Take Bejewelled, World of Warcraft, SIMs, Grand Theft Auto and then the games you have chosen to discuss here.
Actually even the "no-brainer" games like Bejewelled have a value. From an educational standpoint, the basic mechanics of play provide skills. Even World of Warcraft has "grinding" which can be mindless and sometimes even boring. Here's a fun article about other forms of grinding. (http://joystick101.org/blog/?p=243)
While not a "high art form" maybe, to some people, it's still... valuable? Granted, I'm up to my eyeballs in game and play analysis lately. And if you want to talk about narrative... ever wonder why there's Minesweeper fanfiction (besides people being... people)?
Not that I'm attacking you or anything, I just... the argument that there are "so many different kinds of games" breaks down if you look at film. Even books! What about the stuff that won't fit into neat genres? Or pop-up books? There are some crazy experimental films out there too, which are considered a viable art form.
I think partly, with games, the creator only has so much guidance (believe me, I'm going to freak out when we start testing my game on kids, because they will find loopholes and ask strange questions and give me a nervous breakdown) and it's more up to the player. All other forms of narration/art require you to be an audience for the most part (minus improv theater, Rocky Horror, a few others).
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Take Bejewelled, World of Warcraft, SIMs, Grand Theft Auto and then the games you have chosen to discuss here.
Actually even the "no-brainer" games like Bejewelled have a value. From an educational standpoint, the basic mechanics of play provide skills. Even World of Warcraft has "grinding" which can be mindless and sometimes even boring. Here's a fun article about other forms of grinding. (http://joystick101.org/blog/?p=243)
While not a "high art form" maybe, to some people, it's still... valuable? Granted, I'm up to my eyeballs in game and play analysis lately. And if you want to talk about narrative... ever wonder why there's Minesweeper fanfiction (besides people being... people)?
Not that I'm attacking you or anything, I just... the argument that there are "so many different kinds of games" breaks down if you look at film. Even books! What about the stuff that won't fit into neat genres? Or pop-up books? There are some crazy experimental films out there too, which are considered a viable art form.
I think partly, with games, the creator only has so much guidance (believe me, I'm going to freak out when we start testing my game on kids, because they will find loopholes and ask strange questions and give me a nervous breakdown) and it's more up to the player. All other forms of narration/art require you to be an audience for the most part (minus improv theater, Rocky Horror, a few others).
I'm just rambling now, so I will stop!
~Cendri