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Giant Bomb #7 | Hey There, Small Business Owner!

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For me the arguments boil down to
"sexual assault? Unacceptable." Notice how many people are complaining about the bomb shoved in her gut? But somehow a bomb shoved in her vagina isn't okay.

Stop and think about what you're saying here and what people are actually arguing.
 
Listening to the tapes on YT since I didn't find them on my game or whatever.

It's ok, Chico. You won't hurt me. Do you want to do it here? *romantic forced child sex music plays*

If people look for goofy shit in new MGS it's right here, applied to the least appropriate themes.
 
Just looked the clip up on Youtube to see how it's specifically portrayed.

I would have zero problems with a silly series like MGS going to such fucked up places, if the scene was handled with care and it wasn't just the torture porn that it is.
 
Listening to the tapes on YT since I didn't find them on my game or whatever.

It's ok, Chico. You won't hurt me. Do you want to do it here? *romantic forced child sex music plays*

If people look for goofy shit in new MGS it's right here, applied to the least appropriate themes.

That tape ends with that line, there is no music afterwards.
 

Zaph

Member
Listening to the tapes on YT since I didn't find them on my game or whatever.

It's ok, Chico. You won't hurt me. Do you want to do it here? *romantic forced child sex music plays*

If people look for goofy shit in new MGS it's right here, applied to the least appropriate themes.

That tape ends with that line, there is no music afterwards.
I can't. Even without the music I cannot believe that line is in the game, it actually trumps the bomb. Truly a defence force for everything.
 
For me the arguments boil down to
"sexual assault? Unacceptable." Notice how many people are complaining about the bomb shoved in her gut? But somehow a bomb shoved in her vagina is so much worse.

You really haven't been paying attention then, huh?

Fair enough about the burn victim bit, don't think there are many historical cases of such things. MGS has always been a weird mix of supernatural, comic esqe elements contrasted against very real-world issues such as child-soldiers and other war atrocities. In Ground Zeroes I felt Kojima for the first time kept it very straight faced
and the rape depicted used was clearly supposed to replicate real world cases of rape as an intimidation/torture tactic. I think the vagina bomb does do the whole thing some disservice but it's really not just tortureshock porn/lol kid rape

The played like a fiddle line was just poorly delivered and I'm not sure why it was kept in. I hope that Kojima really focuses on vocal performances for the Phantom Pain as things like that bring the quality of the project down, especially when he's clearly attempting to meld in real world issues in a much more serious manner.


I just really don't think he handled
the rape scenes
well at all. The audio tapes were just really gross and over the top. I'm not sure if better voice acting would help with that. But yeah, I definitely agree that it undercuts the game's other "bigger" themes.

EDIT: Also, how did this discussion even start? I just woke up and checked the thread. Did Patrick say something?
 
I'm interested to hear why you think that. Do you think all the arguments against these sequences are baseless?
The feeling I'm getting is that you're all riding the coattails of Jeff's "MGS has silly stuff in it" charade and taking it beyond reasonable lengths. From the games I've played MGS has a good mix of silly stuff and serious stuff. And the serious stuff works better because of the silly stuff. There's too many games that take itself way too seriously and end up just falling flat on their faces. Or games that try their best to be funny but are just cringe-worthy. MGS strikes a good balance and so far not once have I felt that it's poking fun at serious subjects, or doing them for titillation.

Have you ever played metal gear solid before?
Yes
 
Either way, you guys are missing out on the spoiler thread for the game, since now they've convinced themselves that
CHICO IS QUIET!!!
which I hope turns out true just so we can witness Jeff have a meltdown at the stupidity.
Somehow I wish The Phantom pain's plot is truly as batshit insane as the fan theories make it out to be. That would at least be entertaining compared to Ground Zeroes which seems more interested in disgusting it's audience for no apparent reason,
 
I can't. Even without the music I cannot believe that line is in the game, it actually trumps the bomb. Truly a defense force for everything.

I took it along the same line of depictions of people imprisoned/subjected to long periods of torture/degradation(ie, 12 years a slave/the holocaust documentary shoah) that describe people using sex as a form of comfort, even when it comes after abuse. Cold and impersonal but it takes one away from the moment. Perhaps Kojima really is just mindless but the tape seemed to be reaching along those same lines.
Rape was used as a form of intimidation but once both Paz and Chico have been degraded to such a point consensual sex is the only form of comfort left.

The film Salo has a similar element where
after months of the most horrible abuse imaginable, two of the imprisoned manage to find some degree of comfort in consensual sex
. Of course Pasolini is on a whole other intellectual plane than Kojima, so perhaps as mentioned Kojima really is just clueless. Suppose one will see how The Phantom Pain handles such things.
 
