A few years ago I made a blog specifically pointing out Bayonetta and Bulletstorm for issues I had with the stories. Mostly that they had detailed plots, which a lot of people misinterpreted for having cutscenes and stories. I was never happy with it and have always wanted to correct it, and while playing Bayonetta 2, I thought about a parallel to one of the greatest comedies ever, The Big Lebowski.
Let's look at The Dude and Bayonetta. At first glance, they have absolutely nothing in common. But when you really look at it, you see a unique similarity. That being that they have their shit together not because of their situation, but because of their outlook on it. The Dude lives a pretty pathetic life, unemployed while doing very little other than smoking weed, bowling, and drinking White Russians. Bayonetta, meanwhile, is being hunted down by Angels all the time, where if she loses, she will face eternal damnation.
And both wouldn't have it any other way. The Dude doesn't want anymore than what he has really, he enjoys his pathetic existence. Bayonetta loves to beat whoever she fights, meanwhile, as she tortures them all while dancing and looking sexy while doing it. Most other characters would be looking at a way out of either of these situations, but they enjoy this just the way it is. There is no room for character development in either, adding it would defeat the purpose of each of them.
Yet The Big Lebowski gave a perfect script for this kind of character while Bayonetta did not. Stuff happens in that movie, but almost all of it never goes anywhere. Characters are introduced and forgotten about, twists are revealed that don't have consequences, and all you get at the end is "The Dude abides." There is something to connect all these events together, but it is still mostly a sequence of events because the Dude does not care about most of it.
Bayonetta has a similar apathy which does not mesh as well with her plot. In regards to the first game, she is at her best when she does not care about a situation, only looking for fun ways to cause chaos. When things come in to advance the plot, they noticeably drag on and are pretty convoluted.
If, however, the plot was nothing more than "Angels want to kill her, watch as she travels around the world doing crazy things," however, I feel it would suit not only her character, but Platinum as well. After all, while the plot to Bayonetta was confusing and boring, the cutscenes that just let her be herself were awesome.
But this is not just for Bayonetta. There are many other games which focus on gameplay over story while offering a weak story that sometimes gets in the way of or even contradicts the core gameplay. But a sequence of events that just let characters have fun and do crazy things? Well that would actually feel like a reward after the long gameplay segments.
This is not a template for all games, merely an idea that I think could suit many games. Let Kojima and company still do their thing, but if Kamiya just wants a crazy action game, maybe he should just stick a bunch of crazy action cutscenes instead of a fully developed plot. Because gamers are always looking for the Citizen Kane of gaming, but why not look for its Big Lebowski as well?
Bayonetta likes lollipops and has guns on her shoes. Silly lady.
One day when the bad guys take all your guns but forget to check your shoes you'll be thinking "who's silly now?" :)
Replace silly with awesome.
Eh, you may have a point, but I don't remember much about The Big Lebowski's plot either. I saw it at the theater and remember not really thinking much of it. Probably because it was so pointless. Though I may enjoy it if I watched it now.
Bayonetta's plot was pretty convoluted though, I'll give you that.
I actually didn't think much of Lebowski first time I saw it either. But it's one of those movies that gets better with every rewatch.
I enjoyed The Big Lebowski a hell of a lot more than Citizen Kane, which I appreciate more than I like as a movie. I'm more interested in the history of William Randolph Hearst and other people who made up Charles Foster Kane's character than I am with his/their personal affairs. So I'm on board with the idea of a video game's plot being more like The Big Lebowski: relatively coherent with plenty of symbolism to read into or dismiss as nonsense, but with a complacent and apathetic main character surrounded by silly people and events.
I'm on board.
This just doesn't need to apply with that specific formula. If all they have are some good characters, but not a good plot, then just have those characters do fun things in the cutscenes and leave it at that. Games can get away with that in a way movies cannot.
The title of this post looks like a parody of a Polygon article.
Only difference is I talk out of my head instead of my ass.
Yeah, that's true. I hope you understood I wasn't bagging on the blog, which is good. The title just reminded me of something Polygon would write as a title. Only they tend to compare apples to Chicken McNuggets in some of their articles. :)
Don't worry, I knew all along, saying something like that as an insult is not your style. They do title shit like that just for hits though rather than because they have a unique point. It's the same social justice everywhere else is giving, right down to having to wade through a sea of smugness to get to the point.
"The lady doesn't abide." is something Bayonetta might say. Wasn't Deadly Premonition a kind of David Lynch kind of weird game? I think it would be cool if devs would do some interesting twists on the mostly linear type games we play these days. Thing is, The Big Lebowsky didn't do well at the box office and neither would a game with a unique bent like that (note Psychonauts and Eternal Darkness both bombing). Granted, people caught on to the greatness of the Big Lebowski eventually, but what game dev can afford to wait? Someone who's got some clout and can afford to make a creative and interesting game and take risks. I wonder who that could be?
How they did financially is beside the point.
I read your blog but can't think of a response. You are beautiful.
Thanks.....I think.
Never did I think I'd see the day when Bayonetta and The Big Lebowski would be talked about at the same time. let alone Bayonetta and The Dude in the same sentense.
