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Chivalry

Chicken Chaser
Banned
Nov 22, 2018
3,894
Kojima's stuff is very imaginative and fun. Lindelof is ok, I guess, but his writing is on the boring side.
 

Craymond

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,282
Portland
I feel like they've both made "theme heavy" works of art, with Lost and Metal Gear Solid grabbing mainstream popularity with their confusing narratives, wide array of characters, and "more questions than answers" storytelling style, and then following up those creations with less popular more artsy masterpieces, The Leftovers and Death Stranding. The "love it or hate it" split is basically identical for these properties. Also, without spoiling much, they deal with some of the same issues in both properties.

now Lindelof has "Watchmen" which, if you don't know much about it, go read or watch the graphic novel, or even Zach Snyder's adaptation (which is great and nearly a page to screen adaptation as far as plot goes) and then jump in blind. Maybe listen to the soundtrack first, it'll hype you up.

thoughts?
except the ending which I actually think is more plausible or interesting. Though I like the squid rain in the tv show.
 

Kevers

The Fallen
Oct 29, 2017
14,588
Syracuse, NY
I absolutely love Lost and The Leftovers (as you could probably tell). I've only watched the first 2 episodes of Watchmen, it's not that I don't like it I'd just prefer to watch the whole thing in 1 sitting. I've been a Lindelof stan for a long time now, he definitely shits on Kojima.
 

msdstc

Member
Nov 6, 2017
6,877
Both are propped up by putting out a bunch of nonsense and others shouting "you just dont get it!". Lindelof is very much of the mindset that what your writing doesn't necessarily need a destination or purpose/explanation whatsoever, as long as it's fun as it happens. While not every little detail needs and explanation, he leverages the "unknown" just so much that it eventually gets tired and cheapens the whole thing. Lost is obviously by far the best example of this, prometheus had some of this in it as well, where you ask yourself "ok that looked cool i guess... but why?". Kojima is like a mashup of lindelof and lynch, except he clearly isn't as talented as those 2.
 

demondance

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,808
Looking at it purely as a plot point it is the kind of crazy that would fit to Kojima

I'm looking at it in terms of how this direct sequel to Watchmen completely scrambles up one of the more important themes of watchmen.

Is this Hooded Justice still a supporter of the Third Reich like he was in the book? It's a disturbing thing to try to place in context.

The episode on its own was very good.
 
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shacklesmcgee

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,689
I'm looking at it in terms of how this direct sequel to Watchmen completely scrambles up one of the more important themes of watchmen.

Is this Hooded Justice still a supporter of the Third Reich like he was in the book? It's a disturbing thing to try to place in context.

The episode on its own way very good.

I don't recall if we ever have proof Hooded Justice was a supporter of the Third Reich in the comic, just that The Comedian killed him because he suspected he was and Hollis Mason mentioning it in his book
 

Thewonandonly

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
4,261
Utah
Damn I wish people wouldn't spoil leftovers in here I haven't watched it yet 😭

on topic as someone who has only played death stranding and seen watchman from this respectable artist I have to said lindolof is blowing my mind with the writing. Watchman is just so fucking good it's unbelievable. It's easily the second best season this year behind succession season 2. While deathstranding has some of the best cinematography and atmosphere I have seen in any game this last decade. Yet, the writing is not that good in deathstranding. If Kojima does make a movie he needs a writing room. He can direct the fuck out of it, but man geta writers room please!
 

demondance

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,808
I don't recall if we ever have proof Hooded Justice was a supporter of the Third Reich in the comic, just that The Comedian killed him because he suspected he was and Hollis Mason mentioning it in his book

Hollis Mason claims he heard it first hand. And it lines up with the themes of the book, and especially Hooded Justice's iconography.

Lindelof made a good episode of television but it's downright creepy if you take seriously his stated aim of following up the universe portrayed in the book.
 

take_marsh

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,306
Both of them have others to lean on (which is very good), but Kojima is more like the Lars Ulrich of writers. It's like he's literally choosing not to improve his craft.
 
