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Hugely influential novel (and personal favorite) “Ender’s Game” puts forth a great example of extraterrestrial ground videogames have yet to traverse. (Note: Ender’s Game spoilers follow.) The book presents a world semi-recently ravaged by a bug-like alien species, with humanity gearing up to withstand an anticipated second trouncing by these “buggers.” Interestingly, though, the reader never actually encounters a real, exoskeleton-and-blood alien until the latter half of the book. The enemy’s unseen, with only hearsay and propaganda to fill in the blanks. Thus, curiosity propels you through the story. What’s the deal with these aliens? Why did they nearly destroy earth, only to flee when victory was at hand? Where are they now? Etc. I’d love to see this kind of masterful, mystery oriented build-up attempted in a videogame setting.
“Dawn,” by Octavia Butler serves as further food for thought about aliens in videogames. Here, we find main character Lilith Iyapo spirited away from a devastated earth by – what else – aliens. One major problem, though: these aliens are about as far from human as one can get. Little green men these ain’t. Instead, these things are practically made of creepy crawly tentacles, swap genetic information and meld with whatever species they come by, and can be any one of three genders. They are, to put it mildly, hideous, by human standards. Their very existence is an affront to ours. The whole book, then, is about integration with a truly otherworldly culture. What I think games could take away from this isn’t necessarily a totally non-violent alien-based game, but rather, the notion of a world completely unlike our own. Too many games depict aliens and alien cultures as humans with funny skin colors and human-like sets of value to match.
In this respect, I see ACE Team’s Zeno Clash as a step in the right direction – at least, as far as creating a totally foreign, yet shockingly believable world goes. Between the curvy, organic-looking aesthetic, inhuman characters, and oddball philosophy behind it all, Zeno Clash was not a typical first-person videogame. It pulled off its shtick so convincingly, in fact, that multiple people told me that the game scared them, despite the fact that nothing explicitly “scary” ever happens in the game. Why? Because it’s different. Just as non-humanoid creatures like spiders and scorpions unsettle us, so to do utterly strange worlds.
My ideas, of course, are only the tip of a very large iceberg. So, how about you? How would you like to see aliens and other such sci-fi themes handled in modern videogames?
Comments are closed on this article
chiery
October 16, 2009 at 6:02am
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.
Muerte
August 06, 2009 at 12:46pm
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.
chaosdsm
August 05, 2009 at 8:21pm
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..
Cache
August 05, 2009 at 3:33pm
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.
Vahn16
August 05, 2009 at 1:37pm
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
Cooketh
August 05, 2009 at 6:19pm
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.
snapple00
August 05, 2009 at 9:23pm
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.
nekollx
August 05, 2009 at 12:00pm
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?
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Coming soon to Lulu.com --Tokusatsu Heroes--
Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.
doomgrunt
August 05, 2009 at 2:17pm
I find it hard to believe you're an author with that many typos.
lunchbox73
August 05, 2009 at 2:21pm
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.
nekollx
August 05, 2009 at 2:29pm
i don't have a blog editor...or spell check (until recently) for MPC
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Coming soon to Lulu.com --Tokusatsu Heroes--
Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.
lunchbox73
August 05, 2009 at 11:35am
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!
