Well Killzone 2 is bathing in its quota of hype, I personally refuse to get sucked into the warp hole, since I know for a fact that this game is not going to be genre defining, this however does not implicitly imply I will not enjoy the game or think that it’s a poor effort on the developers part in creating a satisfying experience. In fact I would love to congratulate the developers on unconsciously reaching out to a market that does not know too much about gaming, but makes its decisions about buying a game or console purely on the notion of franchises or games that seem to aesthetically please the eye. This small little incident made me reflect on the notion of a world which essentially gives undue importance to looking good, and beauty quite often lies in the eye of the beholder.
My friend is extremely critical when it comes to videogames, he is a far cry from what they traditionally call the hardcore, but he can neither be called a run of the mill casual gamer. His argument rests on the notion that videogames take too much precious time from his movies, where a concept is laid out in a rigid framework within which the elements of semiotic intercourse operate or the concept comes with an infinite boundary for the viewer to traverse, as in the case of books, with an added emphasis on science fiction. He actually treats most videogames with a grunt and sneer often hollering how they provide an impotent universe, barring anything that is produced by Valve, whom he has immense respect for.
He had never seen what Killzone 2 looked or felt like till yesterday when I showed him a brief gameplay demo of a play session I had recorded a few weeks ago. After watching a few minutes of the video, he asked the obvious whether the game was running real-time and not some technology demo by a pill crazy developer. I told him the truth and he smiled coyly at me and made quite a realistic statement. He was of the opinion that this videogame was going to sell millions and it was not only my kind of callous exercising dweebs that were going to pick this game up, but anyone who saw a brief demo of it because the game looked so damn good. Then he continued to explain his theory -
“Do you know why everyone stares at people with good looks and features? It’s because they always want to be a part of that system that will give them an added advantage, societal relations are often nurtured around an object that is desired and encapsulates the eye. Even the most coveted object for an individual acquires importance once it starts to looking good. It can range from your most basic object like a sheet of plastic to precious jewels. Now just imagine how many people will like to buy a HD television or a sound system just to show off this game, no matter how critically you would rate it. They just want to be a part of a community that has played the most realistic option that the virtual world has to offer, and it works leaps and bounds what movies have to offer.”
This statement got me thinking although my only retort was that he needs to get laid more often, as he left I pondered at the illusion that I perhaps inhabit.
http://v4vg.com/killzone-2%E2%80%99s-good-looks-wooing-too-many/
