I’ll be the first to say that video games don’t need to try to emulate movies. Games and film are two different mediums that have their own strengths and weaknesses that don’t always translate well from one to the other. What me want However, it is fair to say that there are broad ideas in the film that are worth implementing in games. We’ve seen most of it before, like the more dynamic cut scenes and performances. But one of Hollywood’s most impressive achievements is the almost unbelievable undertaking that created the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The sheer amount of planning, effort, money and talent that must have gone into establishing several independent characters and films before seamlessly integrating them together is staggering, even if you’re not a fan.
Video games have never had a full-scale shared universe of that size, Marvel or otherwise. Of course, we’ve had plenty of superhero team-up games — Marvel’s Avengers and Ultimate Alliance 3 are two recent examples — but while every single character in those games had their own titles, this isn’t same character between them. Fighting games are the second big genre for crossovers, with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to be, well, the ultimate example. While the fighters are as believable as can be, they aren’t really full-fledged characters with narrative arcs.
For a gaming studio to pull off what the MCU has done, they have to build new characters with the intention of bringing them together in a natural way. The industry has been teasing the idea, but now it’s time to pull the trigger entirely.
A shared universe
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I can already hear the whining about how shared universes are lame or don’t work, but it’s all based on how the movies did it. Don’t look too closely here at DC, Universal (if anyone even remembers their “attempt” at a shared universe), or even the MCU. The fact that games have never fully achieved this means that there is some risk, but also a mountain of potential. Even the MCU has gotten a little stale now that they’ve been repeating more or less the same formula for over a decade of movies. Just such trap games do not have to fall into.
Even studios under the same publisher have a unique identity. Yes, we all know the joke about Sony’s first party only making third-person action-adventure games, but even those are drastically different from each other. God of war plays almost nothing like it Horizon: Zero Dawn, which plays nothing like that Ghost of Tsushima. This is even true within the same studio. Naughty Dog’s Uncharted games and their The Last of Us games are incredibly different, despite both being third-person shooters. When the only thing studios have to consider is weaving together the world, and maybe some story beats and characters, the game they make can be completely different.
There is no reason to limit games to the same genre in order to lead to a shared universe. One game could be an FPS, another an open world RPG, and a third a horror adventure. Granted, the world rules would have to stay consistent for this to work, but if all the teams came together at the beginning to make this plan, then everything could feel organic. Forcing a shared universe might be possible now, but not as satisfying. I could see Ratchet and Clank meeting Jak and Daxter thematically, and Rift Apart in particular, it opens up endless possibilities.
But the thrill of seeing characters randomly cross paths isn’t powerful in itself. Without upgrading there can be no satisfactory payout.
Payment
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Seeing two characters you like come together is exciting at first, but it can also be hollow. Seeing all the weird and seemingly impossible choices that have come into Smash is probably the best example of this. It’s an impressive spectacle, but it’s not quite on the same level as an MCU-style shared universe. Seeing Snake fight Sonic, the dog from Duck huntingand Ridley is what we all dreamed of seeing on the field, it doesn’t feel that way real. Outside of appearance and movement, they have no personalities of their own. It feels like playing with action figures, which is the entire premise of the series, to begin with.
Compare that to the first Avengers movie and see how satisfying it was to see these characters actually meet, interact, fight, and then come together for that iconic moving hero shot. It felt bigger than just seeing a cameo, because everyone was equally established and had a reason to come together. Imagine how it would feel for multiple characters you’ve played with through individual games? The level of attachment we can have with great protagonists goes beyond what movies can create, so the moment when two characters from different games you’ve played meet for the first time would be even more impressive.
The real gain would be in real association. Without spoiling anything, there’s a big moment Avengers: Endgame with Captain America and Thor that had fans screaming in theaters. Imagine a similar event when, say, Kratos and Aloy team up to fight some huge beast that was built in God of War Ragnarok and Horizon: Forbidden West. Also, consider that you’re not just seeing this in a scene, you’re actually seeing it playing it.
These are the kinds of payoffs we could have with shared universe games. The characters can be fleshed out and established more than you could get even in a trilogy of movies. They can come together for massive narrative moments fueled by dozens of hours of anticipation between games. AND you have the pleasure of playing while it all unfolds.
Why now is the time
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I’m not a fan of the current trend of all independent studios being bought by major publishers. But one advantage of having so many studios under the same umbrella is that the concept of a shared universe is much easier to pull off. Technically, one studio could do it, but it would be such an undertaking, and take it time too long if they could only produce one game at a time. However, in a system where Sony and Xbox own more than a dozen studios, collaboration is much easier.
Time and motivation for those studios would still be a hurdle, and arguably more so than even in the film industry, but could yield even greater profits for both players and studios. They can each create their own IP, but they benefit from the fact that more attention will be paid to their game as players will want to immerse themselves in each game in the shared universe to prepare for the eventual team-up.
Now is the best time to do it, because the public at large understands shared universes. Before the MCU really showed people what the concept was, it kind of only existed in the comics. We’re almost inundated with shared universes – or attempts to achieve them anyway – so it’s an easier sell today.
Early signs of success
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We’ve had a few close conversations about shared video game universes, but none have quite come together yet. Ubisoft teased that the Watch Dogs and Assassin’s Creed universes were shared, but never followed through. Both of those games should have more established main characters, but the idea of the present-day parts of Assassin’s Creed being a Watch Dogs-style game, but then diving into the Animus to uncover secrets from the past, sounds fantastic to me.
And the games that give me hope for this whole thought experiment is Remedy Control and Alan Wake. Spoiler alert for Control‘with AWE DLC: Alan is the main focus of that story, turning what could have been just an easter egg into a confirmed shared universe. We’ve yet to see how they actually handle this going forward, but the excitement fans had when the two properties came together showed that it’s something we’re hungry for.
Just, you know, maybe a little faster than 10 years between games.
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Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn