Ready Player One

Here we are again. This is the last post I'd planned in my 'gaming overview' series. I may  do more, but that depends on my having enough to say ('that's clearly not been a problem so far' *snarf snarf*). One thing I'd definitely like to do more of is talking about some individual games (of all varieties), in the same manner I have been with books.

This isn't strictly related to anything. I just wanted to show off the lovingly girlfriend-made Companion Cube

So, onto the actual topic at hand - video games. I think most people reading this would have at least played something that qualifies as a video game - especially with the proliferation of mobile gaming and so-called 'casual' games. As with other forms of gaming, however, that doesn't mean that most people actually enjoy them!

The basic premise that, shockingly, seems to be missed by those that are quick to dismiss video games as silly, pointless or harmful (a group which includes a lot of the media, particularly in the US - though this thankfully seems to be changing), is that, as with books and films, there is an intense amount of variety in the medium! Just as there are trashy books and mindless or outright bad films, you do get the lowest common denominator garbage being turned out by studios. Sadly, (again, like films), these seem to make up the majority of the market at any given time, so the best can be lost to those who don't watch the industry amid the rest of the noise.

What we get with the best games, however, is an experience that can easily supersede the best films. An exceptional game, is, hands down, a more powerful experience than an exceptional film. You are put into the place of the character(s) in a way that films can never hope to match (cf. my post on RPGs). You ARE that character for the game, acting for them, even if we are not given control of, or even agree with, their decisions (depending on the style of game). 

The emotional impact of these games cannot be overstated, and it is something I wish more people were open to taking the time to experience. The games with this level of payoff, however, tend to be the ones that require a reasonable time investment - 6 to 30 hours and upwards. This, though, in storytelling terms, is the real value that gaming brings over films, books, and television - putting you right there in the place of a character. Making you live the experience.

All that, however, is assuming that story is the driving force behind the game. 'Good' games do not necessarily mean good storytelling. I would say that the ideal is an solid balance between excellent gameplay matched with a robust story (such as Red Dead Redemption), but there is a lot to be said for those that swing more towards (amazing) story with okay gameplay (Bioshock Infinite), and I'll happily play something which is all about the gameplay, with paper-thin plot (Demon's Souls). It all depends on what you're looking for and enjoy.

It's with these last few examples that we really see the case for 'video games as art'. Video games like these - which are very few and far between are transcendent. With Red Dead Redemption, we have a depiction of a dying age - the Old West in America in 1911, and a timeless story of regret with a single recurring message - you can't outrun your past. I honestly can't talk in as much detail as I would love to about this game without spoiling it, but it succeeds in carefully exploring its setting and depicting a beautiful range of characters, all the while delivering a fantastic gameplay experience.

The original Bioshock was a stroke of creative genius, embodying the Objectivist philosophy of Ayn Rand in the form of an underwater city - an industrialist's utopia, and exploring the inevitable disaster that follows. In this, you actual find a deceptively deep study of human choice. All in a beautiful, psuedo-Steampunk Art-Deco style wrapper. Atlas Shrugged just can't step to that. I'm not even going to talk about Bioshock Infinite, since it's so new (don't want spoil things!), but that moves the needle so far further the original in terms of ambitious achievement.

Demon's Souls swings in totally the other direction. As I mentioned above, the plot is 'paper thin'. I think there's a whole lore behind the game - there's certainly a cut-scene at the beginning which tries to explain this, but it really. Doesn't. Matter. From what I've seen of it and the characters, it's a little odd and rather weak. The sole reason I play Demon's Souls is because it is a really, really challenging, in a way in which video games don't tend to be now. This has been a bit of a trend in the last few years - some games ramping up the difficulty - a bit of a throwback to the earlier days of gaming.

Demon's Souls is punishing, but fair. It does not babysit you (at all - there's so little in the way of explanation or tutorial!), but what it does reward is honing your skill as a player. Even when you've improved your character and their equipment to a reasonably competent level, you can still be taken down by relatively low-level enemies if you let your guard down and get overconfident. Death is not permanent, but will set you back significantly, respawning all enemies and putting you back at the start of the level. The bosses are epically difficult, and you will often have to die to them multiple times to figure out a strategy - requiring you to replay most of the level each time. 

For someone like me (and I know it's not for everyone - the amount of cursing I come out with while playing is testament to this) that is appealing and addictive. Sometimes. 

So, there concludes my thoughts on video games, and, for now, on gaming. I shall be following up with some specific, more review-like posts in the near future.