QJ.NET | Videos | Forums | iPhone | MMORPG | Nintendo DS | Wii | PlayStation 3 | PSP | Xbox 360 | PC | Downloads | Contact Us

What's In A Name?: A Deconstruction Of Gaming's Cultural Appeal

Posted Aug 10, 2006 at 12:36PM by Mabie A. Listed in: Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, MMORPG, Opinions & Analysis Tags: Civilization IV, Ernest Adams
Ó

Gaming Culture


Plato's Republic puts into analogy the human body with his ideal, utopic city-state. The head represents the philosopher-kings, tasked with governance. The chest symbolizes the warriors or the military, specifically for the protection of the Republic. The stomach personifies the merchants who are accountable for the flow of resources into the city.

While there is a blatant display of hierarchy, it does not go to say that one is necessarily more important than the others. For while they may be different in levels, they are the same in their goal, that is to ensure the survival of the Republic. Thus, all component parts, while maintaining their individuality, are expected to work together for that one same goal. Much premium is placed upon this goal to the extent that to attempt to multitask on these roles is to put the goal at high risk of falling into utter chaos. Therefore, it is forbidden.

The underlying principle behind this system is that titles aren't there just for the convenience of identification. Categories are not there merely to be able to sort out things from each other. Titles and categories exist not just to portray some semblance of order, but more importantly, to define roles and responsibilities. Now, this is, more often than not, usually overlooked. But the thing is, names and roles ALWAYS come in a tight package.

Applying that same principle to our everyday existence, we often find it constricting to confine ourselves merely to just one area. Artists need not be just artists, they can be politicians. Professors need not only be able to teach, they can be athletes. Women need not be mere trophies and housewives for their husbands, they may be high-powered corporate executives.

And gaming need not be only frivolous and trivial, they can actually have a higher sense of aesthetic, even pragmatic, value in our existence. That is the battlecry of columnist Ernest Adams, at least insofar as gaming is concerned.

He posits that in the light of the growing clamor for censorship in video games, it brings to mind the fact that although gaming has already niched itself tightly into popular culture, it still remains to struggle for the respect it deserves as an art form. The most apparent excuse would be that video games or gaming has always been stereotyped into the category of entertainment for kids. And kids are almost always never taken seriously. By this mere affiliation, the gaming industry has been deprived by the highbrow end of society  of the proper value it should have.

Don't we just hate stereotypes?

His solution therefore is to advocate for the development of a new breed of video games, one that would cater to the taste of the elite. Gaming's Merchant Ivory, as he succinctly puts it. He goes on to rationalize that the reason why gaming never was able to really get out of the box of just gaming is the fact that it lacks credibility as an industry, as an institution. There isn't enough "serious stuff" to go around, so to speak.

But, he caveats, it doesn't mean that the fun factor would have to be sacrificed in order to attain this goal of being palatable to the elites, the intellectuals, the serious people. Of course it would still be fun! Although, the definition of fun would then be relative according to who is playing it. (But isn't that how it actually is?)

Essentially, what he wants to happen is to "uplift" the quality of the games being produced by taking risks and exploring into "interesting and unusual themes", ie. a game on city planning as exhibited by Civilization IV. In short, routing away from the usual frenzied gun-blasting, territory-invading, alien-killing games that are so in demand today, and branching out to a more "sophisticated" audience would grant the gaming industry the credit it inherently deserves.

Or would it?

The important question to address here is this: is it really necessary to conform to what high culture dictates as acceptable and proper in order to legitimize an industry as specialized as gaming?

I, personally, would have to disagree.

Like Plato's concept of utopia in the Republic, there is a reason why gaming is alive and kicking today. And that is precisely because its role is to provide for an alternative to all those Merchant Ivory kind of entertainment. Because we have to face it, we cannot really count on high culture to keep us sane. There is, after all, a limited level of tolerance in people for serious stuff. Yes, they do enrich our minds, but at the same time, if bombarded with it by exceeding amounts, it will drown us, or worse, drive us to insanity.

The appeal, therefore, of gaming is precisely that it is a game. A respite from the already uptight world we are living in. In this realm, you can plot and expand your territory accordingly as you please, kill those who'd get in your way, and not be prosecuted for it. You can drive your expensive sports car at a frightening speed of 180kph on the freeway (and with heavy traffic, at that!), make it jump over the bridge and explode on the street below without having to lose your life. And you can even reset it! You can hunt for and horde treasures all you want, with absolutely no threat at all of being indicted for stealing and tax evasion.

