The following contains spoilers for Episode 2 of the BioShock Infinite DLC Burial at Sea. Proceed at your own risk.

It's like I'm really there

One of the things I love about games is how much they lean into genre fiction. Games have never been afraid to lean hard into sci-fi, fantasy, westerns, apocalypse stories, and so on. This means we get a lot of stories that stand out with their unique characters, mechanics, and lore, but one of my favorite aspects of games has to be how settings take on a whole personality of their own. Rat??her than serving as a backdrop for the action, so many game settings take a front seat in the story, driving home its themes and moving the plot forward.

Perhaps my favorite example of great settings in games comes from the BioShock series. Cities like Rapture and Columbia are built out with compelling, storied histories, complete with uncannily beautiful vistas that conceal?? proletariat factions at war with oppressive figures. They're gorgeous, but with the express purpose of highlighting the games' more sinister themes. Visually stunning locations like Fort Frolic and Monument Island show us how the respective founders of the cities chose to showcase their love of excess, while also making us understand how each city met its downfall.

[caption id="attachment_328607" align="alignnone" width="710"] _{[Image Source: Reddit]}[/caption]

Case study: Burial at Sea's Paris opening

Look, I just really love the BioShock series (where's that fourth game, 2K?), and a recent playthrough of BioShock Infinite's Burial at Sea DLC only reminded me of that. I have to highlight just one more moment from that? series, because I think it's so masterfully done.

Episode 2 opens on a street in Paris, where Elizabeth is sitting at a cafe enjoying a view of the Eiffel Tower. In this sequence, all of the citizens greet her happily by name, birds and butterflies flit about, and artists and musicians showcase their talents on the street �there's even a little boy dancing around with a baguette, you know, like the French are prone to do.

Of course, it's all too good to be true, because Elizabeth runs into Sally soon enough, a little girl who she used to kill this universe's version of Booker. The whole thing devolves into a s?tunning horror set piece, where Elizabeth is confronted by a tortured Little Sister version of Sally, having to confront her guilt befor??e facing her difficult present in Rapture.

//youtu.be/5OF-XNDCLA0

This opening is not an accurate representation of Paris, and it was never supposed to be �it was instead an idealized, sentimental one. One of the very first things we learned about Elizabeth in Infinite is that she used this rose-colored version of France as a form of escapism. When she was locked away in her tower, the idea of someday getting to see Paris is what kept her going. Showing players how the we??ight of all that she has done has permeated to even her happiest of fantasies is a chilling image, and one that shows us exactly how far Elizabeth has come as a character, for better and for worse. It's one of my favorite ??sequences in all of gaming.

The personality of a place is important

BioShock isn't the only series that makes good use of its setting, however. The barren, hostile wasteland of The Last of Us' America basically places the characters in a pressure cooker, which forces them to make the difficult, often brutal choices that make them who they are. Mass Effect's expansive, varied settings speak to the epic, large-scale storytelling of a massive space opera, especially when contrasted to the cozy familiarity of the Normandy. Those are just a few of dozens of ex?amples.

I think game settings stick out in our minds so much because we get to spend way more time in them than in other media. We have to choose to explore them ourselves, and can then take as much time as we want to acquaint ourselves with them as we please. We're not limited to what a director or author wants to show us �if we see something interesting, we can go check it out, organically discovering something that is of interest to us. Great game designers know how to draw the player's attention to importan?t set pieces, story beats, or areas of importance, and a strong artistic hand will only help a game feel like it has some nice momentum to it, even if we can't perceive it at first.

When I boot up a game that I love but haven't played for a while, it can feel like home in a way that I don't experience with other media. Downtime in? a game is really important, especially in the gameplay loop of action games, because it's a moment to breathe after a combat encounter, recoup, find items and power-ups, etc. That downtime is not only a great way to get to know the characters, but also the setting.

Learning every nook and cranny, remembering where an item is so you can come back and get it later, d?iscovering a hidden room you've passed by a million times �only games can do that, and I think that's beautiful.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post Video game settings are characters of their own appeared first on Destructoid.

Press any button to continue

One of the things I love most about video games is that they have a whole new set of standards and conventions not shared by any other medium. Fail states, collectible bits of story in the form of journals or audio diaries, and randomly generated content are only a few examples of features that can ?only be found in an interactive medium, but today, I want to hone in on one factor of a game's overall experience that has a s?pecial place in my heart �video game title screens.

A game's title screen, also known as the start screen, is the first thing you're going to see �you know, it's what appears after you boot up the game but before you actually start playing it. It's usually accompanied by mus??ic and some animations. Back in the arcade days, these title screens had to be as flashy and exciting as possible to draw players in, because that was most of the appeal. As the years went on and games evolved a lot, title screens have also changed significantly.

A feature unique to games

To me, though, on?e of the coolest things is that title screens don't really exist in other media in the same way �they're mostly unique to games. Books have cover art, movies have p?osters, and games have box art, all of which are a static image that features the work's title, who made it, and some art to give consumers an idea of what that thing is all about. Game title screens have the same kind of idea, but taken to the next level.

It's not usually just static art �you're also getting some animation and music to really set the tone of what you're about to be in for. I guess the next clos??est thing is the menus on a DVD (oh my god, remember those?), but while those menus could have a lot of personality baked into them, they were never a core part of experiencing a movie. Title screens on a game are inescapable, though, and usually for the better. I can even find them meditative, as an image or feeling to sit with for a moment before I dive into the rest of the game.

A single, striking image

When I think of really great video game title screens, the most immediate answer that comes to mind for me is The Last of Us, which s??hould come as a surprise to approximately no one who has read this column before. The image of the solitary window with vines growing in it is one of the most iconic to come from the game, and I find its simplicity incredibly brilliant. There's also the detail of the scene changing ever-so-subtly after you finish the game, but I won't spoil that if you haven't done so yourself yet. I find it really interesting as well that this isn't an image that's ever shown ?to us in the actual game �it could be any window, anywhere �but it shows us the beauty we can find in an impossibly harsh world. The title screen reflects Joel and Ellie's story, and by extension the thesis of the game, perfectly.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcnLYrxLlhU

In a game that has some of the most tense, white-knuckled combat encounters, and some of the most gut-wrenching story ??sequences in any game ever, there's something haunting about how peaceful and understated this opening image is. There's a constraint in its design that mirrors that of the game itself, and tha??t constraint is hard to find in other blockbuster games �especially in the next game in the series that would come along a few years later.

What's this game all about?

On the flip side, Naughty Dog's Uncharted games have some really great title sequences that also do a great job of previewing what players have in store. With the exception of Uncharted 4 (which was unfortunately Last of Us-ified more than I would have liked), Uncharted's title screens gave us a taste of the adventures we were about to embark upon. While the first game in the series is honestly my least favorite, it does have my favorite title screen of the series �it's simple, with the game's title front and center, various closeups of Nate's notes and other old documents fading in and out of the background, and of course, the bombastic, swelling theme of the series is on full blast. We're about t??o embark on a treasure-hunting adventure, and the game is letting me know that straight away.

Another favorite of mine is Animal Crossing �so much of those games (at least early on in the series) was about getting to know the villagers that inhabited the town and spending time with them, so having the game focus on a different character each time the game was booted up was another very simple, sweet choice. I know exactly what I'm in for with the AC title screen, and sometimes I'm tempted to just leave it up as a screensaver because it's so fun to just watch my favorite villagers take a l??eisurely stroll around town.

A new insight

Then there's the modern classic, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the title screen of which depicts Geralt resting or meditating by his camp. I lov?e this because it shows us a part of the game we never get to see: our favorite Witcher resting and recouping by a fire, presumably recovering from or preparing for one of his many adventures. Taking a moment to just sit with Geralt like this before diving back into the game is a really nice touch, because it's vulnerable in a way we usually don't get to see from this character.

The list could go on and on from here: Stardew Valley's title screen is quaint and endearing, Mass Effect's is beloved for its musical theme and soothing visuals, and I haven't even played Xenoblade Chronicles, but that red sword in a sunset-soaking field has to be one of the most iconic images?? to come from gaming over ??the last decade.

The thing I love too is that while there are trends in what a title screen might look like, a lot of games tend to feature a single focus on a specific scene or item, for example (which goes all the way back to the original Final Fantasy VII title screen). However, there are no hard, fast rules of what a title screen can look like, and I think as games continue to evolve, we're? going to see developers get even more creative, which is exciting to look forward to.

I'll admit that I've never designed a title screen, so I'm not quite sure how these developers were able to capture this magic the way they did, but it's rea?lly cool to see how something that started as a necessity to draw customers in bac??k in the arcade age has evolved into one of the most succinct ways to express what a game is all about.

Title screens are just another way for games to express their artistic vision, and there really is nothing else like them out there. It's not always a sure thing, but from my experience, a good title screen is a sign that I'm about to play a really? amazing game.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post Welcome to the game world: how ??video game title screens tell their own stories appeared first on Destructoid.

Learning from Picasso's iconic art style

Photorealism in games can be really fun. Hav??ing characters and environments that look just like real life can help immerse you in a game's world, and it can be exciting to see how graphics continue to improve year after year. But h?ere's the thing �I sometimes feel like we can obsess a bit too much over how real or not real a certain game's art style is, picking apart every environment and every little detail on the character models.

I think back to the PS1 era, when people thought that the first Metal Gear game was as realistic-looking as they come. Players gush??ed about the immersion because of how lifelike it was. We laugh about it now, but anecdotes like that really speak to how much our minds fill in the gaps when it comes to storytelling, something I don't think we give ourselves enough credit for these days.

