Vincent and I had a discussion today regarding the announcement trailer of the new Devil May Cry title, aptly named ‘DmC’ (super catchy right?). The focus of the discussion was my sadness that Capcom had not only given the game to a different development company (Ninja Theory of Heavenly Sword), but drastically changed the appearance of the lead character Dante and deeming it a "prequel of a prequel." One thing Vincent said that still stands out in my mind is that games, like everything else in the entertainment world, have to keep up with the current trends on what’s in and what’s out. Take for instance Dante’s new punk-rocker, slightly Twilight, emo look. Fifteen years ago, no one would have even considered using this style of character for a lead in an action game, much less a game of any genre. With the changing currents in trends however, gaming must indeed follow in order to remain popular with various cultures, crowds, age groups, and genders.
Looking at the newest Kingdom Hearts title, the same holds true for Square-Enix games and RPG’s in general. Though the differences in character design between the first KH title and the new one remain slight (mainly due to Tetsuya Nomura’s inability to draw in any other art style), take a look at the previous iterations of a Square-Enix game. The first thing that will stand out, is obviously the difference in artwork due to the different artists that have helmed the series character designs, but look further, and you’ll see exactly what Vincent and I are trying to say. Take Butz, from Final Fantasy V, with his ultra 80’s leotard work-out gear, and compare him to the newer (and very N’Sync) look of Snow, from XIII. The differences in style, demeanor, and overall personality have been altered immensely to keep up with the current changes in society and even going so far as switching personalities to fit within certain age-brackets. Gone are the days of the soft-spoken (did most of them talk to begin with?), down to earth hero that takes sword in hand against his will, or simply on accident (ah, destiny). In their place are the overtly-buff, steroid ridden heroes of action games, and the younger, more emotional (whiny?) characters taking lead roles in your favorite RPG series.
Now, before I get a mass of comments about how I’m a “hater” and I’m just “trolling”, keep in mind that I still love these games just as much as the next person. However, to say that the transition has been easy for me, would be a blatant lie. Ultimately I guess, we all have to get used to it for now (poor Dante), and just keep watching for what new brand of hero will present himself in the future.
Here’s hoping the next batch, decide to keep on more clothes, and rock a little less fishnet.
“Love and Peace”
Unfortunately, you are quite right. The times influence the game design and even the movies. I quite dislike the direction that everything is going. These EMO characters doesn´t appeal to me that much and it seems that all games today are all flash and no substance.
ReplyDeleteYeah bro', I feel you, totally.
ReplyDelete… Not in a gross way.
I mean, totally, honestly, I have to wonder if it's just designers getting more and more extreme in the aspects they hope will attract the market. Like you said, there's a dichotomy: either roid-rage hulks in action games, or the effeminate, sad, "Hai gaiz, I like anime LOLZZZZ!! Look at my cool hair!" waifs of RPG's.
I can only assume it's because they're pushed by dev's to make the lead character something people are supposed to want to either emulate or feel connected to. Not to new a concept; remember when every game was marketed to kids, so no matter what horrible fate the universe was encountering, you played a young boy who would live up to his nebulous destiny?
Oh yeah, and I wanna see how DmC turns out, definitely!
ReplyDeleteInteresting comment, and exactly right. The video game industry has to keep up with the times just like movies or TV. A good example of that would be the "old" vs. "new" Ninja Turtles. Another interesting not would be how Nintendo really has not drastically changed their character designs all that much (with characters like Link or Samus maybe being an exception to this rule). Also, props for the Vash love. LOVE AND PEACE!
ReplyDeleteI would really like to add about the Tetsuya Nomura thing. The guy has a freaking fetish for zipper. All his characters have a lot of pockets or zippers and it is becoming annoying to the extreme. I quite liked the characters from Final Fantasy VII and Kingdom Hearts. But these were my first contact with his work. From the one, it became progressively worse. I tried to play that DS RPG, "The World Ends With You" and the design there is atrocious. That game, by the way, represents everything wrong of these games for me today. Lousy Plot, lousy character design, not enough content and a immaturity that made wanna scream.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough Bruno, in an interview, Nomura stated that the characters in FFVII weren't even really his "style" and he was asked to draw that way....made me laugh.
ReplyDelete