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Ninja Theory's Dominic Matthews Explains DmC's Satire

Very nice find!

To be honest I never even considered taking this game's story serious enough to actually think that it is meant to represent a satirical approach on common themes in modern society.
 
I don't think anyone should need an article to tell them this because it is very obvious this game plays on social satire. It's over the top and wacky. Again paying homage to Devil May Cry. Just goes to show how shallow and narrow minded this fanbase is if they interpreted the game as if it's taking itself seriously.Because a giant demonic news anchor who's lair consist of news network icons floating amongst a surreal type dreamscape is something that truly takes itself seriously. Just instead of being a cartoon, it does this in a manner of satire that quite frankly does poke fun of real things in our world. I don't think Ninja Theory was trying to spread some anarchic message and I think the people who do think that maybe need help because they take video games too seriously. It was something to poke fun at and it sure as hell makes for the most interesting level design the series has ever seen. I f*cking love Limbo. It's so goddamn cool and the art direction for DmC is incredible. I really dig the distinct surreal style.
 
“It seems that games are perceived to be for kids and should never tackle themes a Saturday morning cartoon wouldn’t. It would be pretty depressing and limiting if all developers accepted that as the status quo. Our games are being played by intelligent adults, so there is no reason why we can’t treat them as such.”
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Oh boy, what year does NT think this is? The 90's?

vakarian23 said:
To be honest I never even considered taking this game's story serious enough to actually think that it is meant to represent a satirical approach on common themes in modern society.
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Likewise. I don't think there's nothing wrong with the story itself: it's nothing memorable, but it focuses on Dante's character, need and conflict, holds the plot together with enough coherence and can be pretty amusing sometimes, but the way it is being promoted and advertised like it was a complex and witty satire and one of the smartest written games ever made just gets in my nerves.
 
Mister Z said:
Oh boy, what year does NT think this is? The 90's?



Likewise. I don't think there's nothing wrong with the story itself: it's nothing memorable, but it focuses on Dante's character, need and conflict, holds the plot together with enough coherence and can be pretty amusing sometimes, but the way it is being promoted and advertised like it was a complex and witty satire and one of the smartest written games ever made just gets in my nerves.
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Hell no, if this were the 90s then the music for this game would be decent
 
Mister Z said:
Oh boy, what year does NT think this is? The 90's?



Likewise. I don't think there's nothing wrong with the story itself: it's nothing memorable, but it focuses on Dante's character, need and conflict, holds the plot together with enough coherence and can be pretty amusing sometimes, but the way it is being promoted and advertised like it was a complex and witty satire and one of the smartest written games ever made just gets in my nerves.
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The way people talk about it does make the game sound as if it's pretentious so to speak. When playing it though I find it really just pays more homage to it's predecessors. It's over the top, wacky, but also definitely more self aware than the previous titles. Like I said about Devil May Cry before, the series never did the whole "intentional campyness" the best as it was always a game that shifted in it's tone and presentation. It's like half the people in the room said let's stay a cartoon while the other half said I want to make a serious game and they met each other half way. Plus, Devil May Cry's sense of humor sucks. That game was never funny and it's attempts were too often and very try hardish. At least DmC had me giggle a couple times.
 
Wow. I so never thought of it like that.

So they're still doing what the original DMC's have done; Poking fun at their source.

Original DMC with anime and J-movies
DmC with actual media satire and B-movies.
 
Got to say that was a good read. I do agree that NT was going for satire, while also touching upon certain issues without going too deeply into the implications of the actions of characters from all sides. The story could have gone a lot deeper, but I think it was more a general 'this is this, now use your brains and fill in the blanks'. But I wish had had delved deeper into the consequences and a real demon takeover through covert means. They have tried to present a world that is relevant to our time, but missed the mark a little by making it so in your face, and that's how it becomes more of a satire than a serious social critique in my book.

It would have had more impact if it was: Take down the education system, take down the food production, take down all media and take down the law enforcement.

They are all things used to stay in power through indoctrination at an early age through school and continued to adulthood and beyond with the news, the mind altering food; media to spread lies and propaganda, and the law reinforced by Bob's prison and the SWAT teams.

They did show a brief example of the law enforcement with the prison that Bob Barbas was running where they took people who became aware for their 'crimes against demonology' and punished them, and Mundus sending SWAT to raid Order HQ.

I'd say they did show the ambiguity and complexities in the themes, but they were for the player to work out. Not everything needs to be so obvious, or are gamers stupid now that they can't work this out anymore?
However, the attempt was ham fisted. Vergil seeming like he's the saviour, but becoming more corrupt, the Lilith shooting debacle; then Phineas warning Dante what would happen to lives of many if they angered Mundus, but they do it anyway; Mundus confronting Dante in the office claiming he saved humans from their own nature, while Dante and Vergil brought violence and death, and then Vergil revealing to Dante his intention to rule in front of a crumbling and wrecked city. So it's not like they made no attempt at showing this, but they could have gone much deeper.
 
