When does a good idea become a cliché? When I’m freakin’ expecting it and not the least bit surprised by it. Seriously, I would have thought this was fairly obvious by now, but game developers keep throwin’ ‘em at us in the vain attempt to be edgy and dramatic. Here are a few of the clichés I’d like to see die in a FOCA:
The Betrayal: Dun-duh-duh! That person who has been helping you for half of the game, or your best friend of 20+ years? Yeah, they’ve been working for the bad guy or ARE the bad guy the whooooooole time. (Insert maniacal laughter here.) This has, on occasion, been done well. Bioshock being the most recent incident where the betrayal was handled so subtly and deftly, you had to sit back and think “that bastard!” A recent example of this not working? Well, gee, how about “ “Dead Space?” I can remember a point, about ½-way through “Dead Space” when DH and I looked at each other and said “She’s gonna screw us over.” And sure enough, she’s working for the bad guys. Wow, what a twist! It’s gotten so bad that now, when playing a game, I find myself instantly distrusting whomever happens to be helping me because I’m now conditioned to expect betrayal. This isn’t edgy, this is CLICHÉ!
The Twist: Technically the blame for this goes to M. Night (What a twist!), but the video game industry has been more than willing to beat this dead horse. Again, sometimes a twist can be good and I’d hate to ban or outlaw the twist entirely, but it’d be worth it to save the groan-inducing incidents of, say, “Infamous.” ***Spoiler Warning *** The bad guy is you from the future? Really?? Are you freaking kidding me? *** End *** Insert Lilli Von Shtupp saying “How ordinary.” Again I find myself playing games and waiting for the twist. What’s it going to be? Is he really dead? Is she really dead? Is this all a dream? Is Soylent Green people?? A twist is not a twist if I saw it coming a mile away. (I'm not even going to discuss the horror that was "Metal Gear Solid" and the 50-billion twists within that garbage)
The “Bad Guy” hero: Okay, first off, as an English major, I feel the need to point out that a bad-guy as the hero does not make him an anti-hero. It makes him some douchebag I gotta follow around. 50 Cent (“50 Cent: Blood in the Sand”) definitely falls under this category, as does Kratos. Okay, we get it, the big, tough, tattooed killing machine has a heart. Or a soft-spot. Or has been wronged in some way that should make me feel sorry for him. Move on and find someone else, please, for the love of the Throne.
The Non-timed Dire Situation: Inevitably, usually in the beginning of a game, I am going to be in a spot where I have to get out of the building/room/ship, or get away from some evil monster chasing me. Let's use the initial scene in "Mass Effect 2" for example: someone is taking over the ship and trying to kill me. I need to get to the hangar to find an escape ship ASAP. However there is no time limit, so I can explore every square inch of the building, go back and do a dance, sit on my ass to go to the bathroom ... I have all the time in the world. The danger won't be triggered until I get to the hangar bay itself, at which point, the danger is already over. I realize that exploring is a huge part of the game, but why not add a challenge to it? Trust me: I have RPG vision from years of playing Resident Evil. I can both run AND look for shiny objects. I can even click on those shiny objects while running for my life. Funny how that works. But I'm willing to lose those three ammo clips for the sake of feeling like my life is really in danger. Knowing that I have all the time in the world to escape rips me out of the mood of the game quicker than, well, the betrayal cliche listed above.
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