Binary Swan

Final Fantasy XIII is a game that I am really unsure about. The pervasive warcry of “a step backward” from the gaming press and fans has set up a discussion that I feel requires one to take sides on the truth of that statement. Michael Abbott’s Deep Fantasy post at The Brainy Gamer avoids this framing to focus on the depth of the narrative elements of the game and the creation of some positive female lead characters. In doing so he cites Simon Ferrari’s analysis from Chungking Espresso to argue that the paring back of the game systems is what allowed the narrative to shine through:  ”ease the complexity of the game’s formal systems and increase the complexity of the game’s storytelling”.

The Final Fantasy series is nothing if it is not a journey. The places you go on that journey are the story arcs and moments of character development whilst the landmarks are FMV cutscenes and orchestral scores but the vehicle is always the gameplay; the motive force bringing you to the next stop on your travels.

The vehicle of FFXIII was supplied to me in a very careful and deliberate way. As a result I felt confident in my understanding of the game systems and my ability to guide this vehicle along the journey, which I suspect was the designers intention. By fostering this high level of player comprehension the complexity of the storytelling is allowed to shine through, unimpeded by player frustration. Where I differ from Michael is that I cannot agree on the gravity and importance of certain scenarios and characters within the narrative. This is not because he was incorrect in the identification of places and landmarks along his journey but because we were driving different vehicles. The level of player understanding fostered by FFXIII meant that my party was configured to be the set of abilities and paradigms I needed to traverse the current series of combat puzzles. The journey of FFXIII for me did not elevate Lightning l suspect it did for Michael. This is because she did not occupy a central position in the gameplay the filter through which, as a player, I combine the narrative elements.

Personally my narrative experience of videogames is that of gameplay as a lens to interpret the elements more traditionally associated with storytelling. Whilst reflecting on what stood out in the narrative of Final Fantasy XIII I thought of the strength of Fang and to a lesser extent the personal stories of Hope and Lightning whilst Sazh and Snow barely register in my recollection beyond their early actions. I am unsure of the exact breakdown but I feel that the game is balanced in how the amount of development it provides for each member of the ensemble cast. The only difference I could find is that Fang was almost always the leader of my party with Lightning and Hope in tow. My personal vehicle on this particular Final Fantasy journey is what enabled a subjective narrative experience.

What is exciting is that even with such a wealth of content FFXIII was able to provide a cohesive narrative journey through places and landmarks across the different vehicles created by player choice. I am unsure about Final Fantasy XIII because I have found that the slow and methodical introduction of gameplay elements and characters, the first port of call when crying “a step backward”, is precisely what was needed to enable personalization of the narrative. To give me what I needed to play the game and enough of each character to feel a connection no matter who formed the parts of my vehicle. This was unexpected.

Spoiler alert. This post talks about some key points in the narrative of Zeno Clash. Regardless of how this affects your choice to read further, I highly recommend that you gives the game a play.

Zeno Clash is exactly what I enjoy about this medium, that it creates places that never existed so that I can do things that will never be possible. My playthrough was a unique and memorable gaming experience and I wish to thank Michael Abbot for the strong recommendation he gave the game during his Summer of Confabs. Zenozoik, the world of Zeno Clash is at the same time pleasing to the eye and completely alien. During my journey through this I discovered that Zeno Clash deals with the universal human experience of family, with Ghat and his conflict with the creature, Father-Mother being front and center. The ambiguity of the narrative in regards to family is what makes Zeno Clash so fascinating and opens the game to a variety of readings. Ace Team achieve this by mixing up how family is communicated through plot, gameplay and stylistic choices.

The game opens with Ghat fleeing Halstedom with a female companion named Daedra. Halestedom is the city of his family and he has just killed his Father-Mother. The partnership of Ghat and Daedra seems to be as a result of the implied relationship they share. This sets up the first conflict of Zeno Clash. Ghat confirms a commitment to the formation of “family” through his coupling with Daedra alongside what appears to be a disregard for his own family through the killing of a creature that was both his father and mother. This sets up Ghat as a defender of family but only when it acts to reaffirm the norms of gender roles and social responsibilities (both he and Daedra are a clear heterosexual couple). He is rejecting the queer, more fluid idea of family that Father-Mother represents. Suitably so the family of Halstedom is diverse with no one member being firmly tied to a particular gender, culture or even species. Yet they are continually confirmed as being a part of one family during the game’s combat. Zeno Clash’s on-screen health bars are not only functional but bear the name of Ghat’s early opponents and whether they are his brother or sister. This is of no obvious advantage to the player other than to reinforce that they are grouped together, they are a family, in spite of Ghat’s position. This grouping of opponents occurs throughout the whole game and includes the Corwid, what I consider to be another “family” in Zeno Clash.

Through a series of flashback levels the player learns Ghat’s more advanced combat techniques, the same attacks that the player utilizes to defeat Father-Mother (during another flashback later on). These lessons are given by Metamoq, a member of the Corwid. The Corwid are described as beings that give in to all impulse without regard for morality. They are essentially a group of people beholden to their Id. This is an important moment in the story of Zeno Clash for a few reasons. When Ghat leaves his family to go learn from from the Corwid, he becomes one of them in the eyes of his brothers and sisters. Ghat’s actions in Zeno Clash can therefore be seen as being falling into a more instinctual realm, validating his preference of family as one that is right and beholden to a more “natural order”.  Ghat’s fighting ability is linked solely to the training received from Metamoq, the game provides no other explanation for his combat prowess. Metamoq’s contribution to game is completed with the words, “do what you feel you must do, no matter what. Then you will have reached perfection”. The actions that lead Ghat to the present moment, his partnership with Daedra, are now framed as being his movement towards perfection.  The player’s agency and power in the game world is now tied to  being a Corwid and further justified by the final words of Metamoq. The visceral combat of Zeno Clash is an affirmation of the power and inherent  ‘rightness’ of what Ghat appears to be presenting as “family” in the narrative. He is shown as right to have slain Father-Mother because of  what we later learn is a secret that is kept from her children. But when it comes time for Ghat to reveal that secret, his previous position becomes untenable.

The final confrontation, entitled Family Reunion, comes after a return trip from the End of the World where Ghat revives a creature known as Golem. Of note in the return trip is one of Daedra’s only meaningful lines in the game, her wish to have children of her own some day, to fulfill the role expected of her as a female. In Family Reunion, Ghat faces off against the still living, but wounded, Father-Mother. When defeated Father-Mother thanks him for deciding to destroy him instead of revealing his secret. Ghat subsequent refusal to do either is punctuated by the words “I do consider you my father and mother”. Ghat acknowledges that Father-Mother created a real family based upon the nurturing of young to maturity. But immediately the secret is then revealed by Golem, who remarks of Ghat’s words, “this is a problem”. He tells the family that Father-Mother is in fact a male creature who cannot give birth and who stole every single one of his children from their real parents. Within a space of moments we see a vindication of the family of Father-Mother alongside the secret, which undermines it. The game concludes with no clear position regarding the family, only the promise of Golem that he will guide them into a new age with Ghat and Daedra sitting together over Father-Mother.

The narrative of Zeno Clash presents various ideas about what constitutes “family”. This is done through plot, gameplay elements and even the game’s HUD. The game considers this: Can family only be the end product of the coupling of male and female partners or can it be formed by other means, as a grouping of people reaffirmed by their common existence and nurtured by parents that need not be what is expected? Zeno Clash is demonstrative of the ability of games to present such themes in new and interesting ways. Such things have no easy answer but with a Zeno Clash sequel confirmed I am looking forward to seeing Ace Games pursue the family in the future.