I want to admit something. And it's something we all have to come to terms with at some point in our lives.
I'm getting old.
As much as I hate to admit that, I feel distantly disconnected from my youth and what excuses I used to make in the pursuit of getting the latest graphic power house or news what's its. To the point that i've simply just moved on from the juvenile way the Gaming industry has become wanting to be young and reckless forever.
Nothing hit's close to that point for me than the Death of Characters.
No no no, not actual death in the plot of a game but the absolute vacuum today's gaming has left in place.
Let me explain.
I recently bought Um Jammer Lammy, 6 dollars off the psn story and totally worth the price. And whether you believe this or not, I was absolutely awe struck by the game's protagonist, Lammy. Everything about her is just incredibly appealing. Her look, her personality, her relevance in the game. I could not express how much that little lamb absolutely strikes me. And not just her. The world, the minor characters, the music, the colors, maybe not so much the plot...but everything just feels so...alive in this game.
This game is over 15 years old but it does not stop resonating within me so deeply.
So why is it this one game, lost in obscurity even it's on franchise, has captured my heart where as gaming for the last 26 years i've been alive failed to do so?
I thought about this for a long time now and I think I have a real answer which should be thought about.
This game actually contains real characters.
Now to go deeper in the subject. Gaming to me is the pinnacle of story telling and visual appeal with the ability to provide interaction for its audience. Nothing, not even movies nor the stories told before or after will ever have such an affect on it's viewers.
But there has to be a balance and focus for the media to actually achieve this.
For instance if you have a game with a lot of gameplay and craftsmanship but very little in story development (aka most shooters) you're not going to leave much of an impression as it can easily be replaced over and over and over, (aka every new shooter/sequel). Then there's the opposite where you have an excellently told story but muddled game play (aka Heavy Rain). Then there's just the shitty ff13 series (aka that stupid *****)where nothing was done well at all.
And you can also easily break impression of character through subtle but easily done mistakes.
For one, letting the player actually control the character themselves. It already destroys a character because the player can and will make choices that a story will establish a character would probably not do down right to never do on their own. A second one is allowing the player to have unrealistic choices in the characters actions (Aka Mass Effect). Seriously you really need to have middle ground if you go that route instead of the broken Good/evil thing. Probably the most ineffective of all is the blank slate character (aka any character creation that has NO effect on the game. I say not completely because some games get that right, aka Saint's Row).
Back to my original comparison, Lammy herself is probably the closest thing to an actual character. She's not out to save the world or prove her worth or even really do anything most protagonist do these days. All she really does is try to act realistically *sans plot* as she tries to get to her first gig in her career. She has an establish personality, she grows like a person, and well who can really hate this character?
Now I know some of you probably won't see eye to eye as we are all bias. But let me put this to the test.
Can you name one character that felt like a real person? Not an amazing person or some kinda of dark mysterious person or a person put into a unrealistic situation. I mean an actual person you could probably find in real life?
To be honest you all could list your favorites and I could easily strike down every single one because they were designed for one purpose...for your entertainment.
Some of you can easily say you hate her as a character. That's good, i'm glad you have personal taste but I can proudly say at least my character was a character.
Maybe it's kinda pointless to actually think about entertainment so deeply. But I think at least there should be at least one game that will be as timeless as the classics written in books so long ago that continue to endure to this day.
Guess this is why I hate saying, i'm getting old.
I'm getting old.
As much as I hate to admit that, I feel distantly disconnected from my youth and what excuses I used to make in the pursuit of getting the latest graphic power house or news what's its. To the point that i've simply just moved on from the juvenile way the Gaming industry has become wanting to be young and reckless forever.
Nothing hit's close to that point for me than the Death of Characters.
No no no, not actual death in the plot of a game but the absolute vacuum today's gaming has left in place.
Let me explain.
I recently bought Um Jammer Lammy, 6 dollars off the psn story and totally worth the price. And whether you believe this or not, I was absolutely awe struck by the game's protagonist, Lammy. Everything about her is just incredibly appealing. Her look, her personality, her relevance in the game. I could not express how much that little lamb absolutely strikes me. And not just her. The world, the minor characters, the music, the colors, maybe not so much the plot...but everything just feels so...alive in this game.
This game is over 15 years old but it does not stop resonating within me so deeply.
So why is it this one game, lost in obscurity even it's on franchise, has captured my heart where as gaming for the last 26 years i've been alive failed to do so?
I thought about this for a long time now and I think I have a real answer which should be thought about.
This game actually contains real characters.
Now to go deeper in the subject. Gaming to me is the pinnacle of story telling and visual appeal with the ability to provide interaction for its audience. Nothing, not even movies nor the stories told before or after will ever have such an affect on it's viewers.
But there has to be a balance and focus for the media to actually achieve this.
For instance if you have a game with a lot of gameplay and craftsmanship but very little in story development (aka most shooters) you're not going to leave much of an impression as it can easily be replaced over and over and over, (aka every new shooter/sequel). Then there's the opposite where you have an excellently told story but muddled game play (aka Heavy Rain). Then there's just the shitty ff13 series (aka that stupid *****)where nothing was done well at all.
And you can also easily break impression of character through subtle but easily done mistakes.
For one, letting the player actually control the character themselves. It already destroys a character because the player can and will make choices that a story will establish a character would probably not do down right to never do on their own. A second one is allowing the player to have unrealistic choices in the characters actions (Aka Mass Effect). Seriously you really need to have middle ground if you go that route instead of the broken Good/evil thing. Probably the most ineffective of all is the blank slate character (aka any character creation that has NO effect on the game. I say not completely because some games get that right, aka Saint's Row).
Back to my original comparison, Lammy herself is probably the closest thing to an actual character. She's not out to save the world or prove her worth or even really do anything most protagonist do these days. All she really does is try to act realistically *sans plot* as she tries to get to her first gig in her career. She has an establish personality, she grows like a person, and well who can really hate this character?
Now I know some of you probably won't see eye to eye as we are all bias. But let me put this to the test.
Can you name one character that felt like a real person? Not an amazing person or some kinda of dark mysterious person or a person put into a unrealistic situation. I mean an actual person you could probably find in real life?
To be honest you all could list your favorites and I could easily strike down every single one because they were designed for one purpose...for your entertainment.
Some of you can easily say you hate her as a character. That's good, i'm glad you have personal taste but I can proudly say at least my character was a character.
Maybe it's kinda pointless to actually think about entertainment so deeply. But I think at least there should be at least one game that will be as timeless as the classics written in books so long ago that continue to endure to this day.
Guess this is why I hate saying, i'm getting old.
