Hidden details in games

[hanselthecaretaker]

What are some good examples you've found?

I was watching the Ludo-narrative Dissonance [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.1055911-Youre-probably-using-Ludonarrative-Dissonance-completely-wrong] video on YouTube's page and saw something for Bloodborne on the side panel.

Spoiler: Old, but new to me.

Also [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwtT8xZ9boY]

Amazing what's missed sometimes when one never thinks to look. Was only aware of a fraction of those.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Shadow of the Colossus is famous for inspiring a lot of "secret hunters" because of how weirdly detailed yet empty its world is. Everything from guessing the purpose of the few ruins that lie around to the connection between each colossus and its enviroment, which usually enshrines them. There's also a favorite theory of mine that links the whole fable to the biblical Tower of Babel. And the connections to ICO (the shadows, Mono and the Queen, the hidden beach from ICO's ending). And of course that nigh impossible to reach secret garden at the top of the main shrine, and the non-reward it is to climb it. So on and so forth.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

Hhm... Well I noticed something about Shadow of the Colossus the other day that I thought was pretty cool.

So the first colossus you fight is Valus, followed by Quadratus then Gaius. The interesting thing about these first three colossi is their appearance.

Valus looks like a traditional monster you might fight in an RPG, he looks similar to a minotaur. Most people don't think much about fighting monsters in video games.

The second colossi is Quadratus who looks like a bull. Quadratus looks much more like an animal than a monster, and while you do fight animals in games, you usually fight deranged animals or ones under the control of someone whether through training or magic.

Then you fight Gaius who looks like a swordsman. Gaius is one of the most human looking colossi and in traditional RPGs like Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy, human opponents are usually reserved for special events or at least very rare.

What's very interesting about this is how it leads you into feeling guilt about killing the colossi. The game presents you with an escalation of opponents in terms of what people would usually feel comfortable killing in a video game. One could argue that it is just coincidence but I think that this choice of first opponents in terms of appearance is intentional to evoke the feeling of guilt gradually.