Elitism

I've been called an elitest and I've often wondered why. Is it elitest to hope that people would want more for their entertainment dollars? Is it elitest to demand more from entertainment than "good enough"? Is it elitest to demand a certain level of intelligence in their entertainment?

I feel sorry for people who don't want more than what they're given. Complascense offends me on a psychological level. It bothers me that with all the genius out there in art, literature and even gaming that people are content with "good enough" or eye candy.

Here we are in the 7th generation of gaming and we're stuck with the mentality of the 1st. I think that game storytelling is capable of so much more than stories that would embarrass even the most hack sci-fi author. The truly good books and movies try to help us understand who we are as a people, why we're here and where we're going. I want things that will challenge me, make me think and even offend me. I want things that make me feel alive.

But here we are with this amazing technology but we're pissing it away on shooting games. Heavy Rain is the only game that's made me think about the consequences of pulling the trigger. Warfare and actually shooting someone is ugly, nasty business. I have my own personal reasons for wanting to consider the consequences, things I'm still trying to wrap my head around. I understand "games" are supposed to be fun, but i see no elitism in trying to understand why we do the things we do.

I think games can do a much better job of helping us understand the world around us. I enjoy fps', but I think they can do a better job of explaining the psychology of why we fight. There's far, far too much brain candy in mainstream entertainment, that's what I rally against. We could all use a little more self reflection and thought. I watched The Road the other night and it truly made me think about the kind of man and (one day) father I'd like to be. That's what I want from my games. There's no balance in gaming, there's too much Transformers and not enough of The Road. Am I elitest? Probably.

Thanks for reading my rant,
Dave

[zoks310]

They dont hate you because you have everything, well some do, but most hate you because you guys for the most part F%$K up the world, you guys are very greedy, you finance revolutions, wars, you guys raise the price of oil because you can, you guys cause oil spills in oceans, even assassinate people if they dont give you what you want or what you demand.

The world would better without greedy Elitist, they have done more wrong to mankind than nature herself.

[AngryFork]

rofl what are you talking about, there was nothing in what he said that indicated he was anything you said he was.

This guy just wants our games to have more meaning in its storytelling and make us reflect on the world around us as well as ourselves like books and movies do. What does that have to do with financing wars.

[Dramscus]

Ignore that guy. I agree with you wholly. Were using this great artistic medium for the equivalent of violent pornography and wondering why it doesn't get any respect in the world.
As a writer myself I see endless possibilities to create fantastic worlds, full of emotional entanglements and life lessons that develop the player in some way. In any way.
All we get now are endless regurgitations of stuff we already have plenty of in the world.

[solar]

gaming isnt about taking a developer's artistic idea's and bringing them to life like it once was. it's about money. SEE: GTAIV, COD:6, FF13, etc. there are few new, fresh IP's that come around, and when they do they dont sell well but have a huge cult following. Okami is one of those titles.

money is where gaming is today. and it, along with consoles imo, have led to the stagnant state of gaming today.

[Dramscus]

When they do their ps3 exclusives.
Not being a fanboy just saying what I've noticed lately as a trend.

[Harry190]

The first paragraph is the stuff legends are made of. Wow.

[dizzleK]

lol i just noticed the irony. poor choice of words, i'm not the greatest at expressing myself.

[ZombieNinjaPanda]

@Zoks

Obviously the author's point really flew past your head.

@OP
Gamers now a days standards have fallen greatly. There are too many casuals, and because of them, developers aren't giving some of the up to standard things they they should be.

[n to the b]

*MINOR ME2 SPOIL* finally got my copy of ME2 and am disappointed to see Bioware really serving it up to the fans so far. there's lots of fan service (I mean in the general sense, not boobies). they've got me quickly running into my old ME1 buddies one after the other with some less-than-awe-inspiring writing to hold it all together.

Archangel wasn't so bad but am I the only one who starts to feel my intelligence has been insulted when I keep coincidentally brushing up against some of our favorite ME1 characters at random ends of the Milky Way? there were other weak parts... *END SPOIL*

it's disappointing to see this 'fan service' crop up all the time in movies & video games. can't stand to see 3PO and effing Boba dragged back into the star wars prequels. and of course Jar Jar wasn't added until the end, to make the films more family-friendly and less like something that might be... idk... intelligent? edgy? stereotype-shattering or thought-provoking? (not really talking about just star wars anymore). who knows what our movies and games might be capable of without having to worry about little things like making money?

when I was a young lad I saw the potential of gaming and couldn't wait for it to catch, to get big. now that I'm growed and gaming has indeed pretty much caught I long for more of the experimentation that being smaller begets.

Irony?

[Eiffel]

The Road. What a good movie.

[ArchangelMike]

You see fanboys are considered 'Elitist'. "My console/game of choice is better, more superior etc etc than yours." This is one form of elitism. I know from your article this is notat you are addressing, but rather that gaming, and game developers should aspire to higher (moral?) values.

It would be interesting to hear your take on games like Metal Gear Solid, Ico, even games like Manhunt. Games which attempted some form of commentary on human nature and the human condition.