Dead island reveal trailer, piece of art or too far?
- Thread starter bfgmetalhead
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The trailer hit me pretty hard, but I'm usually a sucker for kids/animals in pain, dying, etc. so it's not that big of a surprise. Still, I found it well put together, even if it kind of reminded me of Memento a little bit. Trailer or not, I still would've been interested in the game anyway.
I wouldn't call it "art" though because tugging at the audience's heartstrings seems a little too common nowadays.
I wouldn't call it "art" though because tugging at the audience's heartstrings seems a little too common nowadays.
Considering I just cut through a dozen undead children and exploding babies in Dead Space 2, no, I don't really think that one zombie child falling out of a building is extreme.
Like I said, all it was was pathos, pathos, pathos. Nothing else. You are agreeing with me.Trolldor said:
Holy shiiiiiiiit. I'd never even heard of that. I mean, if I were to argue the same way I do for Dead Island, what he does makes sense logically but... fuuuuuuck. I can't condone that.squid5580 said:
I mean, seriously? That shits fucked up.
I think I've found my limit. Give me Human Centipede over that any day.
As for Dead Island, I'll just say what I said on another forum;
I personally think it looks an interesting game, where it tackles the zombie apocalypse in a more "weighty" way, as opposed to L4D and Dead Rising, which tended to be more button mashing crazy (in a good way).
The use of the child I thought was a intriguing move, as it would approach this glaring flaw that most recent zombie media and media in general seems to avoid; kids are human and just a susceptible as adults. Basically it's refreshing to see a franchise invert the Infant Immortality trope. I feel I should point out, whilst I don't have any children of my own, I have a very close relationship with my sister and seven cousins, with all of the latter being under 10. I don't know but I don't connect with the trailer in a "Oh god, what if it was my kids" kind of way. Same with Dead Rising 2 when giving Katy her shots. Obviously I would react differently if it was someone I cared about (For this reason I can see, for example, where Geoff and the commenters on that video are coming from). I guess I just differentiate the characters and my personal emotions more than others (I say that because after friends and family have seen the trailer, the "What if it was my kid" is the archetypal response I've been given).
That said it's not that I don't feel emotions. I think it's incredibly powerful emotionally, and seems to take a more mature view of the whole zombie apocalypse genre.
As for the actual trailer, the use of the kid is most likely headline grabbing to stir up some controversy. I can't see the game getting released allowing the murder of little zombie children. From wikipedia, it seems like it's going to be a 4 man band affair,possibly with the father being a character.
I also read it was inspired by the old Romero films, which I love to no end and will definitely look into picking this up soon after release.
The use of the child I thought was a intriguing move, as it would approach this glaring flaw that most recent zombie media and media in general seems to avoid; kids are human and just a susceptible as adults. Basically it's refreshing to see a franchise invert the Infant Immortality trope. I feel I should point out, whilst I don't have any children of my own, I have a very close relationship with my sister and seven cousins, with all of the latter being under 10. I don't know but I don't connect with the trailer in a "Oh god, what if it was my kids" kind of way. Same with Dead Rising 2 when giving Katy her shots. Obviously I would react differently if it was someone I cared about (For this reason I can see, for example, where Geoff and the commenters on that video are coming from). I guess I just differentiate the characters and my personal emotions more than others (I say that because after friends and family have seen the trailer, the "What if it was my kid" is the archetypal response I've been given).
That said it's not that I don't feel emotions. I think it's incredibly powerful emotionally, and seems to take a more mature view of the whole zombie apocalypse genre.
As for the actual trailer, the use of the kid is most likely headline grabbing to stir up some controversy. I can't see the game getting released allowing the murder of little zombie children. From wikipedia, it seems like it's going to be a 4 man band affair,
I also read it was inspired by the old Romero films, which I love to no end and will definitely look into picking this up soon after release.
I don't think it went too far, no worse than the emotional stuff we see in show or the graphic novel The Walking Dead and that's gone off without being deemed 'going too far' So I don't see why this should be any different. Anyone that thinks its just being violent for violence sake and to get teens to want to play it ("Is a New Computer Game Telling YOUR Children that Eating Their Families is COOL? Find out at 10!") is just out of touch with the medium and unable to think outside of the giant circlejerk of their media-centered lives that trivialize things to make petty political points or arguments.
