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RageLep commented on The Last of Us, and other video games that leave absolutely nothing to the imagination

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's success was primarily (if not wholly) dictated by one key element: multiplayer. The online community for the original Modern Warfare and the brand's follow-up, Call of Duty: World At War, developed into an enormous market. Not only was it gathering a substantial audience, its popularity overflowed into the burgeoning Youtube gaming community - and its new wave of gaming commentators both championing their skills as well as engaging with their subscribers. These rapidly growing communities coupled with the word-of-mouth positivity between gamers and the overzealous marketing hype by Activision set Modern Warfare 2 up to be a blockbuster release. Over 80% of its buyers dove straight into multiplayer and did not set foot in the single player campaign. Some still have yet to do so. There was little to no desire from much of its core audience to satiate their desire to be entertained by "faux realism" or to absorb any post-9/11 patriotic dogma of any kind - they wanted to play online with friends and competitors! The idea that this has deprived video games of all creativity is a bit ludicrous The issue I have with this article is that you seem to be approaching the video game industry as being the inferior little brother of the longstanding film industry, or something of that ilk. The medium itself is one that not only permits growth of its own, but can more easily wear its influences on its sleeve be they music, films, or even from avant-garde. Not only has it attracted the likes of filmmakers Gore Verbinski, John Woo, and James Gunn to develop video game projects, but longstanding video game properties such as Tomb Raider, Prince of Persia, Resident Evil, and Super Mario Bros have been adapted into feature film franchises. If the film industry is a reservoir of originality or imagination then why would they feel the need to borrow creative ideas from the video game industry to make money at the box-office? Why should the film industry have license to use the property from a different medium to work into their own medium and get away with it? I can argue that the film industry leaves nothing to the imagination if it indeed prides itself on borrowing or adapting ideas from other art forms. In terms of "The Last of Us", developer Naughty Dog has specifically stated that the gameplay urges players to avoid all forms of gunplay at the cost of survival. The title is not a third-person shooting experience: it's a tale of survival at any costs between an older man and the teenage girl. You're merely observing the game from afar - had you researched its inner workings and intentions then I suspect your article would have taken a different stance. It literally appears to be judging a book by its cover.

Posted on June 21st, 2012 5:12am

RageLep commented on The Last of Us, and other video games that leave absolutely nothing to the imagination

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's success was primarily (if not wholly) dictated by one key element: multiplayer. The online community for the original Modern Warfare and the brand's follow-up, Call of Duty: World At War, developed into an enormous market. Not only was it gathering a substantial audience, its popularity overflowed into the burgeoning Youtube gaming community - and its new wave of gaming commentators both championing their skills as well as engaging with their subscribers. These rapidly growing communities coupled with the word-of-mouth positivity between gamers and the overzealous marketing hype by Activision set Modern Warfare 2 up to be a blockbuster release. Over 80% of its buyers dove straight into multiplayer and did not set foot in the single player campaign. Some still have yet to do so. There was little to no desire from much of its core audience to satiate their desire to be entertained by "faux realism" or to absorb any post-9/11 patriotic dogma of any kind - they wanted to play online with friends and competitors! The idea that this has deprived video games of all creativity is a bit ludicrous The issue I have with this article is that you seem to be approaching the video game industry as being the inferior little brother of the longstanding film industry, or something of that ilk. The medium itself is one that not only permits growth of its own, but can more easily wear its influences on its sleeve be they music, films, or even from avant-garde. Not only has it attracted the likes of filmmakers Gore Verbinski, John Woo, and James Gunn to develop video game projects, but longstanding video game properties such as Tomb Raider, Prince of Persia, Resident Evil, and Super Mario Bros have been adapted into feature film franchises. If the film industry is a reservoir of originality or imagination then why would they feel the need to borrow creative ideas from the video game industry to make money at the box-office? Why should the film industry have license to use the property from a different medium to work into their own medium and get away with it? I can argue that the film industry leaves nothing to the imagination if it indeed prides itself on borrowing or adapting ideas from other art forms. In terms of "The Last of Us", developer Naughty Dog has specifically stated that the gameplay urges players to avoid all forms of gunplay at the cost of survival. The title is not a third-person shooting experience: it's a tale of survival at any costs between an older man and the teenage girl. You're merely observing the game from afar - had you researched its inner workings and intentions then I suspect your article would have taken a different stance. It literally appears to be judging a book by its cover.

Posted on June 21st, 2012 5:10am