How To Forge Bonds In Video Games

[@Silphwave]

YT's algorithm really does channels like this a disservice. So many really well thought out videos here.

[@RadioactiveMagicGames]

Thank you! (I worked especially hard on this one, unfortunately I think its too long to hold peoples interest haha)

[@Silphwave]

@@RadioactiveMagicGames I can tell 🙌, ah well at least you'll build up an audience of people whose attention spans aren't depleted.

[@EpiKLyeah]

@@Silphwave true

[@dummy5719]

I've always wanted my Pokémon to have more personality. Like, when I first found the memory girl in XY I was so invested and wanted to check the memories of my whole team! But then it got repetitive and I was very disappointed. I know it would be a hell of work to do but sometimes I wish the Pokémon would be a bit more individual.

[@darkninjafirefox]

This is why I love coliseum and XD so much, because it heavily restricts what pokemon you can use and the games have a lot of hard battles. With every battle being a double battle, I had to work harder to make sure they worked together. Instead of just over-leveling my starter

[@robertlupa8273]

It _is_ a double-edged sword, however. Less variety in repeat playthroughs, which Pokemon is very-well known for.

[@AlbeyAmakiir]

When it came to Aspirations, I was wondering if the pokemon themselves could have their own goals (however simplistically implemented), since you mentioned how attractive that is. Sure, the player can have aspirations, but that doesn't change anything about how the pokemon interact with you (though perhaps it could!) Could be cool to see a pokemon be like "I want to fight a Gyarados!" or "I wanna' eat every type of berry there is!" etc. Would go a long way to differentiating them. In regards to Dependency and Fire Emblem, I had the amusing thought "so you're saying the pokemon need to be able to die?", but then I remembered Nuzlock challenges, and how the players always seem to be so much more emotionally connected to their pokemon than players of normal playthroughs. So perhaps it isn't so weird after all. In "The Mirrored Self", I felt you were perhaps describing how the player can make a bond with the player character, but not with the pokemon. And that's something I've never been able to really get from the games. How can I see myself in the pokemon themselves? I guess aspirations would be one way, but honestly, it seems really hard to do while battling is a focus. Or maybe that's just me.

[@RadioactiveMagicGames]

These are all great points! I love that idea of the Pokemon themselves having unique little aspirations like that! Achieving them might not do anything mechanically but feeling like to did an act of service for them (and seeing their own personality stand out) is a strong bonding moment. Yeah, although I didn't have room to talk about it in the video, yes Nuzlock challenges are an aspect I was keeping in mind here. Player emotions are heightened when knowing those Pokemon could actually "die" during their run. Players already put themselves in the shoes of the protagonist so there is the "mirror" right there... as for the mirror in the Pokemon they catch... yeah that is a tough thing to pull of when you are always throwing them into danger. I don't have an immediate solution to that.

[@andresmarrero8666]

In this context Calyrex and the history behind the legendary is a case study where that bond goes horribly wrong as the destruction of the reins of unity cut any connection between the people and the land until it was remade. Without that connection they effectively do not exist to each other and this happened because the two sides became spoiled which led to pride, belligerence, and then pure malice with fittingly enough the legendary birds lookalikes fully represent and embody. Unfortunately Gamefreak didn't do a good job selling this but having to repair a bond that has been so thoroughly broken so long ago because everyone benefits and everything is much better when we come together as one big family is an incredibly compelling narrative that fits within the world of pokemon. In regards to the combat in which you regarded as both negative and positive, context is incredibly important and is really the only way to rectify this. Pokemon don't engage in battle because they like getting hurt nor are trainers kidnapping pokemon. Pokemon appear and engage with the trainer because they are gauging the person to see if they are worthy match as a partner. Even the peaceful loving pokemon has a desire to grow and improve, and the best way to reinforce the bonds between people and pokemon is through competition. In a battle with wild pokemon you are proving yourself to them and establishing a connection, the reverse is also true, and catching is the establishment and acceptance of that bond. The anime usually excels at showing this context and is the reason why Goh and the Collector in the second movie are despised. It is also an important aspect of the journey concept because without that rite of passage nobody would be growing and establishing a bond with the world itself. The darkness people think is there is not actually there. It only exists in the minds of people who stubbornly refuse to pay attention. There are bad things but the bond between people and pokemon are old and strong which promotes these unique interactions that are not found anywhere else. This isn't just the bond between individuals but between all the lifeforms in that world, the bond between pokemon and humans. That is not to say that darkness doesn't exist or that the warping of the bond doesn't happen. Nearly all the evil teams is some version of that bond being twisted into something dark and ugly, but that particular darkness a lot of people perceive isn't truly there. It is the reason why the story of gen 5 and N is the way it is, because folks like PETA became such a hassle in spreading a false narrative that few bothered to double check. The games due to being games are unable to properly show this but the anime pulls its weight in showing the context around the battles. The best way to combat this is through visual storytelling, to show people living and working together with pokemon that isn't about the battles or your journey.

