You don't need to look far for a very similar plot involving the post-apocalypse WITH subtly interesting characters that act and feel real and has all that grim uneasiness.
The Last of Us still stands as a lesson that violence can serve a purpose without sacrificing character development. Joel in particular is possibly one of the most interesting characters of the last generation of games. Ellie too, but Joel has so many little ticks that are initially really hard to pick up on.
An example is when Joel meets back up with his brother, notice how much more reserved and drawn-back he is. When Tommy then hands him the photo of Sarah, there's a brief moment in which Joel's hand softly rubs the photo and shortly is followed with him practically shoving the photo toward Tommy in bitter disgust. Moments like that are what built my relationship with Joel and made me feel connected to him. Nothing... and I mean NOTHING even close to that one little moment happened in the entirety of Season two.
It was primitive character development. "How do we get people to feel bad about Kenny... again?" "Have his new plot dev- oops, I mean Sarite die. That'll get people to sympathize."
But I wasn't, I was laughing at how disgusting it was that TT were pulling the same trick for a character I stopped giving a damn about since A Long Road Ahead, when they first tried to get me to empathize. Subtly is what the Season 3 needs, not this stupid uncreative writing that feels like it'd be more at home in a grindhouse flick.
I don't think the people on the show, there isn't such a clear cut good guy/bad guy. We know who we're supposed to dislike, but there's a lot of moral dissonance on the show. It might have been coda or the episode before coda, but Rick hits a guy with his car a and told him he just had to stop; the impact broke the guy's back. The man pleaded with Rick for him to take him back to the hospital and Rick shot the guy in the head. Murdered the guy in cold blood. The guy wasn't completely innocent but didn't deserve that. Yet, Rick is supposed to be seen as one of the good guys simply because he's the protagonist. That scene makes you question the morality of either person's actions and I'm sure a lot of people won't agree with my interpretation.
More brutality would help intensify the moral ambiguity of people's actions
Play Manhunt or Postal 2 if you want brutality.
I want an emotionally investing experience with a plot that has a clear concise direction… more. Not some gore-fest torture porn, I want a narrative that focuses on the human-spirit. The good, the bad, and the ambiguous. But, most important, I want the violent segments to carry weight and have a meaning rather than be put there to "shock" people.
The Walking Dead is becoming more and more evident to be a world crafted around an unsubtle mentality. Characters in the show, game, and graphic novel are too damn easy to relate to. Either they're "good" or "bad." I want to see more Joel's and dare I say Jane's (although a little less sloppy in her case). Characters that aren't written to be identifiable but written to make you feel a sense of moral complications and you can't write good characters if the game is consistently ramming violence down your throat in an unsuccessful attempt to make the narrative more "edgy."
I'm fine with blood and gore so long as it's not every five minutes. It desensitizes us to the impact of those moments, as @Deltino nicely pointed out. As for the rape thing, I'd imagine that'd be very uncomfortable to watch, and might be a trigger for some people.
Comments
You don't need to look far for a very similar plot involving the post-apocalypse WITH subtly interesting characters that act and feel real and has all that grim uneasiness.
The Last of Us still stands as a lesson that violence can serve a purpose without sacrificing character development. Joel in particular is possibly one of the most interesting characters of the last generation of games. Ellie too, but Joel has so many little ticks that are initially really hard to pick up on.
An example is when Joel meets back up with his brother, notice how much more reserved and drawn-back he is. When Tommy then hands him the photo of Sarah, there's a brief moment in which Joel's hand softly rubs the photo and shortly is followed with him practically shoving the photo toward Tommy in bitter disgust. Moments like that are what built my relationship with Joel and made me feel connected to him. Nothing... and I mean NOTHING even close to that one little moment happened in the entirety of Season two.
It was primitive character development. "How do we get people to feel bad about Kenny... again?" "Have his new plot dev- oops, I mean Sarite die. That'll get people to sympathize."
But I wasn't, I was laughing at how disgusting it was that TT were pulling the same trick for a character I stopped giving a damn about since A Long Road Ahead, when they first tried to get me to empathize. Subtly is what the Season 3 needs, not this stupid uncreative writing that feels like it'd be more at home in a grindhouse flick.
I don't think the people on the show, there isn't such a clear cut good guy/bad guy. We know who we're supposed to dislike, but there's a lot of moral dissonance on the show. It might have been coda or the episode before coda, but Rick hits a guy with his car a and told him he just had to stop; the impact broke the guy's back. The man pleaded with Rick for him to take him back to the hospital and Rick shot the guy in the head. Murdered the guy in cold blood. The guy wasn't completely innocent but didn't deserve that. Yet, Rick is supposed to be seen as one of the good guys simply because he's the protagonist. That scene makes you question the morality of either person's actions and I'm sure a lot of people won't agree with my interpretation.
More brutality would help intensify the moral ambiguity of people's actions
Nah, that would be boring.
Yeah. It'd make the game very anticipating.
I'm fine with blood and gore so long as it's not every five minutes. It desensitizes us to the impact of those moments, as @Deltino nicely pointed out. As for the rape thing, I'd imagine that'd be very uncomfortable to watch, and might be a trigger for some people.