+1, or picking apart more bad arguments (Gaming)

by davidfuchs , USA, Wednesday, August 14, 2013, 19:57 (4122 days ago) @ Kermit

I wish Infinite's use of the Vox uprising was more like that than what we got. Again, I refer us back to Booker's line in the elevator where we get hit over the head with it Master Chief Halo 4 style. AM I A MACHINE/THE VOX ARE BAD.

I totally get what you're saying about subtlety, and I'm on record for hating that line in Halo 4, and that's because it connects dots no one needs help connecting.

We're getting into sensitive territory here, but it seems that many of BioShock Infinite's critics wanted it to be a different story than it is--specifically, they wanted a morality tale about racism (the evils of white racists in particular). They wanted the dots to be connected in a very specific way. I submit that what makes the game edgy is that racism is presented as something more complicated, as something like a disease that can be spread to its victims. The danger of this presentation is that it runs the risk of removing moral judgment. Booker speaking out is a counter to that.

I'm not saying Levine was 100% successful in what he was trying to do, but racism--its sources and effects--is presented, thoughtfully and with nuance. Much more so than that Daniel Golding article suggests.

I have more to say, of course, but I haven't had dinner yet. :)

Precisely. I do think the issue of when are you being obtuse versus being over the top is a fine one--as we're citing, the Master Chief line is a perfect example of something that just wasn't necessary and cutting would have made a strong scene much stronger. But that's a matter of presentation, not the core thrust.

This critique is the poster-child for missing the point: http://superopinionated.com/2013/04/03/booker-dewitt-and-the-case-of-the-young-white-lady-feels-a-bioshock-infinite-r...

Ken Levine didn't set out to make a game about the Occupy movement and racism. He set out to tell a fantastic tale of multiverses coming together and unraveling against a rich history-inspired backdrop that, unsurprisingly enough, was very racist. Those are the terms you have to judge the game on first. While I love the "what if they had focused on this" game too, it's ignoring the fact that something can't be everything to everyone. It's like complaining that Citizen Kane was a really bad screwball comedy. It wasn't trying to be. If you can't see that, it's a failure of the viewer, not the work itself.