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Video Game Stories? Forget Hollywood!
by Kyle Smith on 04/25/09 11:57:00 pm
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Posted 04/25/09 11:57:00 pm
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Video Game Stories? Forget Hollywood!
Ah
... Nothing like watching a DVD movie on your TV or a Blu-Ray movie
with your High Definition TV set. Back in the days of the Roaring '20s,
movies have started to become very popular with delivering great
characters, a unique plot, and lessons to learn in life. If we take a
trip back to the past, we can see many movies that have shown that they
are capable to pushing the boundaries of storytelling every moment of
the feature presentation. Whether if it was the rise and fall of Tony
Montana in Scarface or the quest to destroy evil in the Lord of the
Rings trilogy, every story had a meaning on where it counts and how
many of us can relate with our own stories to tell. While I'm not much
of a film buff, I have to admit that most of the feature films back in
the old days were very well done because of the many chapters that it
delivered in their tales like saving the world or sacrificing yourself
for the one you love. Nowadays, most movies are becoming somewhat
mediocre while it may seem obvious that film makers are more interested
in going over the top with special effects and hardly any plot or
character developments whatsoever. Probably the most beneficial stories
that I know of in these modern times are James Cameron's highest
grossing film of all time, Titanic, and Christopher Nolan's greatest superhero movie, The Dark Knight. Let us take a minute and look at where they struck gold.
Titanic
This
movie had shown that a story between two people where they are torn
apart by their social status in society manage to fall in love on a
ship where it become one of God's greatest disasters in history. Jack
Dawson is played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Rose Dawson Calvert is played
by Kate Winslet. These two are from different worlds where Rose is of
the upper class and Jack is in the lower class of citizenship. Rose is
becoming more and more torn by the fact that she has to abide by the
rules of the upper class with being fancy and beautiful, all the time.
Rose meets Jack and they begin to become more acquainted with each
other. Rose thought that this would be spectacular to try an learn
about the social life of the lower class. She enjoys the feeling and
she spends most of her time with Jack and they eventually fall in love
with each other. As soon as the Titanic crashes into the iceberg and
sinks into the ocean, Jack enters death and leaves Rose to live her
life to the fullest. She even adopts Jack's surname as her very own in
making everyone believe that she died in the ocean. As we can see, Jack
was the key to change Rose's life and to become free from her upper
class rank. It is very engaging to see how a girl's love for a man can
lead her to a happy life. It certainly did for me when I saw it for the
first time in 1997.
The Dark Knight
Now let us dive deeper into the number one superhero movie and my most personal favorite of all time; The Dark Knight. As many of you know, this movie is a direct sequel of Christopher Nolan's 2005 hit; Batman Begins. The
story of Batman revolves around a rich and powerful businessman named
Bruce Wayne, played by Christian Bale, who secretly works as a night
watcher who fights against crime in Gotham City. When learning the ways
to fight against his own fear and subjecting fear onto the fearful,
Bruce's double life takes him in with the help of his butler, Alfred
Pennyworth played by Michael Caine, Rachel Dawes played by Katie Holmes
and Maggie Glyennhaal in the sequel, Lucius Fox played by Morgan
Freeman, and James Gordon played by Gary Oldman. The Dark Knight
tells the plot about a violet, clothed vigilante who is rising up to
power with bringing Gotham City to his knees and a District Attorney
who stands up against corruption which leads him to the path of evil.
Of course I am talking about Heath Ledger as the Joker and Aaron
Eckhart as Harvey "Two-Face" Dent. Bruce Wayne continues his task with
fighting against corruption when mobs are using money to secure drugs
and weaponry, but he is interrupted when the Joker starts to get the
best of him. Dealing with both the loss of Rachel Dawes and Harvey
Dent's good reputation to the city, Batman must fight back against both
of them to ensure that the morale of Gotham City is never low. Of
course this was done in secrecy and at the end, he vowed to have
himself be placed as the main criminal behind some of the deaths of
Gotham's people. As you can see, the themes of the movie were based on
two simple terms: Escalation and Chance. For escalation, the Joker used
all means to go one step ahead of everybody and kill as many people as
he wanted to. For Chance, Harvey always had a coin that determines the
fate of himself or his enemies.The morals and ethical dilemmas in the
plot make the story more interesting.
As you can see, I believe
that movies are more of a work in visualization because many movie
makers have to use their imagination with what they want to have in the
story and to make it strong. It is quite a challenge, but working on a
story to make it succeed than others is where it really counts. Now,
let us look at some games that have good stories for themselves.
Final Fantasy VII
While
this game is considered to be favored and overrated by many, this game
has one of the most unique stories with characters that you can care
for and plot twists that will devour you in more as time passes. The
story is about a Mercenary named Cloud Strife who works with
anti-terrorist unit named AVALANCHE. The goal is about stopping a huge,
electric-power corporation from destroying the world with taking away
its main life force, the Lifestream. The company is called Shin-Ra and
their main focus is to rise in power and rule over all in their own
dystopia society of Midgar. As the game goes on, people can begin to
wonder if Cloud says who he really is based on his actions and the
story becomes more radical when they learn that a legendary warrior who
defected from Shin-Ra, many years ago, comes back to take revenge on
the company and the whole planet. The warrior's name is Sephiroth, and
he shows no mercy to those who stand in his way and he continues to
harass Cloud with helping him come to terms that he is not the type of
person who he considers himself to be. As it is shown, your main
objective is about saving the planet from a catastrophe about to be done
by one man and finishing off a company that has become even more
corrupted than ever. From what is mentioned about this game, the main
theme surrounds the term 'life'. Life is something that is precious to
all of us where we live to our fullest. With many opportunities in
life, it is about how much we can grow as a species and bring it to
times of greater good. Not only that, players will learn that Cloud
comes to terms of who he really is and why he lies to himself to never
mention that he was weak, in the past. With the story as a whole, you
can see how much his character grows to make him utilize his own
strength and personality without the use of another.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater/Subsistence
From
1987 to this day forth, the Metal Gear franchise is an ever-going
phenomenon about a man who fights to escape the chains of his fate. In
Metal Gear Solid 3, the main protagonist fights with all of his will to
bring peace between two countries who have been manipulated by a
legendary hero and a rebel unit in the Soviet Union. This was around
the 1960s when the Cold War tension were beginning between the US and
the Soviet Union, so the game ties in with a little history lesson and
cinematic elements that make it original. Defection has been an
tradition that happened in the Cold War and people leave their own
countries in order to escape their control. In the game, Naked Snake is
sent from the CIA to the Soviet Union on a covert assignment to rescue
a Soviet scientist wanting to flee to America, but Snake is stopped by
his mentor, The Boss, and a Spetsnaz Colonel named Volgin. The defeat
left Snake with a dislocated arm and a full retreat and recovery back
in America. One week later after tensions started to grow more between
the US and the Soviets, the United States sent Snake back into the
Soviet Union to rescue the scientist, stop a nuclear tank called the
Shagohad, and assassinate The Boss for her defection. Snake and The
Boss meet on different occasions where Snake is always left defeated
with The Boss telling him to go back to the United States. Snake was
confused on whether The Boss is an enemy to him or not because of their
relationship explained further on in the game. The relationship is more
like a mother-and-son type of family, and that is where the game's main
theme comes into play; maternity.With the troubling past of The
Boss and her guidance for Snake, the players can really feel sympathy
for her character and sadness for her when she is killed by Snake. It
makes a great story about how one boy must surpass his parents into
fighting against the chains of fate with many more battles to come.
Even in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Solid Snake played
that same role but it was the fight against two brothers where Liquid
Snake tries to unleash an insurrection against the ones who control
everything in the whole world. The areas of where the Patriots control
are the Economy, Military, Society, War, Liberty, etc. With MGS3 taking
place as the first chronological game in the franchise, we can start
seeing how the whole story comes to make sense.
Tales of Symphonia
Okay.
I'm not one to brag, but there are some animes that I really enjoy
watching, nowadays. Whether if it is Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, Death
Note, or Code Geass, I just need to find another way to escape from
reality than just playing video games. What if those two forms of media
combine and create a game series that is original in every way? You get
Namco Bandai's Tales of franchise. Probably the one that got me the most interested in was the 2004 Gamecube classic, Tales of Symphonia.
The story is about two worlds that compete with one another to save the
life force in their own world. It's like a game of capture the flag or
Halo 3's own gameplay mode, Grifball. One world has to maintain the
powerful presence of Mana to keep their world from extinction and the
other goes for it in a game of 'World Regeneration'. How it works is
that both worlds worship a goddess who watches over them by the name of
Martel. Each world has a main church or temple and they chose who is
the one to carry out the task of regenerating their own world. In the
main plot, an 18-year old village outsider named Lloyd Irving is an
ordinary citizen who comes and visits a small village called Iselia,
and the village guards Martel's Temple to the north. One day at school,
Lloyd learns about the World Regeneration journey where one of his
classmates, Colette Brunel, is clarified as The Chosen for the world of
Sylvarant to save it from decline. Some of the opposing forces that
stands in Lloyd's way are the enemy, half-elf organization known as the
Desians and an assassin who comes from a different world called
Tethe'alla. When you thought that the World Regeneration was complete,
you begin to suspect that there is something fishy about the Church of
Martel where another organization named 'Cruxis' takes The Chosen's
body as a sacrifice for Martel without mercy. Lloyd does save Colette
in the process and he travels to Tethe'alla with his friends to find a
cure and learn about what they will do next. Throughout the rest of the
game, you watch and learn the actions about how Lloyd Irving wants to
reunite Sylvarant and Tethe'alla as one, unified planet where everyone
will live a happy life without competition. There is a strong theme of idealism and paternity
where you learn that one of the main characters is Lloyd's long, lost
father. Miraculously, the game was very well received for having a
great story that made you understand that there are those who are
dedicated to an idea. It requires going through hardships, but the
dedication must always remain present.
As you can see, those are
some of the examples of where games have great stories to tell. Most of
them, like the Metal Gear franchise, can push the boundaries of how
Hollywood works their movies and give it a sense of adventure through
video games. It seems like a great opportunity for gamers to learn
about the concepts of literature as an alternative instead of just
reading their way through a book.The 2007 Xbox 360/PC hit, Mass Effect,
was a prime example of how Bioware managed to make a game where the
player controls the protagonist's actions through storytelling. Through
the player's actions will give you different results based on the
direction of the story and where it ends. That is a great example of
how a game can push the boundaries over Hollywood in every right.
However, that many not be the case with many people because most of
them are focused on wanting to get into the actual gameplay instead of
watching through a story; which is alright, but it leaves you wondering
what is going on throughout the game. Ironically, its a great way of
finding yourself to be lost in the whole thing. I even find myself
watch the cutscenes of every Metal Gear game because of its usage of
cinematic storytelling, and the cinematic storytelling is what gets me
so excited to sit down and relax from the course of action. The Halo
franchise is another prime example about a race of aliens known as the
Covenant and the humans fight each other because of the Covenant's
mission to rule the entire universe. Whether the game is more about
gameplay than the plot of a game, the truth must be told that almost
each game has a story to be told.
Overall, video games have the
potential to surpass Hollywood in every shape or form of their
respective tales to tell. From this day, many more people are pushing
themselves to the limit to become well-known supporters of the gaming
industry and they try so well to come up with their own stories. As the
years progress down the road, more games will have cult following that
are based off a story where people will cosplay or wear merchandise
that will honor many franchises. It is a rewarding experience. Video
game stories should not be taken lightly and they should be taken more
seriously with not only the developers but for the general public as
well. Like I said, no matter if a game is all out with gameplay or
graphics, each game will have a story to be told.
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Specially when I'm fight a boss (hopefully not in a "puzzle combat" that makes all I've learn about how to play useless...), I really feel like "what am I doing here?" if that boss fight has no good background from the story. History makes you feel as the challenge from the game is greater than how the gameplay brings it to the player. History makes you know where you are, what you're doing and which are your goals.
The best stories are about heroic characters rendering ideals real in the serice of truth, beauty, and freedom.
This was Aristotle's view.
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CREATING EXALTED VIDEO GAMES AND VIRTUAL REALITIES WHEREIN IDEAS HAVE CONSEQUENCES
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3143589 (funny discussion/debate)
http://www.google.com/patents?id=aAuzAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&source=gb
s_summary_r&cad=0_0
http://wordsonplay.wordpress.com/2009/05/28/system-and-method-for-creating-exalt
ed-video-games-and-v
irtual-realities-wherein-ideas-have-consequences/
Abstract
A video game method and system for creating games where ideas have consequences, incorporating branching paths that correspond to a player's choices, wherein paths correspond to decisions founded upon ideals, resulting in exalted games with deeper soul and story, enhanced characters and meanings, and exalted gameplay. The classical hero's journey may be rendered, as the journey hinges on choices pivoting on classical ideals. Ideas that are rendered in word and deed will have consequences in the gameworld. Historical events such as The American Revolution may be brought to life, as players listen to famous speeches and choose sides. As great works of literature and dramatic art center around characters rendering ideals real, both internally and externally, in word and deed, in love and war, the present invention will afford video games that exalt the classical soul, as well as the great books, classics, and epic films-past, present, and future.
What is claimed is:
1. A method for creating video games and virtual realities wherein ideas have consequences.
2. The method in claim 1 where said ideas are rooted in classical, epic precepts such as those found in the Great Books and Classics, and exalted at the pinnacles of Western culture and history.
3. The method in claim 1 where said ideas are manifested in the words the player or non-player characters, write, speak, read, disseminate, congregate about, fight for, and/or associate with.
4. The method in claim 1 where said ideas are manifested in the actions the player, non-player characters, and/or monsters act out.
