Choosing a regular topic for a column on videogames isn’t the easiest task. And no, I’m not just saying that to weasel out of debating the philosophical merits of Odama or inherent ludicrousness of Sen. Juan Hinojosa’s (D-Texas) proposed 5% tax on the sale of digital diversions.
A nascent form of entertainment under siege by parents, politicians and religious groups alike ? plus flush with singular personalities, polarizing issues and genuine artistic potential ? commentary on any one singular subject strikes me as inadequate. Or, as we in the writing biz say, there’s just no way mere words can do justice to the medium or attempt to sum such an interesting category up.
Which is precisely why you’ll have to forgive me for not honing my laser-like sites on any of the pressing issues at hand (e.g. Lara Croft’s recent extreme makeover or the impending rise of PlayStation 3). Instead, at the moment, I’m more enthralled by the mere fact that critics, insiders, media watchdogs, trade organizations, retailers, consumers, kids and even Hillary Clinton herself simply have so damn much to talk about in the first place.
Call it self-aggrandizing if you will: Despite Roger Ebert’s by now well-publicized comments to the contrary, I believe games haven’t just outstripped movies as the medium of choice for leisure seekers worldwide. I’m firmly convinced they’re poised to be the go-to platform for free-thinkers, revolutionaries, movers, shakers, educators, writers, role models and, yes, air-headed preteens to boot by the time the 21st century’s just a footnote in all our Windows-powered, Apple-engineered holographic eBooks. No matter what bastions of conservatism (see: your daily paper, the local 10 o’clock news) claim, it’s hardly far-fetched today to envision that gaming holds the promise to exceed literature, cinema and music in terms of dominating public mindshare.
Thank a little concept known as interactivity. Unlike works produced in other formats, hands-on experiences with games are entirely subjective and wholly unique every time you pick up a keyboard or controller. Hence the reason you’ll never hear the same two opinions on Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas’ risqué and ultra-violent content; even something as seemingly straightforward as a gangsta lifestyle simulator connects with millions of people in as many different ways.
Great novels do this. So do films and plays. Ditto for classic albums, mind-expanding artworks and reams of epic poetry? The difference with games, however: They accomplish all this and more because nothing’s fixed. While products in the past were confined to traditional storylines with finite beginnings and ends, now the joy in playing is one of discovery ? essentially, the journey’s end matters less than the path you choose to take to get there. And as technology evolves, so too will the craft, until it’s far surpassed any of the more stagnant forms of amusement, whose major advances come slowly, but surely, not once every six months to three years.
Long story short ? Frogger and Centipede have been forced to rest in peace, making way for epics like World of Warcraft, The Sims 2 and Will Wright’s upcoming world-building opus Spore, which ask players to make intellectual, moral and, oddly enough, even psychosexual choices of significant import. And the sector’s natural progression is forcing everyone, even longtime fans, to start asking questions and touching upon issues that, years ago, weren’t even a part of the pastime’s vernacular.
The culture shift has been a long time coming, but stop and take a step back and you’ll notice it’s finally arrived. What’s more, over the span of the next 5-10 years, as systems like Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s DS Lite push conceptual boundaries to the limit, it’s certain to become even more pronounced. Soon, as I see it, we’ll not only be discussing why Square-Enix’s latest role-playing masterwork is, presumably, the greatest book you ever played. We’ll also be contemplating how Nintendo’s New Super Mario Bros. stacks up in terms of cultural significance to Pink Floyd’s The Wall.
Granted, at the moment, some of these concepts seem a little far-fetched. (Blame it on all the time I’ve spent sitting mindlessly hypnotized in front of LocoRoco, if you must.) But it’s the very fact that I, and others, are even beginning to consider the possibility that such bizarre tangents could pass as conversational topics and not just Red-Bull-and-vodka-fueled ramblings that presently makes the game industry so compelling.
Ten years ago, we were naively bumbling along, wondering whether 3D environments could ever support quality gameplay and if this new-fangled PlayStation device was really going to make in the marketplace. Magazines like GamePro, Nintendo Power and Electronic Gaming Monthly focused coverage almost exclusively on straightforward previews, reviews, strategy guides and the occasional developer profile. As for software buyers’ biggest concern, it was wasting time worrying over whether Battle Arena Toshinden could actually stack up against proper, arcade-exclusive fighting favorites.
By comparison, nowadays, you’ve got the New York Times contemplating the wisdom of West Virginia schools’ decision to implement Dance Dance Revolution as part of their physical fitness curriculum. Congressmen fighting to outdo one another with bills that prohibit the sale of games to minors based on a variety of fictionalized, pressing and/or scientifically or spiritually-motivated concerns. Schools such as MIT and the University of Southern California implementing courses (and in some cases entire undergraduate programs) devoted to careers in the industry. Not to mention feature spots on CNN addressing the social impact of titles like 25 to Life instead of Starcade‘s candy-coated antics.
All of which adds up to a pastime that’s come to encompass more than mere pixels and synthesized sound effects. Meaning that when you speak about games with your buddies, you’re no longer just simply asking how to defeat Bowser or Donkey Kong; you’re touching on a range of topics varying from the emotional to the ethical and everything in between.
For someone who grew up stunned simply by the concepts of warp zones and high scores, it’s a hell of a lot to swallow. And likewise hard to know where to begin any kind of associated discourse. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of places to start looking either.
So I leave it open to you, dear reader: Where should we go from here? What’s got you most fascinated about the industry?
Is it the rise of games which actually build brainpower? How about the unexpected, yet sudden and meteoric success of titles like Guitar Hero? Or maybe just the quality of marketing research that went into naming Nintendo’s new console the Wii (hey, at least it beats the “Du”)?
Write in and let us know. There’s nothing we critics love more than a spirited discussion. And, of course, for that matter, an easy way to get a jump on writing the next column, leaving us more free time to clock in with recent favorites like Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence and Space Rangers 2?
