Does the metro strip club make sense?

Discussion in 'Metro: Last Light Campaign Discussion' started by nomotog, Aug 30, 2014.

  1. nomotog

    nomotog Member

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2013
    Messages:
    16
    Likes Received:
    0
    I was playing metro last light the other day and well you read the title. The strip club portion feels really awkward like it doesn't fit in setting, so I thought I might as well try and puzzle out why I feel this way and maybe see what other people think.

    I guess the first thing I should look at is the levity. Metro is a dark and depressing setting. In theory, that means you need to have everything else dark and depressing or it won't fit, but metro has other moments of levity that don't really feel out of place for the setting. The animal trainer, shadow puppets, and even rat shooting range are all little bits of levity that feel like they fit.

    The next thing I thought of was the style and look of the strip club. Off hand, I think this might be the big bit that makes it awkward. Why is their lace in the metro? I guess it's not too too crazy to guess that small amounts of lingerie might survive the blasts, but is it reasonable to find multiple matching sets in good condition that fit? I have a much harder time buying that. Wouldn't it make for sense for them to be naked or to be wearing mismatch or home made outfits?

    The spoiled part is more me talking about how the game aspects add to the feeling of awkwardness.
    There is the titillation aspect. When a video game includes nudity and sexual content it pulls me out a little because I think that the game might be trying to titillation me. Now I am thinking about the game as a game and not as a setting.

    The final thing is the animations. I am not an artist, so I can't really judge the quality, but they are very involved very bendy? They just kind of look different then the other animations in the game and in most games. Then there are a few other glitches. Like the bra vanishing and the computer I was playing on had jiggle bug, and there was something off with the eyes? All that together gives kind of a unnatural feel.

    Well that is more or less why I think that section felt so awkward. You must all think I am some kind of crazy now, but it kind of bugged me how quickly and violently that section would throw me out of the game.
     
    #1 nomotog, Aug 30, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 30, 2014
  2. Derrame

    Derrame Well-Known Member
    Regular

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2013
    Messages:
    119
    Likes Received:
    0
    This makes sense in the Venice Station because of it's "culture", in other station it wouldn't make any sense,

    I think the "big mama" boss fight makes less sense, i mean, running in circles like an idiot, so the roof falls, doesn't fit the "metro atmosphere or environment"
     
  3. Bamul

    Bamul S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
    Regular

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2011
    Messages:
    3,865
    Likes Received:
    0
    Nah, those are actually some very valid arguments. :) I'd like to add the fact that it comes up at a very strange moment in the story as well - when you should be following you know who. It knocked me out of immersion on my first playthrough as well, so I just didn't do it then as I thought Artyom would have his priorities set straight and waited till my second playthrough to see what it's actually like.

    I agree that if there's any place in the game where it belongs, it's Venice. But it still feels awkward and strange, especially considering what Artyom should be doing instead.
     
    #3 Bamul, Aug 31, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 31, 2014
  4. A lot of women choose to sell their bodies because they have no relevant skills and are not fit/too afraid to take up guns and fight mutants or raise children (Anna is an exception here). It is a much safer and easier life, as opposed to herding pigs and growing mushrooms in shit. They are protected not only from the outside world but also from the customers by their owners and don't even need to put out all that much (Look all you want, don't touch the merchandise). It is also a very lucrative business, so naturally brothels appear in places such as Venice.

    In-universe this is probably one of the most logical things to happen in the world, what with whoring being the oldest occupation.

    [YOUTUBE]-OnhFtOltKM[/YOUTUBE]

    The player makes the choice, not Artyom. You could ignore it completely and walk right out (21:22).

    Also check out a one-man concert at 5:25 while you are at it, he plays M2033 tunes on his guitar for a bullet or two.

    [YOUTUBE]8uvovR4YlBk[/YOUTUBE]

    The track accompanying the lap dance is pretty fucking awesome though:

    [YOUTUBE]RloRVxC5oBQ[/YOUTUBE]
     
  5. nomotog

    nomotog Member

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2013
    Messages:
    16
    Likes Received:
    0
    I kind of want to groan a little. When did strip clubs become a cultural thing? They could have made it a cabaret, or even a burlesque show. That would have felt more culturally. It also could have been more interesting as a set piece.

    It makes sense that this club might exist. I think it's just the way that it is done that kind of bothers me. The outfits epically and maybe I am getting too hung up on that, but I am using gun made out of old guns, but we still have the ability to make lingerie?

