Gaming Without a Safety Blanket

Hugh Pickens writes "IGN has an interesting interview with Tom Bissell, author of the recently published Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter, in which Bissell uses his experience in investigative journalism and as a war correspondent to describe his years playing games. Bissell talks about the difficulties in describing gameplay to non-gamers. 'A lot of casual games sort of submerge their storytelling to an almost subliminal level while upping the gameplay sophistication,' says Bissell. 'Writing about pure gameplay is tough. ... I say in the book that's one of the most suspect things about the form; a game with [an] incredibly dopey story but a really compelling mechanical set of resonances can still be a great game. I don't know if there's really a way to talk about that with people who aren't sold on the form.' Bissell adds that it's easier for many to find meaning in the more traditional delivery systems of entertainment and compares writing about games to the difficulty in describing rock & roll to an older generation. Bissell's background as a war correspondent, traveling to regions of conflict, has also translated into the games he likes."

Jesus Wept.

[gravos]

My most central E3 memory was some guy working for Ubisoft. He was standing on a podium with probably fifty guys in their early twenties all around watching footage of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, and he's shouting into his little headset, "Do you guys like airborne assassinations?" And everyone goes, "Yeah!" I just turned away and was like, "Jesus wept."

Yes. This is what is wrong with games today. This guy gets it.

Re:That can be true for anything

[Ironchew]

A story is not an essential part of a video game at all. Sure, it is for RPGs, but you can subsist entirely off of gameplay with arcade games.

*snore*

[uniquegeek]

You know, I like playing a few games here and there, but as soon as I read

Bissell talks about the difficulties in describing gameplay to non-gamers. 'A lot of casual games sort of submerge their storytelling to an almost subliminal level while upping the gameplay sophistication,'

My eyes glazed over and my brain went elsewhere. Kind of like when someone really excited about gaming starts to ramble on about it.

My gaming serves a purpose for me - take my brain elsewhere for a while. Why do I expect that non-gamers should be able to relate to a game they don't play themselves? Even if they did play the same game, most things we relate to each other are going to be the same. Do we start a conversation where most responses are going to be "me too"?

Re:Jesus Wept.

[Nursie]

Whilst that sort of display is cringeworthy, AC 2 was one of the better games I've played in ages.

It had lots of action, required tactical thinking from time to time, looked amazing, minor puzzle elements, immersive gameplay, extras (stupid stuff to collect) that prolong it's appeal somewhat....

I dunno, maybe the attitude there is all wrong, but AC is to me a good example of a game that got it pretty damn right.

Re:*snore*

[MrHanky]

Yeah, why should you care about expressing anything verbally. In fact, when I read your comment, my eyes glazed over and my brain went elsewhere. Kind of like when someone who doesn't care one bit about something tries to explain to people who actually do care why their interests are dull and boring just because they don't get it.

Seriously, why is this pure expression of stupidity modded "insightful"? It doesn't have anything to say, apart from "I don't have any thoughts of my own, and I don't want any, and I don't want to listen to someone who has".

I've read a few chapters of the book, and it's pretty good.

Re:That can be true for anything

[rainmouse]

Yes but standards change, the punters keep demanding more and these days a FPS game with no story, just violence and the occasional puzzle would likely be panned by critics and economically flop.

Problem with the games market is that graphics and branding are ultimately what sells games and until the audience can become more sophisticated, the vast majority games never will.

Re:Jesus Wept.

[Nursie]

Actually I'm not sure it is cringeworthy after all.

I *do* like airborne assassinations....

Sheesh....

[afabbro]

...I thought "gaming without a safety blanket" would be a discussion of how real men play roguelikes, where you have only one life and the game may take weeks/months to complete and death means starting over...

Re:That can be true for anything

[Hatta]

A better analogy would be a movie with an amazing story but really bad special effects. The core of a game is its gameplay, the story is just there to help it along. The core of a movie is the story, the special effects are just there to help it along.

