Guardian article
Rhianna Pratchett says it is time the games world followed Hollywood's lead, and started commenting on the world around us
Saturday October 4, 2003
While the games industry struggles to be properly respected as the powerful entertainment medium it is, we are maybe overlooking something important; a feature that TV, films and books have enjoyed for a long time. We're missing a bit of social commentary in our games. We are used to seeing hidden (and not-so-hidden) messages about the state of our society and its future in other entertainment mediums. The dangers of unrestrained technology, scientific tinkering and Machiavellian politics are given regular treatment in our films and TV programs. But you won't see the subjects covered in games. Part of the problem, according to new media researcher Matteo Bittani, is that current coverage does not assess and pick apart games in the same way that films are judged, and they are not being looked at in terms of what they teach us about ourselves.
"What we really need right now is new forms of game criticism that would change the way games are socially and culturally perceived," he told the recent European Game Developers Conference.
Matteo, who also works on an Italian games magazine, holds the view that the games press in general is guilty of treating games as if they had no other relevance than being mere commercial products.
Games are still being assessed by the same criteria of: playability, graphics, sound and longevity as they were 15 years ago, causing the analysis to just boil down to "technological determinism in full effect."
"We need to pay attention not only to the games, but the gamers," explains Matteo. "How do they play? How do they act symbolically, culturally and politically with the games? We need to study games consoles as cultural objects, rather than dismissing them as mere devices. "Technology is never neutral. Games are not "just games".
For Matteo, part of the answer to this problem may lie in drawing greater comparison between the works of game developers with the works of authors in other fields: "We need to compare Hideo Kojima with Mamoru Oshii. Will Wright with Will Eisner. We need to understand their role in shaping out culture."
But this is by no means a problem that simply lies solely with the critical games press. Gaming has certainly managed to create its own equivalent of the Hollywood blockbuster, with highly anticipated games such as Half-Life 2 and Doom III boasting the latest technology and special effects to draw in the crowds.
Whether these two will stick too closely to the blockbuster formula in terms of meaningful plot and intelligent content we shall have to wait and see. However, the potential of games as a medium for deliberately producing pertinent and intelligent thoughts regarding our culture and society is obvious, yet still very under-used by the game makers themselves.
The only arena where games have managed to strike a particular cultural note is in the area of violent imagery, and how far this does or does not contributes to violent behaviour, which has been discussed in previous Online columns.
The witch-hunt that games are enduring, one that has been rumbling on for years now, is reminiscent of the 80s "video nasty" outcry, when many films were banned for their violent content.
But, subsequently, many of these movies have been released, which suggests that times and attitudes have changed for video - but not, it seems, for videogames.
The untapped potential for games to contain more culturally-significant content (that goes further than merely depicting real-life war zones) implies a two-way process between the developers and the critics. Other entertainment forms have shown us that commenting intelligently on the world can be entertaining and innovative. Certainly the interactive quality of games has the potential to add a whole new dimension to this. So while being dismissed as being "just for kids" by much of the media, the fact remains that videogames are reaching millions of people of all ages across the world on a daily basis.
The implications of gaming as a social phenomenon therefore cannot - and should not - be underestimated by developers or critics. [/color=darkred]
Rhianna Pratchett says it is time the games world followed Hollywood's lead, and started commenting on the world around us
Saturday October 4, 2003
While the games industry struggles to be properly respected as the powerful entertainment medium it is, we are maybe overlooking something important; a feature that TV, films and books have enjoyed for a long time. We're missing a bit of social commentary in our games. We are used to seeing hidden (and not-so-hidden) messages about the state of our society and its future in other entertainment mediums. The dangers of unrestrained technology, scientific tinkering and Machiavellian politics are given regular treatment in our films and TV programs. But you won't see the subjects covered in games. Part of the problem, according to new media researcher Matteo Bittani, is that current coverage does not assess and pick apart games in the same way that films are judged, and they are not being looked at in terms of what they teach us about ourselves.
"What we really need right now is new forms of game criticism that would change the way games are socially and culturally perceived," he told the recent European Game Developers Conference.
Matteo, who also works on an Italian games magazine, holds the view that the games press in general is guilty of treating games as if they had no other relevance than being mere commercial products.
Games are still being assessed by the same criteria of: playability, graphics, sound and longevity as they were 15 years ago, causing the analysis to just boil down to "technological determinism in full effect."
"We need to pay attention not only to the games, but the gamers," explains Matteo. "How do they play? How do they act symbolically, culturally and politically with the games? We need to study games consoles as cultural objects, rather than dismissing them as mere devices. "Technology is never neutral. Games are not "just games".
For Matteo, part of the answer to this problem may lie in drawing greater comparison between the works of game developers with the works of authors in other fields: "We need to compare Hideo Kojima with Mamoru Oshii. Will Wright with Will Eisner. We need to understand their role in shaping out culture."
But this is by no means a problem that simply lies solely with the critical games press. Gaming has certainly managed to create its own equivalent of the Hollywood blockbuster, with highly anticipated games such as Half-Life 2 and Doom III boasting the latest technology and special effects to draw in the crowds.
Whether these two will stick too closely to the blockbuster formula in terms of meaningful plot and intelligent content we shall have to wait and see. However, the potential of games as a medium for deliberately producing pertinent and intelligent thoughts regarding our culture and society is obvious, yet still very under-used by the game makers themselves.
The only arena where games have managed to strike a particular cultural note is in the area of violent imagery, and how far this does or does not contributes to violent behaviour, which has been discussed in previous Online columns.
The witch-hunt that games are enduring, one that has been rumbling on for years now, is reminiscent of the 80s "video nasty" outcry, when many films were banned for their violent content.
But, subsequently, many of these movies have been released, which suggests that times and attitudes have changed for video - but not, it seems, for videogames.
The untapped potential for games to contain more culturally-significant content (that goes further than merely depicting real-life war zones) implies a two-way process between the developers and the critics. Other entertainment forms have shown us that commenting intelligently on the world can be entertaining and innovative. Certainly the interactive quality of games has the potential to add a whole new dimension to this. So while being dismissed as being "just for kids" by much of the media, the fact remains that videogames are reaching millions of people of all ages across the world on a daily basis.
The implications of gaming as a social phenomenon therefore cannot - and should not - be underestimated by developers or critics. [/color=darkred]
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