I started thinking recently about what it means when a game tells you, as a player, a deliberate lie. It all came to a head after playing Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice. I wanted to now know, "when does a game's lie go too far?". In this video I try my best to answer this question by looking at games like Hellblade, Telltale's The Walking Dead, Life is Strange, Spec Ops: The Line, Deus Ex Human Revolution, Gears of War, and Guilty Gear Strive.
Hope you enjoy :)
Sources:
Quotes from Antoniades: https://www.pcgamesn.com/hellblade-senuas-sacrifice/hellblade-permadeath-fake
GOW health: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73Pqsk74Jc0&t=0s
GOW multiplayer damage: https://mp1st.com/news/gears-of-war-multiplayer-design-choice-gave-first-time-players-a-big-boost
GGST: https://www.dustloop.com/w/GGST/Damage
Walt William's stance on black/white fades: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/07/spec-ops-the-lines-lead-writer-on-creating-an-un-heroic-war-story/
Hellblade Polygon article: https://www.polygon.com/2017/9/15/16316014/hellblade-senuas-sacrifice-mental-illness
0:00 Introduction
1:55 Hellblade's Unabashed Lie
17:09 Lying About Mechanics Gone Wrong
24:44 Lying About Mechanics Gone Right
31:19 Lying About Scope
40:32 A Tame Lie About Outcomes
43:52 The Most Serious Lie of 2012
56:18 Closing Thoughts
A deep dive analysis on the topic of lying in video games. I guess you could call it a video game video essay.