Re:That can be true for anything

[Hatta]

A good RPG should stand on its gameplay, not the story. For that matter, there are few RPGs that have a decent story by any measure. It's the planning and execution of battles that really makes an RPG. I'd use Nocturne as an example. The constant churn of demons that make up your party, each with different strengths, really keeps the gameplay compelling. The story itself has an interesting premise, but it's really poorly developed. It was the gameplay that kept me going for 90 hours. If I want a good story I'll read a book.

Re:That can be true for anything

[Draek]

And if I want good gameplay I'll go out and play a sport.

Sorry, but I *hate* that "read a book" phrase. Gaming is what it is due to the relationship between all its components, it's not merely about gameplay just as it's not merely about graphics or storytelling.

Re:The key

[ultranova]

One of the major hurdles gaming as an entertainment medium needs to overcome before it is taken as seriously as movies, theater and such by more than its major demographic is the pandering to the immature teenage obsession with sex and violence.

As opposed to the mature obsession with sex and violence that is pandered by movies, theater and such?

Hollywood panders to obsession with violence. European "art" films pander to obsession with sex. Some pander to both. And how could they not? Apart from titillating the senses, almost all human behaviour is driven by either lust or survival instinct; you can't have drama without these elements. If anything, having a greater focus on sex and sexuality in games would allow far greater storylines with better rounded characters, not to mention enable all kinds of dramatic options in both conflict and its resolution.

You aren't going to find any medium where sex and violence aren't at the central focus, because they are the focus of human existence.

Even worse is when the amount of nudity or sex in a game is treated like some sort of sacred phenomenon like in God of War.

God of War is very tame and nice compared the original Greek myths. What should they had done, copied Disney's Hercules?

I wait patiently for more games like braid, heavy rain, the monkey islands remakes or portal, although they may not all have the most amazing stories, they push the capabilities of the medium or are rewarding because of the way they make you think, their humor or their beautiful art style.

Beautiful art style, yes... Care to guess which two subjects have been the main focus of art from the very first cave paintings to modern-day painters, sculptors and such? And, for that matter, the subject matter of most humour? Or pretty much every story?

Games are slowly but surely moving from being kid's toys into mainstream entertainment, and that means they're going to get a lot more sex to go with the violence. You can dislike it, but it's what all mainstream entertainment has been made of for the duration of entire human history, and prehistory too. And I, for one, am just fine with that.

Not "the" key, "a" key, perhaps.

[adamofgreyskull]

Hang on, let's compare apples to apples, (I'll side-step theatre, because I can't think of any good examples, but I'm sure they exist) :
For every "Casablanca", there are 10 "Dude, Where's My Car?"s, "Grandma Got Her Funk Back"s and "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory"s.
For every "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas" there are 10 "Harold & Kumar"s, "Cheech & Chong"s and "American Pie 3"s.

Similarly, for every "Portal", "Braid" or "Monkey Island" there are numerous generic first person shooters where you have to mow down wave upon wave of enemies with increasingly powerful, brutal weapons.

1. There is no doubt that film is considered by many to be a "serious" entertainment medium, and yet the number of childish, puerile, banal movies FAR FAR FAR exceeds the number of "great movies".
2. Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction are considered by some to be great movies, and even the critics who don't took the time out to review them and give them serious consideration, yet they both contain copious amounts of swearing and violence.

With that in mind, I really don't think that getting rid of gratuitous or excessive sex, violence and swearing is the silver bullet to getting gaming accepted as a "serious" entertainment medium by the mainstream that you think it is. Nor do I agree that violent games, per se, could never be taken seriously. However I totally agree that the kind of bloodthirsty, all-out FPSs you refer to will probably never be considered "high art", in the same way that "Transporter 7: School Run Traffic" will never be, but there is no reason, for example, that a survival horror game in the vein of the Resident Evil franchise couldn't receive more serious consideration as art.