One of the things that bothered my about Assassin's Creed IV, Black Flag was that they bent over backwards to make all the main cast abolitionists ahead of their time, instead of having the main character have to realize the horrors of slavery first hand or something, we just get some ham-fisted moralizing, which seemed inconsistent from characters that freely robbed, stole, and killed because they were opportunist.
@scapelife
8 жыл бұрын
I haven't played black flag in a while, but wasn't it only Edward it was against slavery? I seem to recall Blackbeard calling Adewale a negro. I may be wrong though.
@ryanbecker6713
8 жыл бұрын
scapelife It's been a while for myself as well; Blackbeard could have very well called him a negro but I don't think that's very telling of his thought on slavery
@philipgodsworth4764
8 жыл бұрын
+scapelife Benjamin Horningold makes a negative remark about Adewale carrying a pistol before being rebuffed by Edward. That's the only instance I remember among the "good guys".
@NoConsequenc3
8 жыл бұрын
+Ryan Becker Let's be honest, Black Flag was a really good pirate game and that's about it
@ryanbecker6713
8 жыл бұрын
Pseudo Lain Fully agree
@Arkanthrall
8 жыл бұрын
And that's why it's so important that Han shot first.
@krillissue
8 жыл бұрын
HAN. SHOT. FIRST.
@MegaCevapcic
8 жыл бұрын
Always thought he was the only one that shot.
@miguelpereira9859
4 жыл бұрын
@@MegaCevapcic In the original version Greedo doesn't even shoot, you are right
@Replica_Films2000
4 жыл бұрын
nah greedo shot first bro
@MrRogerogerio
Жыл бұрын
@@miguelpereira9859 We should be calling it "Han shot" then.
@TheMeanMongoose
8 жыл бұрын
One of my favorite animated movies is "Vuk the little fox" a Hungarian production based on a novel by István Fekete. The titular little fox is orphaned when a human hunter and his hounds hunt his parents and siblings down...and swears bloody vengeance. It's kind of unorthodox for a children's film, because the protagonist, being a carnivore *kills and eats named and voiced characters* but he's still likable enough to root for and his motivations are understandable. The antagonists aren't particularly villainous either. One could argue that the human is just protecting their livestock and the hounds are honorable and loyal. The movie itself isn't gory or disturbing enough to be age restricted mind you, just morally ambiguous enough that it challenges one's preconceptions. And that is good for children. The general aesop of the author's whole body of work is something like: *"Nature has it's own laws and it does not particularly care for your delicate sensibilities"* may sound "family unfriendly" but it's a valuable lesson to learn. I know it's not a video game but I thought I'd share it.
@NoConsequenc3
8 жыл бұрын
+Copperbeard I think more children's movies should be like that. Teaching our youth to adopt a mentality that says anything shocking is inherently bad or "shouldn't happen" is, in my opinion, extremely harmful and short-sighted. I know that as I grew up I was very angry with my single mother for failing to give me a "normal family" but looking back I can see that my idea of what a family should be was shaped mostly by "kid friendly" TV shows. "Kid friendly" to me is just another word for "unrealistic and misleading". No matter how much you tell a kid that what they watch isn't real, and no matter how much they agree, some of it WILL stick around. It happens just as easily to adults as well, I don't know how many times I've had conversations with people that thought they understood spaceships because they saw a couple movies
@stuckupcurlyguy
4 жыл бұрын
can you really use aesop as a noun? Cool.
@RAFMnBgaming
4 жыл бұрын
That seems like a good lesson, but also potentially a bad life philosophy. As with all things there's a time and place for standing by sensibilities, I think a lot of people these days forget to learn that.
@Marvacu
8 жыл бұрын
"This is an angry and hateful person" *Iorveth immediately smiles* love it, nice video!
@TheTheode
8 жыл бұрын
I want this guy to write my uni essays
@Mancyofsouls
9 жыл бұрын
This is probably why I like Joshua Graham so much.
@TheMeanMongoose
8 жыл бұрын
+Chirurgeon Crane Yes. Definitely. He is a character that wants to change... but doesn't really know how, after a lifetime of brutality and a huge mental and physical trauma. No, you don't automaticaly become a good person when you find God (again), you have to earn that sweet Heel-Face-Turn. Love it.
@thepepp92
7 жыл бұрын
GRRM often cites William Faulkner's nobel prize acceptance speach: "the only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itsef". That's what resonates with people, because we are bound to empathize either with one of the opposed positions of thought or with uncomfortable feeling the character experiences.
@DraphEnjoyer
9 жыл бұрын
Seriously MrBtongue? Its 2 in god damn morning and I have to be somewhere at 7AM. Now I have to watch an informative video about video games.
