, hey, Duke Nukem Forever probably game some people emotions. Like, I don’t think the story had some sweeping impact on the industry as a whole, but there is maybe  sense of... Catharsis, when that game finally came out, came to fruition, and ended up being just a bad game. I feel like above most games that have gone through a miserable development hell in the past few years, Duke Nukem Forever was the game that set the precedent that none of these games could ever be good.

I think Final Fantasy XV and Owl Boy are just recent examples that that isn’t always true.

I think frustration is totally a valid emotion to feel from a game. Only I think in this context it’s different. I think being frustrated at a game and being frustrated by a game are two different feelings.

I think of something like Far Cry Blood Dragon’s tutorial screens, which incessantly pop up to make the bit-joke that “tutorial screens are annoying” is a sense where the game is trying to frustrate you on purpose, and that is evoked through humor.

Being mad at Skyrim’s controls and the opening section of it is less some kind of culmination of a story beat, but really a reflection of your relationship with the game. Which is completely valid, I know that game is absolutely not your cup of tea.

Firewatch is really special. I think there are a lot of great feelings that Firewatch brings out of the player that really encompass the emotional journey it illustrates through dialogue. From the story that kind of makes up the suspense part of everything, to the actual relationship with Delilah herself, there are feelings of love, affection, fear, and sorrow that come from it.

The gut punch of the story hits twice too, and it’s something I still think about in games. For as flawed as some of the delivery in Firewatch is, I think it does an excellent job of making a setting, and making you feel in that same setting. God what a banger and worth a play Firewatch still is.

Infamous is definitely a tricky one. It is a very much younger brother game, and I think it does hit some notes there. I think the reason I never bought in too much is because Delsin and his brother just never seemed like they had strong chemistry? Buying into that brothers concept though is a huge part of the battle though. Look at something like Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, which is all about buying the connection between the two brothers. It’s used and then executed on effectively, and when you can connect with that, you can get those feelings out. Second Son just didn’t quite get there with me.

Gone Home and another game on this list are definitely in my top five as far as really connecting and affecting me emotionally.

Growing up with a gay sibling and slowly piecing together where they were and empathizing with why they wouldn’t want to tell me sets Gone Home up to just hit some relatable notes for me that few games ever get the opportunity to make. 

While I love a good love story, Gone Home delivers it in such a video game-y way without feeling forced or disingenuous. It nails what it wants to be, and by doing something first so well, it actually makes it incredibly difficult to follow itself up, something I think is clear with Tacoma, and all the other “walking sim” likes that have followed.

Night in the Woods is absolutely on my list to see through before the end of the year. From everything I’ve heard about its subject matter to the way it’s written like the embodiment of some kind of modern, online dialogue, I am absolutely in. Much like Oxenfree was for me last year, this seems like the kind of teen-y thing that could easily slip through the cracks and get lost in the crowd, but I really want to take the time to play it.

I mean, I know you love dropping those declarative statements, but consider me not so bold, Kevin. 

Metal Gear Solid 3 is legendary. I think when I replayed the series a few years ago, and really got to re-experiences the Boss’ death, and for the first time, really understand what she was going through and how that might destroy Big Boss from the inside out, the impact of that ending and its implications still sit with me today.

The Boss’ ideology being based on seeing the entire world from space and seeing it truly as something whole, and one, and deserving of peace, is such a powerful image. It’s the kind of philosophy that makes you feel small, and understand that that’s okay if we all just work together. That imagery being literally the catalyst for the entire events of the Metal Gear Solid franchise is beautiful, and is at it’s core why I think Kojima loved making those games. His image and love for the franchise is as unified as seeing us all together, truly.

The Last of Us is a game that will straight fuck you up. There are maybe four or five just absolutely integral scenes in that game, and all of them are the one on one scenes between Joel and Ellie. The big ones. There are multiple moments in that one story where Joel and Ellie, as a relationship, leaves you breathless.

