Lunchtime Discussion: Spoilers
How long should we wait to discuss plot?Published: 12:00, 27/07/2010 by Kris [Halbpro].
44Yesterday Nofi caused a brief eruption amongst some TSAians that care to spend their time on Twitter. It seems that GamesRadar had posted a story (WARNING: Spoilers) talking about games that should be considered more controversial than the poster child of controversy, Grand Theft Auto. Sadly this story included spoilers about Heavy Rain, with no indication that a fairly major plot point would be revealed. A spoiler warning has now been added but the text above the warning also flirts with spoiling Quantic Dream’s masterwork.
Part of what makes a great story great is the discussion it can spark. Everyone will have a slightly different interpretation of how events played out. In the old days you’d have these discussions with your mates; talking about how brilliant the explosions in Die Hard were over a pint, or discussing the nuances of Casablanca over a few glasses of wine. As with all things the internet has changed this dynamic and now your opinion can be made available for all to see.
Like the whole of the internet this sounds like a brilliant thing but it does have a big downside. When you were discussing things with your friends they could just tell you to shut up if you were straying too deeply into the storyline. Unfortunately there isn’t a ‘shut up’ function with the internet and it’s much easier for someone to sneak a spoiler into the middle of text than it is with a conversation. Even if your friends did manage to spoil things despite your protests you could hit them for it, sadly the internet really is lacking in that area.
Of course you can always talk around the storyline, you can comment on the direction or the acting or how it made you laugh so hard you nearly choked on your popcorn. Sometimes though the story does need to be touched on, and if you desperately feel the need to talk about a major plot point all that’s needed is a simple warning. By all means reveal the whole film’s plot if you really must but warning someone of the impending spoilers is just common courtesy.
The problem is how long do you extend this courtesy? There are always going to be people who are fresh to the story, at the very least you’re going to have people who weren’t alive when the story originally came out. By that logic you should never discuss any culture in public, for fear of offending someone who just hasn’t got around to it yet. However if you followed that logic there’d be no pop-culture.
What people forget, myself included, is that spoilers are the birth of all pop-culture. Without spoilers no-one would joke about people being Luke’s father, no-one would ever respond with ‘Dumbledore dies’ when being asked not to spoil something. These are all basically spoilers, just the original stories are old enough that no-one really cares any more.
So how old is old enough? Well that’s pretty much where I throw things over to you. When is it acceptable to spoil things? When can you stop posting the warnings when you discuss Heavy Rain or Metal Gear Solid 4?
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27/07/2010 at 17:42
Member since: Aug 2009
Jesus dies on page 681
27/07/2010 at 18:36
Member since: May 2009
Did Snape kill him too? :)
27/07/2010 at 20:13
Member since: Dec 2009
**POSSIBLE MGS4 SPOILER AHEAD*
I can’t bring myself to finish MGS4 since i found out about the end-game by accident while reading The Question Mark. I know it carries a spoiler alert but i foolishly expected it would only be minor elements of the story line rather than something huge like that which would be revealed. I blame myself for not finishing the game sooner instead of putting it aside for so long but i can’t go back to it yet as i’m still in the denial phase..
27/07/2010 at 20:31
Member since: Jan 2010
well with that you can’t blame the site or anyone else, as there was a warning. But imagine if you just opened up the site and it was spoiled instantly? that would be horrific. No way you could not see it, and no warning.
Also, i urge you to play MGS4. Even if it is spoiled, its a freaking amazing game. One of the best ever. :)
27/07/2010 at 23:29
Member since: Dec 2009
I will go back and finish MGS4…soon perhaps , thanks for the encouragement :) and i wasn’t blaming anyone but myself – it was just my own personal experience of a spoiler and i wanted to convey how it affected my enjoyment of the game.(ntm the shock of knowing what happens – as i said i’m still in denial ;)
27/07/2010 at 22:23
Member since: May 2010
nothing to do with games but once i told a girl in school who was reading harry potter 5 that sirus black dies….she cried LOL
28/07/2010 at 00:25
Member since: Apr 2010
Hmm. That’s as bad as what has been discussed already!
28/07/2010 at 09:10
Member since: Aug 2008
Why did you do that?
This is the thing I have most trouble with. People seem to get really angry that others are getting enjoyment out of something and seek to spoil it. Apart from being a total dick, what do you achieve?