It is a fantasy land made virtual and real. That is why fans can't get enough of it. That is why it is so tempting and palatable. That is why it is so welcomed and embraced, despite of its mundane image. Don't get me wrong. I am not at all saying gaming's role is to breed asanine ideas and stupidity. No, not at all.

On the contrary, its role is to preserve and promote that balance between rigidity and versatility, sanity and insanity, fantasy and reality. Gaming is the yang to the Merchant Ivory's yin. The Dionysian element in an Apollonian  setting, thus creating the perfect setting for a perfect drama.

And like in Plato's Republic, trying to mess with this order would most probably result in more harm than good. In every corner, there is already something or someone telling us what are the proper and acceptable things to do. Video games are but one of the last remaining oasis of unburdensome entertainment. Why taint it with the serious and highly-intellectual stuff that we are precisely taking a break from?

It would be trespassing, plain and simple.

At the end of day, we just have to realize the integral role that these fantasy and unorthodox games are providing us mere mortals. But that is not without warning that anything in excess would prove detrimental, regardless of how value-neutral it may inherently be.

The gaming Merchant Ivory proposition is noble. But really, we don't have to bite more of what we should actually chew.

Permalink  |   Email this  |   Linking Blogs   |   Digg It!

Bookmark / Find this article on:

16 Jumps     Modded Xbox 360 banned? Unbanning fix now out
11 Jumps     Rumor: God of War III has online co-op
7 Jumps     PS3 version to get more out of Just Cause 2
7 Jumps     The truth about MW2 PC's ping: only good if you're the host
6 Jumps     Russians ban Modern Warfare 2 console versions for 'No Russian' missio..
5 Jumps     PS3 Weekend Warrior: The one where "Modern Warfare 2" is mentioned a d..
4 Jumps     PSP Homebrew: CFW 5.03 GEN-B for HEN now out!
3 Jumps     Final Fantasy XIII dated for North America, Europe
3 Jumps     PSP homebrew game - PSPlay v1.0
3 Jumps     PSP Homebrew Weekend Warrior: Can't let you homebrew, PSP Go(x)

6 Comments


Sort by:
   by roseysdaddy - 2006-08-10
 » art
if a movie is considered art, than so should the games. even with the limited technology and minimal (compared to other artistic outlets) experience of the artists, ive seen some truely aesthetically amazing games (katamari, okami, shadow of the colossus) that compare very well to film, i believe.

   by me (Unregistered) - 2006-08-10
 » where can i find that pic
seriously that thing is hot. anyone know where there is a higher res scan of that?

   by Advertising -
   by Him (Unregistered) - 2006-08-10
 » Noice desktop1
I may use it on my 360 backround also..

   by comedy - 2006-08-10
 » well, that's quite an article
i never knew there were well-read, articulate bloggers on qj.net. i doubt i will manage to show my sheer genius in this one post, but rest assured i appreciate such a stimulating article. (i might add that a lot of people may not read the whole thing... perhaps you should write a small translation?)

anyway, i agree, for the most part. there is something to be said for 'mainstream penetration' of videogames, but then would we feel special and somehow like a community any more if the whole world were to play videogames?
i do think it's going to be that way sooner or later, let's not forget that videogames haven't been around all that long, i'm 23 and was born into them, but there are many people out there who spent their youths without games, and as such have not embraced them; lets face it, the early videogames were mostly very childish or simply for niche interests-people (programmers).

but now we are seeing the gaming public maturing, and they're taking games with them. could you see SotC working in the 16bit era? personally i think it wouldn't have gone down so well (think sonic, but in mostly grey and greens, and running through a wholly uninteresting 2D level just to find a slow moving boss...)

i don't think games will ever make it to 'high-art' status, but then much modern art doesn't either. i believe games which push the boundaries of what we perceive as 'ordinary' videogames are the most important, ico SotC okami, killer 7 (really freaky game, not for kids) and others show us that games can be mature, emotional experiences. just like movies or books. but then you can go watch terminator 3 or read a harry potter book if you want simple 'pop' movies or books, just the same as you can go play quake 4 or any other generic title.

virtual worlds are becoming very popular, and some people (although they are idiots) predict that a lot of social interaction will be carried out in these worlds rather than the real world... not knowing about computers is a serious disability in today's world, that will apply to games soon enough, it's inevitable, and i'm just happy that since the very beginning i've played games, and enjoyed every moment.

   by K (Unregistered) - 2006-08-10
 » That pic is great
Its my wallpaper right now

   by james (Unregistered) - 2006-08-14
 » hmmm.
Shigeru Miyamoto started it all.

