I have to disagree. It's dark as fuck, but it's also funny at times. AM's exaggerated sarcasm and superior tone is cartoonish. Yes it's still creepy, but not humorless. Some of it is straight up satirical.
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Which games take themselves the most seriously?
- Thread starter Valhelm
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I have to disagree. It's dark as fuck, but it's also funny at times. AM's exaggerated sarcasm and superior tone is cartoonish. Yes it's still creepy, but not humorless. Some of it is straight up satirical.
Net_Wrecker
Member
I think there's a difference between games that take themselves seriously and serious games. A game can have humor, even absurd humor, and still take itself seriously. I think as long as you don't undermine your own narrative, characters, scenarios, etc. with some kind of 4th wall breaking humor or lack of explanations (aka, "because why not"), it's a title that takes itself seriously to some degree. Hell even that's debatable because MGS has a ton of nonsensical and meta stuff, but when you have over 8 hours of highly detailed cutscenes in a game, I think it's pretty safe to say it takes itself seriously. Any kind of world building or in-world justification of events + mechanics is a game taking itself seriously. it's less about the presence of humor but whether the game has a consistency to the way it treats itself and tries to establish its world. Adventure Time, for example, is a completely absurd show, but I have to believe those writers take their crazy lore seriously or they wouldn't continue to devote more and more time to fleshing it out with weirder and weirder episodes.
From a maturity standpoint - Manhunt took me to some dark places.
From a gameplay standpoint - I started up EVE online after hearing the economy, hype, etc. A few minutes in I was in way over my head and knew it wasn't for me. Played for about an hour just to be sure. I was sure. Kudos to the dedicated players of that game.
From a gameplay standpoint - I started up EVE online after hearing the economy, hype, etc. A few minutes in I was in way over my head and knew it wasn't for me. Played for about an hour just to be sure. I was sure. Kudos to the dedicated players of that game.
abstract alien
Member
Zombi U does, I believe. I think it's serious when I only have one life and it erases my save file upon death.
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Nano machines, metal gear, nuclear deterrence, memes, pmcs, the patriots, etc.... the writing employs heavy usage of memetic repetition to force a greater value in words or phrases that otherwise had very little.
Dr. Black Jack
Member
Making the characters more likeable/human.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Final Fantasy XIII really might be up there. They clearly wanted an atmosphere of ultra-melodrama and angst.
I think the core of the story lacks the justification for the self-serious nature (some robot gods gave you a magic tattoo), but it has a shell of hyper-seriousness.
I think the core of the story lacks the justification for the self-serious nature (some robot gods gave you a magic tattoo), but it has a shell of hyper-seriousness.
Sub_Level
wants to fuck an Asian grill.
Those are called recurring themes and elements of a story. They are found in many stories, videogames or otherwise.
The theme of MEME in MGS2 is a continuation of the GENE theme introduced in the first game. MGS covered what information could be passed on genetically and how that didn't necessarily define a person. MGS2 covered what information could be passed on non-genetically through words or writings, and how some of that information could be selectively controlled and filtered by a powerful governing body (the Patriots). Telling your child to not walk under a ladder because it brings bad luck because your parent told you that when you were little would be an example of a meme in Dawkin terms.
It's not the reddit or 4chan kind of meme.
The Halo franchise is so fucking far up its own ass in its cutscenes, its advertising, and then its actual gameplay has a bunch of idiotic runts running around screaming like Loony Toons characters...
I tried watching that Forward Unto Dawn thing, and just could not take it for more than 20 minutes. It was so hilariously self-serious. I was cringing so hard at those "Remember Reach" ads... ugh.... SO FUCKING BAD!
I tried watching that Forward Unto Dawn thing, and just could not take it for more than 20 minutes. It was so hilariously self-serious. I was cringing so hard at those "Remember Reach" ads... ugh.... SO FUCKING BAD!
Yes! No one's crazy like David Cage is. He's hiding it a bit better now but it still shows through the cracks.
To be fair the corpse ditch scene was pretty nuts.
sixteen-bit
Member
Flight and racing simulators
randomengine
Banned
I am surprised that the Metal Gear Solid series isn't the #1 response.
Everytime it does something to take itself seriously, it does something else like MGR that says the exact opposite
Halo 4, for fans who don't care for the novels, anyway. No idea what was going on in that story, they skipped over or retconned just about everything I learned in the first 3 games, but damn was it brooding and full of gravitas. Took out most of the tongue-in-cheek humor from Bungie's entries in the series, and replaced it with weird alien political drama. I'll probably skip all cutscenes in Halo 5, since those in 4 weren't even enjoyable in an action-movie way.
Final Fantasy XIII is dead serious in tone for the majority of its runtime, which is strange, because most of the story is either completely absurd or unnecessarily obfuscated.
Mass Effect 2 takes itself very seriously, but it works pretty well up until the final boss, which didn't fit at all.
Final Fantasy XIII is dead serious in tone for the majority of its runtime, which is strange, because most of the story is either completely absurd or unnecessarily obfuscated.
Mass Effect 2 takes itself very seriously, but it works pretty well up until the final boss, which didn't fit at all.
Sub_Level
wants to fuck an Asian grill.
It doesn't apply. The overall tone of the story is serious but it consistetly reminds the player of how wacky of a videogame it is and takes pride of that fact.
DOWN
Banned
I don't think the thread is using the phrase "taking itself seriously" the way you are. You are using it in discussion of whether it was a major professional project that includes serious material, but I think MGS has that and still is not a game we'd say counts here as taking itself seriously.
MGS is a serious story but it doesn't take itself seriously for sure. Heavy Rain is serious and also clearly is taking itself seriously.