Why Red Dead Redemption Worked?

Why Red Dead Redemption Worked?

So I get it. Rockstar's RDR2 have built up quite a hype train and it has finally been released after years of waiting. I took my time and was finally able to play through it this weekend. I felt that I have to grab my laptop and start writing somethings down. A review perhaps, but who am I to tell you how good a game is while there is already hundreds of reviews focusing on that? However, this game amazed me so much that I think I have to write something about it. 

So, here we are.

Instead of giving the general review, I want to talk about the game's story itself in detail. Why it worked so well? And why I think it is the best storytelling in a video game that I have ever seen? I think it comes down to the details. We all agree that the most integral part of writing a perfectly engaging story is its characters. Plots should always be supported by its characters. Audiences have to be grappled by them in order to care about what happens in the story.

Unlike most games, it does not have the problem of making its lead playable character stand out too much from the rest.

I mean just admit it, out of all forms of storytelling, games might be the biggest victim of this problem: the player is everything. Although there are many games which perfectly brought lots of likeable characters with distinctive characteristics that gamers remember them by (such as The Witcher franchise, Call of Duty -RIP- franchise, and anything that Naughty Dog made), they all couldn't help but focusing on the player's character for the most part. However, RDR2 dared to do differently. The little Van der Linde Gang is not just another "bunch of supporting characters". Instead, the game tells their story through countless well established details from dialogues, actions, side quests, and items. The point is not having Arthur as the protagonist. The point is having the entire gang as the protagonists. And in a wild west world the game is set in, even the protagonists die casually.

Details is what this game truly perfected open-world storytelling.

Without spoiling too much, the main plot twist of the game was so well written and seamlessly blended with the major storyline. It's a twist that does not feel out-of-placed. Rockstar was known by their insane amount of detailing that they put into their games. While this time's gameplay was detailed to a jaw-dropping level, the details in the story were so well presented that when the story reached its turning point, audiences realize what the previous foreshadowings truly means. And it makes perfect sense. It does not break the fluency. And most amazingly, it adds into the gameplay as something that players had to consider for themselves just in a way like how Arthur would have to do in real life, as a person.

And there is even more smartly written scenes that presents themselves as symbolic moments than some of the movies.

Let's face it, one of the most important element in any forms of art is the symbolism. Why does the creator show this? Does it resonate with something in the story? I really cannot giveaway the biggest symbol in the game without spoiling the main storyline for RDR2 too much, but there is one scene that I felt it was truly crafted to perfect resonation with the ending for RDR1. When Jack first met Agent Ross, he was fishing by a river. And when Jack went to Agent Ross for revenge (the ending of the first game), Ross was fishing by a river. See the connection? It was tiny yet well-crafted moment like this that makes the storytelling of this game stand out so much. It is truly a seamless transition into the events of the first game.

The main protagonists' arc is actually players' own arc.

The bridge connecting a virtual character and the audience is often difficult to grapple for many creators. Movies and books often lack the connection between the characters in it and the viewer when compared to the video games. (Don't get me wrong, a great book or movie often does have fascinating characters who audiences can connect and fall in love in. However games are easier to achieve so since there is a layer of direct interaction between players themselves and the character.) 

In RDR2, the main protagonist Arthur Morgan's character arc came later in the game. But it came as a surprise so well-built up to that left me going through the similar emotions that Arthur is experiencing. It made me reconsider my previous choices and actions. Through Arthur's little journal, I could get to know more of Arthur as a person. And that is how I truly was able to connect, with this 3-D rendered unreal character in a virtual world. His arc became my arc, and I am touched by it. 

It is definitely one of, if not THE, best storytellings that I have ever seen in any form of entertainment. And as a guy who have spent countless hours on these things, that is saying a lot.

Where are we now?

Welcome to Africa

If flying from Miami to Amsterdam wasn't a long trip already, brace yourselves for another 9 ours from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro Intl' Airport, Tanzania. But as a frequent flyer who always takes flights lasting for more than 13 hours, I really shouldn't be complaining here.

So yes, I traveled to Tanzania, Africa during March this year on a school trip. But I don't really want to talk about how life-changing or how inspiring and yadi yada the trip was, I just want to point out some of my thoughts. Where did these thoughts came from? Well imagine what will you do every night without any electronics. I would think.

And that was exactly what I did.