Dec 13, 2018
1,522
To answer that question, we must use machine learning...

Is Damon Lindelof the Hideo Kojima of television?

Many theorize that Damon Lindelof is the true creator of the show, given that Kojima began as a traditional game designer and was originally hired to work on the next Silent Hill.

With Kojima now gone, the long-rumored concept for the next Silent Hill was quickly put on hold. And when the Silent Hill reboot was announced, Lindelof was one of the few producers who seemed willing to talk about it. Now that the series is being rebooted with
 

Ramala

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,061
Santa Monica, LA
Lost was a 'fun ride', The Leftovers was probably one of my favorite series ever, and Watchmen is blowing my mind right now. I feel like Lindelof is a collaborator and second guesses himself a lot, then just sort of went for it with Leftovers and hit it out of the park.

I adore Kojimas games but his stories are like sprawling streams of consciousness, not tightly honed narratives. But he dreams big and tackles relevant issues.

Honestly if I could only keep the memory of the experiences of one it would be Kojima, no competition, but I *wish* he'd learn that so often less is more.
 

MrCheezball

Banned
Aug 3, 2018
1,376
There is something in my brain that recognizes the talent of Lindelof, but I can't deal with constant mysteries his material showcases with seemingly no explanation or payoff. I tapped out halfway through S2 of The Leftovers, the LOST shenanigans, and after Ep1 of Watchmen when it started raining squids. Just cant do it with him anymore.
 

Kevers

The Fallen
Oct 29, 2017
14,588
Syracuse, NY
There is something in my brain that recognizes the talent of Lindelof, but I can't deal with constant mysteries his material showcases with seemingly no explanation or payoff. I tapped out halfway through S2 of The Leftovers, the LOST shenanigans, and after Ep1 of Watchmen when it started raining squids. Just cant do it with him anymore.

Maybe you should just let the mystery be.
 

NuclearCake

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
9,867
Both were responsible for some of the shittiest writing i have ever witnessed. Lost Seasons 5 & 6 and MGS 4.
 

xenocide

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,307
Vermont
It's crazy to me that Lindelof is getting this much love. I remember prior to and during The Leftovers he was still considered a cancer, and most people were worried about Watchmen once he was attached to it.
 

xenocide

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,307
Vermont
There is something in my brain that recognizes the talent of Lindelof, but I can't deal with constant mysteries his material showcases with seemingly no explanation or payoff. I tapped out halfway through S2 of The Leftovers, the LOST shenanigans, and after Ep1 of Watchmen when it started raining squids. Just cant do it with him anymore.

So you didn't finish or continue with 2 great series because without seeing the full story it confused you? The Leftovers is one of the best series in the last decade, and Watchmen is on pace to be the same--although Watchmen requires some prior knowledge of the Graphic Novel or Animated Novel at least to fully understand, but that was made pretty clear in the leadup to the show.
 

MrCheezball

Banned
Aug 3, 2018
1,376
So you didn't finish or continue with 2 great series because without seeing the full story it confused you? The Leftovers is one of the best series in the last decade, and Watchmen is on pace to be the same--although Watchmen requires some prior knowledge of the Graphic Novel or Animated Novel at least to fully understand, but that was made pretty clear in the leadup to the show.
I guess I did. I can't make myself enjoy the IPs he is attached to. What pains me is that The Leftovers was a great concept, and Season 1 was some of the most pointless television I have endured. Being that I wasn't "enjoying the ride" enough to continue enduring Season 2, I dropped it. Watchmen's first episode was like a Lindelof PTSD session for me again, and I decided the juice was not worth the squeeze again.
 

Edgar

User requested ban
Banned
Oct 29, 2017
7,180
Just wanted to say, reading this thread I was engaged more than in kojimas stories
 

BLEEN

Member
Oct 27, 2017
21,912
Maybe you should just let the mystery be.
26038.jpg
 

Truant

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,762
Reminder that a naked Ridley Scott, armed with a sword, instructed Lindelof to make all the dumb changes to John Spaihts' Alien prequel script.
 

