Like a good Tom Waits song...
Remember the first time you listened to a really great slow and emotional song? It was only 3-7 minutes long but it had such a profound impact on you that it made you want to listen to it again and again. I don't care who you are, there are songs out there like this for you that you will play until the day you die.
Poems and short films also come to my mind as being in this short, impactful (is it a word?) and replayable category that I have just created.
The other mediums have it, so why don't videogames?
Like many of you, I discuss my gaming memories with my friends and how I would like to one day go back and experience that story once again. These are the things I say but in reality the probability of it happening are directly related to the industry's ability to saturate the market with an ever increasing amount of games whose sole purpose is to live up to the equation VALUE=LENGTH. Sadly, I feel this equation is being legitimized more and more each day.
But there are exceptions...
I try and play as many new releases as time permits (and I usually have a handsome amount of time) so please, if you will, let this statement carry a little weight, I find myself replaying Gears of War more than any game in recent memory. The game can be played in bite size pieces, or in one long sit-down session. You can be rambo or a bastard child from Winback (and I mean that in a good way of course). If you enjoyed this game, you are going to walk away with stories and experiences that you will want to share with your friends and colleagues, and with this game you can actually share these experiences with relative ease. Even if they are fairly new to videogames.
Fable
Say what you will about it, but Peter Molyneux is on to something. He's been saying that emotional games are a key to attracting new audiences. Fable may not have exactly pulled at the heart strings of the masses, but at least it tried. The entire game may have been completely overrated too short, but it was without a doubt a step in a new and exciting direction.
In defense of Peter, we have been face deep in violent games for years, lets try something new...
The point of entry for non-gamers is still too high, even after the launch of the Nintendo Wii (post Wii world?). I tell my girlfriend and people at my school about the emotional level of Final Fantasy 7, Kingdom Hearts, or Indigo Prophecy (not the ending though) and they are somewhat intrigued, but then they are quickly turned off by the time investment involved.
If you are not a diehard RPG fan but consider yourself a hardcore/dedicated/whatever gamer then ask yourself this, when is the last time you have finished a traditional "long" RPG?
Is the sheer length of a great game too daunting to prevent you to play it?
Would you like to see more emotional and bite-sized yet replayable games? Do you think these types of games could lower the point of entry and potentially attract new audiences to the industry?
I apoligize for how random this may sound but christ, sometimes it just comes out that way.
Poems and short films also come to my mind as being in this short, impactful (is it a word?) and replayable category that I have just created.
The other mediums have it, so why don't videogames?
Like many of you, I discuss my gaming memories with my friends and how I would like to one day go back and experience that story once again. These are the things I say but in reality the probability of it happening are directly related to the industry's ability to saturate the market with an ever increasing amount of games whose sole purpose is to live up to the equation VALUE=LENGTH. Sadly, I feel this equation is being legitimized more and more each day.
But there are exceptions...
I try and play as many new releases as time permits (and I usually have a handsome amount of time) so please, if you will, let this statement carry a little weight, I find myself replaying Gears of War more than any game in recent memory. The game can be played in bite size pieces, or in one long sit-down session. You can be rambo or a bastard child from Winback (and I mean that in a good way of course). If you enjoyed this game, you are going to walk away with stories and experiences that you will want to share with your friends and colleagues, and with this game you can actually share these experiences with relative ease. Even if they are fairly new to videogames.
Fable
Say what you will about it, but Peter Molyneux is on to something. He's been saying that emotional games are a key to attracting new audiences. Fable may not have exactly pulled at the heart strings of the masses, but at least it tried. The entire game may have been completely overrated too short, but it was without a doubt a step in a new and exciting direction.
In defense of Peter, we have been face deep in violent games for years, lets try something new...
The point of entry for non-gamers is still too high, even after the launch of the Nintendo Wii (post Wii world?). I tell my girlfriend and people at my school about the emotional level of Final Fantasy 7, Kingdom Hearts, or Indigo Prophecy (not the ending though) and they are somewhat intrigued, but then they are quickly turned off by the time investment involved.
If you are not a diehard RPG fan but consider yourself a hardcore/dedicated/whatever gamer then ask yourself this, when is the last time you have finished a traditional "long" RPG?
Is the sheer length of a great game too daunting to prevent you to play it?
Would you like to see more emotional and bite-sized yet replayable games? Do you think these types of games could lower the point of entry and potentially attract new audiences to the industry?
I apoligize for how random this may sound but christ, sometimes it just comes out that way.
posted by Coyotegrey at 3:07 AM
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