I Love Stories That Touch My Heart
[b]A Game Changed My Life[/b]
I believe that some stories can change the world. Recently I have become obsessed with the story of a certain game that came out a few years back. Yes, you heard me - a video game. And no, not the action, gore, or gameplay (well maybe a little), but rather the story and its characters. What is this magical item of interactive bliss? you may ask. Well, it is Naughty Dog's masterpiece: The Last of Us. Now I'm sure that some of you have heard time and time again of the praise that this game received and are tired of hearing it, but unless you've played it, you have no idea.
Everything, from the desperate setting, to the believable characters, to Gustavo Santaolalla's magical melodies are fantastic. I have never before become so immersed in a game before. Never before has a 3D world been so believable. Fictional characters so real. A story so heart-breaking. I am not ashamed to say that this is one of the very, VERY, few stories (whether in print, song, game or film) to have brought genuine tears to my eyes and make me fight to swallow that all-too-familiar lump of pain in my throat. Right from the very beginning when you see Joel's daughter die in his arms - I was hooked.
It has been almost a month since beating it for the first time and I still think about it most every day. You could even say that I am obsessed. I have bought the concept art poster book, downloaded official and un-official soundtracks, downloaded the wallpapers, put the theme on my PS4, and even read some Fanfictions on it - it's still not enough. I still get choked up watching certain scenes or from listening to certain tracks. Why is this?
Part of it, most of it, I think is because of the characters of Joel and Ellie and how we see the two go from despising each other to being inseparable. And no, it is not yet another overdone romance story; this one carries much more weight. Joel is in his late 40's and has survived for 20 years in the post-apocalyptic USA left in the wake of the Cordyceps fungus. The man lost his only daughter in the outbreak and has essentially become a cold-blooded survivor; you could say he lost his morals then too. Ellie is a 14 year old girl that is immune to the fungus and has never known a world without danger around every corner. This teenager is very focused and mature for her age (she has to be) but at the same time displays various acts of tom-foolry and is very curious and foul-mouthed. In essence she is most every mans image of the perfect daughter.
In the beginning Joel is a very pragmatic man - a survivor to the core. He and his partner Tess want nothing more than to deliver Ellie to a ragtag rebellion called the Fireflies so that they can collect a shipment of firearms that they can then sell. Ellie also wants to be delivered as she has seen many lost to the fungal infection and believes that her purpose is to be the cure. But soon after Tess is lost to the infection we start to see subtle, yet fundamental, changes in Ellie and Joel's relationship.
As the game progresses, you see the pair go through many heartbreaking tragedies. In one instance, Henry and Sam (an older and younger brother) die in front of them: Sam by his brother because he was infected and Henry through suicide. These events drive Joel and Ellie closer together and they eventually resemble father and daughter. Joel is constantly reminded of Sarah by Ellies actions and need for protection, and Ellie clings to Joel as the father she never had. After the event in Winter where Ellie is captured by a group of cannibals, which eventually culminates in her killing the groups cult leader after almost being raped, and Joel pushing through the pain of a life-threatening wound to save her you really see the strength that the two draw from one another. They now need the other more than air. More than water. More than life. Their purpose for surviving is no longer for guns or the cure but rather each other.
By the end of the game the two only begrudgingly meet with the rebel Fireflies because of the pretense that it could lead to a cure for the Cordyceps fungi. And when Joel learns of the fact that there is no sure-fire guarantee of a cure/vaccine and that they would need to (for some reason unknown) kill her to remove the sample, he loses it. And understandably so. Because by now, through various notes and audio files, you have learned that the Fireflies are not what they preach. There is no true "good guy" and they are running on desperation and fanaticism. So, Joel tells them to find someone else - they refuse. To give Ellie the choice - negative. And after refusing him and threatening his life and Ellie's you see Joel revert back to his cold survivor self. Joel kills his guard and then goes on a hospital-wide rampage to save his newfound daughter, Ellie. In the end that's exactly what he does. He saves her. But in a way he saved himself as well. Because without her he could not have gone on.
What Joel did is a very human thing to do. He metaphorically throws away the cure for humanity to save the one person he loved more than anything. In the end, to him there is no difference between his daughter of 20 years ago, Sarah, and Ellie. Blood related or not. And when Joel lies to Ellie about what happened at the hospital, saying that the Fireflies turned them away and have stopped looking for a cure, she sees right through that lie - and she accepts it. She accepted it because she would have done the same in his position. So she surrenders her hope for a cure to preserve her relationship with the man she now views as her father.
I don't know why this story sticks with me so. I'm not sure if it's my inner father coming out (though I don't have kids), the fact that I'm lonely/borderline depressed, or that this story simply affects everyone this way. All I know is that I am now forced to look at the world and the people around me differently. It is sad that I have learned more about human nature from a video game than my own reality and the flesh and blood people in it. A little more skepticism has found its way to me; and I recognise that the good guy is not always good. Nor the bad guy bad. I even think that the character of Ellie would literally be the best daughter to have in the future. Something about her advanced maturity mixed with childhood curiosity and fiery temper is endearing. So many daughters are raised to be spoiled and narcissistic these days; they are all obsessed with which shirt goes with which skirt, or which phone they have. To raise someone bold and down to earth like her would be a gift to the world. Anyways, this game's story has literally changed my life and I know I will reflect on it time and again.
