Text | Lan Xi
Under his reputation, Spielberg’s "Number One Player" was once regarded as a love letter to game fans, but it is not necessary to be too harsh to notice that Spielberg himself is probably not a game player. Therefore, although his film has countless stalks and made every egg famous, it cannot conceal the essence of the feature film at best as a more gorgeous version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" with special effects.
Obviously, the "out-of-control player" three years later successfully overcome this sense of alienation. The love letter was buried directly in the plot, and a mouthful of dog food was stuffed in front of all the audience. No otaku could refuse this slight feeling. Improper operation will be embarrassing to the romanticism of social death, and the whole film’s tribute to the game culture is no longer a copyright-laden dish name. For example, Marvel’s iconic shield was selected, followed by another. Chris Evans’ surprise shots will make people feel that 20th Century Fox recognizes that Disney’s father is so happy.
It is no exaggeration to say that there are a hundred "Invincible Destruction Kings" between the "Out of Control Player" and the "Number One Player". As a large-scale promotional film of the Metaverse, it is also quite qualified.
However, the praise may end here. It is not about starting to criticize the lack of depth in commercial films. This kind of path of seeking fish is the standard template for many professional film reviews. I just want to try my best to define the "out of control player". The logic of the game expresses disgust.
Where do I start? The progressives in Hollywood are no longer satisfied with restoring rights for minorities. They are passionate and correct to continue to project this sentiment on the fictitious creatures, such as "The Ninth District" Aliens who have been protested against the poor containment environment, or the dinosaurs in "Jurassic World" who are not hesitating to let nature be saved, robots used as tourist playthings in "Western World", and "The Shape of Water" "The terrifying mermaid who talks to the cleaning lady in love."
In the "out-of-control player", the objects that try to give rights have even evolved into the so-called "artificial intelligence lifeforms"-I will still be shocked by the magical structure of this concept-so in order to save the NPCs in the game, those who try to deprive them The image of their rights, such as game company bosses and thrill-seeking players, have been vilified beyond the reach, and even the operation of upgrading the game version has been equated with these codes of murdering living in the virtual world.
And all these settings are based on the faintly revealed patriarchal taste of the game industry in the film. The game category was drawn up to three or six or nine grades. The "Liberty City" modeled on "Grand Theft Auto" is moral. Corrupt, even players are disgustingly violent, and "Infinite Life" is a sandbox development game that firmly holds the moral high ground, and the protagonist's aura must be full.
This is a typical progressive style. Out of the difficulty of directly challenging the constraints of free traditions, they often will not openly prohibit certain activities, but it is really easy to humiliate people or things that are not advanced enough in an insinuation.
The accusation of the violence of video games has always been the mainstream voice of the progressives. The script creation of the "out of control player" just straightened the chain of advantages and disadvantages. After projecting into reality, it is easy to find references, such as "I "The World of Animals" and "Animal Crossing Friends Club" are good games that everyone loves, while "Saints in the Underworld" and "Watch Dogs" are bad games played only when they are mischievous.
Of course I would not say that "Minecraft" and "Animal Crossing Friends" are not fun-I myself have been obsessed with them-but this kind of scheming is more than a chicken thief, and it also exposes the deep theme of the film. : It seems to please gamers, but it's actually full of the familiar preaching that I'm doing for you.
I also don’t believe that directors or screenwriters who really love video games and their culture will choose to stigmatize some types of games to crown other types of games. In fact, it is quite vivid to draw the line so impatiently. Self-certified that the game is just a tool for narrative purposes.
"The Eldia people on the island are demons, and the Eldia people outside the island are innocent." Now we all know that such expressions must be politicized.
Games mean the boundaries of human imagination. Players’ needs have never been the same. Some people like to fish and grow vegetables, some like to operate and build, some are obsessed with role-playing, and some are thrown into the battlefield of weapons. In thousands of fictional worlds, Everyone can find their own fun. This is the value and charm of the game, but there is always such a power that they will want to override this free choice and make players bear moral pressure on the content of the game they choose. .