Kevers

The Fallen
Oct 29, 2017
14,588
Syracuse, NY
I guess I did. I can't make myself enjoy the IPs he is attached to. What pains me is that The Leftovers was a great concept, and Season 1 was some of the most pointless television I have endured. Being that I wasn't "enjoying the ride" enough to continue enduring Season 2, I dropped it. Watchmen's first episode was like a Lindelof PTSD session for me again, and I decided the juice was not worth the squeeze again.

Season 1 of the Leftovers is basically following the book from A to Z. A lot of people have issues with the first season but that is entirely the books fault. Season 2 and 3 are so much better once Lindelof had the opportunity to do what he wanted with the characters.

Also complaining about mysteries when it comes to The Leftovers is kind of silly, everything gets resolved by the end.
 

Nightwing123

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,416
Leftovers and Watchmen have made a huge fan of Lindelof. I like Kojima but in terms of writing he is just not in the same league.

Also this was a fun thread to read.
 

Catalix

Member
Oct 28, 2017
886
Someone in an earlier thread compared Kojima to Zack Snyder, and I thought that was pretty spot on.

Snyder's pet project Sucker Punch is exactly the type of pretentious, tone deaf, misogynistic bullshit Kojima would come up with if given the chance to direct a movie.
 

Rosenkrantz

Member
Jan 17, 2018
4,943
Uh, Lindelof is a good writer who had a few big misses that still haunt him, happens to everyone, just look at the guy who created Peaky Blinders and Taboo while also making two turds just this year.

Kojima had a few neat things tied to the gameplay back in the MGS1-3 days, but his writing has never been a strong point of his games, it was a playground for his batshit crazy underedited cutscenes.
 

bricewgilbert

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
868
WA, USA
Please don't listen to OP and watch the Zack Snyder Watchmen adaptation instead of the graphic novel. The film is probably one of the worst comic book adaptations ever made, it utterly misses the point of the comic.

Oh, and I did rewatch it last week after reading the graphic novel again and it's still absolutely awful, in case you were wondering.


That dude who made Kong: Skull Island is apparently making one.

and so does Lindelof's. The love for his Watchman is something else.

Kojima is a complicated (ie stupid and amazing) genius while Lindelof is a standard lib peak TV writer.
 

CloudWolf

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,653
There is something in my brain that recognizes the talent of Lindelof, but I can't deal with constant mysteries his material showcases with seemingly no explanation or payoff. I tapped out halfway through S2 of The Leftovers, the LOST shenanigans, and after Ep1 of Watchmen when it started raining squids. Just cant do it with him anymore.
Just saying, the squid scene actually isn't a mystery. With prior knowledge of the graphic novel (which you really need for the show), it's totally obvious why it happens and who's doing it.

and so does Lindelof's. The love for his Watchman is something else.
Just out of curiosity, why do you think it misses the point of the novel? Because of what I've seen of the show, it feels like a natural follow-up to the novel, with the same ideas, themes and political background only put in a modern perspective.

Lindelof clearly understands what the novel was going for and Alan Moore's deeper feeling about politics and heroics. Snyder on the other hand saw Rorschach as a hero and deliberately removed all critique on him and other heroes in his adaptation.
 

Messofanego

Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,266
UK
The Watchmen movie wasn't "great", it jettisoned the more contentious themes and deconstructionist narrative for favour of an action movie where Rorschach is idolised. The TV show is more in line with the themes of the comic and is pretty great so far. Also, unexpectedly funny.
 

CloudWolf

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,653
When compared to other games he's writing the odyssey.
besides rockstar/naughty dog/insomniac, gameshave been lacking in the writilong since forever.
I don't disagree that games could up their ante on the writing front, but Kojima is far from the best writer in games. Kojima is nothing compared to people like Chris Avellone or really most writers working in the (c)RPG space.

And when we're not just talking traditional ways of storytelling, Kojima comes off even worse. Games like Papers, Please, What Remains of Edith Finch, Pathologic or Return of the Obra Dinn are far more interesting than any Kojima game narratively.
 
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