The Game Boy: From Space Invaders to Mothership Zeta – Why Videogame Aliens Suck
Posted 08/05/09 at 02:34:24 PM by Nathan Grayson
Comments
Print
Email
Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta’s opening scenes were absolutely out of this world. Within a span of ten minutes, I was torn from the Wasteland, poked and prodded with 100 haystacks’ worth of needles, stripped of the near-impregnable safety blanket I call “Power Armor,” and unceremoniously tossed into a prison cell. Upon awakening, my ragged, desperate human cellmate cowered in fear as some unknown force approached our cell, only to change course at the last second and perform its unspeakable act on some other hapless sap. The poor guy emitted a blood-curdling howl as his frail flesh clunked around in what sounded like a super-powered dryer.
I was absolutely thrilled. Fear, curiosity, and vulnerability hooked me. Adrenaline reeled me in. “Who are these unseen, all-powerful beings?” I wondered. “Why are they doing this?” My interest piqued when my cellmate mentioned our captors’ penchant for tampering with people’s brains. Then I actually saw them. Tiny, green, big heads, round eyes. Beaten and beamed up by God after only two strikes from my pithy 23 unarmed skill. Thrill and intrigue, it was nice knowing you.
What followed was roughly four hours of good old fashioned alien-blasting. Fun, but nothing special. No mind-blowing ulterior motives, no unsettlingly foreign alien culture; the mean, green abducting machines were just a new skin for everyday Fallout 3 enemies. Really, there was nothing "alien" about these aliens. After such a promising opening, I felt more than a little let down.
Upon further thought, though, I realized that Mothership Zeta’s extraterrestrial approach simply mirrored that of nearly every sci-fi videogame since Space Invaders. See, when gamers whine about “ANOTHER sci-fi shooter,” they think they’re doing it because aliens, lasers, and outer-space are played-out. However, like the final frontier it so often focuses on, I think the topic of aliens in videogames could use a whole lot more exploration. We just need to approach it from a different angle, is all.
Since the dawn of the gaming industry, “you = good guy, alien = bad guy” has been the guiding line of thought. And what do we do to baddies? We blast ‘em, of course – no questions asked. Halo, Half-Life, Gears of War, Quake, Metroid – you name it. If it’s not of this world, we like keeping it that way. Sadly, it’s only once you start asking said questions that things get interesting.
You Got Your Point
Submitted by chiery on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 5:02am
Yeah! I agree with you! I'm bored with the Alien theme games. There's not enough story variant in this genre. It would be interesting if Alien is represent in another character. Anyway nice writing! if you have time, take a visit at my Download Games website.
Submitted by Muerte on Thu, 08/06/2009 - 11:46am
Half Life is a pretty good example. Hell you still don't know what the alien's motivation in the game. Sometimes, Volume1 and 2, the humans are the bad guys but there are always more aliens on the other side of the rift.
Can't wait for the story to continue.
There's just not enough
Submitted by chaosdsm on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 7:21pm
There's just not enough computing power available in modern high end gaming machines to bring to life my gaming ideas... but I'm thinking something along the vein of Star Wars / Star Trek meets Crysis with splashes of ID4 (the movie), Myst, Thief, & Freelancer thrown in... Aliens & humans as both friend & foe... you can steal alien technology & use it however you see fit (regardless of the unforseen consequences...), ground based combat, space based combat, puzzles to solve, dozens of worlds to explore, ability to play as any species, hundreds or even thousands of hours of playable game, & hundreds of possible endings..
This is the single most
Submitted by Cache on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 2:33pm
This is the single most disappointing thing in games today. It is always a clear-cut case of 'good guys vs bad guys' without any shade of grey. There may be a plot twist, but nothing that makes you question the overall story itself. I love FPS games, and there is so much promise in a good story there--and sadly all we do is play a relentless game of cowboys and indians with the same lackluster attention to the details of the real conflicts.
I'm sorry to say that action games focus so much on action (with the 'twist' moniker) that there is no depth to the story at all.
Submitted by arkweld on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:20am
So, didn't play Mass Effect I take it?
Mass Effect is another
Submitted by Vahn16 on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 12:37pm
Mass Effect is another positive step, but much of its alien culture is very Star Wars-like, with humanoid aliens assembled into a very human-like culture. I'll give you the Reapers, though. With any luck, BioWare will expound on their motivations and reasons for what they do as the series goes on.
Nathan Grayson
Nothing about Mass Effect is
Submitted by Cooketh on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 5:19pm
Nothing about Mass Effect is like Star Wars, other than the fact that they both take place in space.
Mass Effect is one of the best RPG games ever, and the best sci-fi story next to Halo's classic "save humanity from destruction" approach.
No, Mass Effect alone makes this entire article rubbish.
Submitted by snapple00 on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 8:23pm
It's exactly like Star Wars.
Just like the dude said above, its set in a very human like culture, just like Star Wars. People drinking at bars, dancing around clubs, trying to scam you for drugs, etc. Nothing very 'alien' about it. Sure it didn't have the same story, if that shallow thinking is why you are calling it not the same.
Love the game tho.
we definity need to
Submitted by nekollx on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:00am
we definity need to explore alien culture in games. Not just as enemies but as alies, this THINGS are so STRANGE. How do you deal with that?
Now speaking of aliens i use them quite a bit in my novel (wich is promoted in my sig) one in particular re allear though out the series and despite being beaten each time keep coming back, despite their contract being recinded they com back. Think for a moment about a culture where once you take a contract you follow it out until your race is extinguised or the target is, even if the contract is voided by the original owner?
------------------------------
Coming soon to Lulu.com --Tokusatsu Heroes--
Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.
I find it hard to believe
Submitted by doomgrunt on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 1:17pm
I find it hard to believe you're an author with that many typos.
Yeah, I was going to write
Submitted by lunchbox73 on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 1:21pm
Yeah, I was going to write you off as an ass for making that comment but upon closer reading I didn't understand any of that either. Take a breath and try again dude.
Submitted by nekollx on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 1:29pm
i don't have a blog editor...or spell check (until recently) for MPC
------------------------------
Coming soon to Lulu.com --Tokusatsu Heroes--
Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.
Submitted by lunchbox73 on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:35am
The bugs in Starship Troopers weren't ground breaking but I'd rather run into a little green guy with big eyes in an alley then one of those things!
Must Read Articles
Feature
Review
Feature
Feature
Feature
Most Popular Articles
This Month's Issue
FEATURE How to Get FREE Programs, Services, Software & MoreFEATURE Digital Photo Printer RoundupHOW TOBuild a 3D CameraFEATUREDIY Arcade PCWHITE PAPERHow TRIM Works
Technology News
Computer Cooling Fans
Computer Cases
PC Game Controllers
PC Games
Computer Hardware
Headphones
MP3 Players
Stream Video
Computer Mouse
Monitors
Motherboards
NAS Storage
Networking
Laptop Computers
DVD Burner
Digital Cameras
Portable Storage
Computer Accessories
Smartphone
Antivirus Software
Sound Cards
Speakers
Computer Systems
Thumb Drives
Video Cameras
Video Card Reviews
Water Cooling
Gadgets
- Keyboards
© 2009 Future US, Inc. All Rights Reserved.