@BadassArabianMofo
9 жыл бұрын
I remember that I saw one time, in the original Fallout in the Junktown ending, that if you sided with Killian Darkwater then the city would never grow and remain only a small settlement and if you decided to instead side with Gizmo the city would prosper and become a vast trading hub. They ultimately changed it to remove any moral ambiguity and it always bothered me. One of the best choice/consequence I got from a game was Dragon Age: Origins. It's the ending to Orzammar depending on who you chose has King, Bhelen OR Lord Harrowmont, with Harrowmont cutting ties with the surface and being hellbent on keeping traditions, and Bhelen (despite being an asshole) being more of a progressive leader, establishing more trade routes with the surface and opening up more Orzammar. It made an impact on me. It felt like a real consequence of an action, not something merely dictated by the moral construct of the situation (A is good, If Player side with A = A Ending is Good). It brought me out of the linear confort zone of Good Vs Evil (ex: if you play as the good guy, only good things happen.) Watch Dogs story was nowhere near the point of being anything other than stereotypical. With NPCs being made to look like porn actresses (Clara Lille = Christy Mack), a protagonist who, if they lower his voice down two octaves would have to pay royalties to DC Comics, was very much uninteresting and a story who was pretty much all around horrible. They treated the whole invasion of privacy thing as a gimmick, they gave a reputation system to someone who's supposed to be a vigilante and yet turn every person he sees into his private bank account. The only refreshing NPC in the game is Jordi Chin, but it's too little to make up for that entire excuse of a game.
@MMMM-vq1yr
9 жыл бұрын
It disturbs me how little moral ambiguity Fallout 3 had. What!? Eating a person is a 'crime against nature'? And I lose moral points that somehow control which companion I get!? Bethesda, I think you don't have any idea what it's like to live in a post apocalypse with no irrigation an very few ways of making modern food. You tend to, understandably become desperate. In fact why do we even need a moral counter? This is a lawless wasteland were morals don't matter, it's COMPLETELY different than a modern civilized society. In a modern civilized society you usually have at least an ok amount of food security, rules, laws, jobs and all that other junk. Here we don't. Is pick pocketing really wrong? What if I steal for something good, like feeding my family, what then? This isn't just Fallout's fault, you can apply this to any other fictional situation, especially apocalyptic fiction. My main point is how much I hate it when the author of a game has to tell me 'nuh nuh nuh dat bad dat bad, y u so bad?' or 'DAT GOOD YOU PALADIN NOW!' with some moral counter that somehow affects the game. It assumes they'd do something different having been grown and raised in that time, or when having to make a quick decision that could lead to life or death. I'm glad authors are learning that black and white morality creates so many problem.
@BadassArabianMofo
9 жыл бұрын
Have you tried This War of Mine? If you hate black and white moral choices in a game, go play this game who's far for b/w choices.
@joeleonard8863
9 жыл бұрын
I honestly do not care what you have to talk about, I just want you to keep making videos. Your astute understanding for your subject matter is extraordinary and I find myself wanting more academics like yourself in the video game industry. Unfortunately, many academics focus on other matters (I'm guilty of that) and most video gamers unfortunately do not have an articulate way to voice the means of a problem or solution or an archetype scenario for a video game, gaming companies, or a connection that enhances a video game experience. I am not alone when I say please continue this channel and continue to create content. I do share each video you create in hopes that others may find solace in your monotone dreary voice :P And if you ever require any intrigue or subject matter you might need or you just need some ideas to help you with a current video you are working on, I bet every one of your subscribers would be more than happy to lend their time to you, that includes myself. Thank you for the new video and thank you for opening up my mind to consider the academia of video games. Without you I doubt I would care more about video games than I did when ME3 came out. I'm looking forward to your next video.
@Rc3651
9 жыл бұрын
You might be interested in other content creators in the same vein, such as Errant Signal, or Matthewmatosis!
@kirbyza
9 жыл бұрын
Rc3651 Matthewmatosis is fucking great!
@Medytacjusz
9 жыл бұрын
Rc3651 Errant signal I know, but Matthewmatosis I don't, so thanks for recommendation, added to "to watch" list :)
@Anemptybox
8 жыл бұрын
- Also check out Noah Caldwell-Gervais.
@Pan_Z
6 жыл бұрын
@@Rc3651 MM is great when discussing matters strictly not narrative. Errant Signal blows.
@LN.2233
9 жыл бұрын
Unbelievable. Another video in under a month! You're on a roll. You also killed two birds with one stone by talking about witcher 2 and Dragon Age: Inquisition. Iorveth was a cool character and I liked his development, even though it did happen a little bit quickly. It's what made me like him over Roche. He wasn't too straight forward but didn't shy from revealing his true nature. I'll have to pick up inquisition eventuality.
@highstricker
9 жыл бұрын
yeah last time i forgot who he was when i saw the new video.
@Pan_Z
6 жыл бұрын
Strange LN. I've found you fancy MatthewMatosis's God of War comments' section. Now I find you here, on a different channel on a 3 to 4-year old video. The magic of the internet.
@YorkJonhson
9 жыл бұрын
I always appreciate when moral choice games can successfully paint two sides as neither wholly good or bad. Telltale's Walking Dead gets some flak for its linearity, but I love how the first season allowed you to get to know a group of inherently good people before they're driven to violent extremes and you're forced to pick sides. I should really replay The Witcher 2 as well. I thought Roche's path felt more natural when it was clear that he already broke you out of prison because of your aligned goal, but Iorveth apparently offers a surprising amount of differences.
@Darkholow
9 жыл бұрын
More Witcher 2 talk = awesome. I also thought Iorveth to be the better choice storywise than Roche.
