I don’t know why, but I’ve come to hate the trope of a big intimidating guy have a squeaky pre-pubescent voice. I think a better version of this trope is the big dude that speaks all sophisticated and quotes poets and philosophers (basically Keith Lee or Beast).
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Overtly gritty protagonist for the sake of overtly gritty protagonist, it feels like there’s always some sort of looming cloud over a lot of HG/COG protagonists, where everything the protagonist loves (ex: their dreams, village, family and loved ones) just burns into ashes or dies for the sake pushing a sad MC out into the world for some kind of revenge or heroic fantasy story where they go off their handrails with some super special gift to save the world.
I get it. The protagonist needs something to harden themselves up, push the plot forward and grow but dang does it really have to start with our home village turning into a PTSD ridden warzone?
For once it’d be nice if a journey started out of fun yet had it’s own share of creative hardships, instead of burning sad family I’m now angry must fight inner and outer demons everyday rah.
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Yeah no for me I do not like slice of life, it has nothing to do with genre just my personal taste. Like if a story does not have a strong driving force of a goal which is interesting then I’m gonna be bored. I also don’t like court intrigue (I think that’s how it’s spelt) and dealing aristocracy, politics, romance and all that stuff. Like it’s great if they are there otherwise I wouldn’t be able to enjoy a lot of ifs but I’m a simple guy just give me a stick and I will wack whoever needs to be wacked to high heaven and back
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This is exactly why we need more games like Tally Ho and Jolly Good: Cakes and Ale. Plenty of creative hardships here, with a distinct focus on the (hilariously) “creative”. 
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I’ve just seen a news where they talked about a movie (didn’t catch the name, sorry) wich use cannibalism as an allegory for diversity and outcast.
(Sarcasm)Who else think that Is it a really wonderful idea?
I don’t even know how the connection could be made.
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Eat everyone equally.
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I’ve been kinda ambivalent towards games like Spec Ops: The Line or MGS2 where the whole thing is a “deconstruction” of shooter games or “power fantasy”. They always try to make you try and feel like garbage for enjoying the genre.
And honestly, while those games have genuinely good writing, a lot of their criticisms are really dumb. Spec Ops’s devs removed the option you’d have at some point to actually leave the game instead of staying and causing more trouble, because players kept taking it and nobody was sticking around to hear about how they were horrible people for trying to be heroes and causing more problems. Like, I guess they expected shooter fans to be as delusional as Walker?
Especially dumb was the white phosphorous scene. “There’s ALWAYS a choice!” Well then why are you making me do it? I could take these guys easily if you didn’t beef them up so much, so I’d have to use the stuff. Don’t tell me there’s always a choice and then not provide said choices.
Whole thing feels like they’re bashing you for wanting to play their games. I didn’t pay sixty bucks to be insulted.
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Well, cannibalism is often extremely homoerotic (fellas is it gay to want another man’s meat inside of you?) and it’s used as a metaphor for queerness in a lot of media (NBC’s Hannibal, AMC’s The Terror, Antonia Bird’s Ravenous, Jennifer’s Body, basically all good vampire media, honestly).
I think any kind of monstrousness in fiction being associated (metaphorically or explicitly) with queerness can make people — very understandably — uncomfortable, though it’s always appealed to me from the perspective of reclaiming society’s disgust and hatred and embracing the otherness rather than trying to assimilate to its expectations. But of course, YMMV.
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I HAVE seen this. Seen flame wars about it too. Not really my thing, at least when it comes to FIGURATIVE monstrousness. I prefer going against these preconceptions, not much of a reclaimer when it comes to this thing. And Ace guy who is a cold, unfeeling sociopath for example, isn’t something I’d feel like reclaiming. That’s just me though. We’ve all got our own thing.
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Oof yeah it’s a super individual preference for sure.
I really feel you there — I’m not ace but I am autistic and I’ve had quite a few conversations with an ace friend about how often there’s overlap in negative stereotypes for both groups. And yeah, I also have little interest in reclaiming that kind of character.
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I’m actually both. So it’s double.
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The takeaway from that game specifically is “putting the game down is a choice.” The devs have gone out of their way to say so.
I’m not really defending it, mind, but I’m more inclined to give them leeway than some of the games that follow in that same trend because I feel like they missed the mark entirely, like Far Cry 5.
Ghost man was a figment of your imagination and right all along about you being an evil glory hound is much more compelling than “wannabe white Jesus was right all along about the nukes coming.”
Segue-ing away from that, I’ve been kinda developing a dislike/hatred of the silent protagonist trope, especially when games like far cry 5 (and to a lesser extent games like borderlands, even) go out of their way to monologue at you while your character is given no input whatsoever. It makes the things they say kinda fall flat, almost all the time, and by the time most devs realize that, theyre so far into it that it seems like they just make up a character to even respond to the supposed prolific villain’s quipping.
Just make it more common for the playable characters to live in the world, please, rather thsn being a walking silent nuke. I would much prefer playing someone with a history and a past that I have room to flex the characterization as I please than I would a blank slate people talk at rather than to.
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I’m not so inclined because that’s just cheating. Putting the game down means time freezes until you play the game again. It solves nothing. That’s a huge cop out.
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I find games like that kind of funny. Because what’s more screwed up, playing a shooter like Call of Duty that deliberately creates scenarios where you’re very much fighting “bad guys” without taking the plot too seriously… Or making a game where you animate innocent civilians being blown to smithereens in graphic detail just to guilt trip the player for wanting to play video games that usually don’t make them do things like that?
And yeah, I find the “you always have a choice but we were too lazy to program one in” approach kind of irritating. If you’re going to guilt trip someone you should at least make sure there’s a better option available. Otherwise you’re the one who deserves all the actual “blame” for creating said scenario in the first place.
Using their own logic, they’re cashing in on depictions of war crimes, which would be worse than what the player’s doing.
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I respect the devs having a vision and all, but for sure it’s a cop out. Really, it’s almost borderline insulting to the player, who spent real-life money on the game, and your choices are either continue playing as a character who’s a delusional idiot and you have no real control over, or let your money go to waste.
I don’t find the former to be an issue really. Not all war media needs to be “war is hell”.
Oh I 100% agree there. Not all media needs to send a message about how terrible war is. I don’t myself.
I’m just saying that the devs are being hypocritical. On one hand they want to critique and guilt trip players over liking shooter games because “war is hell” but on the other hand they’re raking in cash from selling a game depicting a hellish situation rife with war crimes. By their logic that would be a bad thing.
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