Marionette Cherry said:
Sounds like damage control to me.
"It's not meant to be serious guys! Quit bashing the story!"



I guess...if you're into the sorta stuff it throws at us in attempts to be funny.
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For example when Dante hears what's in Kat's spray can he just stops her and I notice he wipes it on her shirt when she's not paying attention. And the opening where he's flying through the air getting dressed is just so ridiculous and over the top you can't help but chuckle. DmC strikes me as a lot more self aware than the rest out of the bunch. It's not the funniest thing ever but definitely funnier than anything Dante did in the previous games which comes off as just being a dork who thinks he's cooler than he is and he never really says anything witty either. I rather humor have an actual comedic brain behind it no matter the context, Clerks, The Big Lebowski, Cheech and Chong, Animal House etc. That sh!t is funny. Devil May Cry is not.
 
MultiBro said:
The story in DmC was supposed to be satire? Hah hah hah hah hah.

Hah.
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You don't think it is? Like seriously? Bob Barbas and the Raptor news network is a parody of Bill O Reilley and Fox News. The Virility drink has an advertisement that specifically states that drinking Virility will make you sexier, smarter, and increase sexual performance. Do you even know what the word Virility means? It's means having very masculine qualities whether it comes in the form of strength, intelligence, and even sexual performance. Being a MANLY MAN. To say that DmC is anything short of a social satire makes me think you don't know what one is. It's over the top, wacky, and can be flat out ridiculous. Just like Devil May Cry should be but instead of doing it in some corny hit and miss cartoon manner, it mirrors things in our society and exaggerates it to an extreme length using the concept of demons controlling the world. It's common sense. It should be.
 
Chancey289 said:
You don't think it is? Like seriously? Bob Barbas and the Raptor news network is a parody of Bill O Reilley and Fox News. The Virility drink has an advertisement that specifically states that drinking Virility will make you sexier, smarter, and increase sexual performance. Do you even know what the word Virility means? It's means having very masculine qualities whether it comes in the form of strength, intelligence, and even sexual performance. Being a MANLY MAN. To say that DmC is anything short of a social satire makes me think you don't know what one is. It's over the top, wacky, and can be flat out ridiculous. Just like Devil May Cry should be but instead of doing it in some corny hit and miss cartoon manner, it mirrors things in our society and exaggerates it to an extreme length using the concept of demons controlling the world. It's common sense. It should be.
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I don't think you know what satire really means.

"Satire is a genre of literature, and sometimes graphic and performing arts, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement.[1] Although satire is usually meant to be funny, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon."

The only "over the top" moment in DmC is when Dante is getting dressed when he is flying through his trailer. After that it takes a serious tone. There is no "wit" to it. Just a story that takes itself too serious. They Live is hardly satire and DmCs story is inspired by that movie.

Bob Barbas is the only thing in DmC being a parody, I'll give you that but the drink Virility (I know what the word means thank you very much) being parody of any kind? Nope. It's just a market ploy used in real life too so how is that being "sarcastic"?

And don't state your opinions as facts again. You are just making yourself look silly.
 
MultiBro said:
I don't think you know what satire really means.

"Satire is a genre of literature, and sometimes graphic and performing arts, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement.[1] Although satire is usually meant to be funny, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon."

The only "over the top" moment in DmC is when Dante is getting dressed when he is flying through his trailer. After that it takes a serious tone. There is no "wit" to it. Just a story that takes itself too serious. They Live is hardly satire and DmCs story is inspired by that movie.

Bob Barbas is the only thing in DmC being a parody, I'll give you that but the drink Virility (I know what the word means thank you very much) being parody of any kind? Nope. It's just a market ploy used in real life too so how is that being "sarcastic"?

And don't state your opinions as facts again. You are just making yourself look silly.
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Are you legitimately stupid? I didn't want to be rude but you are making yourself look really dumb right now. Bob Barbas could have been called Will O Feilly. As for the Virility drink the ad in the game says you will get smarter and sexier becoming a super human of sorts. It's ridiculous. Kind of like that Slurm drink on Futurama. Have you ever seen They Live? It's a really crappy movie first of all and also it is something that can be classified as a social satire. While parody's are more towards the light hearted side of things it usually shares love for the thing it's making fun of. They Live and DmC is something that is brutally in your face about anti-establishment and rebellion. But are you going to say that Bill O Reilly isn't an asshole? Or that Fox News isn't pretty stupid at times? I don't think Ninja Theory does not think or truly feels like this. If you think they do then you need help because you take video games WAY TOO SERIOUSLY. Dude, you made me facepalm my head into the wall. The game exaggerates this sh!t to extreme lengths. The whole freaking game is basically over the top! Are you kidding me?
 
MultiBro said:
I don't think you know what satire really means.

"Satire is a genre of literature, and sometimes graphic and performing arts, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement.[1] Although satire is usually meant to be funny, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon."

