Fantasy games have definitely been one of my favorites and always will be. Reading the article “The Influence of Literature and Myth in Video Games” by Douglass C. Perry, was interesting given that I have always enjoyed a good mythology story! I can name countless titles of games that have some sort of mythical influence of some sort that are out in the market today as bestsellers. Games all the way back from “Zelda” to “Final Fantasy” are just a few to be named.
I have always found mythology typically Greek mythology, to be fascinating in every way since I knew what a hero and villain was. Something about god’s throwing lightning bolts down from the skies and creating tidal waves big enough to swallow small cities made it really hard to turn away from. Although I absolutely love all kinds of mythology, I have leaned more towards movies and animation than video games.
Some of my favorite games I have enjoyed playing over and over is the “Resident Evil” series and the popular game known as “Diablo.” They are both a bit on the scary side of things but it was fun killing things that weren’t just plain old human beings. The myths that zombies are real must have been a huge pot of gold for the video gaming industry knowing that they didn’t have to use Nazi’s or terrorists for every villain in the game. It just wouldn’t be Resident Evil if I saw Billy Mitchell in his beloved tie trying bite off a piece of meat from my arm. It catches people’s attention when things are mixed up with mythology and fantasy like the incinerated bodies of a hungry zombie!
On page 6 of “The Influence of Literature and Myth in Video Games” by Douglass C. Perry, he states “So it's not going to come down to who has the greatest graphics. It's going to come down to who has the coolest game. What am I going to get into the most? It's going to come down to the games with the best story and content." I agree with Perry in that people or the “average” people who play video games will likely drift towards the actual game play rather than how great the graphics are. Video game systems are only going to get more advanced from here on such as: upgraded graphics, upgraded system memory and attractive console designs. Give me a LCD television and working Xbox 360 and I’m set.
Agreeing with the numerous video game directors mentioned in Douglass’s review, the game that will sell and catch people attention are those with a superior storyline and good game play. One of my favorite games to play is the Zelda series and for one, you are not able to see the sweat dripping of Link’s face nor can you see the folds on his robes but it is still fun to play because of the great literature tied into it. The game has a great storyline and many people like myself find it enjoyable to sit down and play the game for a few hours if not days! Not to say that graphics don’t enhance the gaming experience, it very much does but not if it out weighs the story line. Balance is the key here and you can definitely see more gamers finding interest in these types of video games.
Literature is a powerful tool in the world of creating video games. Literature is what brings the games to life because of the creative and powerful stories it can bring to our imagination. Without great literature, video games would be blatant, boring and colorless in the competitive world of gaming.
The video game episodes 1-4 was definitely something that caught my attention. It was interesting and quite fun to play. Though it was more like a documentary than a game, I had no problem reading what Bob and Bub had to say. I really have had no idea what it took to make a good video game for people to enjoy until Bob showed it to me in a rather simple and entertaining way! Video games need more than just an attractive front page, it needs fair rules, variety and interactivity. I can see how everything Bob says ties into what good video games of today are made of.
Games must be unpredictable for a variety of players because of the different skill levels. I find this very true because games do get either boring or insanely frustrating. When I am new to a game I would generally start off on the standard intermediate level and not jump right into legendary mode. The reason? I don’t want to die over and over on the first level and end up throwing my entire game set into the TV. People do get frustrated over games because the games are either too hard or to easy! I think it is extremely important to add different levels of difficulty and a variety of outcome to keep the game interesting and enjoyable.
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I agree with you greatly on the topic of video game graphics. Though I can't speak for every gamer out there, I am very much into the storyline of a video game over the quality of graphics. Some of my favorite video games have had very simplistic graphics.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you connected with the Perry article so much! I want to quibble that zombies are not mythologic in the classic sense of mythology, but you have me really contemplating your argument here that RE is mythologic. It certainly has developed a mythology around the characters, but as for having its origins in myth....hmmmm.
ReplyDelete"Agreeing with the numerous video game directors mentioned in Douglass’s review, the game that will sell and catch people attention are those with a superior storyline and good game play." So with this a game is a sure success?
"Without great literature, video games would be blatant, boring and colorless in the competitive world of gaming." What about games that are translated with little-to-no attention to the original script...?
You add on to what is important to a game/ a good game/ a successful game, but you never give a cohesive definition. What would that look like...?