Journey Creator: Games Aren't Good Enough for Adults

[John Funk]

Journey Creator: Games Aren't Good Enough for Adults

Adults need relevant intellectual stimulation.

Thatgamecompany's Jenova Chen works on games that are thoughtful and elegant like Flower [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/9494-Journey-Review]. These are games that many point to as examples that games can be genuinely artistic, even if they won't ever sell as well as Call of Duty. Not that Chen wants to make Call of Duty anyway.

"[Games] are not good enough for adults," Chen said in a Gamasutra interview [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/170557/What_Jenova_Chen_doesnt_like_about_video_games_.php]. For him, it comes down to a matter of real-world relevance. "For adults to enjoy something, they need to have intellectual stimulation, something that's related to real life. Playing poker teaches you how to deceive people, and that's relevant to real life. A headshot with a sniper rifle is not relevant to real life."

This is not the first time that Chen has made these kinds of statements, either. They echo his words PlayStation Blog [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/106867-Flower-Creator-Loves-Action-Games-Questions-Their-Usefulness]. "What does that do for your life? It's not useful."

Chen told Gamasutra that games for adults had to be relevant intellectually. "Can games make you and another human experience an emotion that's deep enough to touch adults?" That was his aim with the ephemeral connections forged in Journey's multiplayer, he said, and that was what he hoped to continue to do, by making "emotional games ... where people can connect and come together."

The full feature interview with Chen is over on Gamasutra [http://gamasutra.com/view/feature/170547/a_personal_journey_jenova_chens_.php], and it's well worth a read - especially if you're like me, and keep picturing him as the villain from Final Fantasy VII.

Source: Gamasutra [http://gamasutra.com/view/feature/170547/a_personal_journey_jenova_chens_.php]

Permalink

 

[Richardplex]

Making someone cry because the game made them kill someone who the game made them fall in love with because the story is a dick isn't relevant to real life either. Sure you made me invested emotionally in the story and the characters, but it doesn't teach me anything. I don't appreciate people more, I don't feel bad for people in real life, and killing people close to me hopefully won't be relevant to life either. I like his conclusion, but I think his reasoning isn't sound.

 

[JdaS]

I can agree with this. Although I wouldn't go to such extremes, for instance, I love fighting games. They're fun, challenging, competitive and something I can enjoy with a friend. I also like games where I can just fuck about for no reason like Prototype or Saint's Row.

I love thatgamecompany's games, but I wouldn't dismiss other games or entire genres as "not good enough" just because they aren't blowing my mind with deep, meaningful messages or intellectual content.

 

[RatRace123]

As an adult I have to say that games are good enough for me.

Granted I like intellectual stimulation from my games on occasion, but it's not like I want every game to be like that. And it's not like certain games we have now are lacking in intellectual stimulation, it seems to me whenever these indie game developers talk about the mainstream AAA games, they're only referring to CoD, as if that's the only AAA game in existence.

There are other games out there besides CoD, and there are other mainstream titles that do deliver intellectual stories. Yes the indie games are great, (Well, the good ones anyway. The ones that can actually function as a game as well as a piece of artistic expression, and not just come off as barely playable pretentious twottle) but it doesn't mean that the whole of mainstream triple A games is a pile of gun/boobs/explosion porn meant solely for neanderthals.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"For adults to enjoy something, they need to have intellectual stimulation, something that's related to real life. Playing poker teaches you how to deceive people, and that's relevant to real life. A headshot with a sniper rifle is not relevant to real life."

I may be taking this way out of context, but that's just wrong.


Real life applications doesn't inherently make something more intellectually stimulating.

 

[The Forlorn]

As an adult, I have to agree with Jenova Chen completely.
Yes, Angry Birds is fun to swype at on my smartphone while waiting for the train. Yeah, Battlefield 1942 kept me shooting at people with bolt action rifles past 2am countless nights.

But as we invest more of ourselves (as a society) into gaming, instead of more traditional means of entertainment and socializing -- games need to grow up.

 

[ItsAChiaotzu]

Having enjoyed Journey quite a bit, I'm kind of disappointed to learn its creator is a pretentious ****.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Man's allowed to talk whatever smack he wants, alongside Austin Wintory, for what they made me feel in Journey. Saints Row the Third and [Prototype 2] might have held some fascination, but as much fun as those titles were, they mean very little to me--especially when held alongside Journey, which holds more emotional and intellectual weight in it's handful of hours than the collective years spent in other games.

But...Just because those games aren't as intellectually stimulating, doesn't mean they aren't fun. Because that's still something I want out of most games. Journey was amazing, but "fun" wouldn't be one of the first adjectives to come to mind. This is by far not a bad thing, because to experience Journey is something altogether different, but it's not the mainstream gaming kind of entertainment.