The only "over the top" moment in DmC is when Dante is getting dressed when he is flying through his trailer. After that it takes a serious tone. There is no "wit" to it. Just a story that takes itself too serious. They Live is hardly satire and DmCs story is inspired by that movie.

Bob Barbas is the only thing in DmC being a parody, I'll give you that but the drink Virility (I know what the word means thank you very much) being parody of any kind? Nope. It's just a market ploy used in real life too so how is that being "sarcastic"?

And don't state your opinions as facts again. You are just making yourself look silly.
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I'd say this game is holding certain spects of society up to ridicule. Not Virility specifically, but I've seen a lot of adverts for men where it is basically 'buy this product and hot ladies with huge tits will totally want to screw you, and then you'll get a sports car and live in a huge house'. You get the idea. Virility and its marketing gimmick is just an example of what goes on in real life. The big joke about Virility in the game is the guy we see drinking it is a fat slob. He's not 'smarter and sexier' like Virility claims.The game is saying only a moron would believe such advertising tactics.

It's like the Lynx advert. I'm sure it's supposed to be a joke, but the advert basically says 'wear this scent and ladies will be all over you'. Guess what? Someone sued Lynx because they thought using it would get him dates. :lol:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/man-sues-lynx-after-failing-1040700

I kind of wish they had done a demon McDonalds though. That would have been a good example of indoctrination from an early age to consume unhealthy food. Plus with the family friendly adverts the company runs....unbelievable.

The obvious one in the game is Raptor News and Bob Barbas. The way that guy reacts, he might as well be called Bill O'Reilly. Or, as I now call him, Billy-Bob:P It's there to satirise the right wing media and knee-jerk reactions to groups like Anonymous whom Fox News have called 'terrorists'.
Then there's The Order istelf, with the logo and video message stylings of Anonymous with a bit of V for Vendetta thrown into the mix.

But the thing with DMC is, this is not in depth, seriosuly critical social commentary; it's more of a cherry picker. I didn't expect it to be any more than that. If you want something more, read a book about capitalism, Ayn Rand, Objectivism, Marxism, marketing ploys and the like.
 
ToCool74 said:
woah woah woah!

Dial it back dude.

Keeping a attitude like that will surely get you reported and in trouble around here.

Please don't turn this topic into a bad one.
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Well fine but this can be my initial reaction to that comment.
picard-facepalm.jpg
 
Marionette Cherry said:
Sounds like damage control to me.
"It's not meant to be serious guys! Quit bashing the story!"



I guess...if you're into the sorta stuff it throws at us in attempts to be funny.
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Just like DMC 3 and 4 did with dantes "clever momments" surfing on a rocket, using a bike as a nunchuck. Doing a play with a villian randomly, or talking about sexual penetration to a demon portal.

DmC had me chuckle at its little things in it not cause I thought it was trying to be funny, but the context of the moment that it happens in.

Anything can be found funny to you or anyone else. I never found Dante in DMC 4 to be funny or cool and the way he was portrayed really put a bad outlook on the character.
 
Loopy said:
I'd say this game is holding certain spects of society up to ridicule. Not Virility specifically, but I've seen a lot of adverts for men where it is basically 'buy this product and hot ladies with huge tits will totally want to screw you, and then you'll get a sports car and live in a huge house'. You get the idea. Virility and its marketing gimmick is just an example of what goes on in real life. The big joke about Virility in the game is the guy we see drinking it is a fat slob. He's not 'smarter and sexier' like Virility claims.The game is saying only a moron would believe such advertising tactics.

It's like the Lynx advert. I'm sure it's supposed to be a joke, but the advert basically says 'wear this scent and ladies will be all over you'. Guess what? Someone sued Lynx because they thought using it would get him dates. :lol:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/man-sues-lynx-after-failing-1040700

I kind of wish they had done a demon McDonalds though. That would have been a good example of indoctrination from an early age to consume unhealthy food. Plus with the family friendly adverts the company runs....unbelievable.

The obvious one in the game is Raptor News and Bob Barbas. The way that guy reacts, he might as well be called Bill O'Reilly. Or, as I now call him, Billy-Bob:P It's there to satirise the right wing media and knee-jerk reactions to groups like Anonymous whom Fox News have called 'terrorists'.
Then there's The Order istelf, with the logo and video message stylings of Anonymous with a bit of V for Vendetta thrown into the mix.

But the thing with DMC is, this is not in depth, seriosuly critical social commentary; it's more of a cherry picker. I didn't expect it to be any more than that. If you want something more, read a book about capitalism, Ayn Rand, Objectivism, Marxism, marketing ploys and the like.
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Exactly. It's a social satire of a lot of dumb things in our society that do exist. But the concept of demons at the heart of this is what makes it ridiculous. The Order is almost like a jab at Anonymous which are for the most part total idiots who watch way too much V For Vendetta or something. Have you heard of their most recent protest? Trying to make DDoS attacks legal. Ugh what retards. That's freaking E-Terrorism in its most basic form. The entire game pokes fun at these things and it makes it what people call a social satire.
 
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