January 26, 2007
Thoughts on video games for adults
I haven't written down any game design related thoughts for a while. So here's my compensation.
I believe many of you have been excited and tried to show-off your Wii or DS to the parents and non-gamer friends. And probably a large portion of you did that with a tiny hope from the bottom of your heart that they will start appreciate and enjoy video games just like you did since Wii and DS are so accessible.
Well, I was one of you guys who wished everybody in the world enjoy and appreciate games. But the result from my Wii holiday test is not that positive. While most non-gamers picked up the Wii sports easily and told me "It's fun." None of them actually played more than 30 minutes before they go back to read books, cooking or watch TV. Without me turning on the Wii, none of them would actually play because of their own will.
Notice I'm talking about adults from 25 to 60. I'm sure younger generation loves Wii. The fact is that most people form stable values after they become adults and it gets harder to change as the age accumulates. These values cover the choice of entertainment. My grandpa loves playing chess and reading newspaper to kill his time, while my mom tends to watch TV all day long. To them, these are the entertainment they picked up when they were young and used through their entire life. A simple Wii game won't change the places and priorities of what they want as entertainment.
Today I am finally old enough to look at what I have enjoyed since I was a kid, video games, from an adult perspective. Old school arcade games we played countless hours when we were kids, such as Mario, Contra and Pac man, somehow, seem so difficult, frustrating and pointless today. Can you remember how many parents were actually playing video games with their kids back in the 90s? If I was the parent, I won't play a game where it resets every three times I die. Obviously, it has something to do with all the good games I played as I grew up. But as adults, we tend to expect something more. The success of Brain Age and Dance Dance Revolution really addressed what I mean with that extra meaning. "Game is for kids, but this is designed to keep my brain young. Why not give it a try?"
While Nintendo is doing great at engaging people from different age to play games, they become more and more like Disney. Mario has become the new Mickey Mouse. However, being Disney also means there are many things you can't do, a lot of rules that you can't break, and many desires you can’t satisfy.
I'm fine watching Disney movies with kids and playing Wii with them. But for myself, I want something with more depth and artistic spirit in it, something that kids can't really understand but adults will reach enlightenment with. While we have the "Disney", the "Action Heros" and "ESPN" for the younger gamers, I want to play the "Oscar" winners, I want to be moved and inspired.
I can rarely find a game that worth my time playing these days. Not that I don't love games any more, games designed and made intellectually attractive to the grown up gamers are simply hard to find. Gamers have grown up, what about the games?
ps: the image is only for eyeball catching...
Posted by Jenova at January 26, 2007 4:48 PM
Comments
I like your comparison of Nintendo to Disney, and I think it holds up. That being said, Finding Nemo moved me very deeply. The Wii is the first console system my parents enjoyed playing with my brother and me. If this simple fun could incorporate deeper meaning, the way Pixar and Disney have done in a few of their films, it would be very powerful.
Posted by: kellee ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://interactive.usc.edu/members/jchen/nav-commenters.gif)
at January 26, 2007 10:31 PM
Very true. I was really moved by most of the recent pixar and disney films. Although Disney does own many other more experimental movie studios. The Nintendo Disney comparison I am using is more refering to the audience they are aiming. I really hope to play games with power like American Beauty, Forest Gump and Fight Club...
Posted by: Jenova at January 26, 2007 11:41 PM
I completely agree with that. I want games that compare to a Cohen brothers movie, or a piano concerto by Yukio Yokoyama, or a Lucien Freud painting. I think 'depth' is the word. Anything that is made from more of an artistic, experimental, exploring point of view rather than a commercial, lets-face-it-straight-out-propaganda kind of angle.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that. I'm not a great blog reader, but will make a conscious effort to frequent this space.
Posted by: flow700 at February 9, 2007 5:11 AM
Interesting post. My experience with the Wii was very different. Every holiday with my family, which includes my parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, basically adds up to a Wii party now. Starting on Thanksgiving everyone got addicted to Wii, especially for Wii Tennis and Wii Bowling. My mother was so addicted that she got a Wii for my family at home. My dad still likes to play tennis and bowling and my mom is really into Elebits. My grandma came over and insisted that I tell her when the Wii was available. She has never in her entire life wanted a gaming console for herself.
Nintendo has always been like Disney. Their marketing strategy has been behind the strength of their franchises even during the NES era. They're a family-friendly brand that tries to appeal to everybody. And just as many adults love Disney, many love Nintendo as well. Games have always been made for adults. Mario is not a "kids-only" game, for example.
And yes, to expand a company must use sub-brands or new brands altogether. Contrary to what you think, ESPN is brand targeted toward "younger" people. It's an adult brand, targeted specifically at males 20 and older (usually through around 45). Disney also owns ABC, which is a standard news station that appeals to a wide variety of people, including the very old.
I think it may be self-defeating or at the least very limiting to compare videogames to movies in terms of how they affect people. They are very different mediums, and they can evoke very different emotions. I've never been as scared watching a movie as I have been playing Fatal Frame 2 or even a Silent Hill game, even if films can be more graphic or visually intricate. I've never felt so rewarded or energetic as I did after knocking out Mike Tyson in Punchout!!
What is the power of American Beauty, or Forrest Gump? Do we really want to replicate that with a videogame? I can think of many games that are more powerful than Fight Club or American Beauty, but they're powerful in different ways.
Posted by: RJ at February 11, 2007 7:09 PM
All entertainment media share a fundamental feature, to make the audience experience sophisticated emotions. Music, TV, novel, movie or games. While the detailed feeling are different based on the sensory available in different media. The general emotions audience went through are identical among the established media.
And people prefer different type of emotions based on their needs when they choose movies, books and games. If you happen to live a boring life and not feeling achieving, you probably prefer fantasy novels, character development based movies or role playing games to make you feel improving after all.
Though video games have a wide varieties of mechanics, the emotions they emphasized are very limited compare with film and TV. If you really want to nail pick on the American Beauty, it's the emotion of self-questioning, though provoking, and value challenging. Forrest Gump has more sophisticated emotions across the entire movie, they are deep, warm, well attached to every American and even people across the globe, it is a crystal of what this country is proud of. I can't list more than 5 games that address these emotions in depth.
Posted by: Jenova at February 12, 2007 11:15 PM
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