I think of all the problems with video game storytelling, subtlety is the biggest one. Being subtle in a game is difficult because while things do heavily come down to actors and performances, there is an aspect of technology and uncanny valley to deal with too.

Luckily, Naughty Dog has consistently prove you don’t need to worry about that with them. The final moments in The Last of Us between Joel and Ellie will leave you in bed awake for years to come.

I am totally with you. Mass Effect 3, much like this most recent season of Game of Thrones, is about the payoffs. The trilogy very much sets up the tensions between these major conflicts and events. The Geth and the Quarians, and their war for the home planet. The Genophage and the Salarians delivering it, and how that has created a rift int he galaxy ever since. Those are plot points and arcs that exist, feel like they existed, changed, evolved, and then ending in wonderfully dramatic fashion.

And the Citadel DLC is another absolutely fantastic call out. It was so powerful for my cohost and biggest Mass Effect Fan Brian Nabeshin Jackson that he forced both myself and our other cohost Tony Horvath to buy and play it, and it was absolutely worth it. There is an “earned-ness” to the ME3 Citadel DLC, for it’s just incredible “one last ride” feel to it. It really is the “we’re all about to die so let’s just cut back and be together” story. And it works, because of the notes Mass Effect leaned so heavily into ending on.

Mass Effect is definitely the kind of trilogy that leaves you with an impact, if not only because of taking your character through three games.

Logan Wilkinson reviewed this for our site this year and it’s another with Night in the Woods that I am desperate to see through sometime before the end of the year. It’s an excellent idea and it’s portrayed in a super interesting way.

Rime is one that seemed to go really hard under the radar. This is the first big indicative thing I”ve heard in its favor. I know it reviewed well, but it’s just something that I feel there isn’t a lot of awareness of.

Judging from the vibes you describe here and the ones given off by the trailer, I’m not surprised Steven.

We touched on it above a the top, but yes. The growth is the big aspect of Uncharted that makes the fourth feel like the end of an era. Of a saga. Of course the Lost Legacy is out now (still need to play it) and there is room for more smaller games like that in that universe, but Uncharted 4 is the end of a big story.

The small sections where you get to guide the conversations ever so slightly really do pay off because you feel like you got to make the choice to talk about just one thing, and you can just pick what you want to know the most. It’s something uncanny in the series before, and odd for this kind of “action blockbuster” game. It just works though, setting a tone like this is the last story Drake gets to tell, and you get to make it the kind of story you want it to be.

Journey is the other big game for me personally. Few games have just wrecked me from the inside out. While I’ve only played the game twice ever in my life, I still distinctly remember the tears the game gave me both times in its final moments of just pure bliss and freedom. It’s an incredible story told through visuals and cooperation about the journey of life and death, and it’s visual metaphors are just outstanding.

Few games have made me emotional in the way Journey has, and it absolutely helps to have Austin Wintory’s score on its side. Journey is a full sensory experience, and one I’d even confidently call the Fantasia of video games.

Thank you everyone again so much for participating. These are all incredible and interesting and, even more fascinating, modern examples, that all stand out as real cool ways games can have an affect on you.

The Checklist

Just one this week. And it’s for my boy Roger Pokorny. 

IGN Stories https://t.co/kYGdR5dQCx

Roger is making video essays for IGN in a totally new initiative for them, and he is incredible. He delivers fantastic writing and editing together in a sublime series called The Rogformer show on his YouTube channel, and it’s genuinely incredible to see a big outlet like IGN take him under their wing and allow him to bring that format to their site.

Words don’t do justice how proud of Roger I am. This is a long time coming, and no doubt the first success in a string of them, but it’s absolutely worth reiterating how impressed I am with Roger and his growth. He’s a great friend, and a hard worker, and you should absolutely watch his content. It’s worth it.

THat’s my whole bit. I would have written in some more margins, but I am just simply exhausted. It’s off to sleep land for me, but I hope this alternative version of Sunday Chats is still doing you all well. I know the first iteration got a great response, so here’s hoping for round two!

Anyway, that’s all I got.

Cheers.

Goodnight

keep it real.