Guns and Boobs (And The Real Reason For Gaming)

This has to be one of the most thoroghly poignant analyses of games that I've seen in a while!  Everybody should read this, and then go check out this guy's site!

From www.thegrindspot.com:
"I like games. Games with guns, where you get to shoot stuff. Explosions and boobs are cool, too. If a game were to have all three of those, I would give it a 10 and buy a copy for my mother. Not that she would play it, but if I came to her house, it would at least be there for me to look at the box and giggle like a schoolgirl. And by giggle like a schoolgirl, I mean pump my fists in a manly rage.

Just kidding.

The rather auspicious start to my first entry here at The Grind Spot was made to illustrate a point. I'm not really a story guy. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely games that craft a well told story, but those are exceptions to the rule. I'm not going to get into the age-old debate on whether or not games are art. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. But for me, the most important part of playing a game is having fun. A game could have the greatest tale ever burned to disc, but if it sucks to play, I'm probably not going to waste my time struggling through the crap to see what happens next. That being said, story can play a big part as to whether a game is fun or not.

What's his point...?

I expected pictures of guns and boobs. You disapointed me

Can't say I agree with most of it, but then I've played a lot of games that don't sell well and I enjoy it. I think the problem with most mainstream games is that they cost too damn much to develop, so you have to sell a million copies. If you don't spend so much money, you don't have to sell as much to make a profit. So games that "nobodies played" as he says, doesn't necessarily equate to a game that has done badly for itself.

The great thing about games as an art form is that it is an artform that is essentially without limitations. Games don't need narratives or goals, but they can make use of them. From Tetris to SimCity to Psychonauts. The guys says that immitating cinema is a bad idea, but it isn't. He probably feels the same for literature, but as games like The Longest Journey prove, this isn't the case, either. He talks about exceptions to the rule, but in this industry there are no rules. I could go make a game right now, without spending any money, and it doesn't have to follow any standards or make any profit. In this, it is like literature. Or I could spend thirty million dollars and make the next Half-Life. In this, it is like film. Or, I can go and make the next Spore or Noctis. In this, it is intirely unique.

"I expected pictures of guns and boobs. You disapointed me"

@ Bellum:

Obviously, I agree that if you don't spend as much money, you don't need to make as much back.  But I never said those games do badly.  That article is talking about narrative in games, and how well they're received by the people they're intended to be played by.  So when I say something with a good story is an exception to the rule, the rule I'm referring to is most stories have to be between teh suck to mediocre.  I also stand by my argument that as a whole, games should not be treated like movies.  I haven't played through Dreamfall, save for a few hours, but that one does look like an exception to the rule.  I just think you kind of took my fairly specific complaint and used it to address a much wider range of games.  I basically agree with everything you're saying.  Thanks for reading it, though!

For me it depends on what game I am playing.  If the game is an rpg then yeah I would look forward to the story, but if its an fps I just want to blow shit up and ask questions later.  I think another good example in place of the shadow of the Colossus.  My favorite game has very little story if any at all and that is Team fortress 2.  The fact that the blu team is a construction company and red is a destruction company would only be apparent to those playing it.

Team Fortress 2 is definitely a good game, but I wouldn't count a multiplayer-only game as needing a story.

Point and click adventure games.  You play them for the story.

"Point and click adventure games.  You play them for the story."

We're not getting to many of those anymore, anyways