[@ThatGastrodon]

I know this is an old video, but I'd like to point out that animals play-fight all the time, both in captivity and in nature. I feel like you could easily justify most battles as either being play-fights against other trainers, or actual protective fights against wild Pokemon and enemy trainers. The only change would be that against other trainers, the Pokemon don't faint, but are "tuckered out" and left at 1 HP after the fight ends. That way the battles are entirely justified as being either self-defense, or just playing for fun.

[@RadioactiveMagicGames]

I like this! Although I don't think they need to go back to 1 HP after a trainer battle, I do think having the wording being different for the type of battle taking place is a really nice immersive touch.

[@RedstoNeman0]

I'd like to add that the anime emphasizes that most trainers have to engage in "fair fights" regulated by small but simple rules. mainly a 1-on-1 fight with judo-like rules on not harming your opponent and declaring a pokemon out when it can't stand or even before if trainers want it's a small thing but the games really don't reflect that, I don't even remember if surrendering has become an actual mechanic yet!

[@nullpoint3346]

@@RedstoNeman0 Just gives us the "forfeit" option to replace run, don't prevent running away.

[@RedstoNeman0]

@@nullpoint3346 yeah that's what I was referencing, a lot of the more modern hacks include that option because it's just not fun to see your last mon that's there to gain exp share get obliterated by a seismic toss or something (technically also prevents losing a bit of friendship)

[@SomeAT-AT]

I like the design of your avatar! Also your channel is really underrated holy crap.

[@RadioactiveMagicGames]

Thank you so much! Feel free to share that opinion on socials ;) (Also, I'll be showing a little behind the scenes stuff on how my avatar works at the end of my upcoming video about Pokemon Character Design so stick around!)

[@jessegartung294]

Also Pokémon are characters as well. Unfortunately Temtem doesn’t do that and the plot just use them as objects. Like the final boss you don’t battle the mega tem. Instead you do a regular battle while the mega tem crumbles the tower each turn.

[@RadioactiveMagicGames]

I agree. Even with something simple, like, somehow with Pokemon I feel like "this is my buddy, this one right here" whereas I didn't get enough of that feeling with Temtem.

[@jessegartung294]

@@RadioactiveMagicGames to make it worse they have the gall to have a collectors edition

[@johnmobley9369]

How am I just now watching these videos. They literally deserve so much attention.

[@TheOtherWhiteNerd]

I just found your channel and have binged just shut the entire series since then. It’s so good! From the discussion, to the avatar, to the music choice, everything is stellar! Grade A!! As someone who has dreams of one day making a Pokémon fangame, I’m very intrigued in all of it! On the topic of the video, one point I very much disagree with is you stating that the permanent EXP Share is a bad thing removes game difficulty. Grinding isn’t game difficulty, it’s tedium. I’ve recently tried to play older games again, specifically Yellow, and the Gen 3 games. The experience of spending hours grinding makes it really difficult to get into the game. While the modern games are made too easy because of this, that’s because the hashes aren’t properly balanced around it. Ideally, you should have enough XP spread out between forced battles and the handful of trainer battles that you don’t need to grind at all. Measures that help minimize the grind help the games be more fun and help prevent needing to constantly swap out my team. However, I will admit that one thing I never considered was how this impacted the bonds you make with your Pokemon. If you don’t have to grind, you spend less time with them, thus making them just another mon. However, if it’s too tedious to grind, you’re more likely to box the weaker mons in favor of higher leveled mons. Ultimately, I think that the answer isn’t to remove the universal EXP Share, capture EXP, and the like, but to design the game so that there are challenges. Gym Leaders should be tougher, random trainers should be appropriately leveled, etc. The hype moments that make this Pidgey feel special aren’t the three hours I spent grinding it up and helping it grind others up against Johto’s Caterpie population, but are when it lives on 1 HP or barely outspeeds the enemy. I do find it interesting how Rare Candies help establish bonds through gift-giving; a better system may better use them and other items like them.