When people are asked about their hobbies, a majority of them would mention travel. The same can be said about me. However, traveling for me is not just going to a place and relax. It means so much more. When I stood by the muddy shore of Lake Natron in Tanzania this March, I looked around me. With the hundreds of flamingos lighting the colorless sky up, the reflection of the volcano stood upside down right under my foot. Lake Natron is a place where you can easily find dead animal’s skeletons and rotten organs, but it is also a place where the Maasais have lived for hundreds of years; It is a place hidden so well in the middle of nowhere with a view like the end of this world, but it is also where the first human footprint was found. I know I was there, but I wasn’t. I was somewhere so far away from the lights of the city; yet so close to the sparkles of civilization.

This feeling of seeing and understanding the world in front of me is what travelling truly means for me. The shock that a great scenery can brought to someone being there is simply incomparable to anything that a picture or a video can capture, yet I wish my parents and best friends could be there with me to share it. However, they were not there. Just like the African children who lived there, most people on this planet does not have the fortune to afford travelling to faraway destinations. An African girl might enjoy the grand of a mountain guarding  her door everyday and night, but she might never hear the noise of the city accompany her into her dreams. And the same can be said for someone who had been living in the city for his entire life. Modern culture taught people to chase their goals of money and fame, gave them an eye to find “opportunities” but blinded the other which could have helped them to seek the beauties of this world.

What my life have taught me about happiness has nothing to do with how much I own, but how much I could give. As someone obsessed with dreaming, perhaps my ultimate dream is to travel around the world. It's a simple one, one that most people would mention when asked about their dreams. But for me, again, it's different. Travelling the world is not only just for me, but also for everyone around me. Like some idiotic teenagers, I also have the burden to create impacts on people's lives. I wish when people see my photos, short stories, or just learned about what I am doing, it would ignite their passion in their lives, and simply push them towards the success that they once dreamed. 

What Is In A Good Story?

What Is In A Good Story?

      If you know me long enough you will find that I am a rather conflicted individual who hates reading, yet loves all different kinds of stories. Well how the hell could you find stories other than books? You guessed it, games and movies. Story-driven games especially. It is becoming more and more mainstream and being recognised for another great way to tell a story.

      But what makes a good story GOOD? Well, welcome to the rumblings of me shitting on some of the horrible traits in stories that I have seen in recent years.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a literature major student nor an author nor a screenwriter nor a game designer nor anything (yet). I'm just someone who has passion for good stories that I want to talk about what I have summarised.

Driving Force

      Any kind of stories needs a connection. A driving force for the characters and events. Why are the characters doing this? What or who are the characters doing this for? What I found about most of the stories today all have this problem. There is no driving force for a character. It's like you walk into a movie and see a guy just kills for... what exactly? Even some story tellers try to force a reason for their characters, it always seems to be so un-relatable.

      How the hell can you make a story that catches everyone's attention when no-one really understand why the character is doing what they are doing? Not everyone can be superman for no reason, okay? Even superman himself does his shits for justice or for Lane. There should always be a clear and appropriate driving force that pushes both the characters and the story around. Without it, you are making the story, especially the characters in it, like a zombie without a brain doing whatever it's doing.

Characters

      Speaking of characters, let's talk about characters. A good character design needs to have reasons too. Not only reasons to drive them forward, but also reasons for details that show more characteristics of them. But do not take it wrong! Not every single god damn human being has to have a pocket watch that means a lot to them. Yes, using symbols such as pocket watches is a good way to present your character with more depth, but why do they care about it? Your audience needs reasons, well designed reasons, to know more about your character.

     Another important trait about your character is, again, being relatable. Audiences don't need perfect protagonists because there is nothing, especially for humans, that is perfect. Characters in a good story feels. They grief and anger when facing loss. Even add in a few evil traits to a character can make him or her much deeper than before. Let your character be selfish sometimes, make him cruel when he needs to be cruel.

      Take The Last of Us for an example, at the last part of the game where Joel interrogates an enemy by shooting him in the dick, many players were shocked: What a terrible thing to do (translate: that fucking hurts)! Yet they feel the awesomeness of this scene because the story had already hook them up. They know that Joel would sacrifice saving the world to save Ellie, they understand the reasons behind Joel's cruelty and why he couldn't afford to lose another daughter figure. 

      When a story teller put all these together, the character seems like a real human being who the audience understand. We all know Joel isn't the perfect guy, and what he did might be something that we will do when facing his situation. All relatable in this sense, isn't it? Then why are there still stupid stories where the character saves the fucking world again and again like it's a piece of cake and they don't even give a shit when they do so?

