Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism/Video Games: Difference between revisions

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** Its [[Spiritual Successor]] ''[[Xenosaga]]'' is little better. Humanity is locked in a [[Hopeless War]] against intangible, hostile aliens known as the Gnosis, {{spoiler|which are actually the spirits of humans who are so terrified of living humans, they're willing to kill us.}} Numerous orgaizations are after the same mysterious, powerful object for their own purposes, some more sinister than others. Many of the antagonists achieve their immediate goals ({{spoiler|Albedo coaxing Jr. into killing him, Yuriev grabbing ahold of the Zohar for a short time, just to name a few}}), and several other protagonists are emotionally scarred in one way or another (Shion being the most prominent example). [[It Got Worse]] is more or less the name of the game here, especially in ''Episode III''. In the end, all they can achieve is {{spoiler|delaying the inevitable for a while longer.}}
** Its [[Spiritual Successor]] ''[[Xenosaga]]'' is little better. Humanity is locked in a [[Hopeless War]] against intangible, hostile aliens known as the Gnosis, {{spoiler|which are actually the spirits of humans who are so terrified of living humans, they're willing to kill us.}} Numerous orgaizations are after the same mysterious, powerful object for their own purposes, some more sinister than others. Many of the antagonists achieve their immediate goals ({{spoiler|Albedo coaxing Jr. into killing him, Yuriev grabbing ahold of the Zohar for a short time, just to name a few}}), and several other protagonists are emotionally scarred in one way or another (Shion being the most prominent example). [[It Got Worse]] is more or less the name of the game here, especially in ''Episode III''. In the end, all they can achieve is {{spoiler|delaying the inevitable for a while longer.}}
* ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'' actually allows the player to set the slider in the exact position desired, despite the gritty game setting. It's possible to treat the characters' life/lives as nasty, brutish, and short, or you can treat it as all part of the process of making things better - to the point where you can play through the entire game without killing a single person. You can even choose the ending that best fits your viewpoint. They're all [[Bittersweet Ending]], but there's a small but non-zero difference between "bittersweet & depressing" and "bittersweet & rewarding."
* ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'' actually allows the player to set the slider in the exact position desired, despite the gritty game setting. It's possible to treat the characters' life/lives as nasty, brutish, and short, or you can treat it as all part of the process of making things better - to the point where you can play through the entire game without killing a single person. You can even choose the ending that best fits your viewpoint. They're all [[Bittersweet Ending]], but there's a small but non-zero difference between "bittersweet & depressing" and "bittersweet & rewarding."
* ''[[Enslaved: Odyssey to the West]]'' is a rather cynical game, what with [[Endofthe World As We Know It|the world having ended as we know it]] after a giant war that left cities completely reclaimed by nature and mechs and slavers killing or enslaving the surviving populations; communities can't go long without attracting unwanted attention to be of real safety, many people are completely unafraid of giving up others' lives to save their own, and everything just [[Crapsack World|all-around sucks]]. The premise of the game has to do with Monkey being enslaved by Trip to take her home after they were both captured by slavers; when they finally reach Trip's community, {{spoiler|they find that the town had been revisited by slavers, just as [[The Cynic|Monkey had predicted]], killing or enslaving all remaining survivors. Trip then goes back on her promise to release Monkey, and she decides to get revenge on Pyramid, the one doing the enslaving.}} Things don't get much better when they add Pigsy to their group, who {{spoiler|tries to get Monkey killed out of jealousy}}, and though he helps them get a weapon capable of defeating Pyramid, it looks like everything's over when they are swarmed by Pyramid's own mega-mechs. {{spoiler|Pigsy then sacrifices his life to allow Monkey and Trip to destroy Pyramid, which results in the discovery of Pyramid as a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] who shared his memories of the world before the war with the slaves through the slave headbands, allowing them to "live" in his virtual reality instead of survive in the real world. Monkey sees the world the slaves see and remarks on its beauty before Trip kills Pyramid, pulling the slaves from their idealistic virtual life. She has to ask if she did the right thing.}}
* ''[[Enslaved: Odyssey to the West]]'' is a rather cynical game, what with [[The End of the World as We Know It|the world having ended as we know it]] after a giant war that left cities completely reclaimed by nature and mechs and slavers killing or enslaving the surviving populations; communities can't go long without attracting unwanted attention to be of real safety, many people are completely unafraid of giving up others' lives to save their own, and everything just [[Crapsack World|all-around sucks]]. The premise of the game has to do with Monkey being enslaved by Trip to take her home after they were both captured by slavers; when they finally reach Trip's community, {{spoiler|they find that the town had been revisited by slavers, just as [[The Cynic|Monkey had predicted]], killing or enslaving all remaining survivors. Trip then goes back on her promise to release Monkey, and she decides to get revenge on Pyramid, the one doing the enslaving.}} Things don't get much better when they add Pigsy to their group, who {{spoiler|tries to get Monkey killed out of jealousy}}, and though he helps them get a weapon capable of defeating Pyramid, it looks like everything's over when they are swarmed by Pyramid's own mega-mechs. {{spoiler|Pigsy then sacrifices his life to allow Monkey and Trip to destroy Pyramid, which results in the discovery of Pyramid as a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] who shared his memories of the world before the war with the slaves through the slave headbands, allowing them to "live" in his virtual reality instead of survive in the real world. Monkey sees the world the slaves see and remarks on its beauty before Trip kills Pyramid, pulling the slaves from their idealistic virtual life. She has to ask if she did the right thing.}}
* ''[[Drakengard]]'', as a game with [[Multiple Endings]] in which the best one is [[Bittersweet Ending|"sort of happy"]], falls into the cynical side. It is hard to be idealistic when [[The World Is Always Doomed|the world is literally always doomed]].
* ''[[Drakengard]]'', as a game with [[Multiple Endings]] in which the best one is [[Bittersweet Ending|"sort of happy"]], falls into the cynical side. It is hard to be idealistic when [[The World Is Always Doomed|the world is literally always doomed]].
** However ''Drakengard 2'' soften this where one could actually [[Take a Third Option]], breaking the vicious cycle. However Cavia's games are normally very, very, cynical.
** However ''Drakengard 2'' soften this where one could actually [[Take a Third Option]], breaking the vicious cycle. However Cavia's games are normally very, very, cynical.
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