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Denver, 6:23 AM
Tue Nov 10
57 posts in the last 24 hours
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10/31/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
Never do it with Everclear (again)! #heavyrain
10/18/09
10/18/09
10/18/09
Crassius Curio did this to us already... years ago. At least he didn't make us polish his huge spear as well.
10/18/09
10/18/09
I imagine many people didn't get that far (no offense to Morrowind, which I loved and completed several times over), but in regards to playing through the game as a male, you're absolutely right. What did Crassus call the player? His "sweetie" or something? #heavyrain
10/19/09
Probably wound up not being an issue for me because I'm quite the opposite in life (if someone asked me in person to do that, I'd freak out (after confirming they are indeed not joking)), and I use games as an escape from life. #heavyrain
10/19/09
10/20/09
10/17/09
10/17/09
I'm sorry, but the notion that people won't find this sexy is completely out the window.
To be completely honest, I didn't find it sexy myself, but only because she looks like a man :/ #heavyrain
10/17/09
10/17/09
No, she has a fugly face, in my opinion. Sorry for not finding every woman on the planet beautiful in her own special way xD
@lalab: Explain? #heavyrain
10/17/09
10/17/09
10/18/09
Just because you're 'controlling' the character who is stripping doesn't mean she won't be the 'object' of the player's male gaze. Depending on the camera view, and the method of interaction for the stripping, it could be very easy for some randy young male player to just adopt the viewpoint of the mobster, pressing buttons to make the sexy lady onscreen start stripping. #heavyrain
10/18/09
10/18/09
@Slanzinger: And this is what I think will get in the way of your theory, and the developers' intentions on how the scene should feel.
So much of the scene (when played out this way) is just blatant fan service, and I would bet that the reason this sequence is even being promoted to journalists etc is in order to attract a certain audience; one that likes naughty stuff in their games. #heavyrain
10/17/09
10/17/09
In this particular instance, the psychology is particularly fascinating as it is likely a rather novel experience for the largest demographic of video game players, males."
...hah. Yes, it's called "emotion" and "empathy", and is completely unknown to adolescent boys. ..
Listen. If your name is not Freud, you probably shouldn't be claiming you wrote the book. And even if your name was Freud, and you did write the book - it would arguably still be quite arrogant. And you would maybe weigh the benefits and drawbacks of your decision to put it all down in writing for the first time.
The problem here is that players of video-games are not a mass that is identical to who /buy/ the most video-games. Neither is the industry making games for all gamers. But here - once again - we have a "serious" commenter preaching the idea that since such and such game is an archetypical game, that means all gamers love this game for it's archetypical qualities.
We've had this ridiculous notion because of Mario for quite some time now. And this generation, for some unfathomable reason, it is Halo and COD.
And every gamer love Halo and COD, just like we all hail the artistic qualities of long-running series like "Friends" and "Law & Order". And their respectful and thorough approach to the human psychology.
Mhm.
#freudian
10/17/09
Was that part of the point? #heavyrain
10/18/09
No. The point was that even if it's safe to categorize Call of Duty as a series of adolescent male fantasies, this does not mean that if you are playing games, you are an adolescent male with some propensity for developing emotional disorders.
But what the author of that article does, is to state... in convoluted and intelligent-sounding language.. that the reason why alternative games do not succeed, is that they are not what gamers want.
Which is an interesting theory - but difficult to prove, since no one has actually tried to sell a console and games to people who are not "archetypical gamers" - before this.
So I'm encouraging the writer to not base the premise of the article on circular reasoning. And perhaps avoid the tunnel-vision that makes him or her suggest that the game is a "new" experience for "gamers".
When what is "new", is that a title that isn't only a male adolescent fantasy - is marketed with a high profile, at the same clip as perhaps Halo. And that it's marketed as a title with focus on the narrative, instead of the violence and so on.
So we'll see how well it does, I guess. And whether there's a market for games that aren't "just games".