Gaming, no matter what genre will only fall into two classifications:

The creation of perhaps the most iconic video game character of all time was aimed at getting everybody to sit down and just play with very little analysis on what he needs to do and where he needs to go. Thus Mario's universal appeal. it's a no brainer game.

then we have Link of Legend Of Zelda, he was created as the the character that would as his name suggests, immerse the player into the world of the Hyrule and gaming. Supposedly it was a thinking and immersive game. A game with an interesting storyline.

There have been a lot of great games, Think FFVII storyline and character development, Legacy of Kain's Dialogue and storyline which was so rich in prose that I even remember their dialogue at the opening scene and the final confrontation.

To an extent games have broken into the mainstream, Movies come out with games, games are based on movies, movies are based on games ( Uwe Bowle Sucks ass) and so on, but this is as far as it goes, the commercial value has been realized by media outfits. But their value as art is still a work in progress.

This is very similar to the distinction between a Graphic novel and a comic book. to most people, even if you're seen reading Miller or Gaiman, to them what they see is a comic book and nothing else.

There have been great signs of appreciation like for instance ; Play which is a tour of a great american orchestra that plays scores by masters susch as Uematsu,Mitsuda and the great Koji Kondo. 4,000 people were there to hear them.

Let us also remember Shadow of the Colussus and Ico which had inovative game play, immersive creepy environments and a pretty damn weird storyline.

Video games will be like all forms of media, a lot of shows, movies, songs and books will come out through the years. These are things that might entertain you to some extent, but it is very rare that that something Real will come out that touches and engages you.

Complex and artful forms of video games are here but like "real art" it will only be appreciated by a few people.

Games will be games for most people but games are treated as something higher for some.

At the end of the day gamers just have to accept it.



Contact Us:

The QJ.net Network

RSS Feeds
Site Feed
QJ.NET RSS
Nintendo DS RSS
PlayStation 3 RSS
PSP Updates RSS
Wii RSS
Xbox 360 RSS
MMORPG RSS
Personal Computer Games RSS
iPhone - iPod Touch RSS
QJ.NET Forums RSS
Add QJ.NET
Add to My Yahoo!
Google Reader Subscribe with Bloglines
Add to your Kinja digest Subscribe in NewsGator Online
Subscribe with Pluck RSS reader Add 'www.qj.net' to Newsburst from CNET News.com
Subscribe with SearchFox RSS del.icio.us www.qj.net
Add to Technorati Favorite! Add to My AOL
furl! it Stumble for Treehugger!
User Favorites - November
Most Commented
(136)
(57)
(45)
(43)
(39)
(36)
(31)
(30)
(29)
(29)
(26)
(26)
(26)
(25)
(25)
(23)
(23)
(22)
(22)
(21)
User Favorites - November
Top Jumps
PSP Homebrew: CFW 5.03 GEN-.. (712)
Team Typhoon shows CFW/HEN .. (180)
FreePlay: eLoader for the P.. (160)
5.03GEN-B for HEN (PSP-3000.. (133)
PSP homebrew - CWCheat v0.2.. (78)
Adhoc Party finally coming .. (71)
DS homebrew game - Super Sm.. (71)
PSP homebrew - DaedalusX64 .. (70)
PSP homebrew - DaedalusX64 .. (70)
PSP homebrew - Sedna for CF.. (69)
PS3 has outsold the Wii in .. (65)
Serious gaming bling: 24k g.. (60)
David Cage: Two reasons on .. (60)
Final Fantasy XIII dated fo.. (54)
Media Create hardware sales.. (54)
Playing games is top entert.. (53)
PSP homebrew - YourPlayer P.. (52)
PSP homebrew - iDaft for PS.. (52)
OTX findings: Xbox 360 owne.. (52)
You totally saw this coming.. (51)
PSP homebrew - PSP CheatUp .. (50)
Rumor: Sony leaks PS3 Faceb.. (48)
Modded Xbox 360 banned? Unb.. (48)
Modern Warfare 2 launch tra.. (47)
MGS Peace Walker English de.. (46)

 Username: 
 Password:
Forgot password
New user registration



Categories

Archives



Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the TERMS & CONDITIONS and PRIVACY POLICY
Copyright © 2009, QJ.NET. All Rights Reserved.
Contact Us