There was a piece run on globeandmail.com on the 28th that really caught my attention. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ve been dying to write a feature for VGEvo about Zero Narrative in games. That is; how a game should be to make it timeless or truly progressive. I’ve got pretty strong feelings on the subject and maybe someday with my dreams of working in the industry I can make something that reflects those feelings.
None the less, the article that was run was essentially about how games are inevitably doomed to irrelevance. Not gaming as a whole, but each individual game itself. I strongly disagree with this. While it may be true for a lot of games, (like Final Fantasy VII) the idea of the perfect game for me wouldn’t fit into that statement. And for me, the perfect game has been made a few times. However for a lot of games produced today, I feel they will eventually fade into obscurity as they are replaced and replicated by sequels and newer games. Final Fantasy VII is a good example of this; it’s been bested in graphics, gameplay and storyline (in my opinion) and it seems the only thing fueling it now is nostalgia. As for the other side of the argument; Shadow of the Colossus. This is a game that is art for me. It’s a game that has done everything that I feel a game should do to set itself apart from other media.
In order to be considered timeless, a work of art must necessarily affect its audience in a similar way and to a similar degree, regardless of when it happens to be viewed. Super Mario Bros. fails this test because those who play it for the first time today have experienced more modern games that significantly expand upon and outdo Nintendo’s archetypal platformer. Everything Super Mario Bros. does well—its run-and-jump action, its hidden levels, its rewarding coin collection system—has since been improved upon by countless other games. We rightfully acknowledge and respect that it served as inspiration for later games, but we also understand that many of these games have inarguably surpassed their original muse.
Super Mario Bros. makes for an easy case—the advancements in video game design and technology that have taken place in the decades since the game first appeared are strikingly obvious. Let’s look at a less apparent example: The Halo games.
The original Halo was rightly considered one of the greatest shooters ever made when it was first released. However it simply doesn’t compare with the series’ latest incarnation, Halo 3, which has undeniably improved upon the franchise’s formula by offering a deeper multiplayer experience, a greater variety of game possibilities (by virtue of its new and more refined enemies, weapons, and vehicles), and a more cinematic presentation.
Shadow of the Colossus is a timeless piece of art. It does so many things right and so many things I feel more games these days should. The main thing it does; it creates an experience unique to the gaming medium. Shadow of the Colossus in any other medium would be worthless. A boring movie and a mediocre novel to say the least. However, as a gaming experience it’s something like no other. I have never felt the same way playing a video game as I have playing Shadow of the Colossus. One of the biggest factors working towards that is the fact that there is no story. There is no written background, there is no real narrative in the game. It leaves it entirely for the audience to decide. That is art. I remember when the game was released the amount of speculation that went around the internet about what the story was. Some said that Wander and Mono are siblings; others say they’re lovers. Some made their own narrative. The big thing is though, that it creates an experience that can’t be replicated into another medium. Very few games do this. Most games would make great movies (Heavenly Sword), or wonderful novels (Metal Gear Solid) but a game like this could only be a game.
It’s the same way that House of Leaves could only ever be a book. It’s a literary masterpiece in my opinion, and probably my favorite book of all time. Timelessness is very relative, but I feel that both of these things have achieved it. I really don’t think that games are doomed to irrelevance. At least, not the good ones.
