Nintendo's Doing Something Right (response to Hating on the casuals thread)

[DTG]

The Ghost of RubangB said:

Gnizmo said:

DTG said:
The problem is that Nintendo simply cannot get out of the 80's mindset that videogames are meant to be "fun". I'm sick and tired of developers focusing on creating "fun" experiences on the Wii and in return sacrificing their artistic integrity amidst this peer pressure to be "FUN". Fun is FINE, but it shouldn't be the sole direction and focus the industry basks in.

Why is making a game fun sacrificing artistic integrity? What part of havign a game be fun demands that it is no longer the artists vision? Miyamoto can do whatever the hell he pleases with a game right now I'd wager. If he wanted to make a game where it was two monkey's flinging poo at each other it would sit right there next to Super Mario Galaxy. He has near complete artistic autonomy and still he makes games like Super Mario Galaxy because that is his vision of what the game should be. Do not attempt to force your view of what a video game should be on an artist. They should not be forced to sacrifice their art just to please your arbitrary standards.

BOOYAH! QFT.

 

DTG, have you never had fun reading a deep book or watching a movie with an amazing story? Why do fun and art have to be mutually exclusive? They can be, but they don't have to be every time.

 

I'm not saying it is always mutually exclusive. But in the video games industry it seems that fun is the ONLY aspect of video games that is being pursued on the Wii (and to a great extent every system). Some games, such as the one I linked to above give a very convincing arguement that video games do not "need' to be fun in every single case, even if, at large they should target the mass market. There are more niche (though sometimes quite popular) movies and  books that work on a purely mind-fuck level, be it surreal, abstract or plain information overload. Other pieces of art such as paintings are often quite depressing and those that appreciate it often find themselves lacking any positive emotions, but rather feel overcome by the grief, sadness, melancholy of the work perhaps even moved to tears-certainly not fun in the traditional sense yet just as if not more appreciated on a deeper level.

As a mass market driven entertainment industry I expect most games to target the trigger happy individual who is looking for enjoyable, light hearted escape from reality. That is FINE. The problem is that the video game industry has created a mentalily where games appealing to a more niche audiance who is willing to invest mentally and emotionally into his games simply do not pass concept stage if even that, save a very few exceptions.