Picasso's philosophy

A thread I saw on Twitter the other day does an excellent job of starting a conversation about how different styles of art can be effective in different scenarios. The initial tweet is a meme about photorealistic versus stylized art, but?? it's actually referencing a famous quote from the classical painter Pablo Pica??sso. You know, the guy famous for making everyone look like a bunch of colorful shapes. Picasso was prodigious from an early age, and could paint at a level that was basically photorealistic when he was still a young child. Of course, as he got older, he developed one of the most iconic art styles in history �one that many argue portrays human emotion better than photorealism ever could. As the quote goes: "It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child."

Wait, isn't Destructo?id a video game website? Why are we talking about art history?

Well, I think that this point can also be applied to video games, too. Just like how in visual arts, many mark photorealism as the height of one's skill as an artist, we tend to think the same of games. Realistic art can and has been used to gre?at effect in games, but sometimes, having a really distinct art style can boost the game's story and themes into the stratosphere.

Making ugly beautiful

A great example of this is NORCO, a narrative point-and-click that is so far my game of the year. While NORCO has some of the most beautiful pixel art I've ever seen, it also straddles the line of ugly/beautiful most of the time, while also leaning into the grotesque. Some of the characters look terrible (intentionally so), the environments are dingy and run down, and the whole thing just kind of gives you this sense of dread, like you want to? get far, far, away from this place. And it's amazing.

Using a harsh, ugly art style works so well for this game, because it exactly mirrors what's going on in the narrative. Those moments of beauty are contrasted against a landscape of bleak, sometimes horrifying pictures, which again ties beautifully into the moments of hope buried deep in the game's plot. NORCO's art style is as much part of its storytelling as its characters or dialogue, and when developers use every part of a?? game to point toward a single artistic vision, well, that's how we get some of the best games ev??er made.

Making cartoony serious

Another game that comes to mind is Firewatch �its art style is really beautiful, but also kind of cartoony. The game is full of bright, saturated colors, which show off the landscapes and sunsets really nicely. So much of the game is about nature and our enjo??yment of it, so that aspect of the art ties into the story nicely.

Then there's the fact that the game has a dramatic tonal shift, and suddenly the cartoonish nature of the art feels othering and uncanny. What was once pleasant and added a sense of ease at the start has turned into something that makes the darker subject matter of the latter part of the game somehow feel even more menacing. While Firewatch's art didn't get nea??rly as much attention as its writing or voice acting, I do think it's a key component in how we experienced its narrative.

The list of games with g?orgeous but also effective art styles is endless. I could go on and on, but I think you get my point here.

Other art style considerations

On top of what a good, unique art style can add to a game's experien??ce, there's also the fact that it makes both development and playing a game much simpler, and sometimes better. The more photorealistic we make our games, the longer it takes to perfect them (any slight deviation from real life suddenly veers us into the uncanny valley), the bigger the files get, and the more susceptible our games are to crashes and bugs. I'm a huge proponent of simpler?? being better sometimes, but I know not everyone shares that sentiment.

There's a reason why most of the games that make bold choices when it comes to their art are indie games �it takes huge teams with tons of resources to make a game look photorealistic, and even the most monolithic of AAA studios can struggle with perfectly lifelike art sometimes. The limitations placed on indie studios have not held t?hem back, but have instead propelled them forward into making some of the most stylish titles out there. My bias is showing again, but I never understood the push to turn games into the new Hollywood blockbuster when we can make pieces of art that look unlike anything anyone has ever seen before, regardless of medium.

I'm no??t saying that we can never have a photorealistic game again??, or even that people don't appreciate stylized art in games enough, because they certainly do. I just want to emphasize how important art can be in hammering home a game's message, whatever that might look like, and I don't want that to ever be discounted. Raphael and Picasso both have their merits, but I find Picasso a whole lot more fun to look at.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post Painting with pixels: how stylized art can heighten a game’s narrative appeared first on Destructoid.

Telling stories through the dishes we love

Food. It's one of the most quintessential pa??rts of being alive, so it only makes sense that? we would find a way to include it in a medium like video games that often tries to replicate real life.

Ever since the early days of gaming, food has been a way to get health or energy back. The first thing that comes to mind when I think about video game food has to be the meat you find in the walls of a spooky castle in Castlevania, or the hilariously anachronistic gyro and fries you can pick up in Hades. It's something that can seem really silly on the face of it, and the way we use food for health in vi??deo games has been memed and parodied to death. Admittedly, it is very funny to imagine your character in a game stopping in the middle of a scuffle to shove fourteen wheels of cheese into their face before diving back into the fight.

But when you think about it, is there any other analogy that works better? I don't think so. Food is our fuel, it's what gives us energy to do the things we need to do �a simple, given fact of life tha?t is still somehow easy for me to forget on an almost daily basis.

Cooking is the name of the game

[caption id="attachment_256206" align="alignnone" width="1280"] _{Cooking Mama: Cookstar.}[/caption]

While food remains an important mechanic to most games out there, we also have games that place their entire focus on food. Take the classic and beloved Cooking Mama series for exam?ple �there's literally nothing else to do in those games except make food. You'd think it would get too repetitive or boring after a while, but Mama always finds new ways to keep it just as interesting and challenging as trying to make food in real? life.

As someone who has had varied success on their journey to learn new recipes and make nutritious-enough food so as not to drop dead one day as an adult fending for myself, it's interesting to have games that turn what is usually a struggle for me into an enjoyable gameplay loop. Although, any Cooking Mama co??nnoisseur can attest that the ga?me can be equally as challenging, so maybe it's a little too true to life there.

Tell me a story...with food

[caption id="attachment_321519" align="alignnone" width="1280"] _{The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.}[/caption]

My absolute favorite, though, is when games use food as a storytelling mechanic. This is less common than just using food as a health supplement, but we still see it fairly often in games. One of my favorites includes Stardew Valley, where food becomes the center of multiple holidays in the game, and is also a core way to "get to know" your favorite villagers and endear them to you.

Another game that comes to mind is Breath of the Wild. Some of the adventures I go on in that game? have nothing to do with saving Hyrule, but instead finding the ingredients I need to make the perfect, most delicious-sounding meal. There are even quests that involve bringing someone food they like, or gathering ingredients for a favorite recipe.

These stories may seem smal?l up against the epic, heroic backdrop of saving the wo?rld, but I think they reflect on our humanity in a really sweet way. I'm sure there are tons of other games out there that have equally engaging storylines surrounding food, I just need to search them out. Food is in many ways at the heart of how we interact with each other and the world, so having characters interact and bond over food reminds me of how special those interactions can be in real life.

Venba: a story of food and family

[caption id="attachment_321582" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _Venba.[/caption]

That's what gets me so excited for games like Venba, an upcoming narrative cooking game that is being featured at this year's Tribeca Games Festival. It centers on an Indian mother who immigrates to Canada with her family in the 1980s, and "will cook various dishes and restore lost recipes, hold branching conversations and explore in this story about family, love, loss and more," according to the game's website.

The cooking gameplay makes it look like a spiritual successor to Cooking Mama in certain ways, but the addition of the narrative in parallel with that cooking mechanic is what has me the most excited about Venba.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't know a whole lot about Indian culture, but what I do know is that food is a very important factor. I'm not only looking forward to playing Venba, but also learning more about food from another culture, and how that food ties into the family dynamics of first-generation immigrants. Of all the games coming to Tribeca this year, I think it's safe to say that Venba will be one to look out for.

If the goal of telling stories is to help us all connect and understand what it means to be human, food is a natural extension of that. It will always be fun to consume foods in-game to replenish health or receive a buff, but I love the idea of highlighting our relationship to food within game stories, rather than alwa?ys using it as a means? to an end. We have some great games out there that incorporate food into their narratives, but I'm looking forward to seeing more food-centric stories in games.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post Video game food: more than just some extra health appeared first on Destructoid.

Be the hero of your own story

Sappy. Sentimental. Downri??ght cheesy. If there's a vide??o game story (or really any other media, for that matter) that is going to make me cry from pure emotion, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm going to love it. With the world becoming an increasingly horrific dumpster fire that somehow burns hotter every day, media can be a welcome respite from the chaos.

Don't get me wro??ng here, I love dark, provocative stories in certain contexts, but sometimes, what you really need is something that knows what it is, and leans as hard as it can into that fantasy. I'm not talking about dragons and wizards, but a different kind of fantasy �the fantasy of play (although there is quite a bit of overlap between those two). Allow me to explain.

Stating the obvious here, but when we play a video game, we're engaged in very active play: pressing buttons to manipulate what we see on the screen, and engaging with gameplay systems that designers have put in place to provide us with a fulfilling experience. We love exploring the constraints of those systems, and using the??ir rules to create scenari??os where we come out on top.

Another kind of play

But when we add in the storytelling elements of a game �the setting, characters, plot, and so on �we're engaging with another type of play: make-believe. Similar to how a child might play prin??cess or knight, there's something in us that loves the fantasy of be?ing someone else. It's the same thing in us that loves immersive experiences, which can include anything from an engrossing movie to an all-enveloping real-life experience like going to Disneyland or a Renaissance Faire. In those scenarios, we allow ourselves to shed our identities and put on new ones �something that can be incredibly freeing �and we do the exact same thing when we allow ourselves to give in to the fantasy of a video game.

A lot of games tend to be pieces of genre fiction like sci-fi, fantasy (now we're talking about the dragons-and-wizards variety), and even westerns, and that's because genre fiction is especially good at helping us get out of our own heads and into something that feels like more of an adventure. The best genre fiction knows what it is and leans into it hard, and by that, I mean that its creators understand the conventions and tropes of a piece's respective genre, and instead of shying away from them, they embrace those conventions whole-heartedly and without irony. What's even better is when a game's mechanics allow for emergent storytelling, because when we create our own story beats without any scripted help from the game??, we feel even more ownership of our own narrative that we're playing out.

