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It is merely a statement of fact, my fellow gamers, that America’s cultural scene, the state of the art if you will, has become monochromatic, lacking artistry that is unique and exciting. That which does strike our imagination is often nihilistic, which by definition is something that tends towards nothing, and cannot sustain itself nor inspire others to higher ground. Behind a façade of sophisticated graphics, sound and commercial hype, we have hackneyed games that do not inspire us. This leaves us with a dishonest, phony or bland product that is at odds with the roots of gaming. The 8-Bit and even 16-bit eras were more vibrant and colorful scenes, in every sense. If creativity is sacrificed then we are left with an industrial shell. We will not experience the sublime interactive gameplay and storytelling that emanates from a videogame made by one who loves to edify others with his creation.
Even some of our most cherished franchises, born of such love, have been misappropriated by those who seek to use the brand name to sell a poorly produced and hackneyed game. This is creative fraud, and it is as rampant in today’s videogame industry as it is in the general entertainment industry. We recognize these problems but we cannot rectify the situation because we do not understand why this happens.
The disingenuous nature of popular art is a symptom that our society is gasping for the air of truth in the post-modern vacuum of cultural relativism. Indeed, only the truth will set you free. But if we believe that we will never be able to connect with this truth, then we will not be free to make judgments, free to have or enforce standards, or free to act and live in confidence because everything will be uncertain. Instead we will be a slave to the caprice of a constantly changing and confused mass machine. Is this not the case with our popular culture today?
My friends, we are passive. We expect the truth to find us. And with such passivity, only by good fortune will we be blessed by the likes of Shigeru Miyamoto or Yu Suzuki. We must not elevate these men unduly beyond their own worth, but recognize that they pursued their vision with conviction. They have faith, not in the sanctity of their own genius, but in the creative truth of their ideas, which exists independently of them. Yet it is only through their daring love of creative truth and of the gamer that the barbarians at the gates of our community are held back for another season. These selfish and avaricious people clamor for the goddess of gaming in order to defile her and put her on the market strictly for their own profit. If ever there were the proverbial capitalist dog, they would certainly qualify. Without creative truth, they will eventually find a way to enter and pervert videogames as a high art. Some within the industry say they already have. The blackest day has not yet come; hopefully it will be avoided.
Creative truth can be defined as a general term that refers to a potent ideational force (attractiveness and compelling nature of theme) expressed in gameplay and/or its narrative presentation. There are more complex definitions not pertinent to the discussion at hand. Suffice it to say that in every high art, whether literature, theatre, or cinema, both the presentation of the theme and the theme itself are the measure of quality. The interaction of videogames may distinguish it from cinema, but it must tell a narrative. In doing so it creates a new mythology, and elevates videogames into high culture. The problems of presentation that lie in the interactive element of the videogame are more easily solved than the thematic failings. The more severe problem in videogaming is the thematic content of their narrative role, because if games do not have the purpose of edifying the gamer through the expansion of his/her imagination, all other aspects of the game will wither.
Only when gaming stimulates our imagination and not just our raw hand and eye coordination will it have a chance to fully realize this potential. If this were not true, then gamers would not bear the tedious and repetitive gameplay of role-playing games. To fulfill this role, a game must impose an immutable structure and guide us through it for adventure and emotional stimulation. It needs to take us for a ride so to speak. Not all games should have this purpose, but it is this characteristic that elevates videogames to the level of a cultural force.
There can be no harm in digging into our cultural past, as did J.R.R. Tolkien, and rediscovering and reaffirming high sophisticated art into videogames. This will include dispensing with the bullshit and manufactured nihilism that plagues popular culture today. It will mean being less cynical, and changing some of our core attitudes.
As radical as this may sound for an art form that came to prominence in such locales as bars and gas stations, 2002’s sales are just one indication of videogames prominence as a cultural force. And every cultural force, especially a movement we made happen, that we grew up with, requires us to think along these more basic philosophical levels.
One reason we who experienced the 8-bit and 16-bit era are so dissatisfied with the gaming scene is because we know and experienced better. It is a sad commentary that the gaming industry depends on the leaders of that era to bring them to the next paradigm of gaming. That is because as the videogame industry has entered the mainstream to the tune of 9.8 billion dollars, it has conformed to the patterns of the mainstream, instead of being transformed by self-renewal of the art, of its collective mind. By and large we witness uninspired games by uninspired game designers. There is a process of attrition in the production of games that often compromises their quality, but I fault not this but the intention of imitation.
These problems are not unique to the videogame industry, but parallel those in the music and movie industries. The answer, therefore, is much the same. We must discover what is good and then lobby for it. Game designers must connect with creative truth and act as sources of revelation. This synergy allowed for what I remember dearly as a vibrant gaming scene of the mid-80s to early 1990s. So it must be if we are to make good on our rich inheritance of one of the most radical and innovative cultural art forms in the history of popular culture, and indeed of all time.
joshua hsieh hopes for better days...
[Next: Brandon's take]
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