GDC09: Rhianna Pratchett says games should forget about making people cry
by Ben Gilbert 
{ Mar 27th 2009 at 6:45PM }
Rhianna Pratchett, the woman to blame for the dialogue of last year's EA experiment Mirror's Edge, says that game writers (not, erm, us, mind you, but the type that write the stories in the games we all play) are doing the wrong thing trying to make gamers cry. She tells the Guardian's game blog, "As an industry we get very, very obsessed with making people cry. What's so great about crying?!" Rather, she says that they should be focusing on turning those frowns upside down, citing her work on the Overlord franchise. "The world is dark enough, especially at the moment. Overlord, I think, was successful because it made people smile, it made people laugh. That seems to have resonated so much that I say 'Make people smile, don't make people cry.'" It's no secret that we are suckers for the lolz around here, so we're rather inclined to agree with Ms. Pratchett. In the eight minute interview with the Guardian (found after the break), Pratchett also touches on the importance of getting game writers into the development process early enough, calling shoehorned stories in gaming the result of "Weekend at Bernie's" processes, where a plot that doesn't really exist is "made up" to look like an actual plot. Rather than naming culprits, we'll leave the finger pointing to you fine folks -- and we're willing to bet you can name more than a few, no?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Cj @ Mar 27th 2009 6:50PM
I nearly cried at the End of Half Life 2 Episode 2. So well acted.
Ihavepants @ Mar 27th 2009 6:54PM
Ending of Call Of Duty 4 did it more for me, which I was very surprised with.
Hyams @ Mar 27th 2009 7:31PM
Nah, it's all about MGS3's ending.
Lee @ Mar 27th 2009 7:47PM
I don't find it as funny when comedy characters die.
Sly (PSN slycooper_rocker) @ Mar 27th 2009 8:00PM
Ihavepants summed it up for me
BananaBoat @ Mar 27th 2009 9:07PM
I cried at the end of Ico, and I'm man enough to admit it. Sure I may have been intoxicated, but it was a Brian's Song-esque manly sobbing.
Oh, and she's a hack. You all know who "she" refers to. She isn't worth me scrolling up to find her name.
Cypher @ Mar 28th 2009 12:26AM
Clearly this woman has never played one of the saddest games in existence.
Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations.
Calvin @ Mar 28th 2009 2:26AM
The end of HL2.2 was sad (I know Kliener's not going to make it in the next one, and I can't stand thinking about it), along with the end of of Kingdom Hearts, and when Axel died in Kingdom Hearts 2
Shadow of the Colossus was sad throughout... every time he slayed a Colossus, I felt sad for the Colossus, and then when the spirit things went through his body (more so towards the end, when you can tell they were affecting him) and yet he continued onwards
I don't know if tears ever streamed down my face from a game, but my eyes have definitely welled-up. Ironically those are some of my favorite games. It's kinda depressing to think about
God I'm so emo.
CantFlame (PSN MariusElijah) @ Mar 27th 2009 6:53PM
Heavy Rain will make me cry........I hope
Lee @ Mar 27th 2009 6:55PM
And what a sterling story Mirrors Edge had.
Next up, Uew Boll on what makes a gripping movie.
devilsei @ Mar 27th 2009 7:01PM
Hahaha! Thanks for the laughs Lee!
... wait what? Seriously?! Uwe Bole is making a Mirror's Edge movie with Seth Rogen as a manly Faith, driving around a bleak dystopian city shooting rockets out of every opening of the car in order to purify the world of zombies while making use of dogs as tires?!
... @ Mar 27th 2009 6:55PM
I have to admit there's nothing like a good laugh!
nikescar @ Mar 27th 2009 6:59PM
Overlord was a success?
Dave @ Mar 27th 2009 7:17PM
Remember, we can call Overlord a success only because women in the video game industry should be treated equally.
Jose @ Mar 27th 2009 8:10PM
Don't be a prick, Dave, that shit wasn't marketed very well, the game was slightly broken, and it still sold reasonably well (otherwise they wouldn't have ported over so many times).
nikescar @ Mar 27th 2009 8:30PM
Firstly, am I supposed to know this Dave guy?
Secondly, I didn't think it sold well regardless of how easy it was to port their game over to PS3.
Thirdly, my opinion on the success of a game isn't dictated by sales but by how good I think it is.
