Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons begins as Naiee and his elder brother Naia are sent on a journey to locate the tree of life, tasked with collecting water from it's source which will restore their father's health. In an early flashback sequence the mother is shown to have drowned, her death witnessed by the youngest of the two sons.
Film Director as leading developer
I purchased the game during the Steam summer sales after noticing that B:ATOTS was a collaboration between Swedish film director Josef Fares and video game developers Starbreeze Studios. Whilst I had been unfamiliar with the director initially, I found it interesting for Fares to take an artistic lead on a video game related project at a time when video games have become increasingly cinematic. How did the gameplay and narrative work together and did I feel the artistic presence of a film director at all during the journey?
Gameplay
The player controls both brothers using the left and right stick on the controller alongside their respective trigger buttons, which allows the sons to interact with the world. The youngest son Naiee interacts with others in a playful childish way, suggestive of his innocence and caring nature whilst Naia, reaching adulthood, is to the point. Due to having witnessed his mother's death, the youngest brother fears water and relies on the eldest during swimming sections within the game.
Outwardly, the control system is fairly simplistic in it's approach and the player essentially operates four buttons throughout the journey. There are times where this process may become confusing and even mildly frustrating, if the brothers swap sides on the screen and your controls begin feeling inverted. What is most interesting and important about the control mechanisms is that the player simultaneously performs two separate roles. Taking on a new roles within a game is nothing new, games such as Beyond Two Souls (Paused Thoughts first article) even features two primary protagonists. What is different with B:ATOTS is that you control the two simultaneously rather than switching out, one brother becomes your left hand and the other your right.
Spoilers ahead.
Narrative Themes
Loss As you may have guessed, death plays a prominent role within the game and several sections reinforce loss heavily. The implications of death are often seen as an inconsequential element within video games, the player dies, the player returns almost instantaneously. Addressing the subject of death can come across fairly contradictory at times in a game where death is supposedly perceived as something of relative permanence, but this seems to apply only where relevant. There are several occasions where the player can fall to their deaths before being revived at a previous point,. Whilst this is clearly necessary for the player to advance, this questions the mediums ability to truly convey the message it wishes to to address. It was only during the mid-section of the game that I realised that the age rating for the game may be higher than expected. Whilst true that death isn't your standard narrative theme that's aimed at players of all ages but having played another game Ni No Kuni (which actually was rated E for everyone), my opinions on the matter had become somewhat eschewed. Within the opening moments of Ni No Kuni, the boy's mother dies after her son causes her unintentional stress. Grief stricken the boy cries into a stuffed toy previously given to him by his mother, the toy then animates suddenly and berates him in a thick welsh accent. Have fun kids. | It was particularly during the forest section of B:ATOTS that the realisation of the games age restriction hit me most memorably (pictured below). B:ATOTS does well to not shy away from it's often uncomfortably perceived subject matter and does not fear audience reception in this sense, a trait that often works well within low budget indie art games. As you travel through a valley after the forest section you notice a local attempt to hang himself, his house has burnt down and his families charred remains are by his side. If you save him, you can climb down and around the remnants of his house to find a music box, this helps the man grieve and accept his loss. Leaving him to hang is shown as a more shocking option, but neither choice made by the player is condemned. This moment instead provokes thought about the subject, is the man brought to peace by joining his family in a game that portrays an afterlife? And do they have the right to intervene, then leave him behind to be alone? |
Gender
The parents play an important role on each of the two sons. The younger brothers relationship with his mother is maintained beyond the limitations of the physical world and continues despite her death shown within the introduction sequence. Whilst the eldest son is shown bonding with his father through practical activities (fishing) and is never shown once with his mother throughout the events of the game. There are several surreal moments where the youngest son will interact with his mother and she appears to live on through him, empowering him at times. His affiliation with his mother suggests a further explanation towards his compassionate nature in comparison to the more aggressive or direct actions performed by the older brother later within the game, which are often reasoned with practicalities (dismembering a giants deceased body in order to progress against the protests of the younger son). The gender defining roles within the game are fairly generalising of the two sexes, but finding a balance between the two proves important for the youngest son. By the game's conclusion, the youngest possesses a strength that surpasses the eldest brother and father physically.
