Why must every game revolve around making my balls feel big?

[daveman247]

Is there a problem? Why would i want to play as some angsty teenager who cries himself to sleep?

I cant think of that many games that are like that (Uber powerful power houses).

There are plenty games where you play as the "everyman" though, which is fine. Makes them feel more relateable.

Although playing as a regular guy is fun too (like in silent hill).

Amnesia and journey did not impress me. Journey was all graphics and nothing else from what i saw. Amnesia ALMOST impressed me but needed less generic enemies.

 

[Zhukov]

Also what about Nintendo and their characters surely Marios not a badass or a blank slate? and then link and Samus and Kirby etc actually I would say youre stereotype applies mainly to western games play some japanese ones and you will have a lot less of this stereotype reinforced but of course others will replace it every culture has its own favoured cliches.

This will probably sound arrogant, but I've never regarded Nintendo characters as "proper" characters.

You could replace most of them with a silent stick figure and it would barely affect the game.

Besides, Japanese games irritate me in their own special way and they're hardly free of the sort of thing I'm complaining about. See Resident Evil 4 and Binary Domain.

[snip]

That may be a general issue with people's preferences and expectations playing games - as a rule, they hate losing.

There are exceptions. "A scared and desperate @ with cowardly tendencies is pitted against vastly superior adversaries while in pursuit of the Amulet of Yendor. The @ experiences numerous setbacks and losses before finally [succeeding by the skin of its teeth/dying ignominiously]" is a pretty good description of most roguelikes, Crusader Kings II gets a lot of praise for having the possibility of non-trivial losses becoming part of the story, Dwarf Fortress (and Tetris!) inevitably ends with a meteoric fall, and so on.

But generally speaking, most of the games like this are old or pretty niche, and most players will slam the quickload button the second they lose or suffer a setback. Unfortunately.

Interestingly, most of those examples are games that don't have a set story beyond that which is played out by the game mechanics.

While I respect those kinds of games, I can't really get interested in them on a narrative level. An @ with low HP doesn't evoke the same sympathy as a fleshed out character facing inevitable death.

(Been meaning to get my hands on CK II for a while now. So little time.)

 

[Kahunaburger]

[snip]

That may be a general issue with people's preferences and expectations playing games - as a rule, they hate losing.

There are exceptions. "A scared and desperate @ with cowardly tendencies is pitted against vastly superior adversaries while in pursuit of the Amulet of Yendor. The @ experiences numerous setbacks and losses before finally [succeeding by the skin of its teeth/dying ignominiously]" is a pretty good description of most roguelikes, Crusader Kings II gets a lot of praise for having the possibility of non-trivial losses becoming part of the story, Dwarf Fortress (and Tetris!) inevitably ends with a meteoric fall, and so on.

But generally speaking, most of the games like this are old or pretty niche, and most players will slam the quickload button the second they lose or suffer a setback. Unfortunately.

Interestingly, most of those examples are games that don't have a set story beyond that which is played out by the game mechanics.

I think this is a major part of what makes them work. It feels "fairer" as a player to actually lose a fight (and live to fight another day) than it does to win a fight, then be treated to a cutscene telling you that you lost the fight anyway.

That said...

While I respect those kinds of games, I can't really get interested in them on a narrative level. An @ with low HP doesn't evoke the same sympathy as a fleshed out character facing inevitable death.

(Been meaning to get my hands on CK II for a while now. So little time.)

I think something that isn't tapped enough is game story elements focused on mitigating or surviving losses. I think the current focus on defining "victory" as beating the enemy is a mistake - "victory" in game mechanics can just as easily be defined as successfully covering a retreat (a lot of Mechwarrior games have a mission or two like this), getting to a hiding place in time, or taking as many of the Covenant bastards down with you as possible.

 

[Casual Shinji]

The most popular games are action games, because they're instant gratification. And action games in general are power fantasies.

So there ya go.

The thing is, it's very hard to create compeling and involving gameplay that doesn't involve either shooting or slashing someone. And when you have a multi million dollar budget to make back in sales, the choice is easily made.

 

[ChildishLegacy]

Doesn't really apply to that many of my games, there's plenty out there that have a lot of variety and new concepts, just actually look for them rather than looking at what's popular, because what's popular tends to all have the same formula.

 

[Kahunaburger]

The thing is, it's very hard to create compeling and involving gameplay that doesn't involve either shooting or slashing someone.

Au contraire. [http://www.whatwouldmolydeux.com/archive.php] Also lots of casual games.

 

[SAMAS]

Oh jesus. This is the "Every game is a first person shooter" argument in a different wrapper.

Actually, this is the Western Dub of "Every Japanese RPG hero is a spikey-haired bishounen teenager with a huge sword" argument. And like that argument, it's not 100% accurate, but is technically accurate enough to have a point.

More variety in our protagonists is a good thing.

 

[dimensional]

This will probably sound arrogant, but I've never regarded Nintendo characters as "proper" characters.

You could replace most of them with a silent stick figure and it would barely affect the game.

Besides, Japanese games irritate me in their own special way and they're hardly free of the sort of thing I'm complaining about. See Resident Evil 4 and Binary Domain

I agree you could change them to a silent stick figure and it would barely affect the game on a playable level as long as that stick figure still had the same skills as the fully drawn counterpart but you could do that in almost any game and if there was spoken dialogue just have text instead it would still barely affect the game on a playable level however you would lose visual appeal and thats a big part of characters.

Im also well aware Japanese games have there own tropes but generally they are better at avoiding this particular stereotype usually only employing it significantly when they try and heavily market it to a western audience.