The underlined "I wanna be a hunter" is specifically silly as it was an obvious reference to the Monster Hunter missions included in Peace Walker.
 
Alright I watched the ending because of this fucking thread. The most disgusting thing was the gross overuse of slow-motion.
Maybe I just can't be phased by anything after having seen Иди и смотри. That scene wasn't too bad, just the twist was kind of lame. Remember the end of MGS3? Twisty twisty.

Also, why would people call that torture porn? Everything that makes you uncomfortable is made for someone to wank it to?
 
Alright I watched the ending because of this fucking thread. The most disgusting thing was the gross overuse of slow-motion.
Maybe I just can't be phased by anything after having seen Иди и смотри. That scene wasn't too bad, just the twist was kind of lame. Remember the end of MGS3? Twisty twisty.

Also, why would people call that torture porn? Everything that makes you uncomfortable is made for someone to wank it to?

Most of the really gross stuff is in the audio diaries.
 
Have any of them mentioned whether Vinnyvania will continue? Says part 1 in the video but they also mention they were mostly doing it to test the chat :/
 

Fantastapotamus

Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
He wrote MGS2. No matter how stupid his games got, he will forever be a legend to me.

Well, George Lucas made Star Wars IV-VI and Indiana Jones I-III which I adore.
He also made Star Wars I-III and Indiana Jones IV later which I hate.

People can write good stuff and still turn into hacks later.
 

LeBart

Member
Well, George Lucas made Star Wars IV-VI and Indiana Jones I-III which I adore.
He also made Star Wars I-III and Indiana Jones IV later which I hate.

People can write good stuff and still turn into hacks later.

Not arguing with that. I just don't think you can say the man responsible for MGS1 2 and 3 is "a shitty writer."
 
Fact is, Ground Zeroes should make you uncomfortable. If your reaction is disgust, then it's done it's job and you are a real human being.

However, let's look at the issues it presents rather than what actually happens. The message of Metal Gear has been consistant. It's anti-war. It's not there to glamorise the events, but to criticise them.

What happens with Paz happens at a US black site in Cuba, the main villain uses every technique he possibly can to get what he needs. The abuse of women and children in war is both well documented and seriously underestimated. Rape is used in parts of the world, today, as a weapon of war. Against men and women. Some countries historically kept female prisoners in camps for the sole purpose of rape. People become prizes.

The thought of someone being made into a living bomb? This is something that is being actively discussed as a security issues, right down to potential scenarios. The thought that someone could have certain organs removed and a bomb implanted is probably a thought that doesn't sit well with most. While there have been no reports of this having happened, it's absolutely made it into news articles as potential threats. A bomb place in someone's vagina (again, there's absolutely no reason to assume it wasn't done the same way as the first through invasive surgery) is not an absolutely massive leap.

Ground Zeroes makes me uncomfortable, but not because of the fiction, but because it's not just something Kojima invented.

People can be critical of the game if they want, but some people are just looking to make an issue out of the game's events rather than the real world cases, which seems to be something that exclusive happens to video games. It's a complete loss of perspective.
 

Revengineer

Unconfirmed Member
Just a third person perspective on the Ground Zeroes controversy -

Nothing said or argued will change that the game is out and isn't going away. If it bothers you so much, don't buy Phantom Pain.
 

je_ssi e

Member
Fact is, Ground Zeroes should make you uncomfortable. If your reaction is disgust, then it's done it's job and you are a real human being.

However, let's look at the issues it presents rather than what actually happens. The message of Metal Gear has been consistant. It's anti-war. It's not there to glamorise the events, but to criticise them.

What happens with Paz happens at a US black site in Cuba, the main villain uses every technique he possibly can to get what he needs. The abuse of women and children in war is both well documented and seriously underestimated. Rape is used in parts of the world, today, as a weapon of war. Against men and women. Some countries historically kept female prisoners in camps for the sole purpose of rape. People become prizes.

The thought of someone being made into a living bomb? This is something that is being actively discussed as a security issues, right down to potential scenarios. The thought that someone could have certain organs removed and a bomb implanted is probably a thought that doesn't sit well with most. While there have been no reports of this having happened, it's absolutely made it into news articles as potential threats. A bomb place in someone's vagina (again, there's absolutely no reason to assume it wasn't done the same way as the first through invasive surgery) is not an absolutely massive leap.

Ground Zeroes makes me uncomfortable, but not because of the fiction, but because it's not just something Kojima invented.