Jeff @ Mar 27th 2009 8:37PM
That's not what success means. You mean quality.
nikescar @ Mar 27th 2009 8:45PM
Oh no, I mean success. I use define success the same way any self respecting developer does. You define it the way publishers do.
Jose @ Mar 27th 2009 10:30PM
It's really too bad you're completely wrong, and will never understand why, because your definition is, in fact, also completely wrong.
I could say "Halo was not a success" because I didn't like the game, even though it sold phenomenally. I would be completely wrong.
I could say that Psychonauts was a success, because I liked it, even though it sold very poorly. In this instance, I would also be fucking wrong, as you are here, sir.
nikescar @ Mar 28th 2009 12:19AM
Oh my. I'll let you look up the many definitions of success. I'll use it in three different ways for you to describe a game:
1. Halo 3 was a sales success
2. Psyconauts was a critical success
3. Overlord was a personal success for the developers (my assumption on what this Rhianna lady is referring to when she used it)
The English language is wonderful isn't it? All three usages are not "fucking wrong".
*Rule # 12,587,916 of the internet*
Your opinion is not fact!
Jose @ Mar 28th 2009 1:37AM
Statement three is completely in conflict with your initial post, questioning the success of the game. We all agree it was a success, selling well enough on the 360, as well as the PC (Steam incl.), to warrant a port to the PS3. Had it not sold well enough on those two platforms, they probably would not have bothered with the notoriously difficult task of porting a game to the PS3.
The reason I said Dave is because I didn't really read your post, but the one after it, and it was kinda sexist, so I thought I'd call him out. metiche
Thaewyn @ Mar 27th 2009 7:05PM
See, this sounds like she misunderstands the idea of 'making people cry'. It's not that we're sad, it's that we're so attached to characters and well-written story that we truly care about them. I've heard of people who cried when Aerith died. I didn't, but I did get teary-eyed at what happened to Argo towards the end of Shadow of the Colossus, and that game had next to no dialogue!
Courtney @ Mar 28th 2009 3:18AM
The Argo (Agro?) moment in SotC is probably the closest any video game has ever come to getting me to cry.
chaingunzx @ Mar 27th 2009 7:08PM
She is full of it. Making people smile is easy,making the laugh is tougher. Same token scaring a player. Now "Making them cry " is a metaphor for the players emotionally connecting with the story and the things that make the story. That is what is meant by that.
How many games have you really emotionally connected with EVER? How many games have you smiled at? how many have you laughed at? Put it in perspective and realize smiling and laughing is alot easier then a serious adult story. Story telling and moving images fit but hollywood is still the template unfortunatly.....or fortunatly, just look to your local theatre for examples of films you emotionally connect with, smile ator laugh with.
So yeah she is full of crap...probably reverse psychology for up and coming game writers who are trying to get stories that resonate in games.
Jose @ Mar 27th 2009 7:14PM
She's just mad because she can't do it.
Shadow of the Colossus... I cried like a baby when I thought something happened that, as I later found out, didn't actually happen. God I loved that... thing. And there was no real writing to speak of in that game, go figure.
Saria the Cat @ Mar 27th 2009 7:19PM
I cried, too. :) Wonderful, wonderful game.
Jose @ Mar 27th 2009 7:59PM
Best Game Ever?
With only slight apprehension, I say "fuck yes!"
lasersanchez @ Mar 28th 2009 1:35PM
You cried at the end?
Really?
Jose @ Mar 28th 2009 3:07PM
Okay I didn't cry, but I did sort of sit there, mouth agape with disbelief that my quiet friend who had helped me during nearly every daunting encounter had chosen to save me at his own peril. I never got to ride the broad I was trying to save, so I was much less attached to her :P
FemaleOrca @ Mar 30th 2009 6:35PM
I cried. I then cried again at the very very end. In fact, i got pretty choked up after the last few colossi fell.
Ive also cried in every Metal Gear, so take that as you will.
Saria the Cat @ Mar 27th 2009 7:22PM
I don't see what's wrong with making gamers cry. I've cried in movies like Wall-e which were not sad or dreary at all. People cry because they are touched and that's not something writers should avoid. It's not always what writers should strive for, either. But I think you can make a funny, lighthearted game that will also touch someone enough to make them cry, and that will only make the game more powerful.