I think the problem is you seem to play mainly mainstream western games and thats whats colouring your perception and if most indie games dont appeal to you and most Japanese games irritate you I think you will be stuck for a while. I could be wrong on this as I am just guessing from youre posts what games you tend to play but this is the vibe I have been getting and if it sells well they will keep doing it, maybe not indefinitely but for a lot longer.

I just tend to swap between eastern western mainstream(ish)games and western eastern indie titles with the occasional older title (usually RPG J or W dont care) thrown in this helps stop things from getting stale and means I dont see the same type (broadly speaking) characters repeated game after game.

 

[Emiscary]

You're absolutely right, but it doesn't matter much. This is the kind of story they're gonna sell us for a long time...

 

[krazykidd]

Wai what about jrpgs . I know you guys at the escapist hate jrpgs with a fiery passion . But in those game you are almost never the super powerhouse badass . Usually we are the underdog , the guy that needs encouragement and friendship and teamwork to overcome hardship . The guy that works to the bone to overcome the obstacles in front of him . The guy that set's out on a journey no one thinks he'll survive , and pulls through by the skin of his ass . The guy who left home a boy and came back a man . Very rarely ,are the protagonist in jrpgs a juvinile power fantasy . Sure they are angsty at time , but thats basically because they are teenagers in most of these games .

 

[BreakfastMan]

snip...

I would love if there were more games like that. More variety is always good, says I. Just don't get rid of the juvenile power fantasy entirely... I gotta say, I love me some power fantasy. XD Especially when done right, like in Deus Ex, or Uncharted 2, or something similar. Power fantasies can still be smart and deep, whilst still being awesome and empowering. I just hope more devs realize that.

 

[Chanel Tompkins]

Eh...well...a lot of mine, although it's mostly by proxy and has at least a little strategy involved (why yes, I do love Pokemon). Although, I do have some others at least. Plants VS. Zombies, Animal Crossing, etc.

 

[Vanilla_Druid]

"Oh, you want me to have emotions? That's even worse!"

I see some potential in having a completely stoic protagonist. His/her stoicism could make for an interesting part of a plot.

 

[LilithSlave]

Because a lot of developers are in a sad state of shallow power fantasy pandering. Because apparently lots of guys still want to buy that. I sure as heck wouldn't want to be friends with such a guy.

Also, I hate to make this cultural, but this is mostly a Western thing. To expand on that, even more so a Western AAA company that makes a lot of money off of first person shooters like EA sort of thing.

I don't like such video games, so my wallet stays far, far away from them.

Might I use this as an opportunity to say how disgusting I think God of War is? It's a ridiculous power fantasy, known for things outside of the power fantasy, as women fawning over Kratos and a sex scene. What a pile of rubbish not much different that Duke Nukem.

Maybe there is good gameplay, but God if the theme doesn't suck.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

AHA! I've caught you, I found a weak point in your argu--oh, no, wait, I fail. Apart from the occasional Metroid, where one merely swaps thirty something dude for twenty something chick, and the God of War games that fit everything but "infallible" (because while eviscerating your problems works for most of them, a few niggling bastard problems like "I accidentally killed my family and am really really sorry" can't be fixed, no matter how many mythological creatures you murder), bang to right.

Except for Donkey Kong, about a giant monkey who goes bananas over stolen bananas.

And the Zelda games, about children and teens utilizing tools to their advantage over their environments.

Or Okami, about a puppy with a paint problem.

Or Kingdom hearts, about children and teens restoring hope to the world and growing in character as they do.

Or the Guitar Hero games, about playing all the best songs from various decades.

Or any fighting game, where damn near every character is on roughly the same level, and can all kick ass there and back again, Hobbit style.

Or racing games like Mario Kart, where it's about 50% dumb luck, 40% swearing, and 10% skill?

Or Minecraft, where you're one fall away from being back to the beginning, minus what you've got stored in a chest?

You know, I'm kinda seeing a pattern here. It's almost like there are other genres of game beyond action...Whoa....

I just blew my own mind! Entire groups of games that have little to do with testicular enhancement, and more to do with a variety of gameplay styles and resulting doses of fun...

 

[Joccaren]

The majority of games on my shelves are RTS or 4X games with no story mode or protagonist. Kinda helps you get away from that sort of stuff - especially if you turn the difficulty up to full before you're ready and get your balls stomped on.

 

[ChupathingyX]

What do you even consider a "badass"?

And there are a lot, like nearly every single racing game ever made, or flight simulator.

And then there are the VN's for which there are plenty that don't fit the criteria you just gave.

Then there are alot of RTS and strategy games that do feature killing and increase of power but not a protagonist.

And then there are the massive amount of Japanese games that wouldn't fit those criteria which some people have already pointed out.

Also, if I'm playing Dynasty Warriors 5 and I'm killing hundreds of enemies and gaining more powerful but I'm playing as Xiao Qiao; does that count?

 

[omega 616]

Ok, lets do this!

I have no idea what the results are before going in, so it could be evens or lop sided...

"and yet it moves" - scrawny white guy
"atom zombie smasher" - no one
"borderlands" 1 skinny white guy, 1 Marcus Phoenix, 1 black guy and a chick
"braid" - short, fat school kid
"brawl busters" - mix
"Cogs/crayon physics delux" - no one
"crimecraft" - can't remember. Why is that installed?
"dead space (2)" skinny white guy
"Just cause 2" Muscly white guy
"killing floor" - mix
"machinarium" - robot
"Magicka" - who knows
"osmos" - bubble
"revenge of the titans" - no one
"section 8" - who knows
"SPAZ" - who knows
"Steel storm" - who knows
"TF2" - mix
"terraria" make your own.

So what are we calling that (really small) steam collection? I say 4, borderlands, dead space (2), just cause 2.

You could argue for brawl busters and section 8 though.