The Finish Line: How LBP Helped Overcome One of My Many Childhood Traumas
“We have perhaps a natural fear of ends. We would rather be always on the way than arrive. Given the means, we hang on to them and often forget the ends.” — Eric Hoffer
I never really bothered with finishing games.
It just wasn’t a goal of mine. I was content to muck about within the world the game offered me, enjoy the thrill of cutting enemies to ribbons or besting my own scores on challenges — but to combat the final boss and reach that nebulous frontier of completion…let’s just say it wasn’t my thing.
And then I was playing Media Molecule’s Little Big Planet and realized, quite before I knew it, that I was in the final level of the built-in game play and I kicked the frakkin’ asterisks out of that snarky Collector and his electric minions. Bubbles popped and fireworks ensued, and as the prim narrator explained my accomplishment I thought to myself, “Holy hamsnacks! I’ve finished my first game ever!”
When I then recalled, suddenly and without warning, that this wasn’t the case. Cue the flashback squiggles.
I got the original Nintendo Gameboy when it first came out, and I thumbed my way through Super Mario Bros. god knows how many times in a dire frenzy to MASTER those little wretches (there was no back in the Dark Ages), and I DID IT. In a rush I remembered the glee with which I awaited my reward for conquering that green-on-green, 8-bit universe, and the crushing disappointment I felt when the screen flashed, solely, in devastating monochrome: THE END.
WHAT?!?!
Imagine my eleven-year-old heart being ripped from its triumphant chest at this blow to the entire, universal concept of success→reward. It’s a memory I (understandably) repressed, something that apparently kept me from future disappointment by subliminally steering me from the desire to finish a game, any game, in fear of a similar emotional trauma.
Cue flash-forward squiggles.
Enter Little Big Planet, costumes popping over my head, animations and the glo-o-o-orious feeling of having—single-handedly—erased this festering wound from the tortured confines of my past, all without having to pay an analyst with a Teutonic accent. I WAS FREE!
Enter—present day. I will slay these sunsabritches to the ends of the Earth (or my bandwidth) and revel in closing credits. The final song in inFamous is reward enough to finish that baby over and over again, and I’m going to suck the marrow from this Supreme Hunter in [Prototype] if for no other reason than to send this strong message to Nintendo: YOU HAVE NOT BEATEN ME! Your psychotic fans who accepted the scalding blow of betrayal all those years ago shall not deter my Sony-fueled binges of master-destroy-repeat.
Still—err, seriously—some games still don’t provoke me into this frenzy for the finish, either because the story isn’t compelling enough to feel worth the effort or simply due to the fact that it’s more enjoyable to wander aimlessly, picking off events of my choosing. Some games don’t even have endings, and allow one to race/fight/gobble to the heart’s content.
There is also something a bit sad and anti-climactic in reaching a game’s conclusion. As many theorists have stated, in regards to collecting—to finish a collection is to die in some way. The collection must remain open and unfulfilled to instill purpose and drive in the collector. Perhaps this is part of the fuel for franchises—you can beat me, but I’ll keep bringin’ it on.
I now say: bring it. I may suck to epic proportions at nearly every game I touch (this will be a common theme of mine—you have been warned), but I will endeavor in rushes of self-debasement from one boss battle to the next until that “THE END”—once the blight of my gaming enthusiasm—is not only in sight, but crushed beneath the trembling callous of my thumb.
February 17th, 2011 by kozfear | 10 comments
koz is a writer, photographer, and wayward college professor from the San Francisco Bay Area. A certified bookaholic, she nurtures intense passions for literature, philosophy, history, poetry, linguistics, and reference books. Among her other obsessions are felines, cephalopods, typewriters, scrabble, skeeball, cinema, music, minutia, irony, metaphor, curiosity, idiosyncrasy, artisans, Italia, communication, and conversation.
She also plays video games.