Think of the rousing speeches spoken triumphantly over the intercom on the Normandy in Mass Effect, or the swell of the music when you first lay eyes on the beautiful pirate ships that you know contain treasure in Uncharted 4. These moments could definitely be considered cheesy or over-the-top to some, but giving in to those indulgent moments is what helps us really feel like we're living our dreams as a space commander, or a treasure hunter. People joke about games like God of War being n?othing but a power fantasy, but honestly, that'?s what it's supposed to be, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYjCGSLX8VE

The Blank Slate

In other media, having a Blank Slate protagonist can be more of a problem, because they can come off as bland and uninteresting most of the time. But in games, ha??ving your main character be a hollow shell can actually be a big advantage, because, g?iven the nature of play, players already have a tendency to project their own chosen persona onto that character.

There are some instances where having a more specific character can be just as affecting, too �my go-to example is always The Last of Us, because that game does a great job of using play, specifically how intense and harrowing it can feel at times, to make you feel for the characters and the journey they're going through. If you let yourself give in to the fear and desperation that some of the more intense moments of that game present you with, suddenly the emotional highs and lows hi??t a lot harder.

Giving in to the fantasy

When we talk? about games being so emotionally impactful, I think this is why. Giving ourselves over to story, especially in such a strong and sometimes personal way that gam?es ask of us, can mean really moving and enriching gaming and storytelling experiences.

Not all, but a vast majority of beloved, classic games give into one form of fantasy or another. Pokémon: going on an adventure with companions who fight loyally at your side. The Legend of Zelda: becoming the stoic, loyal, heroic warrior who saves the princess and the rest of Hyrule. Stardew Valley: moving to a quaint seaside town and living the peaceful l??ife of a farmer while also making friends and finding love. The list goes on and on �there are an endless number of little fantasies like ?this, and an endless number of games that help us fulfill them.

We don't have a lot of occasions in life as adults to get to engage in make-believe, but we do have video games. Having a consistent place where we can go and be a hero or fall in love with an imaginary friend for a while may sound silly to some, but if we're willing to let go of the part of us that cringes a little bit and e??mbrace the cheese, engaging in play can be an incredibly gratifying experience.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post Video ??game storie?s give us more than one way to play appeared first on Destructoid.

Higher risk, higher reward

I'll be the first to admit that I'm pretty bad at video games. The hardest diff?iculty I'll usually land on is normal, and even then I can have some pretty embarrassing gameplay moments. Games have come a really long way in terms of their accessibility, and o?ffering better options for less skilled players like me, but every time a title comes out that relies on its difficulty as one of its main features, we have a whole new round of Discourse about whether the game needs easier options to play on.

The way Elden Ring has taken over the news cycle the past few months is a great example of this �it's a notoriously tough game, and in response, we saw a whole slew of articles, posts, and tweets about how there need to be easier skill level options. Mods even started popping up for players to download that make the game more palatable for players who prefer an easy mode, like increasing damage outp??ut, decreasing damage taken, increasing healing, etc.

The inclusion of easier difficulty settings often, but not always, overlaps with accessibility. It's important to include accommodations so that differently abled players can play and enjoy games, too, which often includes other settings outside the typical easy mode features like damage reduction. Special sound settings can allow visually impaired or even fully blind players to play through a game without?? any outside assistance, for example, which is only one of the ways that games have recently made tremendous strides to become more accessible to all kinds of players.

[caption id="attachment_319061" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{[Image Source: SawhorseDVD]}[/caption]

Difficulty with intent

At the same time, though, there are some games out there that include difficult gameplay as part of their artistic vision. Classic examples include all of the Soulsborne games, Cuphead, Super Meat Boy, Nioh, Darkest Dungeon, and The Binding of Isaac, just to name a few. The question, then, is whether ??a game's focus on difficulty by way of how it overlaps?? with artistic and narrative experience means that it should never be played with easier settings. This topic has been very controversial online, with many fans feeling that such games including an easy mode would be compromising their artistic vision, and therefore mean a watered-down version of the experience the developers intended.

The challenge developers have, then, is finding ways to present players with a difficulty level that scales to them, and presents them with the app?ropriate level that challenges them without also frustrating them. That's why we have so many levels of difficulty these days, usually including some equivalent of extra easy, easy, normal, hard, and extra hard. Sometimes, though, they want to throw that all out for the sake of making the game they want to make, and I think tha??t's perfectly fine.

Returnal's game director Harry Krueger just went on the PS I Love You XOXO podcast last week to discuss Housemarque's most recent title, and the conversation turned to its difficulty. Krueger shared his thoughts on the importance of Returnal's difficulty and how it relates to its story:

“Celine is talking about dying over and over, and about insurmountable odds. There’s this descent into madness that is happening purely because of the challenges that she’s facing, and her challenges are the players�challenges as well. If you were just allowed to power through a boss without any challenge, or just go like A B C through narrative points, it almost feels like that would create a bit of dissonance.�/p>

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTqH4mKQIkE

Aside from pl?ayers missing a main theme of the game if they weren't presented with enough of a challenge, K??ruger also mentions that players wouldn't see a lot of the game's story beats and audio logs if they didn't die on a regular basis.

Thinking about theme

The discussion of difficulty always makes me think of The Last of Us, a game that my friends and I love to play together and discuss, particularly when it comes to the relationship between difficulty and story. On my first f?ew playthroughs, I played on easy, because I simply didn't have the skill to play on anything higher than that. One of those friends really opened my eyes, though, when he told me about going through the game on the Grounded difficulty setting, and it makes perfect sense in retrospect.

Because the game's story is so much about the brutality of survival, he said the narrative hits a lot harder when you as a player are on edge the whole time, feeling like you can die at any minute. The scarcity of ever-useful crafting materials also plays a big role, because you really have to put yourself in Joel and Ellie's shoes when it comes to scrounging to survive. I'd definitely have to train up for such a tough playthrough, but The Last of Us is one o??f those ga??mes that's important enough to me, I just might do it someday.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1200"] _{[Image Source: Cultured Vultures]}[/caption]

Self-imposed difficulty

The way we play Pokemon is a great middle ground, in my opinion. The series is intended for children, so for the most part they're easy to play. I know for a fact that I could power through my Let's Go Pikachu playthrough with little resistance with literally only my starter if I felt like it. There are plenty of more seaso??ned players who want a more challenging Pokemon experience, however, so what did they do?

They created the Nuzlocke, a series of self-imposed rules to ratchet the difficulty of those games way up. Some truly amazing, heart-wrenching, and triumphant moments of emergent storytelling come from Nuzlocke runs because of the restraints that players place on themselves. (Jaidan Animations has some awesome Nuzlocke videos that demonstrate this.) The best part, tho??ugh, is that they're entirely optional, and you can make them as hard or easy as you want depending on which rules you decide to adopt.

I am of the opinion that nuzlocking gives you an even more intense emotional connection to your own story becau??se of how attached you get to your Pokemon, but I've also not been able to do one yet due to my skill level, so take that with a grain of salt.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=plSyrHqUh78

Some games are created specifically to be as hard to beat as humanly possible, and there's not really a way around that. I love easier games and benefit from them as someone who doesn't have a lot of technical skill in shooting, platforming, etc, but sometimes there are games that I just can't play due to sheer difficulty. I've heard Celeste is a truly amazing game,?? but if I'm being honest, I don't think I could ever beat the whole thing. I don't have a problem with players modding games to make them easier, but if a game is intended to be tough, it's the developers' prerogative to ??make it that way.

Triumph is the best reward

However, the times I have really challenged myself, like when I beat Hades' 32 heat optiona??l challenge mode, I felt so incredibly rewarded by that experience. The joy of overcoming the challenge of playing a hard game is something only the medium of games can do, and I don't think that that's? to be discounted.

Games are literally inventing new means of conveying emotions when it comes to storytelling, and ?when they use our investment in the act of pla??ying a game for that purpose, it can be more powerful than some of the best writing out there.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1000"] _{The difficulty-modifying Pact of Punishment in Hades.}[/caption]

I would en??courage anyone who considers themselves an "easy mode only" person to find a game they really enjoy and push themselves a level ab??ove what they're usually comfortable with �as someone who was scared to try new things, I promise it's incredibly rewarding once you give it a shot. Sure, the lows can be lower, but the highs are totally worth it.

I do think that people take the conversation about difficulty way too seriously, because at the end of the day playing video games is supposed to be about having fun, so people should be able to play whatever game they want however they want. How adamant you are about playing games that are intended to be hard on harder difficulties comes down to how much you value the devel??opers' intent, and it can be a lo??t of fun to honor that intent. It's just important to remember that while one player might enjoy difficulty and the narrative immersion it can bring, other players want to breeze through.

However you play, just don't be a dick about it to other people, that's all I ask?.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post For some video game stories, the only option is to ‘git gud’ appeared first on Destructoid.

The truest form of Choose Your Own Adventure

I think by this point it's pretty clear that my favorite thing about games is how they can tell stories in whole new ways. Usually that means games that put narrative design at the forefront, with cinematic cutscenes or branching storylines that le??t you choose how the characters move forward through the plot. One type of narrative design I don't think about as often as I should, though, is the idea of emergent storytelling in games, which has been around for years.

What is emergent narrative?

It's a bit of a complex topic, mostly because emergent storytelling has a ton of crossover with the design of gameplay systems. The idea is that emergent stori?es aren't plotlines that were placed there by the devs for you to find, but instead, they're the stories that you create on your own based on how you play.

These narratives come about in just about every game genre, with the only real criteria being that they're stories that the devs didn't put there intentionally. They may have put the tools in place for you to be able to create a narrative of your own, but you're the one who has?? to put the pieces together.

//www.reddit.com/r/Br?eath_of_the_Wild/comments/u4??3s6h/totally_didnt_just_run_across_a_half_of_hyrule/

One of the best ways I've heard to know if something has an emergent narrative is if you tell your friends stories of your time playing the game. You know, the classic "you had to be there" story. It's like trying to tell someone about something awesome that happened in your Dungeons & Dragons game, or a really cool dream that you had. We lov??e to share these stories regardless �you s??ee them all over Reddit and Twitter.

