That being said, however, I think you’re still overselling the comparison between the mediums of film, books, and video games. Book and Film make good partners. They share the same structure. I learned everything I know about writing books from a screenwriting class (maybe that’s why I haven’t published anything…hmm….)

But making a good video game experience is, I think, an entirely new field of art. If it’s close to anything, it’s close to a making good version of RISK.

Also, I really enjoyed reading this post.

unlike some retro video game luddites, i do not think you can saliently separate the visual and contextual elements from the gameplay itself. they coalesce to a relevant whole text, which has to be considered along with the cultural experience of the player.

we should remember the commercial interest involve.

one of my working definitions of insanity is the denial of one’s own mortality (think michael jackson). video games are a wonderful example of the reinforcement of this particular kind of insanity. the american market, for which all the games mentioned above are created, thrives on this reinforcement. hell, who really wants to die? video games have always allowed us to experience the kind of rebirth we’re not likely to get after this life.

that’s what the market seems to want, and that’s what the market gets (along with all the other elements that we crave).

we’re talking about the market leaders, those games produced to sell big. luckily, just like arthouse theatre, there are certainly plenty of alternatives, if you care to seek them out. (try my current fave: http://www.experimentalgameplay.com/)

the question there is: will the internet help small producers influence the practices of the big producers? if not, what other force could possibly change games for the better?

I also want to step in in defence of my darling Half-Life. You could sum up an awful lot of stories in that way (Moby Dick: Guy gets pissed off at whale, tries to kill whale, screws up). The beauty of HL is that it doesn’t bother trying to set up a narrative in an A->B->C kind of way, like a book or film does, for the simple reason that books and films are always going to be better at that. But it is a uniquely game-ish narrative, in that the player experiences only what the protagonist experiences and is thus gently led into filling the narrative gap without outside exposition.

So, for instance, in HL2 you can infer the brutal way of life in City 17, discover the notice board in Black Mesa East and piece together the events that led here, explore an abandoned house by the sea and wonder what happened to it…

I don’t think I’m making my point entirely clear, but I genuinely love the way Valve tell the story in these games, and I think anyone who’s interested in the storytelling art should take note.