Postmodernism: Difference between revisions

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== Video Games ==
* ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]]'', released in 2001, among all of the things it attempted, is regarded as the first fully postmodern savaging of video games, sequels, and video game ''players''. [[What the Hell, Hero?|Attacking the consumers]] went over [[The Scrappy|exactly as well as you'd expect]], though it didn't quite succeed at its goal of getting people to stop liking the ''[[Metal Gear]]'' series. See [http://www.deltaheadtranslation.com/MGS2/DOTM_TOC.htm this document] for a full explanation of the game's postmodern subversion of genre conventions and player expectations. See also [[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty/Recap|this page]] for an explanation of the game's [[Mind Fuck]] of an ending, which included, among other things, telling both Raiden and the player that they are mindless puppets who do what they're told and "lack the qualifications to exercise free will."
** ''[[BioshockBioShock (series)]]'' and ''[[Portal (series)|Portal]],'' two games released Fall 2007, played with postmodernism when they both, much like ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' above, drew attention to the fact that every game with a plot boils down to players taking orders from someone else and then doing exactly what they're told. They're listed together because of the interestingly opposite points each game made on the subject. ''Bioshock'''s point was "you're not a hero, you're a mindless drone doing what he's told", and the point of ''Portal'' was "maybe that's so, but you don't ''have'' to be".
* ''[[Eternal Darkness]],'' a horror game for the Gamecube, won acclaim for itself by choosing to bypass the character and aim its scares directly at the player. It had fakeouts like making it appear that the magic spell you were casting misfired and your character died, or that your video feed had come loose in the middle of a battle, or that your Gamecube had reset, or that the game had decided to format your memory card -- up to a decidedly non-[[Heroic BSOD]] -- way scarier than any monster could possibly be.
* ''[[Killer 7Killer7]]'' does this by removing your freedom of movement in a way that can be interpreted as done to point out the linearity and straightforwardness of the game, and how you can't control your fate. Because of a problematic control scheme, and the linearity itself and extreme [[Mind Screw]] in storyline, welcoming was mixed at best.
** [[Suda 51]] continues this trend in ''[[No More Heroes]]'', a game that satirises [[Wide Open Sandbox]] games by giving you a huge open city to explore and then letting you realise that there's piss-all to do with your freedom save for storyline events that are unlocked in a very linear fashion. Oh, and playing with your pet cat. Much like the previous examples, most people didn't appreciate the developers sacrificing gameplay just to prove a point, and the open world aspect was removed from the sequel.
*** Both games are Suda ridiculing the player. See Travis Touchdown, the loser otaku who spends all his money on anime and fights rather than moving out of a hotel? [[This Loser Is You]]! The empty sandbox plays into that, as the only locations are a few nerdy stores and Travis' various jobs. Despite having a beautiful beach nearby. [[Misaimed Fandom|Nevertheless, many fans think he is awesome.]] No doubt Suda finds this hilarious.