So I just beat the game a few days ago, and I was wondering if anybody else has been listening to the soundtrack
and feeling sad when they hear certain songs. Dead Man's Gun is sad for obvious reasons, but it's Compass that really gets me. It reminds me of John riding back to his family and finally thinking that he would get to live out the rest of his life in peace. Remembering that moment in light of what transpires in the end makes me feel genuinely sad, which is a testament to Rockstar's development of not only John's character, but the reality of the game world.
They made his death impactful by making it permanent. No other game has done this as effectively, in my opinion. Sure, you can restart the game, but in the canon of the game's story and the story of you playing the game, John's dead and not coming back. Playing as Jack furthers the feeling of melancholy because it maintains the finality of the events at the end of John's story. Since the game world continues to exist after John's death, it makes his passing seem that much more real.
I even get a little sad when loading screens pop up now, showing pictures of John in various locales. It's similar to the feeling I get when looking at a picture of a dead celebrity whom I liked.
And the best part is that his death was warranted, plausible, and even inevitable within the context of the game's story and themes. And it makes sense from a gameplay perspective as well. By being forced to play as Jack after the story is over, the player will most likely feel more comfortable going apeshit and slaughtering people at random because they view Jack as a lost soul with a huge chip on his shoulder. If the story had left John alive with a happy ending, it wouldn't have made much sense for a reformed outlaw-turned rancher to go on killing sprees.
Ah, I've rambled on for too long. I just wanted to spew some of my thoughts about the game's ending and its lasting impact. I can't think of another game that handled the death of a playable character this well, for both story and gameplay purposes.
They made his death impactful by making it permanent. No other game has done this as effectively, in my opinion. Sure, you can restart the game, but in the canon of the game's story and the story of you playing the game, John's dead and not coming back. Playing as Jack furthers the feeling of melancholy because it maintains the finality of the events at the end of John's story. Since the game world continues to exist after John's death, it makes his passing seem that much more real.
I even get a little sad when loading screens pop up now, showing pictures of John in various locales. It's similar to the feeling I get when looking at a picture of a dead celebrity whom I liked.
And the best part is that his death was warranted, plausible, and even inevitable within the context of the game's story and themes. And it makes sense from a gameplay perspective as well. By being forced to play as Jack after the story is over, the player will most likely feel more comfortable going apeshit and slaughtering people at random because they view Jack as a lost soul with a huge chip on his shoulder. If the story had left John alive with a happy ending, it wouldn't have made much sense for a reformed outlaw-turned rancher to go on killing sprees.
Ah, I've rambled on for too long. I just wanted to spew some of my thoughts about the game's ending and its lasting impact. I can't think of another game that handled the death of a playable character this well, for both story and gameplay purposes.
