Part 1 of 1, by Jos Hendriks
Perhaps this only grew on me recently, or perhaps it has been present ever since I started playing videogames. Quite possibly this is different for each and every person out there who enjoys to pick up the occasional game, but I recently became consciously aware that games have slowly become harder for me to enjoy.
Part of this is because I make games for a living. Being busy working on stuff at the various companies I’ve worked at made me go from playing a game to analyzing it more than anything. Instead of seeing that huge spaceship disintegrate with an awesome explosion I see particle effects, interpolation (better known as keyframing), and animation tracks come together well*. But with good games that immerse me and that I want to play that is not the main reason for me to find real enjoyment in games.
The main reason I play games these days is to establish some sort of emotional connection with them. Games have evolved a lot over the years and simply sitting down with an arcade shooter is something that I did a lot about 10 years ago, but is gradually fading from my gaming pattern. I have asked myself why this is, and time and time again I refer to the games that I do very much enjoy these days and compare them to the games that I should be liking, but somehow cannot find a connection with. What I discovered from these comparisons is that my personal taste for games is shifting. This is true for any gamer if they play games long enough, but I found the most singular and powerful reason for this shift to be that I want to be part of the games I played and I want to be able to care about what happens in the game.
Making an emotional investment has become an important part of why I play games, instead of analyze them. Sure, I still enjoy the occasional pickup game of Guitar Hero, or XBLA games like Braid and 1942, but when I want to sit down for a proper session of being curled up on the couch, drink and snacks within arm’s reach and just lose track of time I have to defer to something more immersive, and something more emotional.
For instance, this last weekend I finally wrapped up playing through Fable 2, a game that kept me hooked for the last few weeks. I found it amazing how I found myself caring when my lovable little dog (Brutus) got himself hurt in combat and I had to heal him. I was shocked when at the end of the game I had to make that awful, awful choice. I just love it when games make me feel emotional in some way over the choices I make. For that same reason I picked up Mass Effect again over the holidays. I really wanted to see the renegade part of the game and since I’m usually some sort of freakishly unholy paragon of justice in this type of game I found myself aghasted at some of the terrible things I ended up doing to become a complete renegade (and get that achievement!).
At the end of my thought process I really hope that I won’t get tired of the smaller pick-up and play games, but at the same time I do hope that the future will be seeing a lot more games that I can curl up on the couch with and play well into the night.
*In essence, Interpolation actors are objects that interpolate, or keyframe, on an animation track. For example, a spaceship flies into a hangar bay. The spaceship would be the interpolation actor, and its movement would be on an animation track. Interpolation actor is a specific term, I’m only familiar with it because Unreal Engine uses it. Here is a link to the animation track editor called Matinee, which is part of Unreal… I think it would not be a good read for people who aren’t into this sort of thing though.
Jos Hendriks first learned about video games at age 5 and it has been impossible for anyone to keep him away from them since. Although his early university English studies have led him in the complete opposite direction of videogames, a longtime passion for spare time level design has led Jos to eventually sneak into the industry when nobody was looking. He was last seen having fun designing levels for BioWare’s Mass Effect franchise.
I find I’m in full agreement with you, it’s not that those other games are bad or anything it’s just that they don’t seem to satisfy.
I’ve begun to notice something similar happening in regardes to reading material, I’ve started to learn abit more about story telling and how good stories are put together. And it’s left me noticeing major flaws in the types of books I used to enjoy, and it’s not that they’re bad novels it’s just that they don’t satisfy anymore. They lack a certain something that I now need to be immersed in a novel, instead of just reading it.
And this has bled into my appreciation for games as well, now unless they have an engageing story balanced with good gameplay they don’t hold my attention for long.
Which means I play less games but the ones I play are more enjoyable. (for me anyway)
Nice article there Jos! I completely agree about wanting more emotionally engaging games…. perhaps that’s just a natural process of us getting older and our taste for games is maturing. Like how we evolve from watching Saturday morning cartoons (which I still do on occassion, LOL) to getting lost in the grip of a fantastically engaging TV series like LOST, Fringe or 24. By the way, I haven’t finished Fable 2 yet so now I’m dreading that terrible unknown choice at the end… grrrr.
Game on my friend!
Agree! I have a few examples. In the past, a few of you may remember games like FFVII, Vay and Lunar and Baldurs Gate. These games gave connection to the characters being played. Who didn’t say “NO way” when Poddle met his demise in Vay or when you played Alex to quest for his Dragon Armor only to find that it was obtained only to battle the girl he loves. Granted these where pre destined characters you played not created, But why do I remember those games so well?? Because they had emotional substance. Those games allowed the player to immerse themselves into the fantasy world and become involved in the story and what was going on.
Maybe it is generation, or short tension span or just the saturation of button pressing, blood and gore which has numbed players into believing it must contain those things to be a “good” game. I agree new generation games are fun and are marvels. However, nothing beats a soul gripping epic adventure which the more you accomplish, solve or discover in the game world; enhances the storyline, filling in holes and history and overall improves connection and conclusion.
Agreed with all of you.
I hope I’ve not spoiled Fable 2 for you yet, as it does what it does really well. You have to let me know what you think when you do get to that point. And yes, this shift goes for TV shows and books as well.
Lurklen, I partially hate myself for coming to the conclusion that certain games just don’t do it for me even if they’re wonderful at what they do. Certainly there are games that are meant to present nothing but spectacle, and that is very clear in some cases (Devil May Cry), but to not be satisfied by some of those games feels like a disappointment for me. Especially if I want to like a game.
Grant, nice to see you here! I didn’t know you read the blog
Ameranth, FFVII is still one of my favourite games of all times. As far as I can even recall, it’s the first game that made my eyes water at one point. Games that can evoke emotion and make you feel the emotions the game is trying to convey are the best games for me to play.
The Baldur’s Gate series, Planescape Torment and Fallout (1&2) were games that gave “emotional investment” a new meaning.
I know what you mean Jos, but nowadays those kind of games are fairly rare. I am sorry to say so, but (most) today games may be epic and involving, but they won’t give a player the same deep feelings.
Dumbing down, mass production, shorter games, the (supposed?) death of computer gaming, are like a plague to players who, like me, love deep, involving, long, intelligent “emotional investment”.
Sorry, but that time is over, for better or worse.
While it’s true that most mainstream games these days are rather shallow emotionally, I wouldn’t give up on the medium yet. We still have companies like Bioware that seem to give a care about creating compelling NPCs and/or plots that truly engage us. Some of the biggest-name games of the past year were able to do that for me; I was thrilled with the NPC interaction in Mass Effect, for example, and I’ll be the millionth person to say that Niko Bellic’s slide into hell in GTA IV was quite compelling indeed. Someone in my house cried for days after the ending of Metal Gear Solid 4, and she still has dreams about it. We all have a tendency to idealize the past, but I think it’s far-fetched to say that the days of mature, emotionally significant games are over.