This story was a little long for my liking and as my first on this site I think I rambled too much. I just had to get it out there. I apologise for any rough grammar or unseen errors. If anyone read this all the way through and you really want a hit right in the feels then check out the videos in the two links below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-HA3jVHdHw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLAFtsozbi4
I believe that some stories can change the world. Recently I have become obsessed with the story of a certain game that came out a few years back. Yes, you heard me - a video game. And no, not the action, gore, or gameplay (well maybe a little), but rather the story and its characters. What is this magical item of interactive bliss? you may ask. Well, it is Naughty Dog's masterpiece: The Last of Us. Now I'm sure that some of you have heard time and time again of the praise that this game received and are tired of hearing it, but unless you've played it, you have no idea.
Everything, from the desperate setting, to the believable characters, to Gustavo Santaolalla's magical melodies are fantastic. I have never before become so immersed in a game before. Never before has a 3D world been so believable. Fictional characters so real. A story so heart-breaking. I am not ashamed to say that this is one of the very, VERY, few stories (whether in print, song, game or film) to have brought genuine tears to my eyes and make me fight to swallow that all-too-familiar lump of pain in my throat. Right from the very beginning when you see Joel's daughter die in his arms - I was hooked.
It has been almost a month since beating it for the first time and I still think about it most every day. You could even say that I am obsessed. I have bought the concept art poster book, downloaded official and un-official soundtracks, downloaded the wallpapers, put the theme on my PS4, and even read some Fanfictions on it - it's still not enough. I still get choked up watching certain scenes or from listening to certain tracks. Why is this?
Part of it, most of it, I think is because of the characters of Joel and Ellie and how we see the two go from despising each other to being inseparable. And no, it is not yet another overdone romance story; this one carries much more weight. Joel is in his late 40's and has survived for 20 years in the post-apocalyptic USA left in the wake of the Cordyceps fungus. The man lost his only daughter in the outbreak and has essentially become a cold-blooded survivor; you could say he lost his morals then too. Ellie is a 14 year old girl that is immune to the fungus and has never known a world without danger around every corner. This teenager is very focused and mature for her age (she has to be) but at the same time displays various acts of tom-foolry and is very curious and foul-mouthed. In essence she is most every mans image of the perfect daughter.
In the beginning Joel is a very pragmatic man - a survivor to the core. He and his partner Tess want nothing more than to deliver Ellie to a ragtag rebellion called the Fireflies so that they can collect a shipment of firearms that they can then sell. Ellie also wants to be delivered as she has seen many lost to the fungal infection and believes that her purpose is to be the cure. But soon after Tess is lost to the infection we start to see subtle, yet fundamental, changes in Ellie and Joel's relationship.
As the game progresses, you see the pair go through many heartbreaking tragedies. In one instance, Henry and Sam (an older and younger brother) die in front of them: Sam by his brother because he was infected and Henry through suicide. These events drive Joel and Ellie closer together and they eventually resemble father and daughter. Joel is constantly reminded of Sarah by Ellies actions and need for protection, and Ellie clings to Joel as the father she never had. After the event in Winter where Ellie is captured by a group of cannibals, which eventually culminates in her killing the groups cult leader after almost being raped, and Joel pushing through the pain of a life-threatening wound to save her you really see the strength that the two draw from one another. They now need the other more than air. More than water. More than life. Their purpose for surviving is no longer for guns or the cure but rather each other.
By the end of the game the two only begrudgingly meet with the rebel Fireflies because of the pretense that it could lead to a cure for the Cordyceps fungi. And when Joel learns of the fact that there is no sure-fire guarantee of a cure/vaccine and that they would need to (for some reason unknown) kill her to remove the sample, he loses it. And understandably so. Because by now, through various notes and audio files, you have learned that the Fireflies are not what they preach. There is no true "good guy" and they are running on desperation and fanaticism. So, Joel tells them to find someone else - they refuse. To give Ellie the choice - negative. And after refusing him and threatening his life and Ellie's you see Joel revert back to his cold survivor self. Joel kills his guard and then goes on a hospital-wide rampage to save his newfound daughter, Ellie. In the end that's exactly what he does. He saves her. But in a way he saved himself as well. Because without her he could not have gone on.
What Joel did is a very human thing to do. He metaphorically throws away the cure for humanity to save the one person he loved more than anything. In the end, to him there is no difference between his daughter of 20 years ago, Sarah, and Ellie. Blood related or not. And when Joel lies to Ellie about what happened at the hospital, saying that the Fireflies turned them away and have stopped looking for a cure, she sees right through that lie - and she accepts it. She accepted it because she would have done the same in his position. So she surrenders her hope for a cure to preserve her relationship with the man she now views as her father.
I don't know why this story sticks with me so. I'm not sure if it's my inner father coming out (though I don't have kids), the fact that I'm lonely/borderline depressed, or that this story simply affects everyone this way. All I know is that I am now forced to look at the world and the people around me differently. It is sad that I have learned more about human nature from a video game than my own reality and the flesh and blood people in it. A little more skepticism has found its way to me; and I recognise that the good guy is not always good. Nor the bad guy bad. I even think that the character of Ellie would literally be the best daughter to have in the future. Something about her advanced maturity mixed with childhood curiosity and fiery temper is endearing. So many daughters are raised to be spoiled and narcissistic these days; they are all obsessed with which shirt goes with which skirt, or which phone they have. To raise someone bold and down to earth like her would be a gift to the world. Anyways, this game's story has literally changed my life and I know I will reflect on it time and again.
This story was a little long for my liking and as my first on this site I think I rambled too much. I just had to get it out there. I apologise for any rough grammar or unseen errors. If anyone read this all the way through and you really want a hit right in the feels then check out the videos in the two links below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-HA3jVHdHw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLAFtsozbi4
26-30, M