I mean, it's just so stupid - we had this exact same thing with cartoons. Or comic novels. "People" would associate comics with haha, fun, crap for kids. And when something shows up that trounches that perception - no one mentions it. The right people know it exists, and love it. But Warren Ellis is not approached to do politically uncorrect serials for a wider audience, nor does he have the means to do something like that himself.
So mature comics, targeted for mature audiences, remain an obscure artform.
And why is that? Because people like the writer of this article insist that unless these works mysteriously become supported and pushed ahead by a large publisher with a big budget for advertisements, and with sponsorships very consciously supporting a broader array of content ahead of slimmer, but more immediately attractive series - then those works do not exist, and "people" do not want them.
Uncritical, self-fulfilling analysis like that does have a psychological description, I believe. #heavyrain
10/17/09
In my mind, Madison is her own character. Certainly I guide her actions, and insert a bit of my own personality into the objects she interacts with. But what makes Heavy Rain so intriguing is when I'm forced into making a quick decision, or even an action like taking the clothes off of her. For her sake, I feel like I shouldn't but for her survival, I feel like I have to. And I feel empathic towards the character because I want her to be respected and definitely stay alive; outside of this terrible context.
I just can't wait for this game. I remember in Fahrenheit, even the simplest of actions like getting Carla ready for work felt like one of the most important experiences I've ever had in a game. I love my characters, and I like to take on their roles. But above all, I like to imagine that they are their own person, drawn to life by some of the choices I make.
10/17/09
I think it's important to not ignore sex in gaming, as it is a part of life and if we are to portray life accurately- we need to include it. But to include gratuitous stripping scenes just to get teens excited is just disappointing for a game that could be so much more.
10/17/09
No offence, but if you're already misconstruing things, then I doubt this is the game for you. #heavyrain
10/17/09
[www.gametrailers.com]
NSFW obviously. #heavyrain
10/17/09
Watching that clip really sunk any hope for a well made scene of a touchy subject. Here's a transcript:
-------
little Madison, now, is he?
[] DISGUST
X LAMP
The lamp!
If only I could find some way to
grab it. I know!
Oh baby sweetcheeks!
You've got it going on down below!
That's what I call kicking butt!
You go, girl!
Right,
act 2, let's hear lover-boy sing...
-------
Really, now? That dialogue is terrible, and the words and action lack emotion. This is no different than any Skinemax prison movie. I am impressed that the scene is interactive -- something I didn't see coming -- but come on. It can do better than this. #heavyrain
10/17/09
Is she thinking to herself? Did she verbally state, "You go, girl!" after the incident happened? It's hard to say with just subtitles. I think it'd be easier to judge the scene in full context rather than just a no audio clip from a camera phone.
Still, the whole thing felt a bit like the strip scene from True Lies. Could've been handled much worse, but definitely room for improvement. #heavyrain
10/17/09
10/17/09
This is also helped by the fact that it is some lowlife mob boss perving over the woman, thus representing the very male perspective most players would identify with and perhaps making them feel bad for doing so.
I'd be interested to see if this awareness of gender issues carries through to the whole game considering Cage's last project: Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy. I think there was some stuff brought up when playing as Carla but then the game had its token sex scenes (one optional though, I think).
10/17/09
10/17/09
@Narishma: Are we thinking of the same ones? I haven't played it since it came out so it has been a while but I thought the obligatory one was a cutscene towards the end of the game. I may be wrong. The other involves Lucas' ex-girlfriend and I seem to remember there was some 'bonus' to do with Miles' girlfriend doing a striptease dance (minus the stripping. A tease dance?) #heavyrain
10/17/09
10/17/09
..more like: "Game where the player can draw the line where he or she chooses at any time - ACTIVELY encourages tasteless promiscuity and rape, even murder". #heavyrain
10/17/09
Edit: Not saying that I think it should be censored or anything like that, that'd be silly. Just playing devil's advocate.
10/17/09
That said, I felt creepy watching Happiness and The Girl Next Door. If this is done convincingly, it'll do well to show that video games can elicit film/novel reactions from players. Of course, I'm sure this is going to be a canned sequence that the player will watch passively, no different from any movie, versus turning the stripping sequence into a QTE or Sixaxis mini-game. #heavyrain