THE PRODIGAL THEIF- A Connection Between the Prodigal Son and A Thief’s End

I’m going to start things out by saying that I’m not about to talk about the difference between Sam and Nathan Drake, that difference has been made very clear in the story itself: Nathan has moved on from treasure hunting and Sam and hasn’t. What I am going to try to explain is the difference between Nathan Drake and (drumroll please…) Rafe Adler. Say whuuuut? Yes, I know it sounds strange, but hear me out. At the end of (Jesus’ version) the Prodigal Son, the younger son, having realized his wrongdoing, returns home to his father, and the father throws a big feast in honor of his son’s return. However, the story doesn’t end there as the older brother, the one who stayed with the father through all this time, indignantly refuses to join in the festivities.

That part of the story is where I want to draw the parallels. The older son has worked for everything he’s earned, and his father hasn’t done anything to show his appreciation. Similarly, Rafe has worked for fifteen-plus years to find Captain Avery’s treasure, and so in the final scene of Uncharted 4, it kind of makes sense that he’s upset about Nathan showing up, even though by then it’s apparent that nobody’s going to go home with any treasure, not to mention that Nathan was just there to save his brother Sam. But all that doesn’t matter as Rafe throws one heck of a tantrum, going after Nathan with a cutlass while complaining about Nathan (seemingly) accomplishing so much more than he has even though he’s worked harder. He worked for this, and so dadgummit he deserves it!

And how does Nathan compare to the younger brother? Admittedly, this is where the metaphor starts losing its grip; Nathan Drake doesn’t exactly fit the apart of the prodigal son except in the loosest form, so here we go. I’d say Nathan Drake is kind of like the prodigal son in that he deviated from treasure hunting, came back, and turned out above par with Rafe.

So in the end, hopefully you can see some similarities between the two stories. Both Rafe Adler and the older brother were working hard, and then see the younger brother, or Nathan Drake in this case, coming back and after having deviated from the normal way of life, coming out on top. Both feel indignant, because in some way or another, both deserved what the ohter got.

So what do you think? Do you agree, disagree, maybe have some other points that I’m missing? Please let me know in the comments below!

YOU ARE NOT THE TARGET AUDIENCE, AND THAT’S OKAY- What Gone Home & Lego Star Wars have in common

I’ll admit, I haven’t finished Gone Home, I just couldn’t. It was set in a beautifully realistic house along with a haunting soundtrack that when put together made for a chilling environment. However, I was only able to handle so much of the story before I just got creeped out- being a straight, right-leaning male, Gone Home’s story of queer diary-style thought-jotting missed my demographic by a mile. I didn’t like it, but it wasn’t for me in the first place.

Don’t get me wrong, it was well done, really well done, It’s just that about 20 minutes into the game, I was listening to something I wouldn’t normally catch myself listening to (unless it was a Playstation Plus game I knew nothing about). Where others might have enjoyed the “intimate” and “human” feel of Gone Home’s story, it just felt “weird” and “wrong” to me. On the upside, however, I did have a lot of fun putting a bottle of cola in a microwave for no reason at all, but that was that.

On a completely different note, I’d like to bring up Lego games, which I played a TON during my childhood. Ever since playing them at friends’ houses, and then getting my own, I had a blast playing them. Of course, like all good things, this came to an end, as I gradually ended up playing more mature and complex games, I eventually ended up trading them in for credit towards a shiny new PS4.

However, that wasn’t the end of my time with Lego games. Years later, my little cousin came over for the holidays, and me, wanting to be the best big cousin in the whole wide world, bought Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We had lots of fun playing it together. Then he left. A little while later, I picked it up and played it. I enjoyed it for a couple of minutes, but then, having already completed the main campaign, I became bored with the simple grinding and played something else.

Really, one of the main reasons why I suddenly didn’t enjoy it so much was simply because I wasn’t a 7-13-year-old who enjoyed simple gameplay and puzzle-solving with a fun Lego Star Wars theme. I wasn’t the target audience. Similarly, I didn’t enjoy Gone Home because I wasn’t a liberal-minded 15-20something-year-old who could appreciate or relate to the story that Gone Home had to offer. But do you know what? That’s totally fine.

The one thing I hope I never catch myself doing, and I wouldn’t recommend doing, is forcing myself to like something because everyone else does. Yes, I did just conclude this post with a seemingly regurgitated message of nonconformity (ooh, big words), but I’m serious.You shouldn’t count on everyone’s opinion being like yours and vice-versa. Don’t worry if you don’t like the latest critically-acclaimed video game, movie, tv show or comic; that’s just you. It’s fine to use popular opinion as a guideline, but don’t use it as a way of life.