5 games we wish had audio commentary

Hey, did you know that videogames are made by people? It's true! Real, live people with their own unique thoughts, opinions, personalities and senses of humor. Imagine the stories such people might tell… especially when discussing the thing they spent literally thousands of hours struggling to put together.

This, after all, is why movies have director tracks, why books have forewords and why albums have liner notes – discovering an artist's creative process, no matter what the medium, is fascinating. So why don't more games give us that glimpse?

Portal did. Today, we learned that Monkey Island 2 Special Edition will as well. Here are the next five games we'd like to learn everything about:

Too Human

The original Too Human, first announced back in 1999 for the Sony PlayStation, was to be an epic sci-fi adventure that spanned four discs and transported players centuries into their own future.  The eventual Too Human, finally debuted in 2008 for Microsoft's Xbox 360 after a cancelled release on Nintendo's GameCube, was a forgettable hack 'n slasher that fit on a single DVD and focused on cyberpunk Norse mythology instead.

Nine years of development. Three different platforms. Two lawsuits, and one incredibly outspoken and controversial game designer. How could you not to want to hear this story, told by those who experienced it?

Final Fantasy

Unfunny people love to point out that the Final Fantasy series can hardly be called "final" if we're now playing the thirteenth one. Those twelve sequels, however – as well as the countless spinoffs they inspired – almost never happened. The first game's creator, Hironobu Sakaguchi, really did believe that Final Fantasy would be the first and last in the franchise… and his final failure before quitting game development and returning to college.

How does he feel looking back on Final Fantasy's miraculous success? What was he forced to cut due to the lack of faith and resources for his project at the time? And what bold, experimental stuff did he throw in when he thought no one was going to play the thing anyway?

Modern Warfare 3

Overnight. That's how quickly Modern Warfare 3 went from a surefire mega seller to a question mark. From a guaranteed Game of the Year contender to a distracting source of rumors and controversy. From a loyal and satisfied fanbase to an audience of angry skeptics demanding answers. To be more specific, that's how long it took for news to spread that publisher Activision had just fired two senior employees at developer Infinity Ward for "breaches of contract and insubordination."

Sure, the game hasn't been officially announced yet (except through the details of a lawsuit). Sure, the nearly 20 additional employees who have since resigned are but a minority of the entire development team. And sure, Modern Warfare 3 will probably still be fantastic. But no matter what the end result, we want to hear the unofficial behind-the-scenes story, even if somebody has to enter the Witness Protection Program in order to tell it.

Katamari Damacy

Hell, we'd pay money simply to sit in on the pitch. "You're a prince…" Okay, sounds safe enough so far. "Who wears a pillow for a hat, takes orders from a giant metrosexual drunk of a king, listens to Engrish lounge music and rolls new planets out of lawn ornaments, parked cars and screaming children." Goddamn, that's gold!

Honestly, though, it was. And we'd love to hear from the inspired (possibly mad) genius that was able to pull such bizarre and disparate elements together. They could at least explain the whole space shuttle thing – that was weird even for this game.

Boogerman

We imagine this audio track would consist mostly of crying. Soft. Sad.

BONUS!

Six more games that demand commentary:

What videogames would you like to be given a behind-the-scenes, developer-dishing audio commentary? Share your suggestions in the comments below!

Apr 26, 2010