trivard676
Dear Capcom,
I really have to commend you on how you took the gaming community by surprise. With series fans looking forward to Resident Evil: Revelations and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and now Resident Evil 6? It’s pretty safe to say that 2012 is the definitive year to be a Resident Evil fan. With how well you’ve pulled off the No Hope Left ad campaign and the bombastic Resident Evil 6 trailer, it’d be hard for a long-time fan like myself to ask for anything else – but there’s just one thing on my mind. It’s not something that I hope you do, rather something you don’t.
Don’t reveal major characters or plot points. Please?
Thanks in advance
Janus
So it might seem like I’ve definitely gone off the deep end here, but there’s a method to my madness. We’ve spent hours theorizing, wracking our brains and going through the 15 year history of the series thinking about who the strange people in the new trailers could be. We’ve poured over every frame – we love doing that.
But who doesn’t take issue when major plot points are revealed during a trailer? How often have you looked at an advertisement for a movie and noted that it had pretty much revealed the entire premise and ending? Who likes that? Who likes playing a game, looking at the characters onscreen and knowing not only that someone is going to kick the bucket, but how?
To avoid being spoileriffic – there’s a trailer released about a certain, relevant game coming up that’s extremely detailed. It also reveals some pretty big things. If you saw it, you might have groaned and asked yourself, ”Now why did they show that?!”
It’s not this one. But should we be prepared for spoileriffic trailers?
Games that put a heavy emphasis on story would probably do well to keep those story elements a secret until they’re played. Let the fans themselves discover all that you have in store for them. Major plot points that are discovered by us, while playing a game, are so much more amazing than if they’re spoon fed in trailers and announcements. So much emphasis is put on getting people hyped up for a game and releasing secrets about the game before it’s released, often times you can find the first hour of the game online a week before it’s released. Where’s the discovery? Where’s the thrill of turning on a game and not knowing at all what to expect?
To cite an example that’s not so fresh, but still stings just the same – Resident Evil 5. The trailer for the game revealed Jill Valentine’s tombstone, even if just for a second. Slow that video down and you can see it there, plain as day. Capcom should have known that their fans would slow that shit down and analyze every frame. Not only that – but the Bird Lady (the ‘person’ in the plague mask) was pretty much revealed at the end of the trailer with Wesker pulling the hood back. Also with the whole emphasis on ‘us.’
So not only does the viewer know that:
a) Jill Valentine supposedly died
b) Jill Valentine was “resurrected” and now works with Wesker
c) Plague masks and hoods don’t make a very good disguise
When this revelation was made in game, not only was it expected, it also felt extremely cheap. Something that was supposed to be a wild twist was just…bland. There’s no other way to describe it. Writing about games, I often end up watching something that will ruin the story for me – I can handle that. But this was a trailer available to everyone, including people who just wanted an introduction.
This piques our interest – makes us ask questions.
This just up and gives us the answer.
Granted, the RE5 trailer is distant past in the gaming world. Capcom, in their effort to keep the hype train rolling, have released several Revelations trailers that not only show new characters, but also their untimely demise. Why?
Resident Evil 6 is a defining game for the series. If the trailer is an accurate representation of what the final game will be, it’s a mix of the series’ two main protagonists and a mix of the two main styles of gameplay. The action of later games in the series combined with the suspense and horror of earlier titles. Not only that, consider all of the fans that swore off the series with the action-heavy (yet surprisingly well-selling) RE5. If Capcom wants those fans back, RE6 needs to deliver.
Capcom has handled the lead-up and eventual announcement of Resident Evil 6 flawlessly. The worst thing they could do now is ruin it by repeating mistakes of the past.
Leave the air of mystery surrounding the game. Let us find out for ourselves. We’ll thank you for it.
