| Dodece said: @tarheel91 Honestly I think you are confused as to what a game is supposed to be, or more specifically what playing is all about. Playing isn't a passive experice. Playing is an engaging experience. The point of playing is to challenge oneself. That is a form of stimulation which results in your brain rewarding you chemically. Playing is primordial, and it is all about making one better, stronger, smarter, more intune with their environment. We are conditioned by our genes to engage in play. There is no such thing as a game without a challenge, and without a goal. Even if that goal is mere social interaction. Speaking to games not being great story telling. What rock did you crawl out from under. Games are great avenues for story telling. Just most of them do a piss poor job of doing that, but you know the same can be said for books, movies, and television. Oh before we forget this isn't the kind of the game that can do without story telling. That is kind of the genres whole point. Your trying to unlock a story from start to finish. I like Ghibli well enough. Not fanatical about it mind you. That said it ain't the Illiad, and it ain't Citizen Kane. Are you going to seriously tell me you think it stacks up. The hell you are, and if you do your smoking some mighty fine stuff. I am just not buying that the story telling is going to be there, and I am not going to believe that a emotional peek of this magnitude can be maintained throughout a game, and that is a legitimate concern. The style of their films just isn't going to lend itself to a good game in my opinion. I will wait for the reviews when this comes out. |
1) Your description of gaming in this post has nothing to do with intellectually stimulating. It has everything to do with fun, enjoyable gameplay. Video games don't challenge the way you look at the world, force you to think differently, etc. (ok, there may be a few exceptions in regards to mind-bending physics puzzles, but they're the exception rather than the norm and it's not required or anything). Great literature and cinema does that far more than any game ever could. By the way, that's what intellectually stimulating means.
2) No. Video games are an inferior medium for telling stories. Why? Video games are based around the concept of giving the player control and allowing him to overcome challenges through his own ability. This is why they're fun. However, that control doesn't magically appear out of no where. It's taken from the creators of the game. The story that can be told is very limited, because the person telling the story only has limited control over the story itself. And guess what, the more control you take from the gamer and give to the creator the more it is a movie and the less it is a game.
3) I think you misunderstand my comments in regards to Ghibli. I was speaking about them in regards to making movies, not games. I agree they lack the content of something like Citizen Kane or Hamlet, but content isn't the only thing we enjoy cinema and literature for. The way these pieces of art are crafted is a hugely important factor in the way we enjoy them. Pride and Prejudice plot-wise is pretty standard. It's still considered one of the best if not the best novel (note the word novel here) of all time. Why? The way the story is written. Jane Austin's prose is magnificent. She puts on a clinic in free indirect discourse. Her characterization is subtle and embues her characters with real life. Thus, while I'm not trying to say that Ghibli movies are the best of all time, I do think they are great, and deserve to be respected for the craft with which they are constructed.
I also reject your whole "Ghibli movies are sugar, and leave the viewer on a constant emotional high" idea. You've watched Princess Mononoke, right? Emotional high? Ha ha. Better yet, Grave of the Fireflies? Seriously? I think it's ridiculous to think the Ghibli is only capable of sugar. Also, I think you underestimate the aforementioned ability they have. I don't expect this Ghibli movie to be a some masterpiece, but I do expect it to be solid, and to integrate the story with the gameplay very well. In many regards, a story not heavy on content but well told is exactly what a game needs. A story becomes a problem in a game when it gets in the way of gameplay. I have high hopes that Ghibli will be able to design a story that works well with the game and never frustrates the player, and instead serves as a complement for the gameplay.
