Article Worth Reading

[ghostwheel]

http://www.cracked.com/article_18571_5-reasons-its-still-not-cool-to-admit-youre-gamer.html

[Thomas]

Good stuff!

Same guy that wrote the "How games get you addicted" article.

[Michaël Samyn]

Hehe. 700+ Comments and counting. I don't read those anymore but I can just imagine how they are filled with defending the Greatness Of Teh Videogames. I'm glad the author of the article at least has the courage to point out the industry's shortcomings. Who knows? Maybe a few more of these and we'll actually make some progress. It's a bout time.

I liked how he explained that early movies were quickly rejected when cinema became more sophisticated. Reminded me of how we all still love Pac Man at its 30th birthday. Videogames will be a mature medium when we reject Mario and Space Invaders and Dungeons & Dragons en masse. Haha. I don't think it'll happen tomorrow. 

[ghostwheel]

I don't think it's quite the same. Pac-Man is a game and it's still enjoyable. That would be like saying board games can't mature until we reject chess. It makes no sense.

[Michaël Samyn]

I disagree. I think games are games and videogames only became a medium when they developed the capacity for expression and representation, some 10-15 years ago (long after Pac-Man). Early computer games are to the future medium of videogames what those early films are to the current medium of cinema as an art form. They are technical experiments and/or translations of old forms into a new medium.

[Utforska]

Board games and computer games are usually very different. You couldn't do a game like PacMan in board game format. The rules and mechanics of PacMan are closer to sports than board games. Board games, card games and so on are typically about strategy, slyness, planning etc, while games like PacMan, Pong and Mario are all about reaction, timing, adrenalin...

I don't think that those types of simple computer games will ever be rejected completely, although they may be dressed up in new clothes. They are enjoyable games because of their simplicity in gameplay. As multimedia experiences they may be pretty uninteresting though.

In my opinion, the problem with computer games isn't the products that exist - it's the stuff that don't exist. There is no point or reason to decry computer games, it's much better to try and develop good alternatives and complements.

[Michaël Samyn]

That's why we're here.