    I also kind of want to call foul on Anna being an exception. This is the end of the world. The post Apocalypse. One of the rules is that society changes. Old rules don't apply because now we live in tunnels with mutants. I think that should be for gender rules too. The young women in the tunnels have all grown up in the tunnels.
     
  6. Derrame

    Derrame Well-Known Member
    Regular

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2013
    Messages:
    119
    Likes Received:
    0
    You're right about the post apocalyptic society, and new world but maybe its easier for this women to work in Venice than exploring the surface scavenging for useful components.

    Is this station in the book?
     
  7. Bamul

    Bamul S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
    Regular

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2011
    Messages:
    3,865
    Likes Received:
    0
    Yes, it makes sense considering the setting, but I still feel it's not placed in the appropriate part of the game's plot. As for Nomotog's original argument regarding how it's strange they managed to find so much matching lingerie and how elegant/well-preserved it all seems, I partially agree but I guess it also makes sense that dancers and prostitutes at a station like Venice (where things like that are indeed a lucrative business) would probably lead less materially deprived lives than many other Metro dwellers. Contrary to popular belief, even now in countries where prostitution is legal - and I'm only referring to legitimate business where everyone is consenting and of legal age - prostitutes can actually make plenty of money.

    However, although I'm not referring to anyone in particular here, I'd just like to make sure that no one tries to interpret what I wrote as saying prostitution is or isn't right/good/moral/etc. First of all, that's not at all what I'm saying. Secondly, we don't need that type of discussion here, as things like that belong in General Chat.

    The oldest occupation part is very debatable.

    I know, that's precisely what I did on my first playthrough, so I guess I should appreciate the fact that 4A give you a choice. It's similar to how CDPR handle things in their games - Geralt can be faithful to his partner or he can be looking for a romp at every opportunity, it's all up to the player. :lol: Though looking at how urgent the mission is in Last Light, I think perhaps a better design choice would have been to implement some sort of penalty for those who choose to stay instead of pursuing you know who. Nothing too drastic, perhaps something like
    an extra line of dialogue from the little Dark One asking Artyom why he chose to stay longer at Venice instead of continuing the mission.

    Yes, I remember that guy, he was one of my favourite moments in peaceful stations of Last Light. :)

    Agreed.

    I still agree with this. Although it's not that hard to come up with explanations for it, it does seem a bit strange.

    I think Derrame used the word "culture" in quotation marks to refer to the slightly twisted, dirty and post-apocalyptic vision of culture as seen in the metro after WWIII. At least that's how I understand his post, but I may be wrong. :)

    I'd agree with you here again, as that's what most people would do after an apocalypse if they were smart, but this is Eastern Europe - gender roles are much more traditional and strongly engraved into this region's culture and habits than they are in most Western countries, so I think Metro 2033's picture of how people would behave isn't that unrealistic.

    No, as far as I remember, there are no flooded stations in either Metro 2033 or Metro 2034. However, a thoroughly described flooded station is featured in Piter, one of the Universe of Metro 2033 book series. I have only read Piter once and that was about two years ago, so I don't remember 100% whether the flooded station there had a brothel/strip club/whatever. Although Piter is set in the same world and year as Metro 2033, it takes place in St. Petersburg instead of Moscow. Nevertheless, Piter was published three years earlier than Last Light was released, so it's very likely that Piter's flooded station was a huge inspiration for Venice.
     
    #7 Bamul, Sep 2, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 2, 2014
  8. Potarto

    Potarto Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2013
    Messages:
    1,015
    Likes Received:
    0
    I'm too lazy to slice and edit up that quote, but I'll say this:

    -Sex sells. Strip club makes sense. Maybe it could have been done better, it's not exactly an integral part of the game anyways if you're over 12.
    -I don't see the whole "having lingerie" thing being hard to lampshade. Nobody bats an eye at fully intact guitars being commonplace, but finding some nice underwear is unbelievable?
    -As for a penalty; you mean like making you pay valuable bullets for it? (I mean, I guess that would be a decent penalty if the game didn't throw them at you :p)
    -And yeah, like Komo said, it makes perfect sense. It's not a glamorous life, but if people were paying 10 bullets for a minute-long no-touching dance, I'd jump right on that shit (in this hypothetical post-apocalyptic world, of course).
     
