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16-bit Poster
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 246
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Okami and Player Participation
SPOILERS
Lately I've been thinking about one of my favorite games of the last generation Okami(yet to be reviewed here, but so it goes). Maybe it's because of the recently announced sequel, but the game has simply been on my mind. AMmidst my meandering thoughts and musings, one thing has started to creep through: maybe Okami is one of those "negative" games people talk about.
Yes, "negative" games. Games that try and put the player into difficult, uncomfortable situations that are removed from the normal hero worship of Mario and the aptly(though not ironically) named Master Chief. I'm sure others will dispute my quickie definition--I hope so anyways--but there you have it.
Now, this isn't a self-evident point. I mean, you're playing as the Sun God and you get experience points, not from combat, but by doing good deeds for humans and, yes, fluffy rabbits(and GC loves rabbits). The player's fictive exercise within the game, then, revolves around compelling the player towards good rather than it being a subtle point picked up(Shadow of the Colossus as an example of the contrary).
So, then, you might ask, how is Okami a negative game? Well, here's what I've been thinking.
The final opponent of the game is Yami, the Dark Lord, and only during his final part does the player see who Yami really is: he's like a bloated fetus, controlling a larger machine to do his will(Mother and Pokey fans, eat your heart out). He is, in a way, playing a "game" in the same way that the player is: adopting a new role within the world to shape it beyond "normal" means. No human has the power that Amaterasu has, but within the game it becomes possible to make the sun rise, set and make flowers bloom. In that sense, both the (prot/ant)agonist can be seen as the same thing.
Going along with that, there's Issun the samurai who follows you. Now, as I'm sure anyone who has played the game knows, his language is slightly different than the normal quasi-mythological text the game dwells in(he says "busty babe"). As he rides Amaterasu(the pllayer avatar) and is your "voice", in a sense, he seems to be standing in for a broader representation of player sentiments. That is, while Ammy and Yami are players, Issun is the speaking voice of the player outside the game, telling Ammy where to go and such. This is maybe a leap, but I'm getting somewhere here.
Now, after the final battle is won, Issun says he will spread Amaterasu's religion across the face of the world to help combat Yami(the latter, additionally, is somewhat a stand in for technology). The thing is, as the game "happened" in the past, we know that Yami won. Amaterasu's religion was defeated and Yami's version of "playing" with destruction and violence won out. Put another way, games that force you to do good rather than violent acts are incredibly rare or are abstract adventures(Tetris, Dr. Mario, etc). Games with "serious" stories might justify their actions with good intentions, but the player emphasis is on bloodletting.
Of course, this could be shrugged off, but I think that Okami is not just a "Zelda clone". I think it's trying to say something along the lines that games can and do have the power to shape their players, and our current "world" with them--and we as players--emphasize the violent side of things rather than the pure world of Amaterasu. The game is, perhaps, an endorsement of religion, but it seems more fair to say it wants us to place historical myths in a readable, accessible context next to Yami's new world(which has "won").
In any case, I thought I'd share this. It isn't as well thought out as it should be, but maybe someone is interested in hearing another take on the game.
(And to an oldie like myself, these numerous forum subheadings are scary. Maybe I'm nostalgic, but the two section days were lovely in their simplicity).
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--Derek
Paint Roller, you are the meanest art student I have ever met.
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