A 'Sequel' to Spec Ops: The Line

[cutecuddely]

I would love a sequel to Spec Ops: The Line but obviously not a direct sequel. A spiritual sequel, One that touches on the themes in the first game or some completely new theme. What I'm saying is that I would like a new Spec Ops game with the same impact as The Line.

However, what made Spec Ops: The Line so good was that it looked like a generic shooter but was only a facade hiding a truly magnificent piece of storytelling and one that ridiculed the shooters of today. A sequel may not have the same impact the first one had.

One possible idea is to play as Konrad before Dubai, in one of the endings you hear Konrad talking to Walker and he sounds, well im not quite sure how to put it but broken is what i might say.

But I want to hear what you think, do you want a new Spec Ops game with the same impact as the first one or would you rather just leave it and not mess around with it.

Me personally, am on the fence, I would like another story with the same emotional impact but I don't want the memories made sour by a poor sequel (More sour than they are now, of course).

P.S If you haven't played Spec Ops: The Line do it now.

 

[King Billi]

Firstly... Wasn't Spec Ops: The Line already a sequel? I mean a new installment in an obscure franchise from way back when?

Secondly... If they decided to make a sequel(or whatever) to this game they'd have to give it some serious consideration first because unlike some people I honestly don't believe that this games impact and resonance was ever intentional.

Everyones talk of this game somehow masquerading as some kind of generic military shooter while actually seeking to transcend the very genre it is a part of and subvert the very conventions of whatever... everyone has their own interpretations and my point is that to me it seems that these are largely just from the minds of the people playing and not so much an intended message.

Don't get me wrong I think the game is very good and I like how much interpretation there is to be found in its narrative especially when it prompts such thoughtful questions and discussions about the medium as it has, the point is that the impact this game had was largely due to it surprising people and confounding their expectations of what this kind of game could be about. Now a sequel wouldn't be able to have that as the developers would already have an idea of what people would be expecting from it and it's message could likely be misinterpreted or lost along the way.

So yeah whatever Spec Ops game is due to follow up on this one(if any?) shouldn't be taken lightly.

 

[bastardofmelbourne]

Spec Ops: The Line is already the bastard child of an ancient shooter franchise. It's a rare positive example of the game industry's phobia of new IPs causing them to tack an old brand's name onto a completely unrelated sequel.

Basically, someone on the publisher's would have been throwing around ideas for mid-tier modern military shooter, realised they own the rights to Spec Ops, and put X dollars into development of a new Spec Ops game. What made The Line significant was that Yager was given huge creative freedom. They couldn't have made better use of it, to be honest. It's amazing the game was ever even made - if it had been pitched to the publisher as "merciless deconstruction of modern military shooters and the moral complexities of war-as-gameplay" instead of "new Spec Ops game" it never would have gotten its funding.

But, on topic: no. A direct sequel, which is to say one sharing the first game's continuity, wouldn't say anything that The Line didn't already, and may actually undermine its message. Not to mention that it would always look bad compared to its predecessor.

What I do want to see is Yager making more games. If they touch up the quality of their gameplay (entirely possible) and get publisher funding for something original (totally impossible) they could really make a worthy successor. It's far more likely that this is all we'll see from them, however. The fact that it sold so poorly really makes me wonder if the consumer base even wants to support games as an artistic endeavour rather than as a monkeymaker.

 

[Erttheking]

Hold on let's not throw the idea out the window. What about a prequel where you control Konrad trying to establish order in the city?

 

[bananafishtoday]

What I do want to see is Yager making more games. If they touch up the quality of their gameplay (entirely possible) and get publisher funding for something original (totally impossible) they could really make a worthy successor. It's far more likely that this is all we'll see from them, however. The fact that it sold so poorly really makes me wonder if the consumer base even wants to support games as an artistic endeavour rather than as a monkeymaker.

According to their site [http://www.yager.de/projects/index.html], they're working on an "unannounced AAA project" as we speak. Their "Company" page seems to suggest that they're focused on the kind of storytelling/attention to detail that made The Line so good... or here's hoping, anyway.

Also the Yager logo was totally in the logo collage featured in the PS4 announcement. I was really happy when I saw that.

Edit: The optimist in me hopes that whatever publisher is backing their current endeavor realizes that The Line would have been a much bigger success if it'd had more/better marketing. Like... that game may not have sold well, but nine months later, tons of people are still talking about it. I'd imagine it's still selling--not well compared to other titles in their launch windows, but prolly much better than almost any game near or more than a year old.

Plus any marketing person worth their salt has to realize that The Line's unique and bold storytelling made Yager a sizable built-in customer base. I'd say a large portion of people who bought The Line are nearly guaranteed to buy Yager's next offering as long as it promises the same kind of depth and unity of vision. Few other dev houses can offer the kind of game-to-game loyalty that Yager is poised to exploit. Even the most complacent corporate drone should be able to appreciate that giving Yager creative freedom is a good business move: it allows the publisher a decent foundation of free sales based on the strength of the dev's nascent brand.

Honestly, I don't understand why more publishers don't try to capitalize on this (or rather, I kinda do: the corporate model values quarterly earnings over long-term profitability as a fault of its design.) If a dev house is able to use creative freedom to build brand loyalty, word of mouth and reputation will allow marketing to attract new customers with the knowledge that there's already a segment who will buy the next title automatically. In the same way that many people auto-buy the next game in a franchise, they should be trying to ensure people auto-buy the next game from a studio.

 

[Tanis]

I think a spiritual sequel, that's set in something like Vietnam would be interesting.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

This thread reminded me of something kind of funny: Spec Ops: The Line is itself a sequel. Actually, it's the eighth sequel (ninth game total) in a series that's been running since 1998. It's just that nobody has ever heard of it because it's the first entry since the first game or two that wasn't a piece of shovelware.

You can check Wikipedia if you don't believe me.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

I'd say no. I could see it ending up just like MW2. CoD4 was awesome with the nuke seen, but they beat it into the ground in MW2. I could see another Spec Ops being the same thing again just in a different spot, or like MW2, them beating it into the ground.

 

[ClockworkUniverse]

There are three ways this could go: a direct sequel (pointless and kind of stupid), an indirect sequel with the same themes (not stupid, but still pointless, as the first game already said what it said), or a sequel in name only with entirely different themes (the best option, but it wouldn't really be a sequel per se).

I think another SpecOps game is inevitable, probably, publishers being what they are. But I'm not sure making one is a good idea.

 

[Zetatrain]

I think a spiritual sequel, that's set in something like Vietnam would be interesting.

1)Wouldn't that be a prequel

2)Would't that just be a video game version of Apocalypse Now, which technically is already the source material for Spec Ops: The Line.

 

[DrunkenMonkey]

If a sequel will happen (it's a possibility at least) its not going to have the same punch as "the line" did. The audience is going to to go in fully prepared for whatever happens. This is not akin to a twist, it's just first game already threw out its trump card.

 

[freaper]

No. We just need more games of the same, or better, quality. That's the minimum amount of entitlement developers should expect and fulfil.

I think a spiritual sequel, that's set in something like Vietnam would be interesting.

1)Wouldn't that be a prequel

2)Would't that just be a video game version of Apocalypse Now, which technically is already the source material for Spec Ops: The Line.

I actually watched Apocalypse Now for the first time a while back, and I was thinking exactly that. Vietnam would make for a good setting though, being the grey historical period it is.

 

[GonvilleBromhead]

A sequel would, in many ways, ruin the impact somewhat. However, another game with that quality of scriptwriting, exploring other adult themes, and equally out of the blue would, I hope, be on the cards. There are many other themes they can explore, trends in gaming that warrant skewering, that it would be possible for their to be a sequel in the spirit of the game without being anything like it (or even in the same genre)

 

[wulf3n]

I would love a sequel to Spec Ops: The Line but obviously not a direct sequel. A spiritual sequel, One that touches on the themes in the first game or some completely new theme.

So basically you just want a game with a deep, well written story that takes a serious introspective look into gaming culture.

Question: Why does it have to be Spec Ops?

 

[GonvilleBromhead]

I spiritual sequel doesn't need to have anything in common, even as far as naming goes, to the original.

 

[Tanis]

I think a spiritual sequel, that's set in something like Vietnam would be interesting.

1)Wouldn't that be a prequel
2)Would't that just be a video game version of Apocalypse Now, which technically is already the source material for Spec Ops: The Line.

1) Only if Bioshock is a spiritual prequel to System Shock 2.


2) Yes.
But I wouldn't mind a game tackling Vietnam without trying to be 'funny' or toss in buckets of blood vs actual good game play/story.

 

[AD-Stu]

I don't really see what the point would be - the gameplay wasn't great, so nobody's going back to it for that. And its broader point about the shooter genre wouldn't really be helped any by making a sequel. So... yeah, not really sure I get the need for it.

 

[Mikejames]

A sequel would, in many ways, ruin the impact somewhat. However, another game with that quality of scriptwriting, exploring other adult themes, and equally out of the blue would, I hope, be on the cards. There are many other themes they can explore, trends in gaming that warrant skewering, that it would be possible for their to be a sequel in the spirit of the game without being anything like it (or even in the same genre)

I could potentially get behind that.

As you say, it would lose some of the weight The Line had because the psychological factor and just how far it took morality was really unexpected, but there are other storytelling possibilities within the realm of taking situations on a downward spiral and making impossible choices.