Fez
26-05-2010, 09:58 PM
Every six months or so, someone will suggest that videogames need to be more thoughtful and provocative. Then there's two responses from two different groups of people. One group will nod in agreement while sneering down their noses at the other group who simply state "games just need to be fun."
This topic has been done to absolute death but I don't think there's ever actually been a proper consensus. So why not start now?
Art is a loose, subjective thing and can mean many different things to many thousands of people. Some say it's taking the human condition, others says it's exploiting just human traits and I personally think it's something that changes your perception.
So, what's a videogame?
For every fifteen little morally shallow games (a la Infamous), there will be one hundred gorefests or multiplayer things that 12 year olds will gobble up (Gears of War, not calling you all 12 year olds) and there will be only one massively unique title. As it currently stands, I think that there's only a few titles which have shifted the balance of FUN versus EXPRESSION. It is an entertainment industry, no doubt about that, and games should never be without fun. I hate artgames which all try to fill themselves with pretentious metaphors and overlays of "But we're indie devs!"
If you think MW2 is the greatest game of all time, I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just going to say that you need to play more games. There's so much more fun on offer than just shooting your mates. I discovered so much about myself and videogames have taught me more than anything else. Sounds massively sad but it's what I believe. If they have this power on a little saddo like me then they surely have potential on everyone.
Would like to get your thoughts.
This topic has been done to absolute death but I don't think there's ever actually been a proper consensus. So why not start now?
Art is a loose, subjective thing and can mean many different things to many thousands of people. Some say it's taking the human condition, others says it's exploiting just human traits and I personally think it's something that changes your perception.
So, what's a videogame?
For every fifteen little morally shallow games (a la Infamous), there will be one hundred gorefests or multiplayer things that 12 year olds will gobble up (Gears of War, not calling you all 12 year olds) and there will be only one massively unique title. As it currently stands, I think that there's only a few titles which have shifted the balance of FUN versus EXPRESSION. It is an entertainment industry, no doubt about that, and games should never be without fun. I hate artgames which all try to fill themselves with pretentious metaphors and overlays of "But we're indie devs!"
If you think MW2 is the greatest game of all time, I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just going to say that you need to play more games. There's so much more fun on offer than just shooting your mates. I discovered so much about myself and videogames have taught me more than anything else. Sounds massively sad but it's what I believe. If they have this power on a little saddo like me then they surely have potential on everyone.
Would like to get your thoughts.