My father, recovering from his second brain-tumor operation, used to play Dr. Mario endlessly. It helped him overcome his paralysis and rework his hand-eye coordination. He is, to this day, exceedingly angry that he managed — with pieces of brain missing — to crush that game like Carthage, only to get “The End” as his reward. And trust me, an angry NorseDad on the rampage is an interesting thing to watch.
It is surprising how many people don’t understand the concept of “set up -> payoff” when it comes to being in front of people. If someone else is utilizing their time to pay attention to you, don’t waste their time with things you want to say, but no one else wants to hear.
And when you are done, thank them for paying attention. In the case of video games, “The End” is not a thank you. For me, in the movies, watching a second Death Star blow up didn’t do it for me either.
My computer game trauma came in the form of a game called “Bioforge” where the bad guy I chased around for months escaped in the end. I replayed the end a hundred times thinking I had done it wrong, but no. They were hoping for a sequel. I never looked to see if they made one.
Off the top of my head, the game with the best ending sequence — or at least the one which affected me the most, personally — was FFVIII. Now *that* was an ending. But, then, I’m a massive fan of that game, and it’s still the dark horse of the series.
ZOMG!!!!! best game ever. THE END
1 of the best old school series 4 ending sequences was the zelda series.After playing a decent amount of time and thinking u had beat the game u got treated not 2 a lame”the end” but a whole other games worth of content in another quest.Having different endings makes games more replayable,thats a good thing,i replayed the”Romance of the 3 kingdoms 7″numerous times 2 see the endings with different factions sadly many games r 1 and done.
THE END = me throwing uncharted 2 out the window, and landingin a pile of poorly ended games.
give us at least a new difficulty, a super weapon, new character, SOMETHING!!! this game ends, that’s it mentality works for MOVIES, not games. i gave you 65 dollars for more than 8 hours of time and then…fizzle…pop…THE END.
it makes me sad.
and duece, sorry, bioforge 2 didn’t make it…
http://www.giantbomb.com/bioforge/61-15431/
So I wasn’t the only one who was scarred by that ending. I am feeling better already. Thanks!!
I used to be the same way with books. I’d quite literally walk around the house with my nose stuck in one all day, doing housework, cooking and preparing food and never actually looking at what I was doing (before you ask, yes, I still have all my fingers). And then I’d get to that last chapter.
Hoo boy…
I’d let that book languish for weeks before actually finishing it. I’d end up starting a new book, just to forego the agony of finishing its predecessor. Then I’d inevitably run out of bookmarks (or books) and have to finish it. Regretfully so, too, I might add. I just felt like I was getting short changed, even if the author wrapped everything up properly in the end.
And here I thought I was the only one, heh heh.
There have been more than a handfull of books I’ve picked up that I’ve dreaded putting down after the inevitable ending. I can’t say that I’ve waited weeks to end the literary torment, but I can say I’ve spent a few days gazing mournfully at the cover of a book while fighing an internal struggle on whether to pick it up and be done with it or to savor the ache and wait….just a little longer.
As for games, I generally enjoy the payoff and like to get to it (perhaps gaming is hardwired to a different part of my brain than reading). I am in agreement with the praise of of FFVII for the series’ memorable endings. The biggest dissapointment I can recall is the first Tomb Raider game. I was simply awestruck from the very beginning of the game (the theme song and some of the incidental music still resonates in my head) but the ending was a complete let down.
The End
I have to say that I end up beating most of the games I play. There are a few I haven’t but that is usually because I got to the last boss and found that I wasn’t leveled up enough to beat it, which meant all I could do is go back and play against minor adversaries to level up and go back and hope it was enough. If this happened a few times I would lose interest and eventually quit altogether and move on. I am into games for the fun, when they become a job or tedious I walk away for they have lost their reason for me to play.
The Final Fantasy series is and always will be my favorite of all time. I own quite a few of them and I think FF 7 is the best and I wish they would remake it with the new graphics available today. Now that would be epic!!