Gaming in the new age. Ideas drawn form the Witcher and further discussion.

[phoebusg]

Gaming in the new age. Ideas drawn form the Witcher and further discussion.

Gaming is not just about challenges anymore, gaming is about being human. Emotional content, identification - and through those the experience of true emotions about characters, scenes, events and added significance to the above.It's no longer about the challenge but about the journey of a game - what it can teach you, old ideas of the theater - of the examination and analysis of the human conditions and society, through new media.Even though things started simply as if in a psychology operant and conditioning learning experiments, it is not much more than that.With the witcher being a recent example.Do you know other games that are starting to break though in this direction?Just the starter for a fun discussion, so discuss!

 

[voylodion]

Do you know other games that are starting to break though in this direction?

Bioshock. For me, getting involved in the story by listening to the tapes, reading the posters and just watching the other characters made it a very immersive experience. The decision whether to kill or cure the Little Sisters and the twist upon meeting Andrew Ryan provided a moral dilemma and a true "WTF?" moment respectively.

 

[autumnsnake]

Er, this is not a new thing. Planescape: Torment was released in 1999. In fact, I find it a bit odd that you'd consider TW as an example of this--it offers some challenge (initially, at least, before you grind out a lot of EXP and become nearly invincible) and has more than enough gameplay to justify it being, well, a game and not an interactive movie. Come to think of it, you should look into the Final Fantasy games and assorted Japanese RPGs--those have been all about melodrama and characters and cutscenes more than gameplay since around FF7-8 onward.

 

[phoebusg]

Autumnsnake, it is a new thing when done in this level. I hated FF games, anything but immersive for me - I dislike the gameplay first of all - I'm not talking about cutscenes but the actual game. I liked the ff movie for example. I'm looking for games that give you alternatives in how you play them - use psychological principles to make them human, emotional and make you identify with your characters.

 

[TheSilver]

Well, the Final Fantasy games were mentioned, and I agree with some of it. All of those I've played (FF6,FF7,FF8,FF9) were written in a human and emotional way for that world they played in.At the mention of JRPG, one game coms to mind: Grandie 2! One of the best games I've ever played. It's refereances toward the real Catholic Church and it's deeper meaning are still missing in modern days.Also, as already mentioned, Planescape: Torment. A very, very "human" game, to the extent of its world.While I agree that more identification is used, among other "human" values, let's take the moral aspect. There were games, such as Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy that let you choose a moral side (two options, but choice none the less).Personally I feel that "Knight of the Old Republic" has started this "broader spectrum" of choices and morality in games. Take The Witcher, while one does make a clear end decision, there are so many little ones building up to it. Take Fallout 3, which uses a "karma" system (methinks it is a little misnamed, but does it matter?). Depending on ones deeds and actions, the game changes.Now take a game such as Oblivion. No choice, except for doing the main quest or not.My opinion is that, based on such games as Torment, The Witcher and KotOR (only a few examples), the morality aspects are going to be deepend, bringin a certain consequnce system into the arena and then more and more of other "human" values will cropt up.

 

[cassandra31eee]

And here i 'll go talking again for one game i loved and still do: Gothic (the first one). When you enter the colony, you find three camps. You can join one of them. Since you 're a prisoner, like all of the dwellers there, you must take a side. Sooner or later, you must choose on what you agree with. There are three different opinions on how you should live and behave in to the prison colony.1> You can't never leave this place, so behave, work hard, obey the stronger man and you 'll be -at least- safe inside the camp.2> We can leave this place, the mages have a plan, work for them, protect them, and you 'll be one day out again!3> Only the ancient god "we", the chosen ones, pray to, will set us free. Pray to the god and you 'll be free. Of course, going with the "strongest man in the colony" has its benefits, at least on the beginning. But, it 's never easy for me to choose this way, every time i play i want to join the camp i first joined. Gothic has a very uncommon way to involve you into its world, with the NPCs being so alive and believable, some of them are trying to cheat you, some will help you and some are lost cases. They have accepted the fact that they 'll die in there and just go on every day. You feel part of this community and want to find a way out. The moral choices are lots. So, are you going to act as a thug, like many of them, beat up people for their weapons, food, or money? Are you going to resist all this and keep a strong character? The whole game is like a tiny life. You actually live it!

 

[phoebusg]

Makes me want to find gothic and play it...Thanks for the input