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L.J. CHANDLER

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The Failure of Character in Red Dead Redemption

With John Marston, Rockstar seemed poised to provide the player with a protagonist capable of delivering a solid and engaging narrative. Instead they offered up yet another morally schizophrenic character in a world populated by conflicting design choices.

Tuesday, February 08, 2011 | Comments (5)

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Another look at Metroid: Other M

Why Metroid: Other M just doesn't feel right.

Monday, January 24, 2011 | Comments (1)

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On L.J. Chandler's The Failure of Character in Red Dead Redemption

"That’s a fair point. The idea that he’s doing it all for his family works as a nice catchall justification, but his motivation seems a bit at odds with his actions. This is where Red Dead Redemption’s inherent gameyness conflicts with the narrative Rockstar seems to be trying to tell. Is John a badass who’s willing to strong-arm anyone who gets in his way, or is he a doormat willing to leisurely take on the quest of every petty NPC he comes across (admittedly a gross binary exaggeration)? Well, since this is a game, it bound to be that latter.

I don’t begrudge Rockstar for making a game instead of a movie. A game is what they set out to make and by most accounts they made a great one. I’m merely suggesting that the character they’ve created and the game they’ve placed him in don’t form a perfect union; which sparks an argument about whether or not games are even capable of telling great stories in the first place. But that will probably have to be the subject of another post."

Wednesday, February 09, 2011