my checking account is called my Lamborghini account and my savings is called my Hollywood hills account. when I have to go to the bank they see that shit. if they knew if was from this dumb fucking video I think they would execute me
My latest video is about how shame can be an effective narrative device for exploring certain themes & and ideas within a story. Spec Ops: The Lineis the main reason this discussion exists. It’s a generic military shooter that often gets mistaken as a critique on war or violence, but it’s not actually a critique of either. It just has the appropriate aesthetics to work as one. The game is mostly a meta-commentary on gaming influenced by the medium in the early 2010s, interrogating game & narrative design.
To dispel the idea that agency is required to make shame a meaningful narrative device, I thoroughly explain why the lack of choice is essential to the setting of Spec Ops, before it contrasting with Baldur’s Gate 3which gives you plenty of choices, but vocal fans will still criticise the game for disengaging them by presenting them with confronting dialogues & outcomes.
Shame often grounds meaningful consequences, and some people despise that no matter what form that takes.
