| RolStoppable said:
Yup, the huge amount of actual gameplay and stuff to do saved Xenoblade Chronicles. Otherwise it could have very well been another The Last Story, albeit with a proper battle system and game balance. Now on topic: If the message of this thread is that video games should try to reach mainstream acceptance, then imitating Hollywood is a dead end. I don't think anyone will really disagree when I use the Uncharted series as the prime example for games emulating Hollywood. These games do it very well, yet they still top out at around 5m copies in sales. Meanwhile, video games that are pure games have shown a significantly higher ceiling, so if video games are supposed to become truly mainstream, then that would be the way to go. Series like Grand Theft Auto may attempt to have cinematic storylines, but it needs to be considered that many players use these games as sandboxes and aren't even interested in completing the game. |
I think the message of this thread is that video games reach critical acceptance and the level of respect videophiles give to top-class movies.
I believe the movie industry has seen a plethora of highly skilled and influential artists that shaped the industry into what it has been throughout its history. I doubt the same has yet happened for video games, which is not too big a deal given the age of the industry.
Whereas often artists in the movie industry used money to push their ideas, it would seem the game industry uses ideas to push their business. These philosophies affect the intrinsic quality of the art behind the medium.
Like a movie can have excellent special effects but little emotional value, the same can be said about a game with great physics but is out of touch with the human psyche. Though in the context of games, the value-system between gameplay and art is very different, the art component still has a very important place to evoke the emotions that video games, afterall, can manage to bring out. There is an art component to games after all. Though it isn't as important a component as it is for movies, it is an important one to satisfy. The degree to which it needs to be satisfied is lesser, but it is still there.
In terms of mainstream acceptance:
I'm adding this segment because I thought it would be important to clarify my POV on this aspect.
Mainstream acceptance as defined by sales is a vague measure. For example, a piece can find mainstream acceptance in one audience but not in another. Take Mario Kart and Super Mario for example, they have achieved mainstream acceptance, but from what we understand, in general it is limited to a younger audience, accompanied by family and relatives every now and then, not unlike movies like Toy Story. Then take a movie like Indiana Jones, which has all the qualities of slapstick humor, and the creative genius of Stephen Spielberg and the intensity of Harrison Ford, and you get a piece that is universally enjoyed by young and old alike. It earned its place in the world of movies, and is a respected piece as a classic.
Another example is a movie like The Matrix, which affected a lot of people who watched it and created a kind of revolution of ideas when it came out. A lot of this has yet to really be seen in the games industry I believe.