@Dontreadthis0
8 жыл бұрын
what makes flawed characters better then clean/perfect characters is because they can be something perfect characters cannot. They can be relatable and understandable, as being flawed is something everyone can related to and see.
@smithwillnot
9 жыл бұрын
Sword fighting, Guild Wars 2 footage, Witcher 2 and Dragon Age related talks. Man that was one great episode for me. I love the way you explained situation in Witcher 2. I felt really unsure when making that decision and ended up going with Iorveth because I didn't like Roche and his group. Although I went back and did Roche's story on my third playthrough.
@Archone666
6 жыл бұрын
I never really saw it as a real choice, myself. Roche wasn't exactly a nice guy, but Iorveth... for Roche it was a job and doing his duty for his king and country, but Iorveth was a murderous bigot who wants to kill not only Geralt but also his dwarven friend (calling him a race traitor) for... bringing Geralt there to TALK. And that's after playing the first Witcher game, where at one point the Scoia actively attack a hospital in the middle of a battle. Not to attack enemy forces, but to attack civilians engaged in tending to the injured ON BOTH SIDES. They were attacking both human and elven nurses tending to both human and elves. And that's after being forced to hear my character talk about how alien and mysterious the elves are while they're exploring some elven ruins. No, it's not mysterious at all - they're racist assholes who live in the past and spend more time hating humans and trying to murder them for shits and giggles then they do trying to build anything new. Lots of elven ruins... not that many modern elven edifices.
@macklinbutcher1865
5 жыл бұрын
@@Archone666 Dumbass.
@daniiladamov8761
5 жыл бұрын
@@Archone666 I liked both characters. They're two people caught up in that vicious cycle of violence we keep hearing about. They both commit atrocities, but they both can point to each other (and others like them) and say that's why they have to do it; and often, they wouldn't even be wrong. I did sympathise with Roche more, but I don't see Iorveth as less justified on his side of things. Roche may come across as more reasonable on the whole, but remember that by that point he is already working with you, while Iorveth has no reason to like or trust you. Both can be very violent and paranoid when they feel the situation warrants it.
@Archone666
5 жыл бұрын
@@daniiladamov8761 Yeah, my main issue with Iorveth was that I literally had no reason to work with him. The only time Geralt had met him prior to that was when he was talking about killing Geralt for being human (because to Iorveth's terrorists "being human" was a capital offense), and ALSO Geralt's dwarven friend (for not being on board with killing humans). But yes, you're right about how both are complex characters, both have good points and bad... I might have given Iorveth more of a chance if I hadn't been thoroughly sick of being told "elves are special and mystical and when you look at these ruins you understand that they have a point about hating humans." Meanwhile, your dwarven buddy regularly points out, "the elves weren't exactly pure and decent before humans showed up. They treated dwarves like crap too... until humanity won the war that elves started, and then suddenly it's "we elder races have to stick together."
@daevious_
9 жыл бұрын
You might want to look at "Drakengard" as a counter example of going too far into Uncomfort MrBtongue. Most of the game just wallows in uncomfort for the sake of wallowing in it and it doesn't make the characters any deeper, just a different, viler note than normal. The only time you ever sympathize with them at all, except for Caim crying over the red dragon, is when the situation gets so unbelievably fucked up that you can't NOT route for them (which is actually impressive, but not in the way that this video is arguing for).
@deadlywork
9 жыл бұрын
I love games that make me feel uncomfortable. I think games as a medium can be a lot of things besides escapist power fantasies (not that there's something inherently wrong with the idea). I think it is much more likely that you will remember a well-cradfted game that went into uncomfortable places and had something interesting to say than a game that dodged every opportunity to be something more.
@nibblerseven
3 жыл бұрын
I absolutely agree. I still remember the moment eight years ago in Far Cry 2 when I crashed into a shitty sedan around a blind corner, jumped out, and poured a magazine of bullets into the driver before they could move. It didn't matter that I knew that the driver was coded to be armed and hostile, I murdered a random person because of my in-game mortal insecurity, and I had to be alright with that to keep playing. That little moment helped sell the authenticity of being a selfish mercenary for me, and that's an emotional threshold which I've measured other games against since.
@SiegeOfSelf
9 жыл бұрын
Opening with a slate from the Talhoffer manual? And here was I thinking I couldn't love your output more.
@slaughterhome
5 жыл бұрын
Ughh. I love checking out all your videos and listening to great hip-hop beats.
@VonDelacroix
9 жыл бұрын
Wish more games gave us hard choices that actually mattered, kinda making us into the uncomfortable character. I'll use mass effect as an example, you get renagade and paragon choices, you can be a realist and make an ultimately unnecessary sacrifice, or you can be an optimist and still save everyone. Unless you're purposefully trying to be a dick, there is actually no reason to go renagade, there is no negative to trying to save everyone in a tight situation. Just once I would like to see a game where you make the choice to be the goody goody, and get more people killed then if you were a realist and cut your losses. Or, if so inclined to make the option to save everyone, make it something really hard to do, kinda sorta like deus ex HR did in the missing link. The gas chamber thing.