[@azothlegacy]

What a jaw-dropping video essay I've found, loved it! I agree with almost everything you said and it would be amazing to see a pokémon game done with these concepts in mind. It is true, pokémon is equal to a miriad of contradictions and poor decisions, lack of compelling stories and other things you mentioned in this video. In my opinion, the anime is the prime example of all these problems. Till this day, the pokémon anime keeps disappointing me for treating important aspects like compassion, empathy, friendship, kindness and others fellings (from what pokémon says, they should be the foundation of this franchise) in such an atrocious and poor way it is so infuriating! Anyway, love the editing, the graphics and the idea of removing stats! Can't wait to see all other poke study episodes! You got a new subscriber 😊

[@RadioactiveMagicGames]

Cheers!

[@1997gamer]

Care to elaborate why the anime disappoints you in that regard?

[@azothlegacy]

@1997gamer Oh there's so much to say... my first comment explains really well where the anime and the whole franchise fails. As for the why it is pretty simple and evident. I can't make a list of all the things that bother me as it would be infinite. If you watched the anime you should understand why it sucked. No compelling stories. Ash is so stupid and immature. They want to portray him as a good trainer when he's only a selfish dude who uses Pokémon as tools to win his own fight to become stronger. An example: he never said "We won!", he always say "I win" and the end of a match. He doesn't care about anything and he's unable to handle emotion and situations. I know he's a kid but this doesn't justify poor writing. Every problem is dealt with "hard training", anger, tantrums, run offs to only come back and never say sorry. Just look the Diamond & Pearl series and try to analyse every mistake they did with Chimchar and Paul... my god. The anime doesn't teach anything about how Pokémon should be. That's my opinion. Gen 7 and Gen 8 anime were really good though.

[@marcusclark1339]

Jumping into the future i feel Cassette Beasts does this well - i have a reason to use other mons cause they are far more glass canons than poke meaning using switching will far more happen, especially cause fusion, and 2 v 2 system so it even makes the team work important the storytelling by gameplay really plays a part as u explore the world, figure out how to navigate the world when and where and who to bring with you forms bonds to them another thing is its skill tree its far shorter than pokemon up to lvl 80, its 5 til they can evolve, which is more manageable and rewarding, and still field skills by specific mons (once u have them u always do even if not in party cause in your "stock" at all time)

[@lilyl4475]

i wanted to type out a well thought out comment on the content of the video but since the clip of the turtle getting absolutely vaporized its all i can think about lmao

[@HOLDENPOPE]

I wonder if this goes some lengths to explain Miraidon being my new favorite Pokemon.

[@thearrivalcyberseignister8898]

I think that a problem with bonding with pokemon is that is very difficult to make without the goal of catching every pokemon interrupting that goal, the more the game focus itself on catching pokemon the worse the game becomes at bonding with them, legends arceus personaly had this problem, the only game i think manages to make it sort of work is pokemon super mystery dungeon however the game kinda forces you to do it to progress and i dont think that its something that can be replicable in the main series

[@serenity-studios8217]

Then there's me in a dream where I pet an eevee and we're best friends now 🤪

[@RoninCatholic]

Over rewarding...is that why as an indie dev I've basically stalled out as soon as I began to monetize my work? In dungeons and dragons as the original tabletop game, combat was a poor way to advance and more risky than rewarding. Exploration and finding treasure was the main source of experience points

[@lollmao6621]

You shouldn't based it on the love languages because theyre severely flawed and dont work

[@nullpoint3346]

The closing notes, just Palworld. That game _lets you be evil,_ and in doing so has cause many players to become very compassionate towards those creatures. _If there is no potential for harm,_ and no consequences for what little cruelty does exist, then _people are less motivated to care._ The main reason people take evil routes is to see what is there, and they stop because the route is complete garbage from a writing and gameplay standpoint.

[@gracewarren4611]

🅿🆁🅾🅼🅾🆂🅼 😒