 

[getoffmycloud]

As an adult I have to say that games are good enough for me.

Granted I like intellectual stimulation from my games on occasion, but it's not like I want every game to be like that. And it's not like certain games we have now are lacking in intellectual stimulation, it seems to me whenever these indie game developers talk about the mainstream AAA games, they're only referring to CoD, as if that's the only AAA game in existence.

There are other games out there besides CoD, and there are other mainstream titles that do deliver intellectual stories. Yes the indie games are great, (Well, the good ones anyway. The ones that can actually function as a game as well as a piece of artistic expression, and not just come off as barely playable pretentious twottle) but it doesn't mean that the whole of mainstream triple A games is a pile of gun/boobs/explosion porn meant solely for neanderthals.

So much this.

Just look at great AAA games that do have a message or a great story and characters, like red dead redemption the mass effect games, dragon age origins, bioshock.

And I do think stuff like COD has its place for adults sometimes it just fun to shoot stuff I personally love myself a bit of zombies but doesn't stop me enjoying more meaningful stuff. Although I will give him credit having read the whole interview he doesn't come off like a massive pretentious prick like most indie devs who say stuff like this.

 

[Mr. Omega]

I do so love it when developers and publishers keep telling consumers what they really want or how we need to enjoy something. Please do go on.

 

[Funcakes]

I feel like he is saying something half intelligent, but it is too embezzled in pretentious to take seriously. His games are great, yes, but he doesn't seem to understand shit about other genres.

 

[A. Smith]

See, here's the thing. We humans are a social bunch. We like bonding with other humans, and multiplayer games allow you to form bonds. Seems to me that would make games worth it to most of us.

Plus, sports and games are a way to express our competitiveness in a safe, consequence-free (or mostly consequence-free) environment.

 

[bafrali]

Is he talking about the games in general or is he generalizing them according to what is popular (ie. CoD etc.)?You need to open your eyes
man.There are good stuff out there.Whether they are considered "mature" enough or not

 

[Gabanuka]

Kind of a douchey comment, though I do feel the urge to play Journey again.

 

[Sixcess]

Personally i like shooting people in the head. It's an experience I'm unlikely to have in real life, and it's, y'know, fun.

Can we just have a rule that game developers shouldn't be able to open their mouths? It always goes wrong.

So much this.

I could make a snide comment about game design being a career path that attracts geeks with no social skills, but that would be mean.

If he really has to try and paint himself as a gaming guru and lecture the rest of us poor proles on what is good enough for us, can't he at least do it in an unthreateningly squeaky voice? It works for Extra Credits.

 

[Lordmarkus]

I feel like he is saying something half intelligent, but it is too embezzled in pretentious to take seriously. His games are great, yes, but he doesn't seem to understand shit about other genres.

Hear, hear!

The sheer pompousness is simply astounding. Guys like Jonathan Blow and Jenova Shen makes one hit artsy game and then they think they can dismiss everything that isn't enough high-culture to meet their standard.

Look, I appreciate that the debate is there, whether games can be more than entertainment etc. but it doesn't help in the slightest if the creators and supposed pioneers of artsy games have their noses lodged in the fucking sky.

Can we just have a rule that game developers shouldn't be able to open their mouths? It always goes wrong.

...And so much this, as well. First the ridiculous business about Cliff Bleszinski and now Jenova Chen is vomiting pretentiousness all over the floor. They sure make good games but it seems that their thoughts is best projected in games or inside their own brilliant minds.

 

[StriderShinryu]

Like many posts already, I'm not sure I totally agree with this.

First, it seems to make the assumption that a game needs to have an artistic bent to be a quality experience that can be enjoyed by a mature mind. That's not the case at all and, in fact, it's often the juxtaposition of content that makes for memorable experiences on both sides of the coin. Would, for example, Saints Row be as entertaining as it is if it didn't have the counterpoint of experiences like Grand Theft Auto 4 or Red Dead Redemption? And is it somehow impossible to enjoy Saints Row just because you are mature? I don't know about you, but I'd guess that the success of a slam bang comic book movie The Avengers isn't just due to children watching it. I'm sure there's quite a number of "mature" butts in those theatre seats too.

Second, it seems to ignore the bigger problem that games face amongst "mature" audiences; that being the belief that videogames are still toys. Far too many people who consider themselves mature still see games as something ranging from Pac-Man to Super Mario Bros with maybe a little Doom on the side. People who actually play games, however, know that isn't the reality of the industry. Games are made to entertain and illuminate those with all sorts of mindsets and interests these days, just as all other forms of entertainment media, and by sneering and saying that games just aren't mature enough all you're doing is confirming those incorrect outside biases.

 

[Beryl77]

I disagree. I'm an adult and many games are good enough for me, even if they don't intellectually stimulate me.