@UWOBobbyPeru
9 жыл бұрын
MrBtongue, I love the creativity, insight and obvious hard work you put into these videos. I understand that it must keep getting harder to come out with new material when you set yourself such a high standard. You are obviously want only to release a video when you feel you have something important to say. In the interest of giving you more work to do, and in the interest of keeping me entertained, I humbly suggest that you come up with another kind of video that will showcase your sense of humor and intellect. You have a pretty hardcore following of which I consider myself a member. Speaking on behalf of this group, we would love to give you more views, should that be your goal. Thanks for the video, R
@snowmystique2308
9 жыл бұрын
This explains the success of Game of Thrones. Take your time with the videos Bobby.
@Pan_Z
4 жыл бұрын
Unsure how well this comment aged
@MegaBobfaget
9 жыл бұрын
You are the best thing to happen to video games being taken seriously. You should be lecturing at universities.
@James33244
9 жыл бұрын
Whoa, staying up late and procrastinating was worth it. New TUN!
@CaptainMorganThe3rd
9 жыл бұрын
As much as I hate your extended breaks, I love stopping by your channel one day after months of thinking you were dead and finding three new videos. Makes my day so much better.
@TheTriforceDragon
6 жыл бұрын
The lack of Saskia and Iorverth in Witcher 3 will forever be my one major gripe with the game.
@rodrigopacheco12
9 жыл бұрын
its like christmas morning when a video by MrBtongue comes out. Great job as always!
@pdragon619
9 жыл бұрын
Oh god, when I saw this in my subscriptions I literally stared at it for a good ten seconds before the impact of a new MrBtongue video fully hit me. Needless to say I was overjoyed.
@IlayYoeli
9 жыл бұрын
Glad you're beginning to understand how TW's story is one of the best
@Ozbrithian
9 жыл бұрын
This kinda reminds me of something that bothers me about some games. The best examples I can think of are in GTAIV and San Andreas. Our Hero kills thousands in gunfights, steals cars, and finds driving through a dozen pedestrians faster and more fun than using the road. And yet he is still a mostly moral hero, the bad guys are somehow far far worse, and no one ever really calls him out for being a hypocritical sociopath. I mean when Rambo murders a few nameless cops that was to show he's been pushed off the deep end, and they don't totally ignore it until the sequel. Nico Belic lamenting having killed someone while having a higher killcount than some wars is groan inducing. Granted a lof of that is gameplay and story separation and a lot of it is the dumb idea of taking the series in a gritty direction. On the other hand we have GTA 1-VC and Saints Row where the hero is either a mute player avatar or a comedic sociopath hero. Basically if I'm going to play as a guy who kills dozens of people for funsies I don't want morality to be in the same room. Also FINALLY someone besides me who watched Rome.
@CornThatLefty
9 жыл бұрын
The way I personally get around this is by realizing that I am the one mowing down people, not CJ, or *shivers* Niko. Until there is a cutscene or story element, I, as the player, am the one doing everything, not the character in the game. A game that I think did this really well was Deadly Premonition. The main character has a multiple personality disorder, and you are his second personality.
@LN.2233
9 жыл бұрын
That's a point where gameplay breaks the story
@90sgamer92
9 жыл бұрын
It's called ludonarrative dissonance
@Ozbrithian
9 жыл бұрын
CornThatLefty I can buy that for the evil crap I do optionally [like killing hookers, which is different than killing everyone else because they are all women], that it is me and not Niko. It's no different than accepting that canonically Altair never got hit once [unlike me XD]. On the other hand, when the mission is "Niko murders 20 people because some guy told him to." then nothing can convince me that Niko is not an amoral sociopath who will gun people down just because someone told him to.
@Ozbrithian
9 жыл бұрын
BaronVonEvilstein I agree. However if Rome was a game and the mission was "Beat Atia to death"... well bad example, the bitch had it coming XD.
@BocajFreedman
9 жыл бұрын
One of your shortest and not your best. Still a good video that I will quote and examine further. Keep the analysis coming!
@mackuss
9 жыл бұрын
Dude you're a genius. One of the only people ever that literally makes me speechless, and that's rare. Would love to just hang out with you.
@teamhren1000
9 жыл бұрын
Keep it up man. Favorite channel on youtube.
@Ratstail91
9 жыл бұрын
I quite like these; you've got a rare personality that adds to your opinion. Keep em coming.
@lvl99paint
9 жыл бұрын
Thanks for making these, I love learning new stuff about games I didn't even know I wanted to know
@joacimtorneus
9 жыл бұрын
Just want to say it's great that you're back and have more videos in the works. Always elegantly delivered, well thought out points with the right doses of humor.
@coldberserk
9 жыл бұрын
Ohh my god praise Gaben he's alive ! Joking aside though ,good to have you back and thanks for probably another great video.
@Polusplagchnos
9 жыл бұрын
I absolutely appreciate your citation of the material you use for these videos.
@Oztosh
5 жыл бұрын
I really like the music you use on your videos. I'm shook to see a nerd channel with old school rap beats. What a time to be alive!