The stories write themselves

I recently started playing Pokémon for the first time ever as an adult, and the way the gameplay is designed, it's so perfect for making you feel like you're on your very own adventure. I had one of those classic narrow escapes where I was about to be team-wiped, but then one of my benchwarmers swooped in to triump??hantly save the day, a??nd it was awesome.

The list of video games with these types of stories is endless, from open-world games like Breath of the Wild to rhythm games like Beat Saber. While I find conversations about more structured, traditional kinds of stories in games can be equally as gratifying, there's something so special, so electric about creating your own stories from the pieces the developers gave you. When we give in to the fantasy of the game we're p??laying, whatever that might look like, it gives us the autonomy to make-believe in ways that we haven't done since we were kids. I also love that no one sets out in a game thinking "I'm going to make a really cool story happen." Instead, these meaningful mo??ments come about as a direct result of us just playing and trying to have a good time.

//www.reddit.com/r/AnimalCrossing/comments??/u3ih7k/gayle_thievery_is_wro?ng/

Trying to tell other people about our endeavors may feel a bit like an attempt to relay something that happened in a dream �you kind of had to be there, but that's kind of what makes it feel significant. It was a singular moment that only you were there for, where you truly felt something based on how you chose to interact with a virtual world. Sometimes it's thrilling, other times it's somber and moving, and some of the most enjoyable moments of emergent gameplay are w?hen you've accidentally launched yourself off a cliff, and suddenly you're busting a gut at what a ridiculous, futile end the hero of the game has just suffered.

The freedom to explore

There's some really great literature out there that discusses how we can use games to explore new ways of seeing the world. It's a super low-stakes environment, because whatever happens, you can always restart the level, or create a whole new save file, or just shut the game off for good. Ev??en with the heaviest of in-game consequences, there will never be any real-world consequences for what we do in a video game, withholding obvious exceptions. In a world that demands perpetual perfection from us, being able to enter a space where we can just throw ourselves at the wall to see what sticks without any fear of judgment, I think, is one of the most freeing things we can do. It's why I love picking the mean dialogue choices in games �that's not something I do in the real world (or at least I try not to).

//www.reddit.com/r/Eldenring/comments/u45yj1/i_invaded_someones??_swamp/

Then there's the world of multiplayer, which allows for a whole new slew of emergent narrative possibilities. The Soulsborne games are an amazing example of emergent multiplayer gameplay, and if you need convincing, go and watch any Bloodborne invasion compilation on YouTube. Epic sagas of betrayal, humiliating moments of crushing defeat, genuinely touching moments of unspoken friendship �it's all there, and it's all because those situations arise organically from players interacting with each other online. It's amazing, and it's so un??ique to games.

I think that's what really gets me abou??t this whole thing. Games can do their best to replicate film or TV, or even carve their own path by taking well-known story conventions and reimagining them for the interactive medium, but the kinds of stories that come from the act of play itself? Only games can do that, and at risk of sounding so cheesy, I think that's beautiful.

That sentiment is one of the hardest th??ings to get non-gamers to understand, and yet it's one of the most important things to telegraph if you want them to see why we love not only the art of games themselves, but the art that comes from playing them. Try as I might, there will always be important people in my life who will never be able to understand the gratification and artistic autonomy that ??comes along with the act of play, and honestly, that makes me really sad for them.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post The art of make believe: emerge??nt narrative in games appeared first on Destructoid.

Is it too much to ask for the real treasure to be the friends we made along the way?

Aside from games, reading is my other favorite pastime. I've gotten through quite a few books this year, with most of them falling?? into the young adult or children's literature genres, and this got me thinking -- why don't we have more games like this?

For as long as I've played games, there seems to be a clear divide between games that are made for kids and games that are made for adults. Kids' games are often simple, and pretty pristine in terms of subject matter, but developers do a good job of making them equally fun for adults. Good examples of this are Minecraft, Animal Crossing, and the Super Mario franchise.

Then we have, well, the majority of the gaming market, which are games made for adults and adults only. They're usually very violent, have lots of swearing, sexually explicit content, et cetera. If you've been around this industry for more than like two days, you know the drill. Older kids and young adults can technically play titles like Uncharted, Horizon Zero Dawn, and God of War, but those are still about adults doing adult things that a younger audience can't really relate to. Games like Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto, and Call of Duty are among the most popular AAA games that children are also playing �and those titles are chalked full of enough adult themes to leave any kid ??traumatized.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1200"] _{[Image Source: Polygon]}[/caption]Now don't get me wrong, this is far from a pearl-clutching moment; I love and play those "explicit" games all the time. However, my inner child can't help but notice that there's a discrepancy in the type of content game studios are putting out there. The YA genre is a huge part of the film and literature industries, but it's? something that games rarely ?seem to touch.

Of all the books I've ever read, some of my absolute favorites are series like Harry Potter, His Dark Materials, The City of Ember, and Gregor the Overlander. I have a real affinity for these sort of coming-of-age adventure stories, and unless I'm missing something big, I don't see much of that at all in the games industry. I like stories about revenge, murder, or other intense adult things as much as the next person, b??ut these types of "children's" tales have a certain hope and optimism that I'm missing from games.

I guess the closest thing I can think of to what I'm describing is Breath of the Wild, but that game's narrative was a bit bare. I've been told Pokemon fills this role for a lot of people, but unfortunately I missed that boat growing up so I can't speak to the franchises' impact as much. There's also The Walking Dead Telltale series where the player gets to watch Clementine grow up, but those games are so bleak and sad, they still don't quite scratch that itch for me. Minecraft is pretty YA-friendly, but it's a bit too open-ended. I'm asking for something that's specifical?ly story-driven, because I want a game to take me on a ride sometimes, rather than making my own fun. I know I'm being picky, but it's my column and I'll do what I want.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1878"] _{[Image Source: PC Gamer]}[/caption]Life is Strange feels like it's the closest to what I'm describing, but that game leaves a lot to be desired, in my book. The real problem here, though, is that its tone is a bit too dark, too pessimistic to be the next uplifting magical friendship adventure. Oxenfree also falls into this category somewhat, and while I do like it better than Life is Strange, it also leaves you feeling a bit more sad than whe??n yo?u first started it.

Plus, where ar?e the games about friendship? I'm getting down into the weeds now, but I'm sorry, I just don't need another story about how "we were the real monsters all along." So many of these children's series have a through line of t??he characters having each others' backs and forming unbreakable bonds, and I really think games could use a good injection of that kind of friendship into my games.

I would bet money on the fact t?hat there are tons of great little indie games out there that are exactly what I'm looking for, and if that's the case please let me know in the comments. As for the AAA studios, I think this is a whole market that they're leaving untapped.

All I want is for a kid or young adult to be able to load up a game and have it be a magical, formative experience for them akin to what Harry Potter was for my generation (JK Rowling can kick rocks, though). I know Hogwarts Legacy is right around the corner, but like, I'd rather stay away from that fra?nchise from now on, thanks.

I'm certainly not planning on having kids anytime soon, but if I did, I would want them to be able to play games that speak to their maturity as they age, while still remaining age-appropriate. I would want them to experience that same sense of adventure and ??fun you get from the aforementioned books, just, you know, in game form. Hell, I want that for myself right now.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post Where are the young adult games? appeared first on Destructoid.

Putting a new spin on classic tales

Ever since it was announced at the Annapurna Interactive Showcase last year, Storyteller has been pretty high on my list of most anticipated games. The trailer also let us know that there was a playable demo up on Steam, and for re?asons that would take far too long to explain, I didn't get around to playing it until this week. I may be late to the party when ??it comes to the demo, but the game still doesn't have a release date yet, so at least I didn't miss out there.

Let me tell you, as someone who loves both narrative design and puzzle games, Storyteller is an absolute delight. I only got about half an hour with it before I exhausted the demo content, but I can already tell you that this is one of my favorite indie games ever. When I first heard that Annapurna was publishing Storyteller, I knew it was going to be great because they never seem to miss, but I was still pleasantly surprised when I sat do??wn to play.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=evbrPS8xw8w

Gameplay-wise, it's simple, but so addictingly fun to figure out. You're presented with a prompt? you have to complete, a series of empty panels to create your stories in, as well as settings, characters, and plot devices to choose from. From there, you just drag and drop different elements to create a story that fits the prompt that the game gives you. Like I said, simple, but it's a puzzle game format that feels really unique and refreshing. It's a story game, sure, but the stories are so beautifully married with the gameplay and emerge so naturally from how the player chooses to interact, that this is one of the more creative examples of narrative design I've ever seen.

What really puts Storyteller over the top for me, though, is how?? polished and w?ell-themed it is. The whole game takes place in one giant storybook, with the title page serving as, well, a title page, as well as the credits. The level select pages look like a table of contents, and when you select your level, it flips through a bunch of pages to land on the one that you need. The animations are really smooth and responsive, and although it's a little thing, a menu that feels good to navigate can really add a lot to a game.

Sticking with the theming, the art style ?is also a lot of fun. It maintains a restraint that makes it feel minimalist, but not overly so. Everything that's on-screen is only what needs to be there, and no more. The characters are drawn so adorable, and each set of levels is themed to a different era of literature, and pays homage to their respective inspiration in really cute ways. Not to spoil anything, but I did get an achievement for recreating the plot of a very famous work of literature, and that made my heart really happy.

I obviously love games, but I often tell people that literature was my first love, so much so that it's actually what my degree is in. Classic lit and games don't often overlap, so when they do it's a magical thing for me. I also think Storyteller is exceptional because my wri?ter friends and I often discuss how trying to make a story work in real life feels lik?e a puzzle, so seeing that recreated so elegantly in game form is pretty amazing to me.

One of the things good art can do is communicate complicated real-world ideas in ways that make sense to someone who hasn't experienced that before, and I think Storyteller does this quite well. I imagine that someone who is unfamiliar with writing stories could play this ?game and get a sense of what it's like, albeit in a much simpler, cuter, and more entertaining way.

Even so, I am so excited to see a game out there that's showing gamers how much fun literature can be. Storyteller falls under the umbrella of games that were made pretty much entirely by one person, so we might be waiting a bit for its official release, but I'm perfectly fine with that. The developer, Daniel Benmergui, ??can take as much time as he ??needs, and until he's ready to put it out, I'll be doing my part to spread the word about how charming this game is.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post Storyteller’s demo exceeded my literary-loving expectations appeared first on Destructoid.

This post contains major spoilers for the Uncharted movie. If you still want to be surprised, come back to this one later!

Strap in folks, this one's a doozy

I like to consider myself a pretty devout Uncharted fan. I've played all of the games, some of them multiple times, and I even worked at Naughty Dog for a hot minute there. When I heard there was going to be a movie based on the series, though, I was skeptical. Part of that is the usual skepticism that comes along with video game movies, but then there's also the fact that Uncharted are some of the most movie-like games out the?re. Why would they need to make them into actual movies? Certainly it's because they ?have their own fresh take to put on it.

That's what I was thinking�at least until I saw who they cast as Nat??e and Sully. Look, I'm all for giving everyone a chance to prove themselves, but I was unsure of those choices from the get-go. Even if we were going for an aged-down origin s??tory take, sure, that's something I can get behind in theory.

[caption id="attachment_309901" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{[Image Source: PlayStation]}[/caption]

Questionable casting

Honestly, the c??ast was one of the most egregious things about this movie. I think the issue was that everyone just made boring choices. They were saying the lines, but there was no flavor, you know what I mean? It wasn't giving me anything, let alone getting close to capturing the essence of these characters, who are larger than life in the games.

Sure, Tom Holland is an action hero type, but he's lacking a certain maturity that's innate to Nathan Drake. If he's supposed to be younger, that's fine, but he still didn't have that charisma that we're used to from Nate. There are moments in there where the writing is capturing Nate, ?for sure, but Tom's delivery was a bit too flat for me to make it work. I'm sorry Tommy, I love you as Spider-Man, but this one's a no from me.

Sully was also lacking his usual charms. Mark Wahlberg is still the worst casting choice for reasons already stated, but he also just spoke in his normal Marky Mark voice. There was no zest, no flavor in his voice, which is a letdown ?from the booming presence that Sully's gravelly voice has in the games. That's not to say that Mark Wahlberg couldn'??t have ever worked as Sully, but his white bread acting choices certainly didn't help.

[caption id="attachment_309896" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{[Image Source: GamesRadar]}[/caption]We do get to see a credits sequence where Sully gets a mustache, and I can't for the life of me figure out why they didn't give him one in the movie. It makes him look so much ?more like the character, and they even could have written a funny quip about why he chose to grow it. Seems like a real waste of an opportunity to me.

Side note: seeing Sully's arc reduced to "gold or friend" was honestly so laughable to me. He's one of my favorite characters of the games �he obviously cares about the treasure, but he also has a heart of gold and we can really tell how much he care?s for the people in his life. He is more than a greedy loner who just wants gold! Justice for Sully!

Chloe wasn't my favorite either. In the games, she'??s so charismatic and mysterious. In this movie, well, she's just as boring as everyone else. I also don't understand why they changed her backstory when the one in the game is so much cooler.

//www.tikto??k.com/@destructoid/video/706808?3942594743558

What is Uncharted really about? Friendship.

The single worst thing about the Uncharted movie to me, though, is that it misses the one quintessential piece of what makes Uncharted what it is �it's not the treasure, but the camaraderie. To me, Uncharted is just as much about people as it is about swashbuckling adventure. All anyone in this?? m??ovie seems to talk about is how you can't trust anyone because they'll turn their back on you.

Then they all betray each other and it's like, yeah no shit, that's all you've talked about. Why not show me how these characters come to trust each other and become real friends, but then when the betrayals happen they actually feel like they hold some weight? Not only does the constant (and I mean constant) contention make the twists visible from a mile away, but it also doesn't evolve to reveal anything new to us about the characters, or help capture the spirit of "the real treasure is the friends we made along the way" vibe that Uncharted always nails.

[caption id="attachment_309897" align="alignnone" width="1926"] _{[Image Source: GamesRadar]}[/caption]

Who is Nathan Drake?

Take Nate's character, for example. Sure, he wants the treasure because he wants to be rich �who woul?dn't? But more than that, he grew up in a broken family, and more than anything, he wants to feel l??ike he's a part of something greater than himself. That's why he and his brother hold so tightly to this idea of being descendants of Sir Francis Drake. It ties them to a family that has done great things, something they always wished they could have. Sic parvis magna, remember?

This idea is core to Nate's character �it's why he's so proficient in treasure hunting in the first place, having studied it his whole life. It's why when the wonders that he finds are destroyed so that they will never be able to show anyone (and monetize off of it), he brushes it off, because he loves the thrill of finding it in the first place. It's why he is always willing to chase what he's after to the point that it might even hurt the people he loves, which was explored at length in the story of Uncharted 4.

[caption id="attachment_309898" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{[Image Source: The Nerd Stash]}[/cap?tion]Naughty Dog did a great job of fleshing out Nate's character over the course of the game series to be more than just a bland treasure-hunting dude, and it's what made the series shine brightest. That's why I was so disappointed to see any similar characterization missing from the film, even in short. We get the setup that Nate and his brother think they're Drakes, which explains their fascination with history, but that's about all we get.

It's also missing the implication that this is entirely untrue,?? which is what gives that idea its depth in the first place. If these characters are willing to convince themselves of an untrue lineage to connect to a feeling of greatness and a family to be proud of, that tells us a lot about who they are and the choices they make. If it's just another fact spit out at us, it's just exposition and nothing more.

Another small but incredibly important gripe I have is about the accents. Sam's Boston accent was nowhere to be found, and that's ??a huge problem for me and my roommate. It's fun, it's kind of his thing, and not having it that was a huge bummer. Chloe's accent was�not good at all. She's played by Sophia Taylor Ali, an American actress, and while she looked a great deal like Chloe (or a younger version of her), I could not distinguish what kind of accent she was going for. It changed every other line, and there were times that I couldn't even understand what she was saying.

Some positives

The most enjoyable parts of the Uncharted movie for me were the action and puzzle sequences, for sure. There would be moments where they step away from the lousy character stuff and just focus on treasure hunting, and those were such a blast. I'm already a huge fan of this genre, so they already had me going in, but I have to admit that seeing the characters use artifacts to follow clues to solve p?uzzles felt more like the games than any other parts of the movie.

We get nods all the way through the film to iconic moments from the game, like the cargo plane set piece from Uncharted 3 that we saw in the trailers. There's Chloe's introduction and a bar scene like Uncharted 2, but it pulls most heavily from Uncharted 4 with Sam, an auction scene, and the pirate ships.

[caption id="attachment_309895" align="alignnone" width="1155"] _{[Image Source: Distractify]}[/caption]It was cool to see how the Uncharted movie took on some of our favorite moments from the course of the series, but with all the referencing, it often just made me wish I was playing the games instead. It's evoking these moments from the games that, for the most part, feel really strong in their respective contexts. When you pull them out of that format and just throw them into a blender with other vaguely Uncharted elements, they don't quite have that same punch behind them. I think they would have been much better off either pi?cking one game and adapting that, or just making an entirely original plot and going from there.

There was one sequence in the movie that I thought was spectacular, aside from the fact that it was the biggest set piece of the whole run. The climactic scene features two giant pirate ships that are helicoptered out of a c??ave, and then all of the characters have to fight each other on these giant flying ships.

This was really the only moment in the movie where I looked at it and went, "that's SO Uncharted!" It's something I would expect to see in one of the games, but it was an entirely original set piece for the movie that had just the right amount of ridiculousness to make it feel really fun. Unfortunately it's the only time where I felt like they took the inspiration of the games and iterated on it, giving us something original and fun, but at least I was able to enjoy i?t as it was happening.

Fun in a bad way

[caption id="attachment_309899" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{[Image Source: Pinterest]}[/caption]Overall, the Uncharted movie wasn't the?? best experience. Any scene where the characters were talking had me saying "I hate it," but then we'd jump to an action scene and I'd be having a great time. It was a "so bad it's good" movie until a brief, sh??ining moment that I was actually able to enjoy it unironically, before it would revert back to blandness. This is definitely something I would only want to watch on the big screen, so I recommend it if you can do so safely. I'd see it again too, but only if I was drunk, you know what I mean?

The thing is, as much as I kind of hate this movie for missing some of the most important parts of its namesake, I had a really fun time watching it. I had to go in with an "it's so bad it's good" mentality, and in that sense, I was having a blast. Then, a? moment would come out of nowhere and be genuinely enjoyable, and I was able to drop the irony for just a second.

So we're obviously getting a series out of this �Sony has said as much. Knowing me I'll probably go and see the second one in spite of my mostly negative feelings. That line of reasoning is likely why the movie is doing as well as it is in the first place. In my heart of hearts, I'm an Uncharted fangirl, which means I probably liked it more than someone who doesn't care about the games would. Sadly, Uncharted is yet another in a long line of disappointing video? game movies, and the only thing that carries it are those moments that remind us of the moments we love from the games.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post I have mixed feelings on the Uncharted movie appeared first on Destructoid.

Sometimes not knowing is half the fun

This post contains huge spoilers for the entirety of What Remains of Edith Finch. If you haven't played it yet, go do yourself a favor and take care of that, and maybe come back to this one later.

