Beaten to the Rant

Y’know, I was going to write a big, long rant on the state of video games and what I perceive to be the lack of creativity behind them, embellished with my liberal take on violence in video games, until I read this article. The author states it all for me. It mirrors my feelings almost exactly. My only variation from his editorial is that I think games with violence in them are just great, and there don’t even need to be non-violent games… I’m just tired of violence being the central ‘plot’. Violence is not a plot, and if the film industry can make movies like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, or Pi, or Bladerunner, or Lost Highway, or Brazil, or Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas, why is it all the games are like even more inane versions of Badboys II, or Independance Day, or Hostel, or Saw III? Mindless, flashy displays of sensational stupidity that appeal only to the lower brain stem of a 14 year old male?
I mean, I realize almost all human entertainment revolves around sex and death, but for that matter, where’s the Showcase-style video games? Where’s the smut? The games involving graphic sex and full frontal nudity?

I recognize the challenge of creating a game that is ‘interacted’ with only by hitting a small handful of buttons (Thank you Nintendo Wii for breaking us out of that!) that involves any kind of subtlety, complexity or nuance, but come on.
When Tron makes your game’s plot look weak and contrived, it’s time for a re-think!

I hope the stagnation of the current game industry creates a backlash of innovation and ingenuity.