The Gamer's Quarter

[mslano]

Having just finished playing through Majora's Mask for yet another time, I had a few different thoughts about it and games in general. This is basically what I've thought about while playing the past couple of days, so it might be long and rambling. I ask that you stay with me through it all and hopefully, you'll have some things to say at the end.

One of my favorite aspects of Majora's Mask is the overall atmosphere. All the characters, even minor ones, have their unique place in the universe of the game and there is plenty of opportunity to observe each characters' role due to the repeating time system. The world of Termina also has a history, though it is simplistic, that is told through these characters words and actions and ties into what Link is doing with his overall quest. Most importantly, all of these wonderful nuances of the universe are in imminent danger from the Moon falling and destroying them all. The repeated time pattern lets Link and the player grow to know and care about each aspect of the universe in some way.

Like most games, there are really two endings to Majora's Mask. The first is the one that comes from completing Link's quest (which for me, always includes getting everything because I simply love playing this game). This ending is quite satisfying because it shows how one person can bring so much happiness into a world that had none. The second ending, which is more powerful in my mind, comes from failing - the game over ending. More than simply showing these words and asking for a continue, Majora's Mask shows the truly tragic consequences of Link's failure as the Moon falls onto the world he has grown to love. The ending is especially poingant, as people have mentioned, after completing some, but not all, of the temples. Making Link's failure shared by the giants is truly brialliant. Outside of this game, it is expected for a child to fail to save the world. The giants, however, are Termina's protectors, the gods of the people, so their failure has much more of an impact.

This game over is one of the most effective and affective game over scenes I have seen. Other game overs that have been affective in my mind are Chrono Trigger's "But the future refused to change" and Command & Conquer's taking over the map, both of which show in dramatic fashion the consequences of failure. Terranigma also came to mind because its ending for completing the game carries some of the same sadness as these game over endings. Beyond these, I could not think of very many more. This is the foundation of my first thought about games in general. What games have truly affective endings rather than simply saying "Game Over" and being done with it?

Most games either do not really end with Game Over (asking for the player to continue) and instead only have a comedic ending, with everything generally working out okay. I understand this is somewhat of an expectation for players, being rewarded for their hard work by bringing a little happiness into the game world, but it feels like a limitation to me. My favorite stories tend to be tragedies. They have endings that bring up questions more than leaving them answered. I've always thought the difference between tragedy and comedy is a matter of timing, which is especially true in videogames where poor timing can lead to death, but all too often, the tragic side of a game's story is left unexplored while a great deal is devoted to the comedic side shown in the game's ending.

I think the fact that most games have comedic endings may have prompted the sentiment behind this article, which I read today through Slashdot: http://www.gamegirladvance.com/archives/2006/07/14/when_will_games_disturb_us.html . While it's not the best written piece, nor the best informed, it does raise similar points as I have concerning gamer's expectations, namely the reward for their playing coming across in a comedic ending. I disagree with the author of the piece that the fun must go away before videogames become disturbing. Games are often disturbing because of content within them, both visual and thematic, yet still have fun elements (my example is Killer7, though some might argue how fun it is). What I think this author is looking for is more tragic games, which is the same thing I want, in part. What I've come to enjoy about videogames, particularly the ones I have mentioned in this (by now overlong) post, is that the tragedy of a game's story can be overcome by the will of the player. Majora's Mask will always be the pinnacle for me of games that have potential for great tragedy that can be overcome to reach a great, satisfying comedic ending.

Now that you've read through all that, what are your thoughts? Are there more tragic games out there in a similar vein? Can tragic stories really work in videogames without upsetting many gamer's expectations of what an ending should be? Can games be truly disturbing? Have I gone on too long? Please post your thoughts as I'd like to discuss these issues and this site seems a great place to do it.

[Alc]

[Ketch]

If not tragic, then at least it should deny you total wish fulfillment. Sure you can save the day (the world), but you can't save everybody. There is a human cost for saving the day.

I think it would be neat to see games bring in more shades of emotions, in general. So that even going to the "shops" brings in feelings, ie. woah, that's way too expensive but I want that, or thats so cheap but not worth getting even so. Or those would make a great present for character X, maybe they would like it if I got them some flowers today.

Then later when your character is richer the things that seemed out of reach will be available, and you realise that you were having just as much fun with your Football as you would have had with your Star Wars action figures.

I'd like to see games move away from Save the World! to more personal issues, so that the reason you play is because of something to do with your character.

[Dracko]

I'd like to see epics in general stray away from SAVE THE WORLD! facility.

Have you tried out Façade? It's experimental, sure, but it's comptent and brings the personal issues-style of gaming just that much closer.
For some reason, Ace Combat 04 very much strikes me as a game which was emotionally involvng without the save the world nonsense.
_________________
"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

[rf]

I think the main reason so many games have these kinds of plots is that games:
1) involve "work" that isn't always pleasant
2) are supposed to be entertaining
and if you want to be entertained by work, then it helps to feel like your work pays off. I'm sure there are subtler goals that would give people greater satisfaction, in combination with a good story, but "saving the world" is an obvious one with a high payoff.

If a game had more tragic themes, then either the gameplay could actively make the player a participant of the tragedy, or it could follow the familiar story-based game technique of giving the player the reins while success is OK, then taking away their control when the heros need to fail. (e.g., "OK, you beat the dragon boss. Now watch your favorite character die.") The latter can, all else being equal, be simply frustrating. The former would be better, but it'd take difficult, innovative design work.

[mslano]

I really don't have a huge problem with the "saving the world" that comes across in many games. It's just that many games simply leave it at that. More often than not, I enjoy the games which have that element but also contain tragedy. Chrono Trigger has Crono die, Terranigma has Ark being misled the whole game and the eventual destruction of his hometown and homeworld, and Majora's Mask has numerous characters that died or sacriced their lives to help Link's quest and Link himself never gets to enjoy the fruits of his labor. Yet each of these are satisfying because you still save the world at the end of the game.

It's hard to move beyond the level of tragedy in these games while still being satisfying though. Like rf said, there is a lot of work involved in playing a game, so the player feels that they should be rewarded. I think that this is so often the case in game endings, however, that there should be more games that pull the rug out from under the player. Games that end like Link's Awakening or Shadow of the Colossus could be more common as an alternative to the purely happy endings that commonly exist.

As for Facade, that presents another approach to the dynamic of work versus satisfaction in a game. The game can end in any number of ways, depending on how the player approaches the characters. Yet, each ending works in the usual sense because each time, it is the ending that the player has earned. This is only possible in a game where there is more than one sense of completion, which is not very common unfortunately.

[kuzdu]

I agree with Ketch that the crix of the problem is 'total wish fulfillment'. I think that games shouldn't always give the player everything they want. The most recent example of this that I can think of is the end MGS 3, where to end the game you have to do something that you most likely really don't want to do, but there's no other way. I also liked that in that moment, the entire game went from being about 'saving the world', to the tragedy of this very personal and painful relationship.

[Ketch]

[purplechair]

Cybernator/Assault Suits Valken on the snes had two different good endings, depending on whether you achieved certain objectives during the game. In the sad ending...