I Promise to Follow the Rules

• "We need real emotional and intellectual experiences," is a plaintive cry made by William Vitka (2004) in his article, Once Upon a Time. He made the apt point that while video games offer a superb vehicle for storytelling, that the current attempts at such are only mediocre when compared to the best authors and directors of our time. He tells us that what we need is more powerful narratives.


• Currently, video game narratives draw heavily from a multitude of sources including mythology, science fiction, horror, film, etc. These are well identified by Douglas C. Perry in his article The Influence of Literature and Myth in Videogames. One problem is that instead of relying on the power of the narrative itself, video games seek to amp up the response by increasing the shock value. Unfortunately, I think this likely degrades the shockability of the gamer overall. A more powerful solution would be to increase the value of the the narrative itself.
  
• When video games draw narrative from other sources, it is like pulling threads from one piece of cloth and weaving it into another; bits and scraps of popular and ancient culture are excised, bleached, colorized, felted, sized, recut, and resewn for another man's suit (read: video game).
  
• I submit that in the very excision of the "narrative piece" from its original setting, something is lost. The homogenization of material for general audience acceptance reduces its power to invoke emotional response and intellectual reflection. Neither narrative nor culture occurs in a vacuum. Both rely on context for meaning.
  
• A specific example of the downgrading of emotional response can be shown with the incorporation of the "Scarlet Crusade" on World of Warcraft. This is an early theme in the game and reminiscent of the Inquisition. As the quests go, it serves as a reminder that tolerance is a virtue and we should be vigilant against intolerance in general. But the absolute horror of the Inquisition (and intolerance) is really lost in the game.
  
• Another perfect example of this phenomenon is demonstrated by following Monty Python sketch.
  

While I believe that video games have the power to deliver powerful narrative in context, I do not believe that the industry is headed in this direction. I have seen no indication that they envision video games as being transformative and as such they will not likely move in that direction.

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As for what is and is not a game? I believe that Kongrugates's 4 learning games with the little blackboards of game concepts are important. I played the 4 games, etc. but off the top of my head, I can't remember them very well. They remind me of checkers. Tit for tat, ping for pong. This is not unpredictable. There are only 3 possible outcomes for a two person game: A>B, A=B, and A . No surprise. Something else is necessary for interest.

For example, what about the poor loser who overturns the checker board just before he is about to lose? Not that I recommend it, but it is still conceding the victory. Is that a rule? Yes, but unwritten. Some people may not know it. Some people may never know it. Is it subject to change at short notice? Yes, depending on who the players are.

In light of that, if I ever get the opportunity to design a video game, I promise to look at the Kongrugate game rule set again. For sure, I promise.