People can be critical of the game if they want, but some people are just looking to make an issue out of the game's events rather than the real world cases, which seems to be something that exclusive happens to video games. It's a complete loss of perspective.
*claps*

Just a third person perspective on the Ground Zeroes controversy -

Nothing said or argued will change that the game is out and isn't going away. If it bothers you so much, don't buy Phantom Pain.
Thankfully Japan usually doesn't give a shit about these "issues", so we'll get to hear the story Kojima wants to tell. And, that much I'm excited for. Bring on TPP!
 

Megasoum

Banned
Anybody else getting weird stutter since the last video player change? I'm not 100% sure how to explain it but it's like a mix of stutter and super heavy tearing on the image... Sound is fine.

In chrome.
 

mattp

Member
ugh man, can you guys be more liberal with the spoiler tags? this thread feels like a ground zeroes spoiler minefield right now
 

skynidas

Banned
Anybody else getting weird stutter since the last video player change? I'm not 100% sure how to explain it but it's like a mix of stutter and super heavy tearing on the image... Sound is fine.

In chrome.

yup, i first thought it was my computer but everything else is working perfectly
 

AtrusHB

Banned
Fact is, Ground Zeroes should make you uncomfortable. If your reaction is disgust, then it's done it's job and you are a real human being.

However, let's look at the issues it presents rather than what actually happens. The message of Metal Gear has been consistant. It's anti-war. It's not there to glamorise the events, but to criticise them.

What happens with Paz happens at a US black site in Cuba, the main villain uses every technique he possibly can to get what he needs. The abuse of women and children in war is both well documented and seriously underestimated. Rape is used in parts of the world, today, as a weapon of war. Against men and women. Some countries historically kept female prisoners in camps for the sole purpose of rape. People become prizes.

The thought of someone being made into a living bomb? This is something that is being actively discussed as a security issues, right down to potential scenarios. The thought that someone could have certain organs removed and a bomb implanted is probably a thought that doesn't sit well with most. While there have been no reports of this having happened, it's absolutely made it into news articles as potential threats. A bomb place in someone's vagina (again, there's absolutely no reason to assume it wasn't done the same way as the first through invasive surgery) is not an absolutely massive leap.

Ground Zeroes makes me uncomfortable, but not because of the fiction, but because it's not just something Kojima invented.

People can be critical of the game if they want, but some people are just looking to make an issue out of the game's events rather than the real world cases, which seems to be something that exclusive happens to video games. It's a complete loss of perspective.

bLTFff5.jpg
 

RE_Player

Member
Fact is, Ground Zeroes should make you uncomfortable. If your reaction is disgust, then it's done it's job and you are a real human being.

However, let's look at the issues it presents rather than what actually happens. The message of Metal Gear has been consistant. It's anti-war. It's not there to glamorise the events, but to criticise them.

What happens with Paz happens at a US black site in Cuba, the main villain uses every technique he possibly can to get what he needs. The abuse of women and children in war is both well documented and seriously underestimated. Rape is used in parts of the world, today, as a weapon of war. Against men and women. Some countries historically kept female prisoners in camps for the sole purpose of rape. People become prizes.

The thought of someone being made into a living bomb? This is something that is being actively discussed as a security issues, right down to potential scenarios. The thought that someone could have certain organs removed and a bomb implanted is probably a thought that doesn't sit well with most. While there have been no reports of this having happened, it's absolutely made it into news articles as potential threats. A bomb place in someone's vagina (again, there's absolutely no reason to assume it wasn't done the same way as the first through invasive surgery) is not an absolutely massive leap.

Ground Zeroes makes me uncomfortable, but not because of the fiction, but because it's not just something Kojima invented.

People can be critical of the game if they want, but some people are just looking to make an issue out of the game's events rather than the real world cases, which seems to be something that exclusive happens to video games. It's a complete loss of perspective.
Bingo.
 
Fact is, Ground Zeroes should make you uncomfortable. If your reaction is disgust, then it's done it's job and you are a real human being.

However, let's look at the issues it presents rather than what actually happens. The message of Metal Gear has been consistant. It's anti-war. It's not there to glamorise the events, but to criticise them.

What happens with Paz happens at a US black site in Cuba, the main villain uses every technique he possibly can to get what he needs. The abuse of women and children in war is both well documented and seriously underestimated. Rape is used in parts of the world, today, as a weapon of war. Against men and women. Some countries historically kept female prisoners in camps for the sole purpose of rape. People become prizes.

