I was talking to my girlfriend the other day about the advent of modern media and how technology has reached a point where stories and narratives can be fully interactive. This has taken the form of are commonly known as "video games."
I attempted to make the point that games are the future of entertainment, just as oral traditions, books, theatre, television and cinema were before them. My point fell on deaf ears, and she told me she didn't care about games and thought they were a waste of time. This is a shame, especially considering how big a fan my girlfriend is of literature and music.
The wiki website http://www.tvtropes.org refers to this phenomenon as "New Media Are Evil."
A Brief History Lesson: In the 1930s, a new medium of entertainment was born in the form of Comic Books. The story of Superman, an alien with all of the classic superhuman abilities, was told through pages of pictures in sequence. This is arguably the form that television would later take. It was new, it was edgy, it was cool.
For the first few years, comic books were an underground sensation. Weekly episodes (another convention television would imitate) unfolded new chapters in gripping tales. Dynamic characters with amazing abilities, coupled with levels of humanity that struck a chord with a captivated audience.
So, when this awesome medium for storytelling came to the forefront of public consciousness, what happened? All of the older generation freaked out and banned them. Or, at least heavily regulated. It was thought that the audience comic books were targeted at (7-16 year-olds) were too immature to understand a lot of the subject matter (I could go on a rant about the vicious cycle here, but this history lesson has already gone on long enough).
I am personally not a fan of comic books, but far be it from me to doubt the literary value of 'Watchmen' or 'The Killing Joke' (the latter is the comic book upon which the film 'The Dark Knight' is inspired). There is a story there. There is something valuable.
It's come to my attention that the Supreme Court of the United States is hearing a petition that is trying to get video games classed as a regulated material. This would mean that minors would be unable to purchase games with a "mature" rating (i.e: most of them). If this happens, a sizable portion of the game publishers market will be lost. Developers may stop making games which are daring enough to aim for that rating, and instead do what most film-makers do (aim for a PG13 rating) in order to keep the audience. Although it isn't directly so, this is censorship; despicable, unforgivable and downright dirty censorship.
You'd think society would learn. This has happened so many times in the past:
1. Martin Luther posting his list of grievances on the church doors.
2. Elvis Presley and his dance moves.
3. Frikkin' Bowdler!
And here I was thinking Jack Thompson getting disbarred would be the final nail in the coffin. We've proven that the proponents of game regulation are far more insane than anyone supposedly influenced to violence by gaming. Got some news for you Jack: Correlation does NOT equal Causation.
Just because the 14-year old bully target owned a copy of GTA4, it does not mean it influenced him to pull a knife on his oppressors. There are plenty of other bully targets who do the same and do not play the game, and also plenty of people who do play it and are no more aggressive or psychotic than anyone else. STOP MAKING SHIT UP!
That's my rant for today. Now onto a game review to illustrate the point I wanted to make in the first place.
All you fellow nerds are gushing, no doubt. Yes, this is Portal, a game about physics, intra-dimensional travel, dark humour and psychosis. It's a total of 3 hours long (though some people have completed it in 15-20 minutes - less than a minutes per stage in some cases) and considered by some to be the best game ever.
I will always be a proponent of Command & Conquer being the best game ever. But I do love Portal.
What makes Portal great is the characters. All two of them: GLaDOS, the AI in charge of testing, and Chell, the Player Avatar that does not say a word throughout the game (save for the occasional grunt of pain when a cube drops on her head). The player is implied to be literally in the shoes of the character, playing the role of a labrat. GLaDOS starts out as a seemingly well-meaning mentor, and slowly the sinister nature of her character becomes clear. But still, it comes as quite a shock when she tries to incinerate you. And in perfect symmetry, the player defeats GLaDOS by doing the same to her.
The plot and narrative are simple and straightforward: you're a test subject going through multiple levels of testing, being guided along by a chirpy-voiced AI who eventually tries to kill you. What's subtle and interesting about it is that the whole premise (being a labrat in a scientific experiment) should actually be having an adverse effect on Chell's mental health. Thus, we have the promise of cake at the end of testing. And grief counselling. They're lies, but GLaDOS is still aware of Chell's deteriorating emotional state. It's fun when it's a game, because you can turn it off. But if the player actually were in Chells position (being flung into space, losing teeth to the emancipation grill, having to euthanize the companion cube, having to avoid falling into acid and being shot with real bullets), it wouldn't be a cakewalk.
The game is compelling. I only wish they remake it when VR becomes mainstream.
In the meantime, support free speech! Write to your local senators and congressmen and tell them you do not want games to be censored. This medium must survive!
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