Letters to the Editor

With A Thousand Avatars

- Scopique

In response to "'Fun' is a Four-Letter Word" from The Escapist Forum: The word "game" itself is becoming such a broad term these days that it encompasses something yuppies do to kill their time to the serious and dedicated connoisseurs to the elite "pro" gamers ... or whatever they're called. The feeling of "fun" manifests differently to each type of people within these categories.

But hey, if you want to convince the senior management board how much 'fun' is in your game, simply apply numbers to this formula:

(Number of Guns + Average Size of Breasts + Maximum Player Ego Boosting Level) / Tediousness Factor = Level of Fun

- Branded

In response to "'Fun' is a Four-Letter Word" from The Escapist Forum: Maybe Warren stood to close to the Nintendo marketing bullhorns and the corresponding media parrots at E3?

I hardly think his characterization of the current state of game design is accurate. The idea of, "we need to make more 'fun' games," attitude in the industry is simply a result of the success of the Nintendo DS and Xbox Live Arcade. What they are really saying is we need to make more cheap games that are addictive and anyone can play, so we can expand the market and generate more revenue. It is just easier to distill that idea into a single concept, namely "fun."

- heavyfeul

In response to "'Fun' is a Four-Letter Word" from The Escapist Forum: Warren is pretty much spot on, and I've been pushing the same point for years in more private circles. One can try to broaden the meaning of 'fun' until it encompasses any meaningful experience whatsoever, but it becomes pretty clear on analysis that this is not how people use the word when they talk about games being fun. They mean something quite a bit more specific, even if what they mean remains frustratingly vague.

- Walter K

In response to "'Fun' is a Four-Letter Word" from The Escapist Forum: Warren's resistance to the "fun factor" produced the question, "what can games make us feel BESIDES 'fun?'"

For me, the even more immediate question is, "can't developers describe their work with a bit more sophistication?" What about suspenseful, exhilarating, hilarious, riveting, giddy, smooth, etc.?

Replacing "fun" with "engaging" or "compelling" is pointless. Those words sound kind of rugged and intelligent right now, but overuse will render them as flaccid as "fun."

I'm just a bit resistant to the high-low art debate. And I think this elusive non-fun gaming is already happening. Silent Hill games are exhausting, tedious ordeals, but could they be any other way? It doesn't seem to threaten their potency, however that should be described.

More sensitive language will, as a side effect, encourage more subtle and varied kinds of expression, including stuff that is distinctly not fun, but good on some other level.

- david_hellman