Letters to the Editor

The Way We Play

In response to "I'd Rather Game Than Read a Book" from The Escapist Forum: At the moment my favourite books outshine even the best games I've played in terms of story/writing. But games have some things which books don't have, naturally.

I think attempting to denounce games by saying that they marginalize books is just luddism. Books ARE being marginalized though. And well-written books are getting read less and less.

- Yosharian

Speaking as a wishful-thinking "games are art hippie" I would say that games have the potential, as many have stated above, to deliver unique experiences and content as well as interacting with the end-user on new, previously unimagined levels. Examples of excellence in the medium, or demonstrations of aforementioned potential are few and far between.

The real problem with the gaming industry is the same one that threatens the future of Literature: the marketing man. Games like 'The Sims' will out-sell genuine works of art like 'Monkey Island' and because the profit margins are wider, the financial support will always lean towards the mass produced rubbish. In turn this stifles the creativity of developers (or writers) who want to push the boundaries of their artistic medium.

Its not all doom and gloom however: Bioshock and S.T.A.L.K.E.R, for all their (many and often glaring) flaws, represent the most artistic steps forward in the gaming medium for years. Playing through both of those games I felt and experienced things I had not thought possible in a computer game. Games have not yet reached the lofty plateau inhabited by the likes of Dickens, Tolstoy, Kafka or Sartre, but there are signs that they may yet.

- edinflames

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In response to "Santa's Game Shop" from The Escapist Forum: Heck, I'd rather like to give this game a spin. Sure, okay, "break out clone with do-it-yourself Christmas theme", whatever. Hearing about how it was put together? It makes me actually want to see it in action. It's got some heart to it! Some soul!

Hell, if it's any good, I'd love to have it to give to my dad and stepmom. We'd plonk it on the family computer, and spend all of Christmas competing against each other for high scores. Now that's some holiday magic.

- Lampdevil