"Ninja Dragon Sword" producer Itagaki Toshinori said that he just put the things that everyone is passionate about into the game-violence, flowers, women, friendship and death. The reason why we can let ourselves go in the game, whether it is driving a car to 200 yards or cutting off an orc’s head, is because it cannot affect the real world, let alone relate to your character and temperament, and confuse it. All of them are killing human nature itself.
From this perspective, "out-of-control players" is not a love letter to the gaming industry at all. On the contrary, it has an extremely strong anti-gaming will.
When leading the NPCs on strike, the heroine told them that in the real world, robbers will not rob banks every day, and they will not always stage gun battles in the city. Therefore, in order to satisfy the players’ "beast desires" The NPCs who had to be roughed up again and again in accordance with the procedures have suffered unfair treatment, so they must cooperate with Guy to overthrow the unscrupulous rule of the capitalists.
Really, this taste is too aggressive, and it is in line with the expectations of progressives for the objective world: as long as everyone gives a little love, the world will become a beautiful world.
If I really want to project the real world so much, I can tell a more real story.
In 2019, there were several shootings in Texas. Some media said that the killer might be imitating the "Call of Duty" to commit the crime. Soon, Walmart removed all video games to express its non-rebellion against progressivism. The attitude of the readers.
But at the same time, as the nation's largest gun retailer, Wal-Mart still has various rifles on the shelves.
In order to eliminate the problem of gun violence, you can't buy gunfight games, but you can still buy real guns. Is there a more ironic picture than this? It can only be said that game manufacturers do not have the political power of the Rifle Association, and they are always unavoidable to play the soft persimmon that is pinched to and fro.
I even suspect that for that excessive metaphor, the "out of control player" has circumvented himself in.
For example, "Liberty City", because as a negative textbook, it should show the characteristics of a bad game. The heroine also said straightforwardly when she debuted. She hates this game, and the reason for playing is only to find evidence of plagiarizing code. .
But... in addition to her subjective evaluation, the appearance of "Freedom City" in the movie is not so bad. Of course, because the scene needs to carry most of the plot of the chapter, the director can't make it too barren. , This has that kind of particularly awkward sense of contradiction:
According to the setting, "Freedom City" must be a shoddy game product, but because of its popularity, it must be able to attract many players to stay and present a sense of substitution in the virtual world to the audience in front of the screen, so it has to be given It can accommodate a variety of gorgeous special effects gameplay, and then everyone will clearly notice that "Freedom City" seems to be quite fun, which again has a potential conflict with the highest theme of the film.
It can be seen that the screenwriter is trying to make up for this contradiction. After Keys learned that Guy is an artificial intelligence program developed by himself, it suddenly became clear that it is no wonder that so many people like the "Freedom City" bad game because it is real enough.
But this still doesn't make sense. Guy's awakening happened after he met Millie, but "Free City" was already on fire before then. Millie could even recite the lines of every NPC, which also shows that NPCs are still playing with any other games. The same, there is no evolution of branch thinking, so the inner play of Keys is not valid.
This trace of forcible indoctrination runs through the entire film. At first, the audience was told that "Freedom City" was pretty bad. After watching for more than an hour, the audience would find that "Freedom City" was quite interesting. Broadcast in the third person, the sequel to "Freedom City" was brutally defeated by Waterloo. Players scolded, the boss scrambled and justice finally defeated evil. Everyone went to the independent game "Infinite Life" developed by Keys and Millie, but if they still follow the settings , "Infinite Life" is a pure sandbox game. Its core gameplay is to observe how the NPCs written by artificial intelligence evolve in it. However, will this really make the audience feel fun? I doubt it. .
What I mean is that progressives can bring out a plate of vegetarian salad and say that it’s nutritionally balanced, healthy, and protect the earth. It’s okay, but they insist on saying that it’s more delicious than the chicken and fries next door. , This is hypocritical.
This is also my biggest and only disappointment with the "out of control player".
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