In a recent post on GameSetWatch Leigh Alexander responds to a previous rant from GDC. So make sure to check that post out, or you will be SO LOST. The actual rant, given by Heather Chaplin; I haven't been able to find except in pieces scattered over various sites. But let's just say that the original rant was basically saying that video games are nothing but a bunch of guys getting off on being powerful guys.
The basic point of Leigh Alexander's post was that video games need to grow out of their adolescent beginnings. To grow out of the "guy culture" that seems to be holding back the industry. However, she does refute the fact that developers can do nothing but this. That everyone in the industry are just a bunch of chest pounding Tarzan types. Which is good, because I think the women in the industry would beg to differ. She does admit that most of the content in video games is juvenile and that we should have grown out of this by now. In this I wholly agree with Leigh. She is absolutely 100% correct! I would love to see better stories and more emotionally deep games. Games that draw on more than the "kill this culture."
What bothers me a little is that in the original rant there seemed again to be this need to be shooting for parody with the movie industry. The argument is brought up in so many ways and in so many places that it's ridiculous. Video Games shouldn't try to be movies and movies should NEVER try to be video games. That is a rule I think everyone could learn a lot from in these days of constant movie licensed video games. But that is beside the point...
This whole "guy culture" thing is a little silly. Generally speaking anything that involves selling games to people. Basically involves selling games to guys. You know around the ages of 13-34 years of age. So the deep emotionally deep game is probably being developed as a MMO, a flash game, or maybe on the DS or Wii. Which is because marketing wise that's where all the women are. I don't think too many guys would buy a game about someone's emotional struggle to find themselves in a complicated world. Especially not over the next installment of Gears of War. No matter how much research is done about women playing Shooters or World of Warcraft. They are all ways the minority and men are all ways the minority when it comes to puzzle games and other flash game faire.
Read more books? Watch more films? Really? I mean I think the last few movies I saw were pretty "guy culture" oriented. Because again the focus on young males is pretty hardcore when we are talking about movie box office. Unless of course it's something like Mamma Mia or Sex in the City which I think is a little more pandering to "female culture" than it is what every woman wants to watch. As far as books are concerned, well yes I think there are a great number of good lifetime channel inspired books out there. But the books that tell an incredible story usually do so because they deal with the inner life of their characters. Which is something that not even movies have been able to get right.
There are certainly lots of things that the video game industry could be doing better. But would any of it sell? Perhaps... But what are we talking about here? Well, better voice acting, more complicated stories, and probably better facial recognition of video game characters. These are all achievable goals. At least with the right developer and publisher. But in most cases the industry is happy to pump out sequels of the next space marine oriented shooter because it sells. Unlike art forms like music, books, or even the independent film industry games cost ALOT of money to make and take a TON of people. And it will have to be in such a situation that this breakthrough comes. Because no matter how philosophical you want to get with your 2D indie games they aren't going to draw any kind of emotional reaction from anyone except those who are all ready thinking philosophically.
However, I would argue some of this has all ready been achieved. Games like Flower, Braid, and some other Indie faire have nothing to do with killing and they all have had the ability to draw emotional reactions from their audience. But a deep story? Complicated characers? This is going to take more than a small studio with limited resources can achieve. Which brings us back to money.
Much like action movies and the "BIG SUMMER BLOCKBUSTERS." The audience for all this is mainly made up of guys. So don't go blaming developers or marketing for what is a simple reality. Leigh, I want to live in a world where women buy as many games as men. But I don't think this is going to happen unless we ALL CHANGE and maybe even some changes in technology wouldn't hurt either. But then I'm just a guy, so maybe I STILL don't get it.
No comments:
Post a Comment