The parents play an important role on each of the two sons. The younger brothers relationship with his mother is maintained beyond the limitations of the physical world and continues despite her death shown within the introduction sequence. Whilst the eldest son is shown bonding with his father through practical activities (fishing) and is never shown once with his mother throughout the events of the game. There are several surreal moments where the youngest son will interact with his mother and she appears to live on through him, empowering him at times. His affiliation with his mother suggests a further explanation towards his compassionate nature in comparison to the more aggressive or direct actions performed by the older brother later within the game, which are often reasoned with practicalities (dismembering a giants deceased body in order to progress against the protests of the younger son). The gender defining roles within the game are fairly generalising of the two sexes, but finding a balance between the two proves important for the youngest son. By the game's conclusion, the youngest possesses a strength that surpasses the eldest brother and father physically.
- On a side note. There's a certain female love interest that turns into a spider after having seduced and lured the eldest son into her trap before attempting to eat him. Just incase you were worried that gender roles were too generalizing.
Cinematography and Set Design
In comparison to a game that is often compared with B:ATOTS which you might have guessed to be Journey, I felt that camera angles within B:ATOTS were more considered and possibly deliberated through the presence of an experienced filmmaker. In Journey you have free reign of the camera, whilst occasionally able to witness aspects of previously ventured areas, however it's more about taking in each levels visual design as you find your own way. The ability to be in control of the camera through Journey reinforces the players subjective experience, whereas B:ATOTS provides more arguably defined roles which are characterised through the two brothers separate personalities. In B:ATOTS, the camera will at times artistically position itself to look through the landscape, beyond set pieces and the brothers themselves to reveal the entrance that has been long since passed by this point. This ability to meticulously frame locations along such a journey of great measure serves the single player narrative well, it is important to be able to reflect over situations already passed and to consider what lies ahead.
Conclusion
It is interesting to hear Fares talk about the development of the game (in the link below) and the differences he discovered in comparison to his experiences with film-making. One thing Fares points out is how a player is able to mess around with what is essentially his film set to which he describes humorously in the interview below "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING", a fair point. Any mistakes made within a film can be pointed out by pausing the image on screen, but they are mostly ever glimpsed within a brief succession of shots. The player can freely interact with the world at their own pace and find out for themselves how tight the level design truly is. Here, Fares appears to have learnt first hand about the differences between the passivity of film audiences against the participatory gaming audience.
Fares describes the genre of B:ATOTS as a single player co-op game, refusing to let it become an actual co-op game when it could logistically work as one. Instead he chooses to stubbornly retain the original artistic intentions of the story and this works to positive effect. Whilst the simplicity of the controls and puzzles make B:ATOTS ultimately feel like an interactive movie than a fully fleshed game - which might require skill or steep learning curves - to play. Fares clearly understands a very simplistic way in which gameplay can be combined with narrative to allow the story to hit the player both powerfully and personally. To find out what method is used, it is best to play the game for yourself and experience this firsthand.
Fares describes the genre of B:ATOTS as a single player co-op game, refusing to let it become an actual co-op game when it could logistically work as one. Instead he chooses to stubbornly retain the original artistic intentions of the story and this works to positive effect. Whilst the simplicity of the controls and puzzles make B:ATOTS ultimately feel like an interactive movie than a fully fleshed game - which might require skill or steep learning curves - to play. Fares clearly understands a very simplistic way in which gameplay can be combined with narrative to allow the story to hit the player both powerfully and personally. To find out what method is used, it is best to play the game for yourself and experience this firsthand.
To find out more, provided below is a video by Game Reactor of Fares discussing Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.
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