DTG said:
You're essentially saying that the philosophy should be compromised in exchange for a better storyline by saying the themes worked in should be done in a subtle manner. But why not vice versa? I think the storylines should be subtle (if even necessary at all), created around the central philosophy as merely vessels for the message. The themes should be the focus and handed to the viewer similarly to how a teacher hands the coursework to their students. The storyline should be implemented in a subtle manner simply to make the lesson/message more digestable or interesting but should not divert the attention from the fundamental messages the creator is trying to convey. |
The philosophy doesn't have to necessarily take a back seat to the story. Housekeeping is, as I said, basically a work of post-structural philosophy. Gilead is one of the greatest works of theology I've ever read. But the power of both books' philosophy comes from the stories. They work almost as examples work in an essay--showing how the thoery works and why it does.
MGS's philospohy is tacked on in a way that has very, very little to do with the story as a whole. Rather, it stops the story cold when it think's it's time for some philosophy. And the philosophy is not very deep or, yes, nuanced. No offense intended, but if a teacher tried to teach a class around the philosophy offered in the Metal Gear games, it'd be a pretty shitty class. There's just not that much there philosophically in them. As I said above, it's Baudrillard for dummies. Or Nietzche for dummies. Depending on the specific game.
My consoles and the fates they suffered:
Atari 7800 (Sold), Intellivision (Thrown out), Gameboy (Lost), Super Nintendo (Stolen), Super Nintendo (2nd copy) (Thrown out by mother), Nintendo 64 (Still own), Super Nintendo (3rd copy) (Still own), Wii (Sold)
A more detailed history appears on my profile.