The Illusionist
This week, Drew Toal reviewed the series premiere of Telltale’s Game Of Thrones. From the sound of it, it’s exactly what we’d expect: all the fantasy-world intrigue of Thrones squeezed into the Telltale mold created with The Walking Dead. One part of the formula that got commenters talking was the sense that the decisions you make don’t do much to affect the overall story. Rankus said, “I enjoyed the high stakes feel of this, but it quickly became clear that the results are the same no matter what you choose, which took the punch out of it for me.” To which Duwease responded:
“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react that matters.”—Epictetus
That’s a quote that I think applies to life in general, but especially to Telltale games. It’s a common criticism that your actions don’t radically affect the plot, but should you ever play through with two different “personalities,” the narrative comes out remarkably different each time.
It seems strange to say that, but really, isn’t most fiction a story of personalities and relationships? Plot points are always pulled from a pretty small bucket: People want things, they have conflicts over them, they prevail or they don’t, they die. The connecting tissue that you put on the plot skeleton that makes the story unique is the details of the personalities involved and their interactions. And these are the things that the game leaves up to you to color in.
And Rankus continued the conversation:
I ultimately came around to liking the game, but I expected and would prefer a game where actions have more far-reaching consequences (though maybe they will in the subsequent chapters). The Epictetus quote is apt for the game, given that it seems the major events are fated, and the drama is in choosing the characters immediate attitude about these events or who else will be present in the room when they happen.
That said, I disagree that fiction is about personalities and relationships. A Song Of Ice And Fire, in particular, seems to be about people (who are driven and shaped by personalities and relationships) making difficult decisions about how they can shape the world they live in, and then having to face the consequences of their actions. My favorite George R.R. Martin quote about the series is more or less about this:
“In real life, real-life kings had real-life problems to deal with. Just being a good guy was not the answer. You had to make hard, hard decisions. Sometimes what seemed to be a good decision turned around and bit you in the ass; it was the law of unintended consequences. I’ve tried to get at some of these in my books. My people who are trying to rule don’t have an easy time of it. Just having good intentions doesn’t make you a wise king.”
So when consequences in the Game Of Thrones game seem predetermined or fated, and not the result of difficult decisions, it seems to be going against the spirit of the series. Once I got over this difference in focus, I could enjoy the first episode, but I am still holding out for a great A Song Of Ice And Fire game.