@wazl
6 жыл бұрын
I got you stuck of the realness we be the infamous official queens bridge murderers... "there is an alchemical process by which entertainment can be transmuted into art" - love it
@Werezilla
9 жыл бұрын
Iorveth and Roche remind me of the dilemma on who to side with in New Vegas. NCR are expanding and more people can be benefit from the Mohave, but the people already living there are suffering from the strain, believing they are being conquered. Mr House already has taken care of New Vegas for years, and he seems genuine in how he has no plan to rule like a tyrant, but he cares more about the city than the people living in and around it. And with the Independence path, that requires the people living in the Mohave to benefit but the thousands of others in the NCR do not. And since you mentioned Dragon Age, the second game always bugged me in that the morality of the Mages and Templars were informed attributes, which made me not want to side with either because only the negative qualities of both groups were shown. Needless to say, it did this concept wrong in my eyes. The difficult choices are not easy, but your right about how it makes stories more compelling.
@donsexton6843
9 жыл бұрын
As usual, your video was a pleasure to watch. Good food-for-thought in both the video game medium, and the other arts. It's great to have you back.
@scenedikemon
9 жыл бұрын
Our Lord and noble ruler MrBtongue has returned!
@NathanSifu
9 жыл бұрын
You know, I'm writing a novel, and it will likely take years for me to finish, and this video has great advice for how I should develop my characters.
@invertin
8 жыл бұрын
This actually makes me think more about tabletop rpgs than videogame rpgs, to be honest. One of my favorite parts of two tabletop rpg shows is when the party comes into conflict with itself. As a vague example to avoid spoilers- One tabletop show has a lawful good character come into conflict with another character regularly because he believes on a fundamental level that he is right. His morality is correct. Usually this doesn't come across as a flaw because he's compassionate and willing to save people and fight monsters, but every now and again it's clear that this black and white thinking is actually a huge problem, and he's so stubborn that it's likely he'll NEVER learn to stop thinking like that. Without that trait, he's just a generic lawful good naive low-intelligence fighter type, a very engaging and charming and funny one, but that trait of being inflexible and stubborn makes him so much more interesting and adds so much to the story. Where a lesser story might have the group agree on a course of action and then do it, this one features a scenario where the group agrees on a course of action and then he does what he thinks is correct anyway, ignoring the rest of the group's morality entirely in favor of his own, and the group dynamic gets developed and changed and so much more interesting stuff happens as a consequence. I guess it's just because tabletop gaming is just another form of storytelling but I think it's worth thinking a lot more about in that context since tabletop gaming is a place where it's so easy to make "comfortable" characters with the power fantasy aspect. But one of the most memorable characters in my group's current campaign is an unrepentant brat who, at one point in the story, unrepentantly killed a seemingly innocent person and as of this post still hasn't actually recognized that as a bad thing. Well, it's a little more complicated than that, but he knows exactly what he did and doesn't seem at all concerned while still being ultimately a protagonist and hero despite that. Because one action doesn't have to decide everything about a character, and because a character doesn't have to slot nicely into "good" and never do anything outside of that role.
@Einherj3r
9 жыл бұрын
There's also games that achieve this not through plot or backstory, but by their mechanics. The easiest example is permanent death, but all kinds of survival mechanisms, if implemented well, can be more than a nuisance. They can serve immersion and cause excitement. Another example would be the directions given for quests in Morrowind. What some would consider a nuisance for causing discomfort I found exhilarating, as it forced me to explore and experience the game world, sometimes even extracting further information to find my way, instead of beelining to the next marker on my map.
@DJNenz
9 жыл бұрын
It's always nice to hear from you man
@dsintheb
9 жыл бұрын
Oh good, a real video. If we want to talk about "Uncomfort", I quite liked the ending to MGS V: Ground Zeroes. Besides the fact that watching a medic stick his hands into Paz's polygon intestines was actually uncomfortable, I liked the way that Miller was kind of a weird asshole and screamed at Paz for being a bitch, despite the fact that he's still hugely sympathetic. I'm really looking forward to the Phantom Pain partly for this reason. I want to watch everyone be an actually sympathetic, awful asshole.
@geek593
9 жыл бұрын
I feel this is going to be huge in TPP. Big Boss is going to be doing some things we as players aren't going to like considering the promotional material. The torture of Huey and Quiet will probably be hard to watch, especially considering it's Big Boss doing it instead of an enemy doing it to you like in MGS1/2/3. We also see Big Boss taking a tour or something with Skullface, which means we might have to watch BB get played by someone we have every reason to hate from Ground Zeroes. Also, have we ever hard Btongue mention MGS? Not to sound presumptuous but he seems like the type who completely dismisses the series because 'omg its too wacky/complicated/it's just a movie' (neogaf being one of the worst offenders of this attitude).
@MirageMiM
9 жыл бұрын
GeekyGerald I doubt he'd completely dismiss it, but Japanese media can be a turn off for western consumers because some of their media tropes seem childish and immature; like the abundance of soft core pornographic content in anime. Maybe that's why he hasn't given it a chance. I'll be picking up the Phantom Pain though. It'll be my first real Metal Gear game and I'm very excited for it
@dsintheb
9 жыл бұрын
Hard Light Carpenter "Japanese media can be a turn off for western consumers" Metal Gear Solid is one of the big exceptions to this. Sales figures for western territories have always vastly outweighed those of Japan, especially in comparison to other big-selling franchises (Final Fantasy, Pokemon, Resident Evil, etc.), partly because the most famous entry in the series (MGS 1) took so much inspiration from Hollywood action films.
@MirageMiM
9 жыл бұрын
dsintheb cool
@scapelife
8 жыл бұрын
+GeekyGerald unfortunately you were wrong, the phantom pain was a vast disappointment
@sunny_ua
9 жыл бұрын
Thank you.
@MrInternethatemachin
9 жыл бұрын
Enjoyable as always. HEMA references are appreciated even if a bit forced. There's a little indie number called "Unrest" which is a pretty amusing if somewhat flawed exploration of what you might call similar premises. Hopefully we continue to see this kind of stuff in narrative driven games.
@ProNice
9 жыл бұрын
Thank you sincerely for your output.
@willferrous8677
7 жыл бұрын
Do you know how hard it is for a non-native English speaker that is not familiar with the NBA to coax the spelling of "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar" out from google correction/search?
@daniiladamov8761
5 жыл бұрын
I do, and I thank you for your service.
@GoldStandardPunk66
9 жыл бұрын
*There's is more frustrating than a game that walks right up to the edge of doing something interesting and then changing its mind* Absolutely, and this can apply to any other medium as well, because it gives the impression that the creator had a great idea but was too unsure in his or her own vision to capitalize on it, which just ends up wasting a promising concept. There's nothing more pitiful than waste.
@Shizbort
8 жыл бұрын
I need a Witcher 3 video from you. I need it badly.
@Toasty3D
9 жыл бұрын
maybe what makes a character good isn't their conflict, but rather their eyepatch.
@whiskeyricard
7 жыл бұрын
Another excellent dissection of culture, art and video games.
@Nasoukikos
9 жыл бұрын
You never seem to amaze MrBtongue!
@Nasoukikos
9 жыл бұрын
yeah that lol I was sleepy when I wrote that
@Martinbraat
9 жыл бұрын
Woo! New video! Great one MrBtongue, keep up the videos, you've quickly grown to become one of my favourite content providers, even though they happen to be rare at times, I find your way of approaching topics curious and your thoughts to be interresting. Keep up the good work, I'll be waiting patiently for the next one =)
@KethamBodds
9 жыл бұрын
I don't know, I prefered Sten way more than the Iron Bull.
@38procentkrytyk
9 жыл бұрын
Origins characters are too much like Kotor companions. The only companions I like in first Dragon Age were Malbari(wrote it right?) and Sir Jory(mostly because he's most belivable persona in the game) ok maybe "Mage of Cricle" a bit but he was boring.
@38procentkrytyk
9 жыл бұрын
***** You know guy who dies at the begining.
@38procentkrytyk
9 жыл бұрын
***** Nope, the guy butchered by Duncan at Joining sequence. Guy who won a tournament and Duncan asked him to join Grey Wardens.
@38procentkrytyk
9 жыл бұрын
***** I know I said his name. The only thinking character in the game.
@38procentkrytyk
9 жыл бұрын
***** Mostly because rest are complete morons and they accepted fact that main character enslave them (Have they ever done something without an order? Like leave the camp and go to city or have a life?) Jory thinks for himself. When he saw dead squad much more expirienced soldiers he knew "just going into forest" won't be simple. His backstory was very simple and explain a lot of his character. He prefers to control situation thats why he won the tournament. He made his choices and was completly right about Duncan and Wardens.
@thepatriot5051
9 жыл бұрын
Thank you MrBtongue, you're the best around.
@yosharian
9 жыл бұрын
Aidan Pierce is a standard, generic, no-rough-edges anti-hero, yes. And you're never expected, or asked, to do anything truly grotesque in W_D, leaving the character (mostly) squeaky clean. And that, like you correctly stated, weakens him as a believable and interesting character. So yeah, I agree. So let's imagine that Aidan was redone by another writer in the style of TW2's black humour and gritty 'historical' medieval realism. Perhaps he murders a few almost-innocent people here and there to get what he wants. Maybe he has a ultra-shady past that catches up to him. Clumsy suggestions, but whatever; imagine the character you think Aidan could have been. Now let's imagine the response by certain media types. Watch_Dogs has already been blasted for having the ability, similar to the GTA series, to, _by inaction_, inflict harm on defenseless NPCs. The human trafficking scene was derided for either glamorisation of the topic or being used as a 'cheap' way to boost the game's atmosphere. If Aidan was even more of a bastard (and thus less of a 2-dimensional character as you rightly accuse him of being), and the plot even more full of controversial events, how much worse would the backlash be? You rightly state a problem with character design and storytelling, and yet seem oblivious to certain forces at work discouraging game developers and writers from pursuing such lofty goals. Lack of ambition and/or ability on the part of writers is definitely half the problem, yet the other half is the elephant in the room, and we as gamers are either ignored or censored when we try to discuss it. Just my thoughts as I watch the middle section of your video. Regardless, excellent content as usual MBT.
@Agiranto
9 жыл бұрын
Good to have you back!
@Bashyb
9 жыл бұрын
5:50 Aint no such thing as half way crooks! I love that song.
@Fisk742
9 жыл бұрын
how is this guy so awesome in what hes doing, i wish I could speak like him...