The thought of someone being made into a living bomb? This is something that is being actively discussed as a security issues, right down to potential scenarios. The thought that someone could have certain organs removed and a bomb implanted is probably a thought that doesn't sit well with most. While there have been no reports of this having happened, it's absolutely made it into news articles as potential threats. A bomb place in someone's vagina (again, there's absolutely no reason to assume it wasn't done the same way as the first through invasive surgery) is not an absolutely massive leap.

Ground Zeroes makes me uncomfortable, but not because of the fiction, but because it's not just something Kojima invented.

People can be critical of the game if they want, but some people are just looking to make an issue out of the game's events rather than the real world cases, which seems to be something that exclusive happens to video games. It's a complete loss of perspective.

A)
It was not done via invasive surgery. The doctors note that Paz is closed up, and there's no second incision on Paz's body that the medic notices. Skull Face takes the bomb himself and there is a sound effect as he, someone who is not a doctor, puts it inside her.

B)
Just because something could theoretically happen in the real world does not make a crass poorly written usage of it in a video game as base shock value any better.


You have a completely mixed up idea of why people dislike what's in Ground Zeroes. Kojima treats this stuff as a gross shock value thing and thinks that he's writing something deep and mature. It doesn't actually advance the plots or character arcs of anyone in Ground Zeroes. It's apparently not even critical enough to the plot to put in the main game's story itself. It's extraneous crap the only purpose of which is shock the player into thinking "woah this bad guy with the skeleton face is really fucked up!!! makes you think...."
 
It honestly seems like most of you are dead set on anything written by Kojima being stupid.

Well, when someone has a consistent track record... yeah.

I'm imagining your reaction after Prometheus: "It honestly seems like most of you are dead set on anything written by Lindelof being stupid."
 

Fantastapotamus

Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
B)
Just because something could theoretically happen in the real world does not make a crass poorly written usage of it in a video game as base shock value any better.

I feel like the fact that this kinda exists in real life makes it even worse and not better.....
That's why I don't really mind seeing a guy getting his face bitten off by an Alien but can't stand to watch any of the Saw movies.
 
A)
It was not done via invasive surgery. The doctors note that Paz is closed up, and there's no second incision on Paz's body that the medic notices. Skull Face takes the bomb himself and there is a sound effect as he, someone who is not a doctor, puts it inside her.

B)
Just because something could theoretically happen in the real world does not make a crass poorly written usage of it in a video game as base shock value any better.


You have a completely mixed up idea of why people dislike what's in Ground Zeroes. Kojima treats this stuff as a gross shock value thing and thinks that he's writing something deep and mature. It doesn't actually advance the plots or character arcs of anyone in Ground Zeroes. It's apparently not even critical enough to the plot put in the main game's story itself. It's extraneous crap the only purpose of which is shock the player into thinking "woah this bad guy with the skeleton face is really fucked up!!! makes you think...."

EmCeeGramr is on point. Couldn't agree more.
 
Making the audience uncomfortable is not proof of good writing. It's half the equation. It's like doing a controlled explosion but not having the capability to actually control it. You can create something that offends, that makes the audience uncomfortable with an intentional point behind it, and still massively fuck it up.
 
I don't think anything trumps this. That sound effect is just... ugh...

There is no subtlety to it at all. If the tape had ended with the line “And a second bomb, where they’d never think to look,” it would be interesting and suspenseful. Adding the *squish squish* sound effect totally destroys that.

Rape
isn't untouchable in videogames, but it should be handled with gravitas.
Paz having sex with Chico ruins that. It turns it into a "it's okay, she liked it" moment (or at least opens it to that argument).
When we are turning to Salo of all things to justify moments in a videogame, the writer has gone off-course.
 
A)
It was not done via invasive surgery. The doctors note that Paz is closed up, and there's no second incision on Paz's body that the medic notices. Skull Face takes the bomb himself and there is a sound effect as he, someone who is not a doctor, puts it inside her.

B)
Just because something could theoretically happen in the real world does not make a crass poorly written usage of it in a video game as base shock value any better.


You have a completely mixed up idea of why people dislike what's in Ground Zeroes. Kojima treats this stuff as a gross shock value thing and thinks that he's writing something deep and mature. It doesn't actually advance the plots or character arcs of anyone in Ground Zeroes. It's apparently not even critical enough to the plot put in the main game's story itself. It's extraneous crap the only purpose of which is shock the player into thinking "woah this bad guy with the skeleton face is really fucked up!!! makes you think...."

There's no way to know how it will affect the character development or plot given Ground Zeroes is less than 30 minutes long and clearly ripped out of a much larger whole. Much of the MGS series has had character info relegated to codec backgrounds(especially Peace Walker), and Kojima is clearly taking point that MGS 4's info dumps aren't the best way to present information.

