[...] interpretations of what the game is actually “about.” Here’s one such analysis, by Chris Franklin. Warning: there are spoilers throughout. While the over-the-top violence has perhaps taken the [...]
This is far and away your most dense and incomprehensible piece yet.
I loved it!
It is just packed with content and I can see how from a presentational standpoint, it might be better to allow more breathing room. There’s a lot that flew by me simply because I was still digesting what had already been said and this is your first video that pretty much demands a 2nd viewing in order to simply assess it all, especially the section after you talk about the secret ending. I for one didn’t mind that much cause what was being said was interesting enough to mitigate the issue, but it’s something you might want to take into account for future videos, just for the sake of accessibility.
I DO disagree that the hurting other people question is rhetorical though. To me, it seems you’re implying that the question is making a judgement call, giving it a separate purpose from the other three and in the context of your discussion, I don’t think it does. I think ALL four questions, including harming other people, are trying to get you to decide how much agency you have in the game outside of its mechanics. ‘nother words I don’t think the game’s really asking whether you LIKE hurting people, but if you like hurting PEOPLE. i.e. would you like playing less/more if they were robots/demons/whatever, or does it even matter to you?
Fantastic critique. I especially appreciate your holistic reading of the four questions where everyone else fixated on the “do you like hurting?”. Lovely stuff.
You know, I actually really liked the forced stealth sections. I agree that the designers probably had the approach you claim they did, and even if they didn’t that’s what the game clearly says (pomo it up!), but to me it actually reinforced that mechanics are gameplay. If a guy sees you in the rest of the game, you die and restart. In the stealth part, if you get seen you go back and restart. I found it to be the same issue: Monitor patterns and move past individuals.
Campster
4 Comments
Hotline Miami and game mechanics versus narrative – FourTech Plus
Dec 12, 2012
[...] interpretations of what the game is actually “about.” Here’s one such analysis, by Chris Franklin. Warning: there are spoilers throughout. While the over-the-top violence has perhaps taken the [...]
Narratorway
Dec 12, 2012
This is far and away your most dense and incomprehensible piece yet.
I loved it!
It is just packed with content and I can see how from a presentational standpoint, it might be better to allow more breathing room. There’s a lot that flew by me simply because I was still digesting what had already been said and this is your first video that pretty much demands a 2nd viewing in order to simply assess it all, especially the section after you talk about the secret ending. I for one didn’t mind that much cause what was being said was interesting enough to mitigate the issue, but it’s something you might want to take into account for future videos, just for the sake of accessibility.
I DO disagree that the hurting other people question is rhetorical though. To me, it seems you’re implying that the question is making a judgement call, giving it a separate purpose from the other three and in the context of your discussion, I don’t think it does. I think ALL four questions, including harming other people, are trying to get you to decide how much agency you have in the game outside of its mechanics. ‘nother words I don’t think the game’s really asking whether you LIKE hurting people, but if you like hurting PEOPLE. i.e. would you like playing less/more if they were robots/demons/whatever, or does it even matter to you?
Craig Wilson
Jan 1, 2013
Fantastic critique. I especially appreciate your holistic reading of the four questions where everyone else fixated on the “do you like hurting?”. Lovely stuff.
ArekExcelsior
Apr 4, 2013
You know, I actually really liked the forced stealth sections. I agree that the designers probably had the approach you claim they did, and even if they didn’t that’s what the game clearly says (pomo it up!), but to me it actually reinforced that mechanics are gameplay. If a guy sees you in the rest of the game, you die and restart. In the stealth part, if you get seen you go back and restart. I found it to be the same issue: Monitor patterns and move past individuals.
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