We all have our favourite games and the games that spoke to us the most, but no game is really perfect. What are some of the changes you'd make / what would you have done differently when it comes to some of your favourite games and why? How would these changes better the work?
I'll start with Persona 5. Now, it's not really my favourite game or even close to it, but it is a very well made game in a lot of ways and yet it just kinda fell flat for me. One of the biggest things to me was how inconsistent it used its theme and central premise and the sorts of characters it chose to embody it. The whole game is about society's outcasts and people who are oppressed trying to break free from that oppression and change society. And yet the types of characters it chose to stand for that concept left a lot to be desired. For instance, the game's total lack of queer characters in its central cast is nothing but a blight in my opinion and it kind of just illustrates how the game's central theme is shallow in its execution when some of the most oppressed peoples in society are nearly completely excluded. What makes it even worse is that the only queer characters that are in the game are stereotypes used for homophobic and gay panic jokes. It just came across as incredibly tone deaf for me and sullied the experience.
Similarly, the game doesn't have a consistent message or stance on pretty much anything. The game will open with a very serious tale about sexual assault/harassment and so on (though how well it handled it is very debatable), but it's seen as this awful horrible thing. And then the very next chapter of the game has one of the victims of the first chapter being sexually harassed again, except this time it is played completely for laughs and a lot of it comes from her teammates and future teammates. It's like the game wants to have its cake and eat it, too, and it just made for muddled message that brought the whole game down for me.
That's one of the things I'd change for the game. But what about you? What are some of things you'd change in your favourite games? Would they be story/message focused like mine was, or maybe it's a problem more relegated to the gameplay? And how do you think this change would've made the game even better for you?
I'll start with Persona 5. Now, it's not really my favourite game or even close to it, but it is a very well made game in a lot of ways and yet it just kinda fell flat for me. One of the biggest things to me was how inconsistent it used its theme and central premise and the sorts of characters it chose to embody it. The whole game is about society's outcasts and people who are oppressed trying to break free from that oppression and change society. And yet the types of characters it chose to stand for that concept left a lot to be desired. For instance, the game's total lack of queer characters in its central cast is nothing but a blight in my opinion and it kind of just illustrates how the game's central theme is shallow in its execution when some of the most oppressed peoples in society are nearly completely excluded. What makes it even worse is that the only queer characters that are in the game are stereotypes used for homophobic and gay panic jokes. It just came across as incredibly tone deaf for me and sullied the experience.
Similarly, the game doesn't have a consistent message or stance on pretty much anything. The game will open with a very serious tale about sexual assault/harassment and so on (though how well it handled it is very debatable), but it's seen as this awful horrible thing. And then the very next chapter of the game has one of the victims of the first chapter being sexually harassed again, except this time it is played completely for laughs and a lot of it comes from her teammates and future teammates. It's like the game wants to have its cake and eat it, too, and it just made for muddled message that brought the whole game down for me.
That's one of the things I'd change for the game. But what about you? What are some of things you'd change in your favourite games? Would they be story/message focused like mine was, or maybe it's a problem more relegated to the gameplay? And how do you think this change would've made the game even better for you?