9 жыл бұрын
"one of my major frustrations in life is the fact that i'm not an expert swordfighter" I feel you, bro
@rodrigopacheco12
9 жыл бұрын
Blowing up Megaton in Fallout 3 did that for me. I was playing a power fantasy until that point. The moment I realize I blew up a town because an old fart felt it ruined his view from the balcony, something changed the way I played that game.
@Crowmanhunter
8 жыл бұрын
That was an enjoyable introspection into plot weaving. Thanks.
@dejureclaims8214
9 жыл бұрын
I always look forward to your videos.
@GothaBillsAndDeath
9 жыл бұрын
So you aren't George RR Martin in disguise using a stock photo and voice alteration device by the timing of this video. Color me disappointed and pleased at the sametime.
@MrDannyWright
9 жыл бұрын
I don't think I could play DA:I, the art style repulses me.
@MrRomnom
9 жыл бұрын
same here
@kirbyza
9 жыл бұрын
Thought I was the only one. I can't fucking stand the art style.
@VonDelacroix
9 жыл бұрын
I can't play it unless they drop origin
@chlebek2958
9 жыл бұрын
huckmart 99 You mean... missing the enormous amout of fetch quests?
@starvalkyrie
4 жыл бұрын
Just back here rewatching all the advice the games industry needs but wont take.
@dontpokethebear3893
9 жыл бұрын
saw TW2 in the thumbnail. Had to watch it immediately
@Mikleisn
9 жыл бұрын
Interesting topic and great video! Worth the wait!
@harrybracken9348
9 жыл бұрын
like how in The Blade Itself the protagonist has killed innocent people in his passed
@randomusername6
9 жыл бұрын
OH GOD YES A NEW TUN
@CommissarBRO
9 жыл бұрын
I'm actually super interested to know if you've played The Witcher III yet? This video actually inspired me to go back and play through The Witcher II and I see what you mean about Iorveth and Roche. Can't wait to see another video from you.
@VekCal
9 жыл бұрын
Spec ops left me with a very uncomfortable. There are many things I did not really enjoy in that game, but what the story told about my self and how caught off guard i was really made up for that...
@Pan_Z
6 жыл бұрын
Spec Ops was contrived. It's a game that failed to deliver. If you want a game that did what Spec Ops tried to do, and more, try Metal Gear Solid.
@amarcini421
8 жыл бұрын
like ur vids. you also have a good ear for hip-hop... rza, black star, mobb deep, etc.
@scrustle
9 жыл бұрын
That historicity concept reminds me of something that I find off-putting when I look at footage of The Order: 1886. Well, there are a lot of things I find off-putting, like how dull and dreary the gameplay looks, but what I'm talking about is how the characters act. They way they talk and move doesn't seem remotely Victorian at all. They seem like modern Hollywood action heroes who just happen to speak with an English accent and have steampunk weapons. It's really jarring to me.
@yarpen26
4 жыл бұрын
The same thing goes for the portrayal of religion. Each time a period of religious tension is explored, we get strawman characters go on and on about how evil the other side is, being all gruff and cartoonish about it, but we also get our protagonists who just don't _care_ about these pesky rivalries and want everyone to live in peace and harmony. Basically, we always get a bunch of people with attitudes that would never have sprung into existence were they actually raised in the world they are supposedly set in. I mean, if you hate your "bigoted" ancestors so you can't write them in a way that would feel true to their _actual_ character, why the hell do you even want to write about them in the first place? Not a historical fiction of course but Game of Thrones is a prime example of practically everyone being a covert atheist mentality-wise in a world ruled by superstition.
@SidheKnight
4 жыл бұрын
@@yarpen26 _"Game of Thrones is a prime example of practically everyone being a covert atheist mentality-wise"_ Mmm.. no, I don't see that. Tyrion? sure. Cersei? maybe. Littlefinger? probably. Some of the Maesters, perhaps. But everybody else has pretty standard attitudes towards religion and the supernatural, with varying degrees. I have read only the books, though. Perhaps the show is different.
@vernontuitt9824
9 жыл бұрын
I was surprised you didn't mention Joel from The Last of Us. He does a lot of uncomfortable things, and has done a lot of uncomfortable things in the name of survival. Great video, though!
@BeingShotAt
9 жыл бұрын
'be in big trouble even if I had a sword of my own' Well, that's what guns are for lol
@Mbeluba
9 жыл бұрын
***** I'm polish, and I feel you bruh. Euroland is so intrusive in our lives, it's almost unbearable. I hope libertarians will bring more freedom to our continent.
@Tarathiel123
9 жыл бұрын
another great one! I disagree with Hellgate, this topic is important. Devs that don't do this fail in the execution of their games. The ones that do it well excel at their craft. Well done.
@ElectroMagneticJosh
9 жыл бұрын
Hmmm... now I need to play Witcher 2 again - I didn't realise I sided with Roche or that I had even made a choice. It just felt like a natural direction of the path I was following.
@GamingPenguin4545
9 жыл бұрын
Yeah, The dame was quite good at making Roche just feel like a natural path. (Then again, he's also the type of character I like)
@yosharian
9 жыл бұрын
Really? Iorveth's path is generally regarded as the far superior half of the 'split' part of the game. You should definitely give it another playthrough. The game has great replay value thanks to the free update the game received (featuring new armor sets and other goodies).
