There will not be any spoilers in this post because there is nothing to spoil in a game. Last month, a month that has probably one of the biggest gaming has seen in a long time, the internet was abuzz in discussions filled with spoilers about Mass Effect 2 and Heavy Rain. These games contain as much story as any game possibly could. Yet, the story isn’t supposed to be the apex of video game discussion.
Any gamer could tell you the story to The Legend of Zelda. It’s about an eleven year old boy traveling the world and collecting things to defeat Ganon and save the princess. The most important part of this narrative, however, is not defeating Ganon. Past experience will already tell you that Link saves Zelda. Knowing that Ganondorf gets stabbed in the head at the end of the game doesn’t make me stop playing.
Zelda’s emphasis is about going through the world and collecting heart pieces, weapons, and other fun items. After perusing the menu screen, the player knows that gathering items is going to be their key objective for a majority of the game. Because this knowledge is gathered early, there is nothing in this game to spoil.
As a game, Mass Effect 2 is also spoiler-proof. As a player, Commander Shepard will meet and recruit a bunch of awesome aliens to join his party, he will go to funny planets and make the population a little bit happier, and then he will fight some major bad guy and (maybe) live to see another day. He can also make the galaxy a crappier place; it depends on who he decides to shoot. Gamicly, these are the beats of action in Mass Effect 2.
The narrative, however, is where people get their panties in a bunch about spoilers. As Shepard goes about saving the world, a bunch of crazy shit happens (or doesn’t happen) that makes Shepard’s life a little bit harder. Ultimately, every choice Shepard has to make follows a simple path dictated by who Shepard decides to kill. Those choices branch out into other characters dying, but it all boils down to the player. Nothing is spoiled because the player dictates the events in the game.
Going back to Zelda on NES, the player could spend the whole game in the first area dealing with the Octorok. The player can dodge the rocks the enemy fires, or they can deflect it with his shield. The player could do these two things until the game’s internal battery dies. It doesn’t make a particularly interesting game, but knowing that this is an option doesn’t spoil the game.
People who get fussy over spoilers are playing video games for the wrong reasons. If people want a story-heavy experience, read a book. If someone want to personally interact in a world, and this world has an interactive structure based around the players actions, play a game. The interactive structure may be blended with an epic storyline, but games are about first-person experiences. Not authored narratives.
Nintendo knows what games are ultimately about. Zelda’s structure is wonderful. Pokemon gives you a predicable 40 hour campaign followed by near-limitless breeding RPG goodness. Mario gives you a great linear path with many non-linear approaches to it. Ironically, Metroid is the opposite of Mario. The franchise is about non-linear paths with a completely linear approach. The player will always have to get the morph ball first, then collect every other key item in a specific order. Metroid doesn’t need narrative depth, despite what Metroid: Other M is trying to prove.
Also, God tells you to stop global warming after you fist fight the Pope in Assassin’s Creed 2. You no longer have to play the game.
I like this piece, however there is a distinct reason that more people are enjoying video games these days and why consoles are becoming a necessary appliance in everyone’s home. The fact that you can go play a game that is like a book is optional, which broadens the medium’s availablity. If Final Fantasy 4, the game that ultimately got me hooked on videogames was not emotionally engadging and had a specific story/message it wanted to convey I might not have continued on to FF6. (Final Fantasy 4 Spoiler ahead!! lol) If someone told me that Palom/Porum were going to turn themselves into stone to save the rest of the characters, the overall experience of that moment would be deminished.
One of the biggest jokes in spoliers period is the 6th Sense spoiler, “Bruce willis is also dead! It was crazy!” I found this fact out before I saw it, and to this date I have not seen it. Had I might have not known that very important fact I may have watched it.
The fact that people MIGHT get so upset about spoilers is because they do not want their experience deminished with their connection they are making with the medium. Enjoyment factor for many is the main reason people play games, watch movies, and even read books. Games are becoming too sophistocated to be pidgeonholed into a series of button pressing sequences with little or no emotional attachment. While there are many games that are perfect in their own right by jumping on turtle shells. There are others that are perfect following you down the rabbit hole in an adventure that has plot twists and story elements that make the most impact when they shock an audience.
While its a pain in the ass to continue to see Spoiler alerts in articles and blog posts. I applaud their sensitivity to those looking to get the most from their gaming experiences.
And in regards to Metroid – How shocking was it when you found out Samus was a female for the first time, I remember that for some reason being quite impactful…
I do agree about the compulsion that story has in gaming. As I wrote this piece, I remembered how I hid from the internet a month after Metal Gear Solid 4 was released, and how much I loved it’s conclusion after I played it last January (I had to buy a PS3 and stuff).
I really want to see more games that try to give the player an emotional reaction through pushing buttons. There are some games that do this, but there are more that narrate with cutscenes. Examples of what I’m talking about are games like Braid, Today I Die, and Flower.
Learning that Samus was a female was a big deal. It was a twist that had never been done in gaming before. In fact, that’s probably a great example of an in-game spoiler. After learning Samus was a chick, did that make you play the game any differently?
To quote Rich:
“SPOILER! Kratos dies.”
“If people want a story-heavy experience, read a book.”
I couldn’t agree more. The final minutes of Fable 2 comes immediately to mind. I was very disappointed to say the least. Video games are meant to be an interactive medium. Books and movies are supposed to fill in these other types of experiences.
Thanks for ruining Zelda for me, dude.