Dead Pixels has 41 chronicles

1. The Love Letter Series: The Games Industry
   

   Player Chronicle -- Posted on Mar 24 2009

   Dead Pixels
   By Ryan M. Eft
   3/24/2009
   
   The Love Letter Series: The Games Industry
   
   All right, gaming. Raise your hand if, 25 years ago fiddling around with Tiger Electronics handhelds, you ever thought a serious word like “industry” would be routinely used to refer to you. Back then, the primary places to find you were KB Toys and Toys-R-Us. Notice the presence of the “toys” theme? The idea that massive retail chains would one day be devoted solely to you was laughable to most people. Sure, there were those who believed, but they were few, and they were either social outcasts, developers, or didn’t mention it in public. Atari crashing in ’83 convinced most everyone that you were done with any chance of being taken seriously…not that most folks needed convincing.
   
   It’s amazing how a couple of decades can change things, isn’t it? Movies, music and books are tanking. Sporting arenas are emptier and emptier. Vacations are fewer and further between.
   
   And video games are growing. And growing. And growing.
   
   Truth be told, it wasn’t 25 years ago that games were still considered something to keep in the closet. I graduated High School only nine years ago (it feels like forever), and I distinctly remember being thought of as a loser in the halls because I swapped a copy of Chrono Trigger with a buddy. Of course, that was still when any level of interest in computers or anything related to them was expressly for nerds.
   
   But it wasn’t long after that, was it? The original Playstation hit. Metal Gear Solid, Crash Bandicoot and Final Fantasy VII were everywhere. On the Nintendo 64, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time was a phenomenon and the rock just kept rolling.
   
   Before long, some form of video games were in every home. And then something started happening that was probably inevitable. The gamers of yesterday starting growing up, but unlike previous generations, they didn’t put away their toys in the attic to be alone and forgotten. Instead, you started slowly maturing to keep up with the new adult gamer. It was really something to see.
   
   It would be quite some time yet before society as a whole really accepted you, but the seeds were sown. With Sony’s Playstation 2 leading the way (there’s something that’s changed, huh?), adults were gaming at an unprecedented rate.
   It’s all fine and good to discuss how you got here. But I’m really writing this letter to discuss what to now that you are here. Because this generation represents the first time non-traditional gamers have really been drawn into the fold. And there’s a lot you can do with that. However, my personal feeling is that you haven’t capitalized on this. Oh, there have been valiant attempts, and you’ve won converts. Money talks, and there’s a lot of it flowing into and through your hands.
   
   But how do you convince the masses that there’s more to you besides Wii Play and Scene It? I mean, maybe you don’t want to. I can understand that. The money is flowing, and certainly games are ultimately about having fun. I can’t fault anyone for wanting to have fun with you; I’m not the jealous type.
   
   But what can you do to ensure that people want you for more than your looks? What can you do to show your depth?
   
   Well, this is where this letter is going to be a different. See, in my other letters, I offered suggestions and answers. And here, I’m afraid I’m short on words. I can’t tell you where to go from here; all I can do is offer my thoughts. We’ve been friends for a good long while, and to tell you what you should and shouldn’t do would be presumptuous.
   
   I know you aren’t shallow. I’ve known it for a long time. Despite what certain groups would have people believe, there are a lot of reasons the world is going to hell, and you aren’t one of them. That, of course, is never going to be believed by some people. But that’s alright; we don’t need to be loved by everyone, do we? They’ll never know the experiences of something like, say, Bioshock. Their loss.
   
   But as for the rest of us…the ones who are convinced and the ones who can be convinced…where is our friendship going? Well, that’s going to depend largely on us, your buddies. The more games that get made, the more creativity we’ll see. Of course, we’ll also see more generic shooters and a lot more sports titles.
   
   Creative games largely don’t make money, but you’ve recognized them for their minds, and they are more prevalent than ever. I think we’ve proven that you truly are for the people, all the people, but will it remain that way? More generic action titles pop up all the time, and although some truly inventive stuff is also out there, getting face time amid the gore and explosions can be difficult. I like my gore and explosions as much as the next red-blooded American male (more on some days), but will your potential someday be choked out by it?
   Of course, there’s also the risk of truly creative and deep games getting smothered by the relentless march of what your press has dubbed shovelware. Let’s not forget that an onslaught of low-budget, crappy games nearly destroyed you in the eighties. You’re stronger now, but not invincible. Where’s the balance? How do we reach it?
   
   I admit I don’t know any of these answers. Change comes to games and gaming faster than any other medium. After all, you are technologically driven, and that means practically every day brings some new wrinkle. And of course, all your friends have different opinions on what you should be. There are folks who just want a game where people die as fast as possible, and folks who can’t stand that kind of game. Folks who prefer something more thought-out. I fall somewhere in the middle. I like mowing down zombies as much as the next guy, but I can’t say I’d be hurt if you gave me a few more titles like Little Big Planet and Viva Pinata.
   
   So like I said: I don’t have answers. I just felt compelled to have a talk with you. Who knows? Ten years from now, when 97% of games are directly downloadable and the cost of marketing has been massively reduced, enabling all types of games to be made and released all over the world and delivered straight into your own home, we’ll both look back on this confusing period of identity questions and laugh like hyenas. Yes, in that glorious future, when fights over who has the best console are just a thing of the past, all gamers everywhere will be welcome at the same table, and we’ll all be happy as a lark.
   
   Or, you know, we might have pissed it all away by then. Or still be squabbling over what constitutes “art”. One can never tell.
   Until then, I suppose the most appropriate exit line I can offer is this:
   
   You have died of dysentery.
   
   Ah, good times.
   
   ---Ryan

   
   

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Dead Pixels has 1 comment on this chronicle.

1. BEN
   Posted On Mar 24 2009

   I really enjoyed this read and I suppose I didn't see such a broad subject to be tackled with this final article in your recent love letter series
   
   Nonetheless, I appreciated your insight and fun to read topic conversations towards the video gaming industry as a whole. i also thought it was safe to stay away from offering ideas for such a large monster to continue thriving, as it would have eaten you alive for such disrespect
   
   10/10