@Pilchowski01
8 жыл бұрын
Considering Roche is only one of the two to appear in the next game, that wouldn't be too far off
@daniiladamov8761
5 жыл бұрын
@@yosharian Better, maybe, but _far_ superior? I enjoyed the hell out of both. And at least on the Roche path, you didn't have to deal with that nightmare of city pathfinding much.
@ImJakeFromStateFarm
9 жыл бұрын
Have you ever considered making a twitter? Not to post about your daily activities, just to keep us updated on the goings on.
@557deadpool
8 жыл бұрын
hey here's a better example of how a game can fuck this up. God of War
@mrupload4381
8 жыл бұрын
I can't argue with that
@hockeater
8 жыл бұрын
To be fair at least for the first game it's pretty clear you weren't supposed to like him or even really consider him a good person. He was a bad man in a bad situation being manipulated by cruel and fickle beings. That game makes so much more sense when you realize you shouldn't like the insane, sadistic, brutal ptsd sufferer with the strength of a few hundred men.
@federicocasali1565
8 жыл бұрын
+hockeater and in the end, realising that it was all for nothing, he had the decency of throwing himself under a cliff. I think that the narrative arc of kratos in the first good of war ain't that bad.
@557deadpool
8 жыл бұрын
but liking him wasn't a problem it was the fact that Santa Monica thought that a screaming Neanderthal who caused the apocalypse was a good protagonist. I usually like Anti-heroes, Deadpool, Alex Mercer (before the sequel fucked him up), even Revan (previously Darth Revan). But Kratos is a borderline villain. Shit i was behind Zeus betraying him in 2.
@federicocasali1565
8 жыл бұрын
Well it's pretty clear that their interests lied more in the gameplay mechanics than in writing a good story, kratos was pretty much just an excuse for all the violence and gory stuff
@1dustbranch111
9 жыл бұрын
YES! He keeps saying what i'm thinking, except a lot smarter! I have long hated how many stories that have that Watch Dogs "almost uncomfortable" character. There's too many popular stories who have them. As if the author gets to the uncomfortable part, and then listens to feedback, making them write a 180. Justifying them, turning them into some kind of feel good abomination. Or simply stopping them from doing that thing their character have been going towards the whole story. I really wish more stories and video games went through with those characters/moments,GET IN THERE AUTHORS! Get the fuck in there!
@cas343
9 жыл бұрын
Was gonna sleep. Clicked. Yup worth it.
@EasyGameEh
9 жыл бұрын
isabella with "horn" - that would be truly uncomfortable.
@DurtyNawlins
9 жыл бұрын
HE RETURNS
@mage189
9 жыл бұрын
I thought you two would never bury the hatchet!
@maria_remedios
9 жыл бұрын
Great way to start off 2015, Btongue.
@yehimpoweredupbrah
9 жыл бұрын
Very fitting use of Shook Ones
@GoldStandardPunk66
9 жыл бұрын
He really could have used any of the songs on that album if you think about it, especially Survival of the Fittest. *I'm falling and I can't turn back*
@pikistikman
9 жыл бұрын
You're surprisingly tolerant of Dragon Age for someone with such a strong sense of literature.
@segufix
9 жыл бұрын
MrBtongue, I think you might want to read the books Dawn and Dusk by Tim Lebbon, they are full of excellent characters and a pretty grim yet vaguely hopeful setting much as you describe yourself being pulled into. Highly recommend checking them out.
@paytonholmes6019
8 жыл бұрын
Could you please link them to me on wikipedia or something?
Can someone please explain how MrBtongue is able to use instrumentals from artists like Kanye West, Nas, and Nujabes without any copyright strikes? Also why is this called Uncomfort rather than Discomfort? Great vid though.
@Pan_Z
6 жыл бұрын
He's using instrumental songs and talking over them. Copyright bots won't flag it since the audio is too altered from the original.
@mlo__
9 жыл бұрын
Are you, by any chance, a hiphop fan? Because I've noticed you use a lot of songs for your videos that were sampled in popular hip hop songs. In this case the songs were sampled in Knight, by Earl Sweatshirt, and Old School by DANGERDOOM
@CheesewooFTW
9 жыл бұрын
Amazing content, thank you for making this.
@jorge2060shake
6 жыл бұрын
Ioverth is one of my favorite video game characters! I was so disappointed when he didn’t appear in Witcher 3
@Elimelech83
9 жыл бұрын
An unexpected topic but I agree with you on games becoming great by going into uncomfortable places. I find it interesting that me as the player gets into the ends justify the means mindset in the witcher 2 . We know that none of them is paragon of virtue but we still accept that it has to be done and I didn't care all that much about either of them being well... slightly evil. The witcher has something I have hard to explain but it goes something like this. The context of the game let's you know that there are no good choices , you aren't going to get any noble companions so you gotta stick with what you get. planescape has that in a even worse way , ignus. .. you can ignore him but he's a powerful character and we know that he burnt down part of sigil for giggles.. so the choice is more open in planescape which makes it worse when you do choose to "save" him. Short rant and I just woke up so I don't know how coherent this is written
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