Perhaps the biggest mainstay throughout this lengthy console generation has been the companion mechanic. This element has also been one of the most troubling features to master during this same span of time, however, as we’ve often times witnessed companions becoming nuisances, rather than the assets their developers originally designed them to be. Whether it’s been the failure to deliver a proper emotional attachment with companions, or to install them seamlessly into gameplay, there’s been no shortage of gripes with what arguably all would call a brilliant characteristic in a game.
Recently, however, we’ve seen a recent evolution of companions and how they’re intertwined in games, highlighted by three titles that are burned, welcomely of course, into our brains. So today we go inside this evolution with The Walking Dead‘s Clementine, Elizabeth from BioShock Infinite, and The Last of Us‘ Ellie to see how companionship has transformed, and how it’ll transform games for years to come.
TellTale has always been known for doing things off the beaten path. Whether that’s formulating a comedy act at the hands of a Texas Hold’em match, or, in this case, taking the phrase “___ will remember that” and turning it into the most heart-throbbing story element to date, TellTale knows that success doesn’t always follow what everyone else is doing. However, Clementine’s role in The Walking Dead took that ideology and raised it to an entirely new level.
Clementine is a companion like all before her, but at the core of her character, she’s, well, different. Interestingly enough, she’s not a gameplay element at all. She’s not constantly fighting for attention as you venture throughout the zombie-infested south, or even as you fight off a mob of walkers. Instead, she’s specifically designed to spur your emotional attachment to not only her, but the rest of the game’s characters during “down time” moments of each episode. This is done through an innocence that only a child could portray. It’s fear that she may never see her parents again; hope that things can all be okay when they’re glaringly getting worse and worse with every new stage.
Whatever it may have been, Clementine shook your attitude as Lee deep down, because when it came down to those crucial moments, all who played The Walking Dead would agree that their decision came with Clementine’s best interest first and foremost, even if it wasn’t for the betterment of the group, and that’s exactly where so many developers have failed in the past.
Whereas Clementine was arguably limited as a storytelling companion, Irrational Games had the overwhelming task of developing a character that was both attached to the story and to the game’s combat. The product of this development challenge is Elizabeth. If I was writing about Elizabeth a year ago, I’d probably be writing about all the woes that would surely come about based solely on similar characters in the past. Fast forward to now, and I’m baffled, and honored, to say that all of my woes were buried early on in Infinite.
Irrational decided to mature Elizabeth, and in many respects, they sexualized her to some degree, and this paid off immensely. Not only was she better able to process that horror that was surrounding her, than say a Clementine who had to be consoled throughout that experience, players in the back of their mind were attracted to this stunning character, wondering if there was a possible relationship between Booker and Elizabeth (obviously this proved to not be the case, but that’s all I’ll say for you folks who’ve yet to finish the game).
And when it came to gameplay and combat, it would have been easy for Elizabeth to become a nuisance – a character providing dozens of fetch quests. This isn’t the case, though, as Elizabeth constantly provides ammo, health and currency for Booker from a distance while staying out of his way and holding her own. Of course, enemies pretty much forget about her in combat, but you, Booker, don’t care, because you’re not fighting her for enemy attention or cursing at her to get out of your shot. It’s a special formula, and that’s why we’re still talking about it months after the game’s release.
And then there’s Ellie. Though a fuse between Clementine and Elizabeth, Naughty Dog’s direction with Ellie makes her a unique companion throughout the jaw-dropping campaign. This direction lies in unison with the background of how Ellie was brought up. It’s somewhat of a stale idea to get a view of life before a tragedy, plague or virus, and then be immersed into life afterwards; Naughty Dog was aware of this and took the bold, yet rewarding, decision of creating a companion who’s only aware of life under the confines of tragedy and despair.
This transitioned to Ellie and Joel’s relationship, and how they interacted. It was a bitter relationship in this regard, because to Ellie this was all she knew; all the while Joel had to nearly plead with Ellie that this wasn’t all there was, while he painted pictures of what used to be. It’s relationships like these – forged by unforeseen companionship – that make an experience like The Last of Us so special of a video game to play.
The post The Future of Gaming: The Evolution of the Companion appeared first on Video Game Writers.