5. The method in claim 1 where said ideas spread like viruses, by being spoken, written, or disseminated in some other manner, transforming characters who come in contact with said ideas into vampires, zombies, or other forms of monsters.
6. The method in claim 1 where said ideas spread like viruses, by being spoken, written, or disseminated in some other manner, transforming characters who come in contact with said ideas into vampires, zombies, or other forms of monsters, and where said vampires, zombies, and monsters may be saved or converted back to normal by coming in contact with ideas that oppose the ideas that made them vampires, zombies, and other forms of monsters.
7. The method in claim 1 where said ideas must be fought for via words and dialogue, before they have exalted consequences.
8. The method in claim 1 where said ideas must be fought for via deeds and actions, before they have exalted consequences.
9. The method in claim 1 where the player can fight for said ideas in word and deed, and witness the exalted consequences of those ideals, including liberty, freedom, and justice, when they succeed, and the dire consequences of tyranny, domination, and intimidation, when they fail to render exalted ideas, as ideas have consequences.
10. The method in claim 1 where the character can fight for said ideas such as marriage, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and right to life in word and deed, and witness the exalted consequences of those ideals, including a stable and enduring society should they succeed, and a declining, bankrupt civilization, should they fail.
11. The method in claim 1 where the character can battle for said ideas that are based upon classical moral and economic principles of famous philosophers, prophets, poets, statesmen, and economists including Plato, Moses, Jesus, Gandhi Sun Tzu, Buda, Jefferson, Aristotle, F. A. Hayek, Martin Luther King Jr., Homer, Ludwig Von Mises, Adam Smith, and others, and witness the consequences of both their success and failure of their battle, as the consequences are rendered in the game's physical world.
12. The method in claim 1 where the character can battle for said ideas via both word and deed, using a combination of words and action, witnessing the consequences of their balance between word and deed, between reasoning and partaking in violence, thusly bringing to life epic classical works of film and literature wherein the hero must balance word and deed.
13. The method in claim 1 where fighting for said ideas in word and/or deed will have consequences regarding the operation of a weapon, which will operate at its full potential for the players and characters who are the most successful in serving ideals and ideas, and rendering them in word and deed.
14. The method in claim 1 wherein said ideas may be based upon Constitutional ideals and ideas underlying the American Founding, including the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, sound currency, the right to bear arms, the freedom of speech, the right of the artist, author, and inventor to own their creations and inventions; and wherein the player could fight for sound money in word and deed and witness the consequences of their successes and failures, including liberty, wealth creation, capitalism, freedom, private property, peace, and prosperity or rapid inflation, deflation, theft via the inflation tax, massive debt, empire, long lines, wealth transfer to the rich, depressions, corruption, and war.
15. The method in claim 1 where the said ideas will be supported or opposed by in-game characters, and the player will have to choose how to interact with the said in-game characters, based on their ideas, including but not limited to whether or not to befriend them, agree with them, disagree with them, ignore them, recruit them, shoot them, save them, judge them, or forgive them.
16. The method in claim 1 where the said ideas are based upon the pivotal plot points of the great books and classics.
17. The method in claim 1 where said ideas spread like viruses, by being spoken, written, or disseminated in some other manner, transforming characters who come in contact with said ideas into vampires, zombies, or other forms of monsters; and when bad ideas have infected too many in-game characters, the consequences are dire, including the loss of life, liberty, happiness, freedom, and security.
18. The method in claim 1 wherein said ideas may be related to economics and monetary policy, and wherein the player could fight for sound money in words echoing the classical economists and deed and witness the consequences of their successes and failures, including liberty, freedom, peace and prosperity or rapid inflation, deflation, theft via the inflation tax, massive debt, empire, long lines, depressions, corruption, and war.
19. The method in claim 1 wherein moral ideas have moral consequences in the evolution of the gameworld.
20. The method in claim 1 where said ideas in the video game world are founded upon the natural ideas and ideals occurring at the plot points in great works of literature and film where a character must choose whether to serve an ideal or not serve an ideal, thusly rendering or not rendering ideals real by their actions, and influencing the greater outcome and state of the game world, as ideas have consequences.
21. The method in claim 1 where said ideas in the video game world are used to exalt the classic hero's journey, and where a player's success and progress at every stage or step or plot point of said hero's journey is defined by said player's service or disservice to said ideas and ideals, and where by said player's serving said ideas and classical ideals, said hero's journey advances towards ultimate victory and triumph, while by said character's failing to serve said ideas and classical ideals, progress in said hero's journey is retarded or reversed.
http://www.google.com/patents?id=aAuzAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&source=gb
s_summary_r&cad=0_0