An Ode to Computer Games part1
Ahh Computer Games…my old friend.
Unfortunately I might have missed the boat on the Video Games posts due to circumstances beyond my control, but now the cramping in my right hand has gone down a little land I’m striking while the iron is hot.
WARNING: I’m about to have a bit of a long-winded spiel about Computer Games, so now is the chance to abandon ship before it’s too late.
Speaking of Techno-fetishism I must admit I am that way when it comes to Computer Games and Video Games, which are two separate things by the way. Computer Games are played on a Computer and Video Games are played on a Television or dedicated screen in an Arcade, but for the purpose of this post I’m going to refer to them both under the banner of Computer Games. I am rather passionate about Computer Games in the same way some people are passionate about Film or Literature, so my views on Computer Games are usually biased in favour.
But I believe that Computer Games are an important New Media that must be taken seriously. As a media still in its infancy it has produced some fantastic texts.
The Metal Gear series on the Playstation and Playstation2 are an example of such games. Those who claim that Computer Games have no narrative have obviously never played these games. Metal Gear Solid is a tactical espionage game, however is promotes itself as an anti-war game where you score higher the less people you kill. The games mastermind, Hideo Kojima, confronts issues and deals with important themes on par with any Film or Novel.
In his first game Metal Gear Solid, the main character, Solid Snake has been called out of retirement to suppress terrorists who have secured Nuclear capabilities and are threatening to unleash Nuclear nightmare on the U.S. In this first game Kojima deals with the moral issues behind Cloning, the threat of nuclear weapons and the powers controlling them, and the perversion of science for military application. Playing through the game you encounter members of a special Unit named Foxhound whom you have to defeat in order to progress. As you defeat each of your opponents they tell you about their history and you discover each of their reasons for taking the nukes. What’s more is you feel a certain regret for having to kill them as you identify with their reasons and realise that your character and theirs are separated only by a thin line. You see how easy someone can be dubbed a terrorist because they hold different views to the government.
In his second game Metal Gear Solid2: Sons of Liberty, Solid Snake is replaced by the newcomer Raiden. In this game Kojima addresses our contemporary culture of "Simulation" and the dangers associated with a dependence on Simulation. He also deals with the implications this new Digital Age will have on human culture and popular thought through the concept of ideas as "Memes". Shouldn’t digital information have gatekeepers to monitor and regulate all the information that is invading the internet and preserved in digital stasis, like Librarians who administer quality control of the books in our library. This has to be my favourite of the series and playing through it challenged me in the same way some papers at Uni have. While it can be confusing at times, I definitely recommend this game to anyone who is searching for narrative in their computer gaming experience.
Tbc…(hand cramping again)
Unfortunately I might have missed the boat on the Video Games posts due to circumstances beyond my control, but now the cramping in my right hand has gone down a little land I’m striking while the iron is hot.
WARNING: I’m about to have a bit of a long-winded spiel about Computer Games, so now is the chance to abandon ship before it’s too late.
Speaking of Techno-fetishism I must admit I am that way when it comes to Computer Games and Video Games, which are two separate things by the way. Computer Games are played on a Computer and Video Games are played on a Television or dedicated screen in an Arcade, but for the purpose of this post I’m going to refer to them both under the banner of Computer Games. I am rather passionate about Computer Games in the same way some people are passionate about Film or Literature, so my views on Computer Games are usually biased in favour.
But I believe that Computer Games are an important New Media that must be taken seriously. As a media still in its infancy it has produced some fantastic texts.
The Metal Gear series on the Playstation and Playstation2 are an example of such games. Those who claim that Computer Games have no narrative have obviously never played these games. Metal Gear Solid is a tactical espionage game, however is promotes itself as an anti-war game where you score higher the less people you kill. The games mastermind, Hideo Kojima, confronts issues and deals with important themes on par with any Film or Novel.
In his first game Metal Gear Solid, the main character, Solid Snake has been called out of retirement to suppress terrorists who have secured Nuclear capabilities and are threatening to unleash Nuclear nightmare on the U.S. In this first game Kojima deals with the moral issues behind Cloning, the threat of nuclear weapons and the powers controlling them, and the perversion of science for military application. Playing through the game you encounter members of a special Unit named Foxhound whom you have to defeat in order to progress. As you defeat each of your opponents they tell you about their history and you discover each of their reasons for taking the nukes. What’s more is you feel a certain regret for having to kill them as you identify with their reasons and realise that your character and theirs are separated only by a thin line. You see how easy someone can be dubbed a terrorist because they hold different views to the government.
In his second game Metal Gear Solid2: Sons of Liberty, Solid Snake is replaced by the newcomer Raiden. In this game Kojima addresses our contemporary culture of "Simulation" and the dangers associated with a dependence on Simulation. He also deals with the implications this new Digital Age will have on human culture and popular thought through the concept of ideas as "Memes". Shouldn’t digital information have gatekeepers to monitor and regulate all the information that is invading the internet and preserved in digital stasis, like Librarians who administer quality control of the books in our library. This has to be my favourite of the series and playing through it challenged me in the same way some papers at Uni have. While it can be confusing at times, I definitely recommend this game to anyone who is searching for narrative in their computer gaming experience.
Tbc…(hand cramping again)
posted by Anonymous at 11:20 pm
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