Thursday, January 22, 2015

Interactive Friction: Episode 5: Why Can't We Be Friends?

In this episode, we actually make some very piercing commentary on this game. This is probably our most insightful episode yet, and it's definitely one of the best.



I actually really like the idea of Liza's character. She's by far the most grounded of all the characters in the game. She understands more than anyone else the sheer gravity of the situation at hand.

The problem is that we aren't in a real world scenario. We are playing a video game. As a result, there is some dissonance between her being a real person, and Jason being a goddamn video game hero. This could have been really interesting if the game acknowledged a bit more, but it almost feels like an accident.

The ultimate problem with Far Cry 3's story is that the premise could have been used to write any number of excellent plots. However, the game takes almost none of these opportunities. Liza and Vaas both take turns pointing out that Jason is ostensibly a rich, white boy pretending to be an action hero (in their own way), but this becomes less and less of a plot element the more the game goes on.

The conversation Sam and I have in this episode really doesn't need me to tell you this. It stands out on its own. If there is only one episode of Interactive Friction that you watch, it should really be this one.

No comments: