Video games? We need to talk.
I see that gleam in
your eyes, video games. And I’m telling
you right now that you need to cut it the hell out. Now.
Listen to me. No, seriously, listen to me. We’ve had a good thing going with these three
games. But I know that you’re eyeing
these trends like a greedy coyote. I
know you’re looking at the numbers, and the praise, and the word of mouth, and
planning on getting in on this Gold Rush (or Girl Rush, now that I think about
it). And I say, no. No, DON’T do it. If I have to bop you on the head with a rolled-up
newspaper, I will. Don’t make this a
recurring trend, because not only will it diminish the effect and cheapen the
end product, but I’ve got a pretty strong hunch that you’re going to screw up
as often as -- or let’s face it, more than you’ll succeed. So let me be the first to say…NO. NO.
STOP IT. NO. THAT’S A BAD VIDEO GAMES. NO.
BAD VIDEO GAMES. NO TREAT FOR
YOU.
Ahem. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk
(tangentially) about The Last of Us.
If you’ve been checking
out this blog at all in the last month or so, you’ve probably caught on to how
I feel about that game. Looking back
over the posts, I’d argue that you could almost see a progression of thought from
the first entry to the last -- from neutrality and cautiousness to confusion,
to epiphany, to a downward spiral lined with weariness and ultimately disappointment. (And to a lesser extent, rage.) Honestly?
In spite of all those posts, I feel like there’s still more that I can say, and I’ve tossed
around the idea of making another post to wrap things up. I might, I might not. We’ll see.
Now that I’ve put some
much-needed distance between me and the game, I want to say -- or reiterate --
that TLoU isn’t necessarily a bad
game. It’s a CONFUSED game, yes, and it
swan dives into the uncanny valley, but you could do a hell of a lot worse
than that. If nothing else, TLoU stands at a critical juncture for
games -- and the perception of games -- at large. If we shout from the rooftops “YES! THIS!
THIS IS WHAT VIDEO GAMES SHOULD BE FROM NOW ON!” then we’re going to be
in for a rough generation…as if we aren’t already. What we should be saying is “Okay, yeah, TLoU tried
to be different, but failed to fully stand on its own and had plenty of
flaws. So next time, we can do better.” And indeed, we can do better. With the game itself. With the storytelling. With the mindset behind it. With avoiding
the uncanny valley. You have no idea
how jarring it is to knock over a gumball machine and have it land with all the
force of a beach ball in a game --and medium -- that’s doing its damnedest to reach
photorealism.
They've still got a ways to go.
There’s a lot that TLoU could have done to improve
itself. To be fair, I don’t have easy
answers for all of the problems, and I don’t think everything I’d suggest would
be automatically brilliant just because I’m offering up something different. A lot of people have fawned over the game,
and making changes would mean removing elements that appeal to and satisfy
others. So let’s not open too many cans
of worms here. That said, I do have one suggestion
that might completely alter the game for the better.
Ellie should have been
the main character for the whole game. Not
just the main character; the player character.
Let’s be real
here. Even if you’re the sort that likes
Joel as a character, you have to admit that he’s been done AT LEAST once before
in games. And recently, in fact; you’d
be forgiven for thinking that Joel is a bearded, Texan version of Booker
DeWitt, thanks in no small part to having the same voice. I’m utterly convinced that even if the game
tries to make Joel look and act like the protagonist (for a given definition of
protagonist, given his penchant for murder), Ellie in my eyes always has been
and always will be THE main character…just as Elizabeth was in Bioshock Infinite…and even if TLoU would marginalize Ellie for the
sake of Joel Grumpybuns. That aside,
Joel’s saga is a character arc that we’ve seen before, and even if it’s
executed well it would pale in comparison to something that, while not 100%
original, is significantly fresher. And
you could say the same about a lot of the gameplay elements as well, to the
point where you could consider the next few paragraphs as a “what-if” imagining.
So here’s what I’m
thinking: kill off Joel in the game’s opening hours. Have the game start shortly before Ellie and
Joel’s first meeting (since the game proper does that anyway), and let things
proceed as both a way to establish the setting and act as the tutorial.
Give the player a taste of power -- the skill and savvy that Joel has
picked up in his adventures, along with no shortage of equipment even at an
early stage in the game. And then,
shortly after he meets Ellie, have him get killed in a skirmish. THAT’S the big divergence point from the real
game and my what-if game; in my version, Ellie spends just enough time with
Joel to get her mission, and more importantly start learning how he does what
he does through osmosis…but even with all his skills, he ends up biting
it. So now for a large percentage of the
game -- barring the odd-comrade here and there -- Ellie has to go through the
world alone in the hopes of presenting a potential cure for the outbreak hidden
within her blood. Or alternatively, have
Tess and Joel abandon Ellie from the outset (remember, they don’t believe her
at the start), and make them into the game’s final antagonists. Joel especially; it’d be the perfect chance
for Ellie to show she’s become the superior hunter.
Playing from Ellie’s
perspective seems -- to me, at least -- a lot more impactful, and full of
potential. Imagine the possibilities
here; Ellie knows what her final destination is, but she has no clue of how to
get there. She has to explore America
one step at a time, taking in the sights and trying to piece together what the
world was like before everything went to hell…even if she does come up with
some out-there theories. (I’d imagine
that she’d end up keeping a journal of some sort, or if not that then
commenting on what she finds in her travels.)
It would change the nature of TLoU’s road trip, but it could work, and even
change it for the better.
Moreover, since Ellie’s
alone out there, it could change the dynamics of combat. Remember, this girl doesn’t have nearly as
much experience or equipment as Joel -- and even in the late-game she’s got
decidedly-fewer arms -- so the conflicts she faces won’t be met with the same
callous acknowledgement of routine as Joel.
She’s allowed to be scared. She’s
allowed to show shock. She’s allowed to
tremble behind corners at the game’s start, and by game’s end have her motions
mimic (or even surpass) Joel’s -- a sense that she’s overcome the ideal that
drives her to evolve her efforts.
Weakness is a strength in its own right -- and being able to see and
hear that for ourselves in our proxy would do wonders for changing our
interaction with the game.
And indeed, the game
would change. For all the emphasis put
on survival in TLoU, too much of it
is focused solely on killing whatever’s standing in your way or rummaging
around for gear that will help you kill more efficiently. I find it baffling that it took hours --
literally hours -- of gameplay for
Ellie to even mention that she was
hungry. So why not make that an element
of the game? It could work like Snake Eater, or to a lesser extent the
survival mode of Dead Rising; you
need to find food out there in the world to keep your stats, your combat ability,
and even your perception of the world in equilibrium.
And sleep could get
thrown into the mix too, along with a day/night cycle; the time of day
determines how you can (and should) proceed through an area, but more
importantly you can sleep in-game to get extra bonuses, converse with allies,
write in your journal, or just plain get a breather from combat…assuming you
don’t get attacked during the middle of the night, of course. It’d be something that rewards exploration
and awareness of your surroundings, and create moment-to-moment events that
others might not necessarily experience in their adventures. Simply put, you take TLoU, sprinkle in a bit of Fallout
(or Skyrim, if you prefer), add a
pinch of Metal Gear Solid and Zelda, and mix thoroughly. Now you’ve got yourself a tasty zombie cake.
To be fair, just
because I’ve offered up an alternative doesn’t mean it’s automatically a BETTER
alternative (especially since all I can do is type out a basic outline). I can see some execution problems already;
certain story elements would be lost and replaced by something potentially
inferior. What I’m prescribing would
change the ways in drastic ways -- and end up taking on the same flaws that
plague other games. Additional survival
mechanics could break the flow of the game.
Expanded exploration could make the rest of the game shallower, or if
nothing else demand more resources from the developers. A rebalance of Ellie’s tool and skill set
would be a must, and end up frustrating players as a result.
But if there’s one
problem above all others, it’s a simple one.
It’s an annoying one, but a viable problem all the same. Ellie SHOULD have been the protagonist, but
if she was, it would likely invite hell.
Controlling a solo
Ellie transforms the game into something I would have expected to get in the
first place. Outside of temporarily
running about with another partner character -- an issue I had throughout the
game -- it offers moments of introspection.
Quiet. Meditation. And when the action starts up in earnest, it
creates a different interplay between the player and the game than when it has
two or more people going at it. It
creates a more knowable and recognizable pressure; it’s one thing to play the
role of the protector, but it’s another thing entirely to have to protect
yourself. I’m frankly surprised -- and
disappointed -- that Ellie ISN’T the player character; ignoring her role in the
story, every time you open up the case for the game the first thing you see
when you pull out the disk is Ellie’s face. Plus she’s standing in the
foreground of the box art. And just how
many promotional materials put some focus on her, exactly?
But you know what? I get it.
I totally get it. I will argue
until I’m blue in the face that TLoU would
be better if Ellie had top billing and Joel was just an extra (if that), in
that it could change the game’s dynamics in a way we don’t see all that often
in games. It could make for a game
that’s a lot riskier in its content, intent, and presentation than the game we
have now. But it’s precisely because of
those risks that TLoU is the game
that it is today…and what leads into the thrust of this post.
Ellie as the star of
the game could make for a radical departure from convention -- but just because
that might be a good thing doesn’t mean it’s a good idea in the long run. Setting aside the industry’s…issues with female characters and
protagonists, there’s a tyrannosaurus in the room that makes me want to forget
even proposing the idea: the portrayal of violence against children. TLoU is
a violent, grisly game, and while it won’t hesitate to show Ellie taking a
lethal blow (a fact that I learned many, many times as I failed at certain
sections of the game), it isn’t quite as
violent as what can or has happened to Joel.
More to the point, what I’m prescribing isn’t just a sequence or two
where Ellie’s in harm’s way; we’re talking about the entire game. We’re talking about a game where a teenage
girl would get punched, clubbed, shot, burned, blown up, and torn apart for a
quick zombie-meal. That would be a
category five shitstorm.
And I know it would be
a shitstorm, because it’s vaguely similar to one we’ve had in the past. Remember the Tomb Raider reboot, and how everyone was worried that it would be
nothing but torture porn? Remember how
the audience reeled when
Conan O’Brien showed off the game to his audience, and the man himself
jumped at the sight of seeing a spike run through Lara Croft’s head? Now imagine everything in TLoU being done to a girl that’s not
even old enough to drive, without filter, and without restraint. Imagine everything being witnessed first-hand
from Ellie’s perspective. And of course,
imagine how many people would raise a stink over making the player character a
g-g-g-g-girl -- and not even an
improbably buxom one, at that.
Joking on that last
point aside (though one can’t help but debate), it’s obvious that there are
issues that need sorting out with violence and gender dynamics -- in games, and
arguably in fiction at large. Are we at
a point where we can make content in games more extreme, and genuinely explore
certain ideas using certain elements?
Well…I think we can, if not
now then at least soon. The graphics are
certainly there (though arguably they have been for more than a decade). The resources are there. The willpower is there. The talent is there. It’s just a matter of being eager enough to
explore the possibilities. Well, that,
and being able to explore them skillfully.
But is it a good idea?
We all know that video
games, as they are today, have their issues.
And plenty of us have made note of that; I’ve done so many times before. But for now, this isn’t a post to point
fingers at others and say “Look how silly they are!” This is a post where I ask that we point
fingers at ourselves…or if not ourselves, then certainly at me. We are the next generation; we’re going to be
the ones that develop games, or stage performances, or pen movies, or sing
music. By now I hope that the lot of you
know it’s my dream -- and by and large my mission in life -- to become a writer
of some renown. An author. Someone whose name is synonymous with tales
of heroes and adventures. We’re going to
be the creators that change the world; the question is, how do we go about
it? Recklessly dive into topics and
themes? Restrain and censor ourselves,
so as to avoid backlash from an audience or our own missteps? Play it safe, and abandon our creative
visions? Rely on trends that distort the
meaning and impact, but suit the people we aim to satisfy? Forgo reason and empathy, and give the people
what we want? What do we owe them? What do we owe ourselves?
What is a creator’s
responsibility -- and how do you even begin
to bear it?
Since it’s the issue right now, let’s focus on this
in the context of video games and violence.
The question of violence is getting asked more and more by the day, and
someone’s going to have to offer a definitive answer on it soon -- not just in
forum posts or statements ready for viewing in articles across the net, but
where it really counts: in the games themselves. In an age where quasi-realistic murder isn’t
just possible, but a commonality, what are we supposed to do? Offer up statements about the violence? Accept it and move on? Avoid it entirely? There are plenty of options, to be sure…BUT
those options, of course, all have their drawbacks. More importantly, what option you choose could
depend on the most important factor of all: you.
Like a lot of people, I
don’t think every game has to be so keen on showing off HD
stab-renderings. (The mere existence of
games like Rez, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, and a host of others is proof enough of
that.) You can do a hell of a lot with a
good story, and put plenty of personal touches that not only make the world you
create good, but irresistible to anyone who happens upon it. The two key goals of any creator are to make
their work interesting and impactful (at the basest); if you can get those
down, it doesn’t matter how exactly you do it.
If it were up to me, though, I would at least try not to go with
excessive violence and the usual trends; a more stylized approach seems like
the better option, and certainly one with more lighthearted fare.
…Is what I would like to say, but I know myself pretty
well. I know what I’ve worked on in the
past, and what I plan to work on in the future.
On one hand, I’m a guy who’s doing his best to make over-the-top
comedies with no shortages of psychic powers, superheroes, and wrestling -- and
for months now I’ve been toying with the idea of a story that wouldn’t be too
out of place on a Saturday morning cartoon block (to say nothing of game ideas
that may never go anywhere, but still amuse me). And on the other hand, I’ve got a story that features insanity as a plot
point, widespread destruction and corruption of the planet, and one character
that actually gets sliced in half. Every
time I think about my dream project -- something that I’d prefer to be the tale
of hot-blooded heroes romping across a metal-infused new world -- I find ways
to make it darker and darker. Pretty
much everything I touch turns into a nightmare world, where suffering and
despair aren’t just expected, but damn near a requirement. And keep in mind that one of my favorite
games this year (if not generation) was Metal
Gear Rising -- a game that let you do THIS:
This “creator’s
responsibility” I’ve mouthed off about is something that I’ll have to wrangle
with in the future…if not right now. Given
what I’ve learned and reasoned in the year that I’ve started blogging, if I
don’t practice what I preach (and preach, and preach, and preach), then I’d be
the biggest afro-headed hypocrite since Afro McHypocritterson strutted about
Central Park in 1976. How am I going to
reconcile violence in my works? What
sort of statements can I make about the world, the past, the human condition? Should I even try? What’s the tone? Is it right for me? Is it right for others? What do I owe others? What do I owe myself? So many questions need answering; what I
wouldn’t give to just be free to write about the occasional power bomb…
But with that said,
those are questions that I’m eager to answer.
Asking and answering questions can dramatically help one’s efforts when
it comes to matters of creativity; it gives focus, along with a sort of road
map for where to go in one’s pursuits.
There’s an argument to be made that if game developers asked themselves
more questions more overtly, we wouldn’t have to worry about terms like “design
by committee” and “homogenization” being
quite so rampant, but that’s neither here nor there. There’s only so much we can do about the
present, but the future is where we can -- and hopefully will --dominate and
transform art as we know it. Have a
problem with excessive violence? Then in
the future, work to tone it down in your product. Want more female protagonists? Have them take the reins as soon as you’re
able in your creation. Want to say
something different (or even anything at all)?
Great; that’s what your magnum opus will be for. Whether you want a complete upheaval of
creative norms or just want to make meaningful tweaks to the formula, you’re
free to do whatever you want…that is, as long as you do it adroitly. Because “adroitly” is a fantastic word.
How does the saying
go? “Be the change you wish to see in
the world?” Fair enough; if I have my
way, I intend to. I’ve done no shortage
of saber-rattling against so-called “gritty” stories in the past, and it’s my
sincere intent to fix that with what I put out in the future. (Or very-near future, hopefully.) It goes beyond liking funnier/more
colorful/more idealistic stuff, even though that plays a part; in a way, it’s
something that also plays a part in a creator’s responsibility.
See, I’ve always
believed that on some level, it’s not the lessons we learn from our parents or
teachers or friends that makes us who we are.
I’ve always believed that in a lot of ways, we learn the most from the stories
we take in. It’s one thing to have
elders (or me) preach at you, but it’s another to sit down with your favorite
tale -- written, filmed, or otherwise -- and subconsciously take in the ideas
that it’s proposed. Intentional or not,
there’s something to be learned and felt from even the simplest of video
games. We feel it, learn it, accept it
-- and somewhere down the line, we’re transformed by it. That’s just a part of art’s nature; not
something to be feared, but explored. We
have to figure out what to do, and how to do it. If we can crack the code, then we can put out
something worthy of praise, no matter what elements -- grisly or not -- we put
in. If we can’t…well, nothing will ever
change, now will it?
Maybe that’s why I take
video games -- the bad ones in particular -- so seriously, as if they’re an
affront to my senses. Maybe that’s why I
take so many potshots at others, acting as if I’m in the right and they’re in
the wrong. Maybe I’m destined to make
just as many mistakes, and worse ones, than they ever will. Hard to say for sure. But I guess the only way I’ll know for sure,
and the only way I can do my part for others, is to give it a shot. Ask myself questions. Ask others questions. Figure out what’s best for me, for others, and
for the story at large. I’ve been
disappointed by games before, and will continue to be disappointed. But I’ll be damned if I don’t give it my all
and surpass those I’ve railed against.
That’s a responsibility
I’m glad to take on. And I hope it’s one
you guys do, too.
Damn, I love that song.
It's good that you pretty much shot down your own idea about Ellie being the protagonist of The Last of Us. Nevermind the reactions it would get, the ESRB would tag it with AO without hesitation, thus vetoing it from the following:
ReplyDeletea) Being stocked on the shelves of any notable game retailer, or any PC digital sellers.
b) Being allowed to be sold on any current game console (AO is the only rating not allowed, though only in North America - let's not forget that this is a first-party Sony title, so it would make little sense for them to break their own rules)
c) Being allowed to be advertised at most venues
And that would make it a PC-exclusive title developed by a first-party Sony dev team without advertisement that cannot be sold in stores or put onto any site other than its own for sale. Thus:
d) The game would sell poorly due to obscurity, or be cancelled by executives (because it would sell poorly and/or the game can't be sold on their own platforms)
I have no doubt that part of the reason she wasn't the protagonist was the shitstorm it would have caused, but I'd wager they were more worried about the AO rating.
Well, that's assuming that Sony would even let Naughty Dog make Ellie the protagonist from the get-go. They had to fight to get her on the blasted box art! I'd love to see The Last of Us focus on Ellie, seeing as how I had the most fun when playing as her, but with the industry in its current state? No way, no how. ...What IS the point of the AO rating anyhow? It was dumb when one year difference blocked some films from theaters, and it's dumb in this industry too!
ReplyDeleteI figure it's because 18 is counted as adult as 17 is not, as per laws.
ReplyDeleteI honestly think M should be adjusted down to 15 to be more in-line with other countries' rating systems.
And yes, I agree that it's not likely that Sony would allow Ellie as the protagonist to begin with. I think we all know why.
Sadly, some of the concerns you bring up (especially the point about a spike impaling Lara Croft's head) is a problem in most forms of media, not just video games. I had a chat with some of my friends about how female characters are treated in fiction in general. We brought up 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', and one of my friends mentioned a criticism that Joss Whedon is misogynistic for making his female characters get beat up or put in horrible situations (i.e. attempted rape) just for the sake of making them "empowered". ...And this is just a TV show.
ReplyDeleteMy inner optimist is peaking through here, but I think various parts of our modern society are starting to want to break away from or twist tropes that went unchallenged and unquestioned for hundreds of years. NOW people are throwing their fists over gender-exclusive beaten dead horse tropes and story devices (i.e. Men are the Disposable Sex; Damsel in Distress; Men Do, Women Are; Wouldn't Punch a Girl; etc.) The fact people are complaining about old cliches is a good thing. But actually applying these new wants and changes will take a LONG time. To this day, people still bitch about a woman or child getting punched, but then they don't blink when a man gets put in a grinder.
There's a reason I hated the movie 'Oblivion'. Not once had I ever been so bored, I started analyzing how the story and characters should be rewritten to make it less boring, predictable, and SAFE. One thing I proposed was shooting Tom Cruise's character's secretly pregnant wife when they get captured. Why? Because she has done nothing to make the plot move on. Because she just is, just there to be the thing Tom Cruise wins at the end and have a kid with. Because later on in the film, she could have mattered if she sacrificed herself to save the world - as she wanted. BUT the writers declared that she had to live because she's pregnant and must give Tom Cruise a happily ever after.
As for violence? Ideally, I think we should calm the hell down over what sex got hurt, how, and how old he/she is. Women, men, and children all get brutally mauled and slaughtered in real life every single day - sometimes for no reason. At least in fiction and video games, there is a chance to provide a reason and how meaningful it is to advance the plot or develop a character.
But I'm just rambling.
For video games, at the VERY LEAST I'd like some games that look and feel different. You saw my mental breakdown over how I f#$%ing hate the brown-haired, grizzly, strongly-built, caucasian, skilled gunman protagonist that might as well be its own stereotype by now. Give us different hair. Give us a personality that is not defined by cocky, confident, cool, heroic, and perfectly manly. Give us a different body shape. Give us a different race. Give us a different accent. Give us men who are around girls and happen to not hook up with one of them for [insert random reason here]. I don't care if the world blows up if a female playable character is used, at LEAST make varied, diverse MALE protagonists.
... Now that I think of it, the video game industry is by far the most immature field of the creative world. Either that, or this recent decade has been the most "safe" and conservative in a while, at least in the mainstream.
...I'm depressed again.
Yeah, as I was writing this I started to realize that video games aren't the only place where there are problems. But for the sake of argument -- and making the post "manageable" -- I decided to hold off on making any additional comments.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, I'm in agreement with you. People are getting tired of the same old, same old. People want change. And that desire for change will, inevitably, bring about change. But we're a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG way away from some genuine change, and alternate venues to take besides the same old, same old. Bitching and moaning is a part of the (problematic) process, but if you've poked your head into the comments section or forum of any given gaming site, you might have noticed that actually having a conversation and sorting-out of certain issues tends to...er, not happen peaceably. (See: Dragon's Crown.) We're fighting each other when we should be talking with each other -- and if we keep it up, nobody wins.
Safety is the last thing video games -- or any medium, really -- needs right now. How does the saying go? "Fortune favors the bold"? Somehow that ended up not being the case with games, but already there have been diminishing returns on what used to be surefire sellers. God of War: Ascension AND Gears of War: Judgment are part of the two biggest franchises on their respective consoles, and last I heard both of them failed to even break a million copies sold. That's not good news to devs and publishers, but it's at least sending a message. We're ready for something new...and a new Killzone isn't going to do it. But that aside...
"There's a reason I hated the movie 'Oblivion'."
Then you know what you must do. You have to do a post on it. Summon up all your courage, and face the movie that haunts you so...and lay it to rest with one final strike. It's the only way to know true happiness.
...Or you could just check out the Ace Attorney movie. DAT EVIDENCE THROW.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIi44sSQCDs
Oh jeez, I didn't even think about the ESRB. Man, that would have caused a mess in its own right.
ReplyDeleteAlthough...given how violent games can be (and are), I wonder if the barrier of entry (or lack thereof) isn't quite as high as it could be. I mean, in TLoU alone there are people getting their tissues torn up and splattered into a thousand pieces by shotgun blasts; I don't know about you, but that seems like something that'd be for adults only if you ask me.
Then again, that is a pretty slippery slope. Start axing one bit of violence, and you might have to start axing it all. And what good would that do for the industry, or for us gamers at large? Violence has its uses, after all.
...Suddenly, I have no envy for those who willingly join up with the ESRB. Seems like a grisly job.
This was a hilarious and wonderful read. Unfortunately, you're right, there's absolutely no way Ellie could be really shown in this light…but I think it would be an excellent idea to go with now that this series has somewhere to jump off from,
ReplyDeleteit's a bit disappointing because pre-release, this game actually made Ellie out to be a memorable female protagonist, not the other way around.
Still an excellent game, yeah?
I have a lot of issues with the game -- a LOT -- but at the end of the day, I have to pay some respect to Naughty Dog for at least trying. I feel as if this game is going to be a turning point for a lot of people (and devs) -- a proving ground to establish what can be done, and what could be done in the future. TLoU is a shaky first step into tomorrow...but whether that's to new heights or off of a cliff remains to be seen.
ReplyDeleteEven though I walked away from the game disappointed, I'll admit there's potential for another entry into the series (for better or worse). There's more that can be done with the central relationship, of course, but I can't shake the feeling that the devs could just as easily step backward into the zombie apocalypse and show how things got to be as bad as they did. Either that, or they'd take NO steps and just show the story from the perspective of a different set of survivors. Lots of possibilities, but not all of them might work very well.
But that's enough ruminating. Glad you enjoyed the post, and thanks for reading. Maybe next time, Ellie will get her due...somehow, someway...