  9. Bamul

    Bamul S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
    Regular

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2011
    Messages:
    3,865
    Likes Received:
    0
    That's a very brief way of saying it, but it sums up how I feel about it pretty well too. :)

    Probably because this thread isn't about guitars in the metro, but about the strip club so I don't see how that's relevant at all, but I get your point.

    No man, I literally give an example of how they could have done it in the spoiler tag in my post. :p And the price in bullets is indeed very low, considering how easy it is to stock up on MGRs.
     
  10. NuclearWastE3

    NuclearWastE3 The Toxic Avenger
    Regular

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2013
    Messages:
    1,390
    Likes Received:
    2
    * I think that the strip club fits in perfectly. I mean, yeah, it is something that you might have not expected to be in the game, but it is also something that would not be an uncommon sight to find in a post-apocalyptic world; even in a dark depressing setting like that of Metro. Besides, I would rather have the pursuit of "you know who" lead to the strip club because it is something that I would expect more of "you know who" to be at rather than shooting trapped rats for fun at the shooting gallery -like a little kid.

    * And the whole "hard to believe that matching lingerie is still in existence" thing: Wasn't Theatre Station (Bolshoi) a performance place before the war? If so, that that would have to explain where some of the matching outfits come from.

    * Also, the strip club is more believable than the entire Theatre act alone.

    * Lastly. The strip club out of place in relevance to the story works. The lap dancer girl had no idea what Artyom was after. She just saw him as a potential customer and attempted to lure him -you- in for a personal show so that she could make some money. It's the perfect distraction. See a boob show and hold off the important stuff until later, or continue on with the mission.

    Edit: Just wanted to say that the story and gameplay in LL really picks-up after Venice.
     
    #10 NuclearWastE3, Sep 2, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 2, 2014
  11. nomotog

    nomotog Member

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2013
    Messages:
    16
    Likes Received:
    0
    I buy the theater act a more then the club. It's kind of hard to say why though. I think part of it is the watcher act. It's the kind of thing that you would almost expect before you see it. Hey we have all these new animals. Les train them to jump through hoops. It's an entertainment venue spawned from the metro rather then ported to it.
     
  12. Stalker Bar

    Stalker Bar Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2014
    Messages:
    98
    Likes Received:
    0
  13. Dogpatch

    Dogpatch Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2012
    Messages:
    122
    Likes Received:
    0
    I think it makes a lot of sense that the place exists (in the right station that would/could support such a business, such as Venice) - BUT I don't really think it makes much sense plot-wise for Artyom (or for the player to have the choice) to be there, though. That it's kinda there like, hey wanna take a break and watch a strippers? How about a lap dance?... Not like you have anything better to do, eh? Though, pretty much all the sexual content in this game (i.e. Artyom & Anna) doesn't make much sense to me plot-wise, and pretty much took away from the story and the super-important mission at hand so maybe I'm just a tad biased being against any of it in this game, it just doesn't feel like it fits at all. But it certainly does feel like an odd time in the story to find yourself staring at tunnel-sk*nk ass in a strip club.

    :twitch:
     
  14. TotalAaron

    TotalAaron The Oracle of Awesome

    Joined:
    Mar 10, 2013
    Messages:
    2,102
    Likes Received:
    0
    Scene wise? Yes Story wise? No
     
  15. NuclearWastE3

    NuclearWastE3 The Toxic Avenger
    Regular

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2013
    Messages:
    1,390
    Likes Received:
    2
    I laughed at the part when Anna told Artyom that she "wanted to feel that she's alive."
     
  16. TheBoss0567

    TheBoss0567 Member

    Joined:
    May 16, 2015
    Messages:
    20
    Likes Received:
    0
    Personally, it was allowable due to the culture as stated earlier, but it still felt unnecessary
     
  17. superbobby

    superbobby Active Member

    Joined:
    May 29, 2015
    Messages:
    30
    Likes Received:
    1
    Prostitution is the one of the oldest professions in our history. I think the strip clubs were not out of place.
     
  18. Ishmael

    Ishmael Well-Known Member
    Regular

    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2015
    Messages:
    625
    Likes Received:
    378
    It makes sense in the universe the games are in, but it's still out of place to me. Like they didn't need to put that in the game, it doesn't help the story a tiny bit. I thought it was optional, though?
     
  19. FuZyOn

    FuZyOn Well-Known Member
    Regular

    Joined:
    Sep 21, 2014
    Messages:
    1,868
    Likes Received:
    538
    I have mixed feeling about this. While prostitution and the act of sex have been exploited for centuries they didn't fit the story at all.