There’s magic in my eyes: 12 dubious explanations for x-ray vision in games

By Joe Keiser, Anthony John Agnello, Samantha Nelson, Sam Barsanti, Matt Gerardi, John Teti | April 2, 2014 | 5:00am

Games Features Games

There’s magic in my eyes: 12 dubious explanations for x-ray vision in games

Action movies aren’t the only places with plot holes.

SLIDE #1Survival instincts, Tomb Raider (2013)

X-ray vision and similar superhuman visual tricks have become a video game design staple. As the worlds in mainstream games grow more detailed and complex, it can be helpful to let a player see through walls or to highlight objects of interest—used properly, x-ray vision not only enlivens an environment but also makes it more manageable. The one sticking point is that nobody in the history of the world has possessed x-ray vision. So when hapless writers are forced to explain the extraordinary eyes of otherwise human characters, it figures that the resulting narrative justifications are often a stretch. These stretches pop up even in games that take themselves somewhat seriously, like last year’s Tomb Raider reboot. This origin story casts the hero, Lara Croft, as a greenhorn who grows into an adventurer when her expedition faces deathly peril. Fittingly, she starts out weak—except for her extremely helpful “survival instinct.” Engaging this “instinct” grays out the background and lights up important objects on the screen, essentially serving as a “here’s how to solve this puzzle, you idiot” ability. Sure, you could argue that this is one way to dramatize Lara’s heightened focus in a life-or-death situation. Still, such outsized talent undermines Lara’s “zero to hero” arc, and by offering players such a handy parlor trick, Tomb Raider stunts the growth of our own survival instinct, as well.

Murdering instincts, Hitman: Absolution (2012)

Lara Croft may be a survivor, but Hitman: Absolution’s Agent 47 is a killer. That’s okay, because it turns out that murder instinct makes you extra-good at seeing stuff, too. Lucky! Activating “Instinct Mode” in Absolution drenches the world in grayish blue and allows 47 to see his enemies through walls. Better yet, 47’s intuition is so keen that he can also see into the future, with streaks of red fire illuminating the exact path that his rival will take in the coming moments. Such extraordinary sight and foresight are ostensibly the product of 47’s vast experience as a ruthless killer. But Absolution can’t let 47 use these abilities all the time, because that would make him even more of a demigod—that is, it would make the game too easy. The bizarre upshot is that 47’s raw intuition is assigned to a meter that rapidly drains as you use his x-ray vision. So this is the rare “instinct” that becomes deeply ingrained through years of intense training and then disappears after it’s used for five seconds. With instinct like this, it might be better not to trust your gut.

Feral instincts, X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

In the gory video game companion piece to the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie, Logan’s acute animal senses allow him to enter a feral vision mode that turns the world gray and highlights his enemies. That part makes sense. He could easily sniff them out with his heightened sense of smell. But those feral instincts pick up on a lot more than just enemies. Apparently, Wolverine can also smell ledges that would be good for climbing and pointy things in the environment that would be good for impaling, and he can “see” the path to his next objective (represented by a trail of floating blue particles). Some people chalk this up to heightened animal instincts. We choose to believe that Wolverine can smell the trail of whatever he’s chasing. And he’s always chasing something.

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Psychic bond with your dog, Game Of Thrones (2012)

In George R.R. Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire series (on which the Game Of Thrones TV show is based), Bran, one of the narrating characters, is a “skinchanger,” able to transfer his consciousness into animals like his pet wolf. That strange ability is the major driving point of his story as he journeys to discover what the power means and how he can use it to protect his family. In the Game Of Thrones video game, the psychic link your character shares with his pet is just an excuse to have wavy, colorful “scent trails” lead you to the next quest objective. Your skinchanging talents can also tell you whether to ambush enemies by reading their emotions. Your bond is so strong that when your dog goes tracking and finds something, he can just bark and you’ll appear beside him, even though you’re supposedly in a trance somewhere else.

Medallion filled with the magic of proto-Nazi giants, Wolfenstein (2009)

Old BJ Blazkowickz didn’t need no fancy eyes to shoot Nazi scum back in the ’90s, but when he came back around for a new Wolfenstein adventure in 2009, he started seeing Nazi castles bathed in a weird green glow and his foes blotched with glowing red weak spots. No, BJ didn’t get super-soldier eye implants. He was just peering through the Veil, a mystical barrier that exists between our dimension and another magic-filled one. As evil dimensions go, this is an awfully helpful one, as the Veil visions let BJ know exactly where to shoot his enemies for maximum damage. You summon the Veil by using the Thule Medallion, Wolfenstein’s MacGuffin. BJ has it, and the Nazis want it. Why? Because it was made by the Thule, a mythical race of giants who might be ancestors of the Aryan race. And also because it turns you into some sort of magnificent slaughter wizard.

Powers of a generous but morally ambiguous deity, Dishonored (2012)

Shortly before Corvo Attano, the main character of Dishonored, is to be executed, a mysterious figure called The Outsider appears and deems Corvo worthy of using The Outsider’s magic powers. While everything about The Outside screams “I’m a creepy demon guy,” he doesn’t seem to actually care if you do good or bad things with his gifts, preferring instead to sit back and watch how your choices play out. One of the earliest powers he gives you is Dark Vision, and it’s the stealthy assassin’s best friend. Dark Vision highlights objects of interest (loose cash, food, ammunition) and uses beams of light to indicate where your enemies are looking. Most enhanced vision modes have a drawback to discourage overuse, and while Dark Vision limits your view quite a bit, the biggest reason to avoid using it is the annoying noise it makes. “Hunts and dies,” it whispers when you activate the power. Or maybe it’s “enhanced eyes.” Or it could be “it hands the dice.” It’s suitably magical-sounding (and probably just gibberish), but if having to hear it over and over again is the price The Outsider demands for his powers, maybe he’s not as morally ambiguous as he lets on.