Five years after its release, I still think of What Remains of Edith Finch as one of the best interactive stories ever told. The performances are st??ellar, especially that of Valerie Rose Lohman as the titular rol?e, the art is beautiful, and the game revolutionized narrative design on multiple occasions. It's a must-play for anyone who likes story-focused games, and it was my most recent replay with a friend, because it seems that when I find something I like I'll just keep going back to it until I die someday.

There was so much to appreciate on this second playthrough, and so many details I missed the first time, but what really struck me in our conversations after the game was finished was just how well Edith Finch uses ambiguity. There are so many stories out there that suffer from what we like to call "ambiguitis" �they don't want to give players or readers or viewers concrete answers so as to seem deep or thought-provoking, but in doi??ng so, don't say anything meaningful about the themes or char??acters at all.

What Remains of Edith Finch is ?steeped in ambiguity. The stories that Edith is relaying to us are often outlandish and obviously embellished, and come from a host of unreliable narrators, from a ravenous eleven-year-old girl, to a puzzled psychiatrist, to a deeply traumatized great-grandmother. There is never really a way to know for certain what happened, but at the same time, the game hints that the truth of what really happened is out there, if you'r??e willing to go and look for it.

Is the curse even real?

The biggest question?? my friend asked me after the credits rolled was, "do you think that the curse was real?" Ironically, my answer was ambiguous: "Yes, and no."

If you don't remember, the Finch family curse is that they're all doomed to die tragically, and most of the time, very young. As we learn from Edith, it's something that they have dealt with for three generations now, with her son being the only known surviving member. As she does her best to tell him what happened to each one of his deceased relat??ives through her journal entries, we start to get an idea of how the family dynamic worked when she was growing up.

Edith's great-grandmother Edie is a staunch believer in the curse �she spoke about it her whole life. She would even go to the local paper and sensationalize her own family members, like her husband's death by dragon (he was actually crushed by a slide that he built to look like a dragon), or the "mole man" who supposedly lived under the Finch house (who turne??d out to be Edie's own son, Walter).

Edith's mother Dawn, on the other han??d, fought against the idea of the curse for her entire life. She did her? best to shield her children from Edie's stories, in case they might internalize them and continue to make the supposed curse a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The evidence

[caption id="attachment_306870" align="alignnone" width="1600"] _{[Image Source: What Remains of Edith Finch Wiki]}[/caption]Some of the death stories are more cut?? an??d dry, like Calvin falling off the swing and over the cliff, or Walter being hit by the train, or Sam being pushed to his death by the half-dead deer. Some of the other stories, though, have more ambiguous endings. We have plenty of evidence to deduce what most likely happened to them, but there's no way to know for sure.

Like Molly, for example. Her story is one of the most fantastical of the bunch, but it can most likely be chalked up to a death by poisoning after she went to bed without dinner, with her final moments journaled while she was in a holly-berry-and-1940s-to??othpaste-induced fever dream.

Then we have Barbara, the death that probably has the least amount of explanation associated with it. A former child horror film star, Barbara is supposedly killed by a murderer with a ??hook for a hand �or at least that's what the sensational comic that Edie left on Barbara's shrine says. If you ask me, the context clues seem to imply that her boyfriend killed her after their argument, and although it's an u?nsubstantiated answer, all the pieces are there.

Who is the real villain of this story?

[caption id="attachment_306879" align="alignnone" width="1680"] _{[Image Source: Moby Games]}[/caption]When we consider the likely answers to these mysterious deaths, all sig?ns point to great-grandma Edie being the secret v?illain of the story.

According to my friend, her own negligence is what caused so many of the deaths, and in order to absolve herself of her guilt, she doubled down on the idea of the curse. Even having played through What Remains of Edith Finch a few times at this point, I really hadn't thought of it that way. Once he started talking through the hidden details of the game in more depth with me, though, I realized tha??t all of the clue?s were there all along.

Maybe Molly wouldn't have died if ?Edie had let her have some food. Maybe Calvin wouldn't have died if Edie hadn't let him play on a swing right next to a cliff. Maybe Sam wouldn't have died if she had taught him to be more careful. She keeps shrines of all of her dead relatives in their otherwise untouched rooms. This is either the behavior of a deeply troubled but benign wo??man, or one who is actively harming her own family in order to make herself feel better. It's all speculation with no real way to confirm or deny.

And that's what makes for some incredible ambiguity, and for some fun for us as pla??yers as we're trying to figure it out. Explanations are left in plain sight, but not over-explained to the point that they leave us without any room to question things. Look at Walter, for example �maybe he was just an eccentric old man, so afraid of the curse that he locked himself awa?y, drove himself mad in isolation, and broke his way out in a frenzied state of unconscious mania. Or maybe Edie locked him down there herself to keep him safe, and when he was finally ready to leave, he was too scared to confront Edie if he went upstairs, so he instead opted to break out through the wall, only to meet his untimely demise.

Either scenario seems equally as likely based on the information the game presents us with, because of some impressively restrained and careful writing, and that type of care is ubiquitous throughout the entirety of What Remains of Edith Finch. There is no definitive truth to any of the stories �whether or not the player buys int??o the supposed supernatural elements of the narrative is up to them. I am kicking myself, however, for missing hugely important details on my own, and not seeing at first just how deep and rich this text really is.

If you want to play a game that will leave you thinking about it for days, go play (or replay) What Remains of Edith Finch, and get to thinking about whos??e side you might have been on: Edie's or Da?wn's. That's something I'm still trying to figure out for myself.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post What Remains of Edith Finch’s family curse is ambiguity done right appeared first on Destructoid.

Welcome to Cloudbank

In my eyes, Supergiant can do no wrong. Everything they release is a banger, they have some of the most talented developers working in all of the games industry, and by all accounts they have really good labor practices. Hades has continued to get the love that it so rightfully deserves, and while its massive success has introduced a score of new players to the studio's work, that also means that there are tons of fans out there who haven't yet checked out the rest of their catalog, which needs to be remedied immediately. That's why I'm dedicating this week's column to Supergiant's 2014 action RPG Transistor.

I recently played through it with a friend, and was immediately blown away. Its story follows a woman named Red, who wakes at the start of the game to see the aftermath of an attack that was?? unleashed with a giant sword known as the Transistor. Formerly a singer, Red's voice becomes trapped in the weapon, along with the soul of an unnamed man who was killed in the attack. I don't want to give too much more away, because figuring out the plot of the game is half the fun. Do yourself a favor and don't look up anything about the game before diving in yourself.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJmtn6JP7Ug

What I will say, though, is that Transistor is easily one of the most stylish games I've ever played. The word that comes to mind when I think about it is sexy, but not in a horny way, in like a "wow, that car is sexy," kind of way, you know what I mean? Everything is t??hemed around coding and feels very cyberpunk-y??, and the story is told out of order in really small, subtle ways.

That's something I appreciate most about Transistor �how restrained it is in its storytelling. I'm not usually one to enjoy a game where I have to seek out the lore too much, but Transistor gives you enough bits and pieces that putting it ??all together makes you feel like the coolest detective in town. It's a refreshingly unique take on interactive storytelling, and one I hadn't seen prior.

Because most? of its story takes place in the aftermath of the inciting incident, its themes are explored in small moments, but when you put them all together, you're left with a big, beautiful tapestry that interweaves the world and its characters.

I honestly missed out on most of it my first time through because I was focusing so hard on trying to get the mechanics down, because they are complex in their own right. Transistor is certainly harder to wrap your head around than something like Hades, which I believe is part of the reason why it didn't take off as much as its successor, and you have to play th??rough the gam??e a few times to really get the full effect.

That may sound daunting at first, but Transistor is meant to be played multiple times �it's designed that way. The run time only comes in at around six hour?s, plus it has modular difficulty settings (something Supergiant has always done spectacularly well), so you can cha?llenge yourself on subsequent playthroughs.

The gameplay system is also one of the coolest I've seen. The combat is a hybrid of real-time and a frozen time mode called Turn(), which allows you to plan your moves and unleash them all at once. Your power-ups are called Functions, and each one has its own unique properties when used in one of four active ability slots, as well as passive abilities and upgrade slots. I've heard that there are over 900 different permutations of builds you can run with all of the Functions in different slots, which easily makes it one of the most complex gameplay systems I've ever seen. It was overwhelming to dive into, but once you get the hang of it, it feels so good to play.

[caption id="attachment_305824" align="alignnone" width="1909"] _{[Image Source: Transistor Wiki]}[/caption]And the performances. Oh my god, the performances. Logan Cunningham, who also voices Hades, Poseidon, Achilles, Charon, Asterius, and The Storyteller in Hades, is a particular standout. He just won a BAFTA for his work, and rightfully so. He's always great, but the voice he uses for Transistor, man, I could l?isten to him read the phonebook. Twice.

If Hades is a stylish but approachable sedan, Transistor is a sports car. It may be harder to drive, but man, does it have some punch. I don't know to whom Supergiant sold their souls to be such talented devs, but they never miss the mark, and with all of the rightful love Hades got, I just want to encourage people to give their other projects some attention. Long story short: if you haven't already, go play Transistor. If you already have, go and play it again.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post We need to talk about Supergiant’s other masterpiece: Transistor appeared first on Destructoid.

A pine-scented breath of fresh air

When I'm feeling overwhelmed with all the games I want to play, sometimes the perfect antidote is putting on something short that I can finish in an afternoon. After perusing through an itch.io bundle that I've had sitting around for over a year, I decided on Wide Ocean Big Jacket, and thankfully it was everything I needed from games right ?now.

Published by Tender Claws in February of 2020, Wide Ocean Big Jacket is the debut title from indie studio Turnfollow. It's certainly one of the quirkier games I've played of late, and I mean that in the best possible way. It's a really simple walking sim game with a simple, offbeat art style. The story is t??old in a series of short vignettes, telling the story of a young girl named Mord, her boyfriend Ben, her ?aunt Cloanne, and uncle Brad as they spend a night camping.

