The God of War series has been hailed as the best action-adventure game series for the Sony Playstation 3 and among the most unapologetically violent. With your PS3 controller in hand, you guide Kratos through an epic journey to dethrone the Greek Gods of Olympus and avenge your family’s death. Throughout its development, the games have remained on the cutting edge of graphics and stylish gameplay, and allow the player to enjoy annihilating gods like Ares and Hades in the most graphic beauty. One particularly memorable scene is the death of Poseidon by Kratos’ hands, as the camera switches from third person view to the first person through Poseidon’s eyes. Ultimately, you are able to brutally destroy yourself in 720p glory through what is perhaps the most masochistic gameplay available in a mainstream game:
Did I mention Kratos plucks Poseidon's eyes out with his thumbs? The entire sequence is lead by Quick Time Events (QTE) a gaming mechanic based on a reaction system where a single button flashes on the screen and must be pressed to advance the plot. This mechanic allows the player more time to enjoy a cinematic sequence while having a direct influence on its progression. QTE’s are used in this scene as an original mean to allow the gamer to transition to the first person perspective seamlessly while maintaining control over Kratos. This original mechanic allows the gamer to simultaneously dish out and receive the punishment and understand what it is like to face an angry Kratos. Interestingly the buttons used to gouge out Poseidon’s eyes are located immediately below the gamer’s thumbs (L3 + R3) and give a satisfying click when pressed. This serves to emerge the player more deeply into the game and add to gamer’s role as an agent of violence.
What do you think the effect would have been if the developers at Santa Monica Studios allowed the player to have more control over Poseidon in his death scene? Could it have been a viable gameplay option?
Lots of times, games like Resident Evil and Final Fantasy, which are also known for its amazing cinematic moments, have added things like QTE to help with gameflow and more interaction. I think it's a great idea because I used to want to simply skip through movie scenes sometimes, because it is a game after all, not a movie. I think if SMS allowed players to have more control over Poseidon, it wouldn't be the same effect as having that gorgeous cinematic scene. To top it off, it's in HD. There's something very unique about QTEs and how they factor into gameplay and game plot.
ReplyDeleteI do think it is interesting how games these days use QTEs to enhance gameplay. Its definitely a viable option when it comes to making games more interactive. However, my personal opinion is that they interrupt the fluidity of the scene. I actually like the cinematic scenes since it helps the story progress. If I were playing a game just for gameplay then ya I wouldnt care about those scenes, but games have started to use much more in-depth stories which makes these scenes necessary.
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