Given The Phantom Pain's depictions of African child soldiers which is something MGS 2 already touched on it doesn't seem to be done so much as shock value but to place a series that historically used such real life war crimes further on the side of reality. Kojima seemed to realize the seriousness of the subject and all goofiness is absent from Ground Zeroes(although certainly not in some of the line readings) Then again the character of Quiet has me worried about Kojima's intentions but we will see.
 
Watching the tapes on youtube, I can't help but feel that it's even more off putting because you can see Snake in the foreground just casually chillaxing and smoking his cigar. The juxtaposition of him in that canned animation loop, not even reacting with empathy to the disgusting audio in front of him, makes it look that much worse.
 
A)
It was not done via invasive surgery. The doctors note that Paz is closed up, and there's no second incision on Paz's body that the medic notices. Skull Face takes the bomb himself and there is a sound effect as he, someone who is not a doctor, puts it inside her.

B)
Just because something could theoretically happen in the real world does not make a crass poorly written usage of it in a video game as base shock value any better.


You have a completely mixed up idea of why people dislike what's in Ground Zeroes. Kojima treats this stuff as a gross shock value thing and thinks that he's writing something deep and mature. It doesn't actually advance the plots or character arcs of anyone in Ground Zeroes. It's apparently not even critical enough to the plot put in the main game's story itself. It's extraneous crap the only purpose of which is shock the player into thinking "woah this bad guy with the skeleton face is really fucked up!!! makes you think...."
He's also on a helicopter and probably looked for other external scars. People made the leap one way, but not the other.

How do you present the events then? Call of Duty America rules and the bad guys suck style? Water pistols instead of bullets? What are you wanting from the medium if not to actually try to expand its self? No one would criticise a movie or book for this. Glorification would be crass, this is far from it.

How can events that happened to two of the characters not advance their character or their arcs?
They were included in audio conversations because Ground Zeroes shows their rescue from Camp Omega. The plot of the game if you ignore all the conversations and briefing tapes is literally - Go to this camp, rescue Chico (what? How did he get there) and Paz (She's alive?!), escape on helicopter, Paz has a bomb inside her, Mother Base is under attack, bomb, crash, end, most of the narrative is in cassette format and the entire briefing and Paz's diary are unlcoked from the start. The only place any of the torture and rape could possibly be documented is in historical records. Peace Walker did EXACTLY the same thing, but expanding on the events through the cassettes. A lot stuff in Metal Gear games has been told through optional conversations or things that are not obvious.
 
He's also on a helicopter and probably looked for other external scars. People made the leap one way, but not the other.

You are being deliberately difficult if you are trying to deny the implications there and what is actually said in the tapes.

How do you present the events then? Call of Duty America rules and the bad guys suck style? Water pistols instead of bullets? What are you wanting from the medium if not to actually try to expand its self? No one would criticise a movie or book for this. Glorification would be crass, this is far from it.

"If you criticize a disgusting lame parade of shock value, then you must be a baby that wants a sanitized Call of Duty."

The way for the medium to expand itself is not through Kojima's crass self-glorification of his own "boldness" in handling difficult subjects with the care of a bull in a china shop. And plenty of books and movies have been criticized for disgusting pointless shock value crap. What world are you living in?

How can events that happened to two of the characters not advance their character or their arcs?
They were included in audio conversations because Ground Zeroes shows their rescue from Camp Omega. The plot of the game if you ignore all the conversations and briefing tapes is literally - Go to this camp, rescue Chico (what? How did he get there) and Paz (She's alive?!), escape on helicopter, Paz has a bomb inside her, Mother Base is under attack, bomb, crash, end, most of the narrative is in cassette format and the entire briefing and Paz's diary are unlcoked from the start. The only place any of the torture and rape could possibly be documented is in historical records. Peace Walker did EXACTLY the same thing, but expanding on the events through the cassettes. A lot stuff in Metal Gear games has been told through optional conversations or things that are not obvious.

Agreed. Ground Zeroes is a poorly written game that is ripped out of a larger whole and does not work in the slightest because of it.

It also doesn't really help that
Paz is dead now. She was beaten, tortured, raped, raped again, cut open, vivisected alive and had her guts pulled out so a bomb could fit in her guts, had a bomb fisted up her vagina, brutally had the guts bomb ripped out while she was still conscious, then exploded when her vagina bomb blows up. What does that tell us about Paz? Nothing. What does it tell us about Skull Face? Nothing that merely one or two of those things could have done on their own. What does it tell us about Kojima? A whole lot.
 
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