Don't Be a Vidiot!

Our reading task for this week was Greg Costikyan's article entitled 'Don't Be a Vidiot'. In short, the term 'Vidiot' describes someone who's sole understanding of games derives solely from video games.

Published in 1998, the article may seem somewhat outdated, although many of his points are relevant to video game designers today. He states that the current video game industry is full of dull titles and most games that are released today only differ slightly from others within the same genre. Here, I feel he definitely has a point although arguments can of course be made to state otherwise. I recently played a game called 'Heavy Rain' on the Playstation 3. I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it and will admit to never having seen or played a game with the same feel. This, in my opinion, is an example of a new style of game, a game which is based much more on user interaction and intelligence, a rare thing in today's run and gun style game industry.

Shortly after mentioning that the industry is full of dull titles, Costikyan writes that games which succeed best are those that are original and new. This definitely brought my thoughts back to 'Heavy Rain'. One of the reasons i loved it was that it was new, it had a style of gameplay which I had never before seen implemented in a video game. Sure, I enjoy playing Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto as much as anyone else, but only a game which is innovative and new will get my full praise. I feel much like that in the world of film too. My favourite films are all pre 1990, where new ideas and risks were taken on films to shock and excite the viewer. Today's media seems all too stale for my taste and I welcome games such as 'Heavy Rain and films such as 'Inception' which give me a glimmer of hope that one day film makers and game designers will start taking risks again.

Anyway, i got slightly off topic there, so back to Costikyan's article. One of his main points was that games like 'Pong' didn't start game history. History started with cheaper and simpler games. Games like Chess, Checkers and simple card games were all around decades before the invention of Pong. While it's true that the media industry is moving on at quite a pace, there is definitely still a place for original simple games in today's society. Admittedly, I spend much more of my time in front of a screen than a game board but Costikyan states that, 'A writer who wishes to master his craft must read widely in work from all areas'. This quote is something i fully believe in. It's so important to have a knowledge of game history. Games are a plastic medium and there is so much choice and variety, it's just such a shame that the vast possibilities are rarely explored in today's media markets.

I suppose money plays a big part in this. Just over a year ago i wandered into the Sainsbury's store where i work only to find hoards of people lined up outside. It was 7am and there must have been at least 70 people all breaking down the doors to get their hands on the latest version of Call of Duty. It was with a wry smile that i walked past them all and picked my copy up. At that time I thought to myself, would these people be here to buy a game that wasn't a sequel? Would these people be here to buy a game that was based on a totally original idea? Probably not. While i admire their enthusiasm and commitment i couldn't help wondering what they are potentially missing out on by limiting themselves to just a modern day re-make. It's a shame really that the modern day society in which we live has such a blinkered view on video games and media in general.

I would like to round this post off with one last quote from the article. Costikyan writes, 'if your imagination is based on games only made within the last five years, your imagination will be constrained'. While this time frame would now be extended to the last 20 years, the quote still makes a valid point. How can you create a game that is totally new without first looking back at the history of games? How can you draw inspiration from games that have been made and played to death? Maybe if the media industry of today became aware of the foundations that initially built games and film, we would start seeing a newer, fresher and more original style of entertainment.

Apologies if this post ended up being a rant, but hopefully you will have understood the main points I took from the article. Thanks for reading, all comments are welcome!