Nintendo Okie

There’s been some major uproar on the internet over the last couple of weeks concerning some outlets revealing potentially major spoilers in an upcoming game release. Some of them have defended the move saying that it’s being shown at press events and the developers are using it to show off their game. Others have said that events like this need to be kept under lock and key because it potentially changes the emotional response you would have to that event. Our question this week is, “Do storyline spoilers affect your outlook of a game and can something really be considered a spoiler if the developers are talking about what’s happening?”

Shelby Says: I’m not one of those people that want to know every story detail before diving into a game. If I already knew the story of a game, I would be playing just for the gameplay mechanics at that point. You’re only getting half then fun that way. Just like with a movie of a book, I don’t want to know that Snape kills Dumbledore before I finish the Half-Blood Prince. I want to progress through the story the way the developers intended.

Which brings us to part two of the question. How and where things are shown to games press has a lot to do with spoiler classification. If it’s a public demo, then all is far game. Obviously the developers have nothing to hide if they make the demo available to anyone. However, if a journalist is given a private demo or has early access that a limited number of people share, they should have the common courtesy to keep things under their hat or use appropriate spoiler tags. Anyone working in games press knows these unwritten rules. So to answer the question, yes things developers talk about can be spoilers if they are reveled behind closed doors.

Tony Says: I’ve never been the type of person that was bothered by story spoilers so finding out something is going to happen in a game has never been a big deal to me. Even knowing that an event is going to happen I like to see how the story tellers get you to the point where that event takes place. There are some games that I do try to avoid spoilers for, but generally I want to see as much information about a game as I can before I make purchasing decisions and that’s going to lead to seeing some things that would be considered spoilers.

Now when it comes to whether or not things can be considered a spoiler if the developer is talking about it, I think that it can. In the case of Arkham City, which caused a lot of commotion this week, the event in question could be considered a major spoiler, but at the same time you know events like that would not happen, especially that early in the game. In that instance I think the press members that were covering the game should have done everything they could to label that information as a spoiler. The developers wanted them to talk about it and wanted that event to generate buzz for the game, which it did. However, those are exactly the types of events that people don’t want to have spoiled for them. Many people feel that removes and emotional impact that a major event would have because you know it’s coming before hand.

The developers wanted people to talk about that. It was being used as part of the marketing campaign for the game. Anyone that played that game would have wanted to talk about what was going to happen so it needed to be discussed, but at the same time there should have been major spoiler warnings attached. So yes, I do think that even if a developer is talking about an event it can be considered a spoiler and should be handled with care.

Gaz Says: I’m a massive fan of storylines in games, and it’s one of the key features of a series I will look for before playing a game in it for the first time. But I have a problem. I like to know everything there is to know about the story while I’m playing it, and in epic games like Zelda, I often end up spoiling a big part of it for myself by researching what at the time seemed like a completely innocent question. I’ve rarely got to the end of a game and been shocked by the ending, and in games such as Mass Effect 2, I already had the key decisions mapped out in my mind before reaching those moments. And it ruined the experience.

Which is why I’ve made a change; no more plot spoilers. In the coming months we’ve got The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Mass Effect 3 and to a lesser extent Sonic Generations, all of which have a storyline to them which is important to the overall feel of the game. Mass Effect 3 especially has to be a game I go into cold, with no idea of the ultimate outcome based on my decisions. In the second game, only one decision took me by surprise, and it felt great to make a decision based on my own choice, rather than what I knew the outcome to be.

So as a result I find it a great shame when large portions of plot are divulged prior to a games release. For something like Zelda, the lack of knowledge around the plot is a good thing, as the surprise when I play it will be something I’ll remember for years. As a result, despite leaks of introduction footage, I have stayed away from anything that isn’t a preview written by a major outlet – after all, they have a lot to lose if they reveal more than they’re supposed to. Even then though, I am treading carefully as to what I read. Plot is an important aspect of a story-driven game, and it’s important to maintain that secrecy about the ultimate plotline of the game itself. I don’t want any more games ruined, and developers should pay some attention to that point of view.