A game of trees (Gaming)

by Cody Miller , Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Monday, February 15, 2021, 18:15 (1166 days ago) @ EffortlessFury
edited by Cody Miller, Monday, February 15, 2021, 18:19

It's willfully narrowly focused. Heroism without the context is propaganda.

We will not recreate the death of a specific servicemember during gameplay without their family’s permission. Instead, Marines and Soldiers describe the sacrifices of their teammates during video interviews.

https://forums.sixdays.com/main/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=16

I have a theory.

Whenever a character talks to you in a story, there's deception. I don't necessarily mean you're being lied to, but rather something else. In a visual work, you can see right in front of you what is happening. If a character then talks to you, I think what they are really saying is "Don't trust your eyes, let me tell you how it really is". Why would we need to be explained what is happening when we can see clear as day what's happening by looking at the screen?

The character wants you not to see what you're seeing YOUR way, but THEIRS. This is why Scorsese uses VO. So the mobsters and criminals can bring you in. Without the VO, you'd look at what they are doing and be repulsed. But when you see it their way… Imagine watching Dexter without the VO. He'd just be an asshole serial killer. Why do you think he has to talk to you? Because you aren't seeing the whole picture… I have a dark passenger… It doesn't need to be nefarious. There's voiceover in Clueless and Wonder Years after all.

They want you to come into their reality.

This is also why bad filmmakers use voice over, and it has a bad rap. Because they are literally not confident enough in their visual presentation, and think you won't get it. Again… don't trust your eyes… let me tell you how it is.

So my big question is, in a game where their stated goal is to tell these people's stories, in a medium where you're supposed to actively recreate it so you can feel it, why would we need to see video interviews? Why would they need to tell us about the sacrifices, instead of letting us play and experience them? Why not let the game do the talking?

Why do the developers or the soldiers think we should not believe our eyes and ears?