destructoid.com — The time has come for video gaming to move beyond a simple diversion, and become something more. Escapism isn’t enough: it’s about time for video games to be disturbing, depressing, timely, political, thought-provoking, and, above all, meaningful.
Apr 10, 2007 View in Crawl 4
jarasmenApr 10, 2007
AWESOME article, to say the least. I hope this triggers some real discussion about the topic, because, well, gaming deserves to become something higher, something more.Also, the idea of guiding a little girl through a battlefield is awesome.
gopherchucksApr 11, 2007
That's a really great article. I actually felt sad, all over again, reading about Aeris.That's all you've got to say. Aeris.
mk32066Apr 11, 2007
@ echohullYou don't "evoke" you invoke.
roscoApr 11, 2007
needs more Deus Ex, and less Sims.
phantomthought9Apr 11, 2007
The videogame industry needs to figure out how to make fun and entertaining games first, or at least create a business environment that promotes developers to create such games, before even beginning to contemplate elevating the medium to "serious art". The majority of games, like movies, lack imagination, creativity, and direction. In addition, most of videogames genres have been relegated to a backseat position in favor of yearly updated sports games, realistic racers, regurgitated rpgs, and rehashed first person shooters. Even then, these overused genres adhere almost strictly to genre precedents and conventions, with mounds of untapped potential lying unexplored. I'll give you kudos for trying to think outside the box, but you would be better off arguing for the development of overlooked game genres. And anyways, "serious" art is way overrated. It promotes an atmosphere of pretentiousness and nonsense. A good example is modern playwrights, teen novelists, and avant garde artists who include foul language, crude imagery, or repulsive ideas just to "push the envelope of serious art" for the sake of it. Finally, promoting games as serious art would lead to the medium being utilized for political propaganda, promotion of particular ideologies, and the like which would corrupt the already fragile sense of fun the industry possesses. That is not something I would like to see happen. For an idea of what happens to an industry that begins to take itself to seriously, look no further than comic books.
joerwApr 11, 2007
I reckon he is right to want this because these dark things in a game provide the most intense experiences when the players are working cooperatively against them.Dread is a great creeping feeling in your stomach when you are playing with friends in a claustrophobic environment and against a frightening massively outnumbering enemy. Why dont we have games like that? For example, I want to find my player realise he and a few other rag tag players have lost a gamble and are now trapped in a penthouse apartment having missed the boat out, suddenly the tables have turned, and slowly he realises by looking over the balcony at the hordes that an inhuman alien swarm is relentlessly and individually creatively working their way up to that apartment to kill them all, by biting. The individual player responses would be priceless to watch while the forced working together and voluntary self sacrifices would be meaningful, heroic, and tragic. A rescue effort? An coordinated group push down the stairs? Jump? Go MAD? DO SOMETHING! DIE.At one time I was thinking that Doom would evolve toward the most frightening game available, I mean it had that possibility, that you could enter a room and press a switch and have 100s of ugly demons cages open to chase you through a maze. Almost like you shouldnt play it because you wouldnt sleep well at all. Oh well, maybe someday.
fungoApr 11, 2007
the KotOR series kind of achieves this, but it's not as much emotion as it is fun to re-play as light and dark sides.Call me lame, but I was angry when I had to kill Fenix in Starcraft: Brood War. The way they worked the mission briefings in Starcraft allows you to get into the minds of the little units you control, giving them a less automaton-ish quality and adding a little character depth.
zerokillApr 11, 2007
@echonull: Well Nintendo doesn't have a good track history on this. Games like Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid that really do a lot for the storytelling are not on the Wii and there are not a lot of similair games which focus heavy on the story on the Wii. The games that have been anounced at the moment are mostly just simple party games, or games which are of course fun but which don't try to incorporate a good/mature story.
caddyalanApr 11, 2007
knulpm says, "...Neither is inherently better or worse than other and anyone who tells you the future is in only one direction is a fool." Well said. I'd like to see a balance between "arthouse" games and games which are just relaxing and fun.
greevarApr 11, 2007
I felt emotionally moved by the dialog of "Prince of Persia: The Sands Of Time". The interaction between the prince and the princess had a great effect on me. Given, these exchanges were not in any way effected by me in the course of the game, but my point still being is that the game had emotional value. Oblivion is another example. There are many instances where something you are required to do is of morally ambiguous ground. Stealing for people, committing murders, assassinations, all of these would apply to this. I think the author needs to look a little deeper. Those are just two examples I pulled out of the air. I'm sure I could come up with more if I thought about it.