The Dark Wayne @ Mar 27th 2009 8:13PM
I agree, it basically seems to me like she's asking game writers reverse all the hard work games have done to be treated as a serious story telling medium and just revert to Depression era style escapism
SecretAgentHam @ Mar 27th 2009 7:29PM
the first disgaea was a tear jerker to me. i was choked up when a certain angel was turned into a rose on the last stage...=( poor laharl
mahouneko @ Mar 28th 2009 3:33AM
The Prinny "Exodus" chapter was very depressing for me. Other than that, there were several endings to Disgaea that were also great or amusing in general.
Hyams @ Mar 27th 2009 7:30PM
Making a person cry is much harder than making a person laugh, and as such is less often accomplished and more thought of.
Not to mention that a truly sad scene is more memorable than a funny one.
zkey14 @ Mar 27th 2009 7:33PM
Games are supposed to be fun, not emotional.
Jack Spicer @ Mar 27th 2009 7:37PM
Because they cant be both... omg, i have an idea. They should make a game that is 'fun' AND 'emotional'! Holy shit! Why hasnt anyone thought of this!?
Hyams @ Mar 27th 2009 7:51PM
Funny and emotional: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acO2xapK698
Jack Spicer @ Mar 27th 2009 7:34PM
I cried in thr first pokemon movie when pikachu was trying to bring ash back but couldnt and started crying....hold on.
Ok, as for games i cried at the end of MGS3, wow. First game i ever remember getting so involved with the story and characters.
When its all said and done, dont get mad at people who can actually write a good story.
ice~ @ Mar 27th 2009 7:37PM
I got all choked up at the end of PoP...
And this lady, she sounds clueless. The games that get you choked up are the ones that stick with you, if I had to remember as many games as I could that I have played, all the ones with the tear jerking endings would pop up first. I personally think they should step it up with story in video games, unlike my friends, I find that it's a crucial part in video games, because I find video games to be quite like movies, where I come for the story, not just the blood and gore. I can only name a few characters that I have actually gotten attached to...
Hyams @ Mar 27th 2009 7:40PM
Well, I do find it a little weird that she's saying this, given how Heavenly Sword ends (and starts) with Nariko dying.
Donald @ Mar 27th 2009 7:44PM
Rhianna Henry v. Neil Young
ROUND ONE
FIGHT
horngreen @ Mar 27th 2009 7:59PM
EDIT: Another stupid, off-topic comment like this gets you banned. Warned.
Lee @ Mar 27th 2009 8:56PM
i guess its what you go for in a game. Some people like to shoot and have a laugh, some like to have a good cry. Just like the movie industry i guess. Some like Beaches some like the Doom movie.
It's possible to cry at both.
Douche Bigalow @ Mar 27th 2009 8:08PM
Why can't we all just agree that anyone who cries while playing a videogame is an emotional cripple who probably cries at bank openings, and leave it at that?
Oh and Mirror's Edge roundly sucked, but the story and dialogue were definitely the worst parts.
The Dark Wayne @ Mar 27th 2009 8:12PM
i dont think there could be a more appropriate comment from a guy named Douche
kingryu @ Mar 27th 2009 8:36PM
Nice work Douche
Please try and play Crisis Core and say that. Now that ending was gutting even though everyone knows the ending before they play.
F1 @ Mar 27th 2009 8:56PM
Just because you were born without emotion doesn't mean the rest of us weren't.
Saria the Cat @ Mar 27th 2009 9:41PM
Wait, wouldn't a person who is "emotionally crippled" be someone who doesn't experience emotion properly? Like, you?
Bowser Rogozhin @ Mar 28th 2009 6:39AM
"emotional cripple"
Douche has a point here. Most game stories are well too wink to conjure a genuine emotional attachment. When people drink some of they Club Nostalgia and regale tales of video games that made them a little bleary eyed, they inevitably go back to their youth, I'm talking when they were ten and eleven years old. But when we're ten or eleven, most people haven't had an opportunity to experience true love, heartbreak, sadness or happiness. We are still experiencing the world in all its shiny-bright glory. So when a character is slain in a certain PS1 RPG, and our hearts started to shudder, it's because attachment, however tenuous, followed by death was still an alien concept. To play that game now, to see that 'great' event, reveals only one thing: how developmentally stunted we all were at that age, emotionally crippled as our Bard friend puts it. Manufactured sadness is not worthy of indulging our emotions, and that goes for all media, games included.
To feel anything resembling sadness in a game (to date) means that you're out of touch with reality and you're stunted, broken person.