Well, it was emotionally very hard hitting, but it made me sick to my stomach. I actually pretty much fucking hate this game from this trailer alone. I can't say it's BAD, because it definitely horrified me, and most entries into the horror genre have forgotten how to do that. And when I play games I expect an emotional impact where it's advertised but this... oh Jesus, man. Ugh. I think it's because I plan to be a father one day, and the thought of this happening to my child is... I don't think there's actually a word for it.
No, I'm not.More Fun To Compute said:
You're making a presumption about how things ought to work, you also undervalue the emotional impact a trailer can have.
And you're ignoring a number of elements that add subtelty, such as facial expression and body language.
But it doesn't surprise me you don't know what I'm saying.
I find that an interesting point. I read an interview with Peter Molyneux once about how when he was making the game Syndicate which had a strong theme of innocents being caught in the crossfire he tried to gauge how players felt about the violence. They didn't have any problem with civilians dying which he sort of expected but what was surprising to him was that they didn't care about the prams. Oddly enough they did care about killing pet dogs. I think that both prams and dogs were removed from the final versions. And the guy is still working with themes like making players care about dogs and kids in games.Sun Flash said:
I know how this trailer is supposed to work. Pathos. Personally, I found it pretty heavy handed so it didn't really work on me.Trolldor said:
I dont think anyone's really attacking it, it just has a high chance of making people empathize with the situation and how sad and horrible it is.
No one's clamoring for a -ban- or anything, it's just going to be too much for some folks to watch.
And you know what? That's ok.
No one's clamoring for a -ban- or anything, it's just going to be too much for some folks to watch.
And you know what? That's ok.
I thought it was fairly interesting, not so much because of what it promises, but how everything was filmed with the slo-mo reverse stuff going on. I also thought it was interesting how the trailer pushed the boundaries of what we expect from video game trailers. It was certainly different from what I expected of a trailer for a video game about zombies, that is for darn sure.
on the contrary of going to far i found it very well put together, even emotional. but i can see why there is some critisism for it parents might not really agree with this sort of thing. but then again it is the most horrifying stuff to imagine right ? seeing your kid die and then attacking you. it might also be that i'm a bit desensitized to these things after i saw a trailer for a serbian film and reading ichi the killer and berserk most things don't bother me so much anymore. also the feast 2 is actually so bad it's not remotely appalling (not a typo) it's just funny (mostly because of the special effects, it distracts too much)
A zombie game that focuses on the emotional stress of killing the zombified versions of the ones you love dearly and the dread of knowing you and your family have no hope of survival in an uncaring world?
Oh, and I liked how it played in reverse sort of. That was well done.
And those are FREAKING GOOD GRAPHICS.
Oh, and I liked how it played in reverse sort of. That was well done.
And those are FREAKING GOOD GRAPHICS.
Too far.
Maybe not in the sense that everyone else would say too far, but because it was so obvious. So clearly an attempt to go 'look, look, look at the horror and tragedy of our game, look at how mature and evil it is.'
It made me completely aware I was watching something put together by soulless marketing execs who want to tug at heartstrings. No real character to it, no emotion beyond what they so clearly want you to feel.
Fine, have children in peril in games, but do it with story and character behind it, not to just be 'poignant.'
Maybe not in the sense that everyone else would say too far, but because it was so obvious. So clearly an attempt to go 'look, look, look at the horror and tragedy of our game, look at how mature and evil it is.'
It made me completely aware I was watching something put together by soulless marketing execs who want to tug at heartstrings. No real character to it, no emotion beyond what they so clearly want you to feel.
Fine, have children in peril in games, but do it with story and character behind it, not to just be 'poignant.'
The trailer certainly made me feel sad, but it did nothing to make me want to buy the game, or even make me want to find more. The trailer was made for shock value, and it succeeded in shocking me, but so what? It's just a marketing ploy to keep the game in people's minds, and to cause debate about it in topics such as this one in order to gain publicity.
For what it's worth i thought that the trailer was mildly moving , very well put together and that the animations , especially expressions , where done brilliantly well.
Especially considering that a lot of emotion can easily look very silly in slow motion.
Anyway, Reminded me that Dead Island Existed
Especially considering that a lot of emotion can easily look very silly in slow motion.
Anyway, Reminded me that Dead Island Existed