Can a game be "so bad it's good?"
By benpack 74 Comments
I don't know if it's a relatively new trend, but the consumption of media that's "so bad it's good," especially movies, has become more popular. With obvious examples being films like "The Room" or "Troll 2," you can find more of a culture that appreciates good bad movies. You see this with not only movies, but television and to a lesser extent music. This got me thinking, can a video game be absolutely terrible, but enjoyable at the same time?
Now, I know that everyone's immediate response would be
DEADLY PREMONITION
but I believe that the large majority of people who would answer that ether A) Only watched the Endurance Run (like a television show) or B) Only played it because of Giant Bomb. Even then I would contest that the story is good and unique enough to be a reason to play the game. Unlike "The Room" where everything about it, from the writing to the acting to the direction, is bad, but still so bad that it is enjoyable. There's no such thing as "gameplay that's so bad it's good" and since gameplay is the core mechanic of any game, you can see where the whole thing falls apart.Now the question is "why can't a game be so bad it's good?" I feel like it comes down to a few reasons.
1) You have to play the game. Imagine you had to interact and "play" The Room. And the controls sucked. Imagine you had a quicktime event where you had to "toss around the football" or "have sex with Lisa four times." Nobody wants that.
2) Games are short. Watching a movie can take about 90 minutes and you get the whole experience. Compare that to 10, 20, 30+ hours that are needed to beat a game.
3) Games are expensive. Even if you aren't buying games, you can watch a ton of different terrible movies on Netflix Instant Stream by the time it will take you to get a new game. Which is a better investment?
4) People don't have "Playing Parties." Unlike movies, where you can get a bunch of friends together and watch a movie, games are usually played either by yourself or with a friend co-op. Watching a movie is more acceptable as a social event than playing a game while seven of your friends watch you.
So I guess my conclusion is that games can't be so bad they are good. They can be bad, or good, or anywhere in between.