The rage will continue...

Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of Arabia

Just watched the 1962 film, Lawrence of Arabia in Blue-ray version. I started to watch it because of its connection to Uncharted 3. But after watching it, I totally understood why it is one of the greatest films in history.

Here is a few quotes that I found awesome:

*The film is based on T.E. Lawrence's autobiography, "Seven Pillars of Wisdom".

"All men dream, but not equally. Thoe who dream by night, wake in the day to find that it was vanity... But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did." ---- T.E. Lawrence, from Seven Pillars of Wisdom

"Nothing is written, for those who writes." ---- T.E. Lawrence, from the film

Uncharted 4 Review

Uncharted 4 Review

    In May 10th, one of the greatest games on PS4 came out. As the last chapter of the well-known series Uncharted (By Naughty Dog), the journey of Nathan Drake finally comes to an end. After the last scene cuts to black, there is so many things that I want to talk about.

Story

    For starters, the story takes place three years after Uncharted 3 ends, while Nathan and Elena got married and they have decided to quit the life that they were living before. Until one day, Nathan's long lost brother shows up and brings up about a treasure hunt that they have started years ago.

    Once again Nathan embarked on another journey, to seek not only his, but also his brother's fortune. What will this time's treasure be? Will they find the treasure and go back to a normal life again? All these will be answered when the last scene of the game cuts to black.

Characters

    Once again, designers of Naughty Dog presented us such awesome and interesting characters. Every single one of these characters feels alive to us. It feels natural just to watch their movements, or listen to their dialogues.

    And the best part of the game, is that both the Drake family and many other main characters has a really funny personality of making jokes and sarcasm. Even some times in the game, players might find something interesting or just simply want to joke about it, the characters are always one step ahead and steals your lines.

Environment

   The developers of the Uncharted series never fail to create impressive and memorable environment throughout both the trilogy and this new game. Even more, players can interact with the environment more in A Thief's End. The developers really took what they learned from The Last of Us and put it into Uncharted. Which is a better way and increased the emotion of the game.

    From top Italian Ball rooms, to Panamanian Jails. From Snowy Scotland, to the desert of Madagascar. Here are some best environment set pieces.

Levels, Details, and Trophies

    Naughty Dog is known for awesome story-telling games. The level designs and the pace of the game always catch players' attention. It gives players a feeling of they want to keep playing. 

    Another great feature in Uncharted 4 is that they added a lot more checkpoints throughout the entire game. Which made the levels slightly easier for some players. Also, the trophy designs in this game is better, in a super fun way. There are even a trophy for bringing back the awkward demonstration failure at last year's E3 show.

    One last thing that impresses the players the most is that the game's cutscenes. The switch between gameplay and cutscenes are perfectly swift. Sometimes even players can barely tell the difference between actual gameplay and generated cutscenes. Which makes the game feels like an actual movie, and lets players to blend in with the situation and emotion that characters are experiencing.

Verdict

    Uncharted 4 presents a beautiful, interesting, and emotional closure to the journey of Nathan Drake and people around him. This game definitely deserves a 10/10.

2016.5.19

British Pub in Saint Petersburg, Florida

British Pub in Saint Petersburg, Florida

    Last November, during spring break. School took us all to Saint Petersburg in South Florida, near Orlando. When at a mall at Tampa, on the balcony walkway, we found this little British style pub. Right next to a French restaurant. Here is the spot I found on the google map.

Quick Reviews

    Quite a nice joint to spend the afternoon in, we thought to ourselves. So we walked in. The entire pub is made to look like old London style with yellow wood and a bar in the middle. This pub has two stories, we sat down on the seat left to the front door. Here is a quick look of the entire first floor.

    The wall on the front has some quotes about drinking on it. And to the left you can see the flags of the English Kingdoms. All pretty welly blend in with the environment of the pub. Sun shines through the window and all felt warm and cozy. 

 Left is a shot of my friend Kevin grabbing his headphones.

    We ordered two basic cheese burger meals and a dish of fish stick. All three of them came out right on time. Kevin said he enjoyed the ginger in there especially because it took him back to his trip to London last year. We had a really great time in that little pub during that afternoon.

    An old saying in China goes: Good dishes' smell won't be afraid of deep alleys. That means if a good restaurant is hidden in somewhere deep within the noise of the cities, if it is good enough, it will eventually be found and the words will spread.

    I will not regret finding that pub on that day. And I hope life can give me more surprises, just like finding that little pub~