After the past few years of quarantine, I've really been missing the outdoor time my family used to spend together when I was growing up at the foot of the Appalachian mountains. Wide Ocean Big Jacket felt really familiar to me in a way that I didn't expect, and even though the art style is super minimal, this game came in to take me right back to those summers hiking the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's a game that makes you kind of stop and ??take it all in, which I didn't realize how much I needed until I got it.

And Wide Ocean Big Jacket is hilarious. I was fully laughing out loud at points, e??specially when it came to Mord and Ben's dialogue. It's really difficult to write kids, but it's even harder to write them in a way that's both believable and stylized. Both of them have such fun, distinct personalities, and perfectly ??capture the awkwardness of a first relationship.

For all its restraint, the game rea??lly manages to use everything at its disposal to great effect. Even the interact preview text seems to have a mind of its own, and makes for some of th?e best jokes of the whole run. I was also impressed with the sound design, because the attention to detail there is what really made the environments feel alive.

While being a sweet little slice-of-life game, Wide Ocean Big Jacket al?so manages to land some genuine emotional beats. I was impressed with its ability to maintain its unique tone and charm while still touching on tough topics like divorce, losing one's virginity, and the marital dilemma of having children. It feels more like these are real people that we're looking in on, with all their quirks and flaws and strengths.

I can't stress enough how impressed I am with these characterizations �Wide Ocean Big Jacket manages to create some of the most distinct style and characters in a game I've ever seen, and all under ??a two-hour runtime.

Any skepticism I have about the current state of games is entirely my own fault, because the indie scene has never been stronger. If your library is feeling a bit stale these days, I really recommend you go seek out some small, simple indie games to try, because recently they've completely revitalized my hope in the industry. I may be late to the party on a lot of these titles, but at least I still?? showed up??, right?

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post Wide Ocean Big Jacket was the hilarious camping getaway I ??needed appeared first on Destructoid.

Please, not another fetch quest

So there's been a lot of talk going around about Dying Light 2 supposedly having up to 500 hours worth of content, if not more, and this wasn't exactly news I was jumping up and down about. Not because of the game itself, necessarily, but the way it plays into the trends of the industry as a whole away from short, linear games. In the past few years, it feels like completion times that clock in at hundreds of hours have become something of a badge of honor, and the discourse surrounding it has seemed to lean toward the ide?a that the longer a game is, the better.

Listen, I'm all for getting the best bang for my buck. When I see that I've played a game for hundreds of hours, there's a sense of pride there, because that was money well-spent. But at this point it fe?els like players keep pushing for games to be longer and longer, and that's not always a good thing.

For one thing, a super long game with ambitious scope usually (not always, but usually), means more work and crunch for game teams that are already burned out. The prime example here is Cyberpunk 2077. CD Projekt Red promised that the game would be one of the most detailed open-world RPG experiences ever while it was still in early development, and the game then suffered from multiple delays as the team tried to keep up. Ultimately, Cyberpunk was a massive disappointment on release (although recent updates have helped), and it all could ha?ve been avoided if CD Projekt Red had maintained realistic expec??tations.

[caption id="attachment_304152" align="alignnone" width="1280"] _{[Image Source: cyberpunk.net]}[/caption]There's also the fact that shorter games can also mean less time in development. In theory, if the bigger studios dedicated themselves to making shorter, more polished experiences, you could chop a good year or two off of the development cycle, at least. I always ??wondered what it would be like if a studio that had the talent and money of a CD Projekt Red dedicated themselves to an indie-style project that had a three-to-four-hour runtime. But, because those aren't nea?rly as lucrative, I guess we'll never know.

Then you just have the content of the games themselves. When you scale up a game to be so big and nonlinear, it's almost impossible to keep the content interesting. The world, the quests, and the characters can all start to feel repetitive and hollow. In creating a game that's hundreds of hours long, developers simply don't have time to put the time and attention into many details of the game �they're just trying to fill out the biggest map they can in a way that doesn't make it feel entirely empty. But there are so many games that I've played that do feel empty, in spite of everything that the game puts in my way, and I'm not alone in this sentiment.

In contrast, I've been playing through BioShock Infinite again recently. It's obviously very different from a big, hundred-hour endeavor, with an average run time of about twelve hours. But when I started playing it again, I realized how much I've missed these short linear games. For example, I seriously cannot get over the environments in BioShock Infinite. Every room you walk into has this perfectly composed setting that looks like it's st??r??aight out of a concept art painting. That's because the devs know that the player will be entering a room from exactly one position, and they're able to compose the environment around that, and to great effect.

[caption id="attachment_304149" align="aligncenter" width="600"] _{[Image Source: Reddit]}[/caption]The pacin??g is excellent too, because they obviously planned out exactly how much and for how long you'll be interacting with combat, story sections, and exploration. Sometimes I don't want to have to go out of my way to find combat or a quiet space to enjoy the scenery, and linear games just have them lined up, ready to go when you need them. Like a perf??ectly balanced screenplay, the game knows exactly what you want, when you want it, and gives it to you.

Maybe I'm not being fair by comparing games that are meant to provide such different experiences, but I really can't seem to find any big-budget AAA studios that haven't succumbed to this formula. I mean, look at what happened to The Last of Us series. The first one also had a runtime of about twelve hours, and in my opinion, was pretty perfectl??y paced from both a gameplay and storytelling standpoint.

[caption id="attachment_304150" align="alignnone" width="1280"] _{[Image Source: IGN]}[/caption]Then you have the sequel, which is over twice the length, with huge open areas that grind the pacing to a halt. I'm not saying Naughty Dog isn't capable of making a good open-world game, I just don't understand why they deviated from what they did so well when it came to the sco?pe, especially within a beloved franchise that used its small-scale linearity to great effect.

Long story short, I just really miss short l??inear games with a focus on story.

I can certainly go back and play through all my old favorites like BioShock, The Last of Us, and Portal 2, but it's hard to find any games like this that are newer than around 2015??. Sometimes I don't want choice �sometimes, I just want to be taken on a ride, a? thrilling, bombastic ride that only the resources of a AAA studio can provide, but they seem to be fewer and further between these days.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post I miss short, linear games appeared first on Destructoid.

Retrospect in a pandemic

The following contains major spoilers for the main story of Insomniac's Spider-Man (2018). You have been warned.

I recently jumped back into my old Spider-Man save file from 2019. I was in college when I started it, and I don't quite remember why I didn't finish the game, but I left it at about 75% complete. Jumping back into the middle of it was a bit jarring at first because ??I had lost some of the story beats over time, but a quick read through the Wikipedia page and I was good to go.

A friend and I have been doing a watch-through of all the Spider-Man movies in preparation for the release of No Way Home, so that's really got me in the mood recently. Even though superher??oes aren't usually my thing, Spidey is by far my favorite �he's just a normal high school kid who's trying to cope with this tremendous responsibility, which always delivers on some interesting emotional conflicts. I know some people think he's been overdone with the half-dozen franchises we have focused on the character (and that's just the movies and games), but I think it's cool to see so many different interpretations of Peter and Miles. It's like our own modern mythology.

One thing I wasn't expecting when I jumped back into Spider-Man would be just how different it feels to play in 2021. Part of that is just because I've improved a ton mechanically as a player, so I could enjoy the combat and swinging a lot more by getting combos and building out my suit to my preferred specifications. I wasn't very gameplay-focused back when I tried it the first time, and I can see now that it actually limited my ??enjoyment of the overall experience.

The biggest difference between playing ??it now versus then, though, is the game's main story. The whole narrative hinges on the release of a mutant bioweapon?? that, as you recall, manifests as an airborne respiratory infection. I remember back when I was playing it for the first time, this plot point felt serviceable but a bit cliched to me. Now I can't help but gawk at how uncanny it feels.

As I progressed into the final hours, I felt myself cringing internally as I started to hear coughing absolutely everywhere �from J. Jonah Jameson on the radio, from groups of sickly civilians huddled together on the streets, and even from some of my enemies. Shots of Aunt May in her hospital bed covered in sweat and breathing through an oxygen tube were almost too much to bear. "Antiserum" tents that were set up around the city after the antidote was acquired looked eerily similar to the tent where I ?got my booster shot just last week.

I had no idea Aunt May was killed off in this game. I actually ended up really enjoying how her character was wri?tten this time around, and I found myself tearing up a little bit during her final scene where she revealed to Peter that she knew he was Spider-Man.

"Take off your mask. I want to see my nephew."

Oh my god, have some mercy on my sad, sentimental hea?rt, Ma?y.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3hAt1uWo8M

So yeah, it hurt to see her go because I liked her character a lot, but man, having her die of a fictional, manufactured disease with a name like Devil's Breath, the effects of which look? and sound so similar to how Covid patients are affected in real life �that was hard to wrap my head around. Suddenly an already-tragic death scene has the weight of ov?er five million deaths behind it... and that's heavy. Anyone who has had a loved one struggling with Covid understands Peter's dilemma in this scene with a new, raw context.

It's even more upsetting to think that New York suffered as America's worst hot spot right at the start of the outbreak, something the game predicted all too well. Something out of science fiction became all too real, and it's uncanny that Insomniac released this only a few years before i??t all went down.

Besides how much these parallels to real life shocked me, I had such a great time with the last quarter of this game. I challenged myself in ways I never did the first time I played it, and it was cool to tangibly see how much I've improved as a gamer. Finishing up Spider-Man's main sto??ry got me reflecting a lot on both my past and my present, which is what go?od art is supposed to do. Now I've just gotta finish up all those side missions.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post Insomniac’s Spider-Man hits different in 2021 appeared first on Destructoid.

Finding family in unlikely places

Video games have always been a way to escape, but recently, th??ey've become my favorite way to leave everything behind for a while. That interactivity is pretty strong stuff, because of late I find myself much more immersed in game narratives than those of other media. I'm thankful for the distraction �these days, I really seem to need it.

Like everyone else, I've ha??d a rough go of it the last year or so. Every part of my life went through some really significant changes, and many of them for the worse. It's kind of ironic that games were both the catalyst for that change �my desire to work in the games industry got me to move across the country and confront my own rose-colored ideals �and now what I use to help me cope with it.

This Thanksgiving is causing me to get a bit more introspective than usual, I find, because I'm spending it away from my family. ?My family has always prioritized spending the holidays together, but recently, things have shifted, and circumstances have changed. I find myself feeling somewhat alone, because well, I am. My house is not bustling with familiar voices and the smells of delicious food cooking. It's just me, my cats, and my delivered meal from a restaurant I've eaten from twice already this week, and I can't help but acknowledge the contrast.

So how do video games fall into this depressing mix? Well, they've actually helped me remember what I'm most thankful for �??the people in my life who may not be my biological family, but make up almost the entirety of my support system.

I think back to games that I've played that are special to me because of the relationships they depict �The Last of Us, Tales from the Borderlands, Life is Strange: True Colors, and Stardew Valley come to mind most immediately. These games all depict a version of characters finding solace in the relationships they create with people who were once strangers over the course of their respective runtimes. Not only are their storylines so moving and comforting to me, but the act of playing these gam??es versus reading or watching them made me feel all the more endeared to these characters.

For a long time, I used these fictional relationships to make up for something I felt I lacked in my real life. I'm such a sucker for found family stories, and now I'm realizing it's because my ?found family is one of the things I value most in my life.

I also appreciate games because my relationship to them in the real world is what helped me craft those relationships with others. The people w?ho are now closest to me are the people I met at my various jobs within the industry, or even the people I met while playing multiplayer games online. I even went to one of my online friends' weddings a few years ago, with that day being the first time (and as of now the only time) we ever saw each other in real person. It's a silly thing, but I can't help but be grateful for games that I have loved and played in the past for existing, because without them I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't have these people.

So I may not be back home with my family, but I have my Friendsgiving to go to this weekend. And you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm going to be jumping online to wish my Call of Duty friends a happy Thanksgiving.

For me, the most difficult part of becoming an adult was how much everything changed, but if I can find happiness in these fictional stories, I ?can find them without a controller in my hand, too. And at least I know that no matter how tough things get, my favorite games will be there waiting for me, just as I remember them.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post Video games remind me of the people I’m most thankful for appeared first on Destructoid.

I can't go back, can I?

Everyone loves a good choice-based game. They're simple, but often very effective in allowing us to interact with the game's world in a more substantial way. Of ??course, they also present a pretty difficult design challenge, because writers have to make sure the players know what they're getting themselves into with just a few words, often known as the preview text.

P??review? text is obviously a necessity, because there's no way you can fit all of the text you need into a little tiny button for the player to press, but it can sometimes cause the player some problems. Short lines with easy-to-convey messages are a piece of cake, but what do you do when things get a little more complicated? This is the exact problem I ran into when I was writing a choice-based game for the first time.

It's not something you really tend to notice that much when you're playing them, but there are tons of different ways that games try to convey their message using preview text for a choice. There are a few different ways that games will telegraph to you with previews of what exactly it is you're going to be saying or doing, to mixed results. Some games will? do th??eir best to make the sample text verbatim what the player character is going to say, but this can be difficult with longer or more emotionally complex lines.

Oxenfree is a good example of this -- for the most part you say exactly what's written in the speech bubbles you can choose from, give or take a word, and then if there's more to elaborate on, Alex will continue saying the line. Personally, I think Nightschool did an awesome job of telegraphing exactly what you meant to say when you said it in Oxenfree, so I had very few moments of frustration when it came to the dialogue c?hoices.

Then there's the method of using a different wording in the preview, but in a way that accurately sums up what the character will be saying. It's more of a sentiment, if you will. Mass Effect uses this technique most often, and while it usually works fine, I do recall quite a few occasions when I chose a certain line, only t??o get a slightly different meaning in the real dialogue. One particularly cringy moment happened when I thought I was just being polite to Kaidan, only for it ??to come off as flirting. I like you, Kaidan �just not like that.

The last method is the most simple, but can work just as well �basically, you just describe the function of what the player i??s going to say, rather than the actual words they'll be saying, like "agree with him," "spare his feelings," or "tell her the truth." This technique was generally used in older, text-based adventure games, but we can sometimes see? it mixed in with newer games, depending on the situation. If I had to guess, I would think it's fallen out of fashion because it feels less immersive to play.

The reality is that any of these methods could work, it just comes down to making sure the way you phrase what those choices are is as unambiguous as possible, especially in high tension situations or when there are a lot of complicat??ed emotions involved.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=8os2LBgSCAs

Considering this is an easy problem to encounter when devs are writing hundreds of pages of dialogue, inevitably there are moments where the preview text doesn't convey what you're actually going to do or say with any level of accuracy. These moments can range from frustrating to downright hilarious �one of the most classic examples comes from a Wolf Among Us choice that reads "[Glass him]." I personally chose this one on my first playthrough without having seen any of the memes because I?? thought it meant Bigby would cheers the Woodsman or something, but I instead got the shock of a lifetime when Bigby smashed his glass over this poor ma??n's head.

Another well-known (and well-loved) example comes from Mass Effect, during a tense but otherwise civil conversation with the salarian scientist Chorban. One of the choices the player is presented with during the conversation is simply "[sigh]," and if chosen, Shepard actually says "I should kill both of you idiots." Wait, what? While the Wolf Among Us scenario is an example of text that imperfectly portrayed its meaning, part of me wonders if this was just a mistake that somehow made it through into the game, because that reaction is so different from what it ?feels like it should be.

These are really funny scenes in retrospect, but in the moment it can be annoying to have an outcome feel so different than the choice you picked. I mean hell, there are plenty of lists out there chronicling how ridi?culous ?these scenarios can be.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoTzM8xFCMQ

One of the reasons I love choice-based games so much is because they pose such an interesting question when it comes to writing �how do you stay true to this character while also allowing the player to have as much autonomy as possible? The closest thing I can think to this idea is improvisational theater, w??here actors are making it up as they go, but also have to stay in character as best they can. Ah, I love when games and theater overlap!

If you enjoy writing and have never tried writing a branching storyline before, I definitely recommend trying it with programs like Twine or Ink because it's a ??great way to stretch those crea??tive muscles.

What's your favorite choice-based game? Are there any scenarios that you felt played out differently ??than you wanted because of some sketchy preview text? What's your most memorable moment from a choice-based game?

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post Mishaps in th??e preview text of choice-ba??sed adventure games appeared first on Destructoid.

No middle sliders

When a game gives you a character creator, that mechanic can be more fun than actually playing the rest of the game. How you choose to ??make your character can say a lot about you �maybe you want an in-universe version of yourself to roleplay with, or an original ??character, or maybe you're just trying to make the most hilarious monstrosity you can think of.

Sometimes playing around in the character creator becomes the point of the game entirely �this can happen often with The Sims, especially those who enjoy making Sims that look as close to their favorite celebrities as possible. Some even go out of their way to create meme icons like Shrek or Handsome Squidward. And I can't be the only one who has made multiple joke Bloodborne characters without playi??ng with them at all, right?

[caption id="attachment_295385" align="alignnone" width="1280"] [Image Source: YouTube user Dalaric Wolfborne][/caption]No matter what you make your character look like, something that always interest?s me is the metanarrative that can emerge from custom character designs. Players often prescribe their own narratives outside of the game's story to their characters, with players eventually overwriting the built-in narrative with their own, like how people will watch a movie with the sound turned off and make up the dialogue t??o their liking.

An awesome example of this is the series Monster Factory created and hosted by Justin and Griffin McElroy of My Brother, My Brother, and Me, and The Adventure Zone fame. If you haven't seen this series on Polygon's YouTube channel, it's absolutely worth a watch. It started back in 2015, and regardless of how you feel about the McElroy's, you can't de??ny that the series has produced some true comedy gold during its run.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1jGnFt78H8

Each character they make in a new game, which usually constitutes at least a few episodes of the series, has its own personality and story that the hosts impose on it, which can lead to some downright hysterical roleplaying moments. My personal favorite is The Final Pam from their Fallout 4 series, which is so ridiculous and goofy and something ?that still makes me laugh to this? day when I think about it.

While games obviously let us live out our stories while playing, I think cha??racter creators go even further, because they allow us to attach our story that extends beyond the game's own. This kind of creativity and out-of-the-box thinking is often more aligned with tabletop games, but I honestly think that's because most of us don't realize we're even doing it.

I personally don't plan for my own original characters to be any certain way when I play them, but lo and behold, it ends up happening anyway. Take my Mass Effect playthrough, for example. I started playing through the series with my friends, and after learning that I could in fact get with some aliens through the course of the series, I decided to camp up my character creation a bit. I decided my version of female Shepard was there to save the universe, of course, but also had a highly prioritized side goal to hook up with Garrus, and in turn created her to look as close to the Instagram beauty standards ??as possible, with blonde hair, a tiny nose, and huge lips. After much debate, I ended up naming her Boney Shepard for obvious reasons.

Whi??le I definitely found this a great deal funnier than my friends did, it was a really fun way to blow off some steam, and create my own version of a classic character, even if it is a purposefully silly one. More serious roleplaying in a game can be equally as fun, but I can't think of any other media that wou??ld let you experience its otherwise very serious story with the same level of whimsy, and I find that delightful. The whole thing ends up feeling much more personal, as you create your own memories of the experience that otherwise wouldn't be there.

So w??hat's your favorite way to roleplay in a game with character creators? Do you have any fun stories of your characters' adventures? Which game has your favorite character creator of all time?

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post Exploring the hilarious met?anarrative of chara??cter creators appeared first on Destructoid.