Video Games Don’t Have to be Fun
Shigeru Miyamoto has made statements in the past expressing his opinion that games should be fun and in depth stories weren’t necessary. It’s no surprise then that his legacy of works include some of the most joyful, entertaining, and story-lite games to grace consoles. I love Miyamoto’s work. Back when I was a child contemplating which console my dad would buy me, the NES or the Sega Master System, it was Mario that secured my decision in favor of Nintendo henceforth. That said, I am in disagreement with Miyamoto’s design philosophy. Games don’t have to be fun.
Let me step back from the video game industry for a second and speak a little about the movie industry. Now, while I do not feel the movie industry offers the best model for the game industry to follow, it does show that the media consuming public doesn’t just want to be amused. Not every successful film is a comedy or action flick, or even properly called mere entertainment. Many films are educational, or provocative, or even difficult to watch due to their emotional intensity. If all we as humans wanted was mere entertainment, why would any of us watch a movie like Shindler’s List? Yet we do, in the millions, we voluntarily view movies that go far beyond simply making us laugh, scream, or supporting our dearly held biases and I see no reason games can’t also expand into the rich variety of these sorts of narratives.
Narrative, really, is the key here. The element that gives video games their greatest individual strength is also the element that poses the greatest obstacle to video games expanding beyond their version of the popcorn flick. That element being interactivity. Gamers have an active relationship with the games we play. Games give us things to do, and the simplest actions with the biggest payoffs tend to be fun or have a visceral quality. We shoot the bad guy, sword fight, or run and jump across an obstacle heavy environment. More mundane activities like simply walking down a hall, picking up bits of broken glass, or peering into a mirror aren’t intrinsically interesting. But, they can be made so by the narratives that surround them.
If any single genre puts truth to this statement, it’s the Role Playing Game. Some people may live to bulk up their stats, but I’m not one of them. I do not find random encounters fun or entertaining. If it were not for the existence of an intriguing cast of characters and a plot giving meaning to all of my running around, I wouldn’t play these types of games. Not all of the games in my collection are classically fun to play. Some of my absolute favorites would have been tossed into the next garage sale if not for their narratives, their mind twisting tales, their clever dialog, their deep characters, even their oppressive atmospheres.
This is truly an exciting time in the video game industry. The popularity of so-called casual games, the experimental approaches to interfacing with games, the opening up of main stream audiences to independently developed downloadable games, all are contributing to a rejuvenation of game design creativity. Not every experiment is successful, but each is important in challenging the stagnant view of what video games should be. I say the envelope should be be pushed even further. I love fun games, but in addition to them, would I want to play a video game equivalent of Shindler’s List, or Citizen Kane, or even the BBC production The Blue Planet (kind of already have with Endless Ocean)? Why yes, I think I might just.
Related Links:
Genres I’d Like to See on the Wii: 3rd Person Shooters
10 Years Ago This Weeks: Aliens Vs. Predator
Tags: amber ahlborn, game design, musings, shigeru miyamoto
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Yes, please. Refreshing to hear after seeing this drivel praised on digg today:
http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-10-most-common-game-design-mistakes/a-20090522125215378009/p-2
Schindler with a c. I’m not a stat bulker myself, but I’d add that the grind actually brings some heft to the narrative as well. I put in the hours to get the skills and purchase the equipment so NOW I’m kicking the final Necrowhatever’s ass and I earned it.
However, I don’t want to play Citizen Kane because I think movies and games are mutually exclusive forms of entertainment. It’s that difference in interactivity that makes each appreciable in a different way. When Welles is staring at his girl bombing onstage at the opera house, I don’t get pissed because I didn’t boost her charisma points enough. In games, it’s me playing that role. I’m also excited by the way the narrative structure is changing in games, but I worry that people will see standard RPG narration as something antiquated instead of appreciating what it is. Nice post, Amber
Just to clarify, I’m not asking for video game versions of any of the movies I listed. Rather, I’m just pointing out successful narratives that don’t revolve around action or horror or any of the typical “fun movie” themes. As I mentioned, I don’t want games to follow the movie model. However, movies do have a richer variety of subjects they explore and there’s no reason games can’t as well. Some games already are taking the initial steps in this direction.