And yet gamers revere Sephiroth as one of the greatest videogame villains of all time. Sephiroth actually deserves his infamous spot in videogame history, because he's the only villain to ever kill a beloved and fully developed character - Aeris. In this one act, Sephiroth becomes the proof in Emotioneering's pudding.
Aeris' death became a watershed moment in videogame history, raising the level of FFVII to art. This "plot deepening technique" literally moved people to tears.
Later on, the death of Aeris is repeated via a flashback. But the second time, it's given a different meaning. Initially, Aeris' death marks Cloud's ultimate failure to protect a loved one, causing him to lose hope and eventually plunging him into a downward spiral. But when it's discovered that Aeris died saving the planet, the very same disaster becomes symbolic of the rebirth of hope and obtaining victory from failure - the story's reoccurring theme. Freeman calls this technique "enhancing emotional depth through symbols."
Where is Our Shakespeare?
Centuries after Shakespeare's death, he has become immortal through his works. The great writers of our day still look to him for inspiration. Copying his genius too closely is the definition of "cliché." Is Final Fantasy VII our industry's equivalent to Macbeth?
Roger Ebert once gave his opinion that videogames are not art. Though Ebert has no experience with videogames, he pointed out that "to [his] knowledge, no one in or out of the field has ever been able to cite a game worthy of comparison with the great dramatists, poets, filmmakers, novelists and composers." On this point I believe he is correct. Our infant - no, embryonic - medium has yet to have its Shakespeare. Though the future Hamlets and Macbeths of electronic entertainment are yet to be, I wonder if Emotioneering, when skillfully utilized as in Final Fantasy VII, points the way.
Did players cry over the death of Aeris because they lost their best magic casting unit? Do fans fantasize about a "might have been" romance between Aeris and Cloud because the graphics in the game blew them away? I suspect not.
Without its incredible Emotioneering, Final Fantasy VII would have slipped into obscurity - just another box passing through its two-week shelf life in Gamestop. FFVII used a worn out bag of tricks, but succeeded because of its strong emotional content. Little wonder there are so many web shrines built to Aeris, Cloud and Tifa but none to Prince Rurik of Guild Wars.
Bruce Nielson's short experience as a game producer left him cold and he'd rather be a game consumer anyhow. If you're stupid enough to want to hire him anyhow, please offer a very large salary. He can be reached via The Online Roleplayer, which he runs.
