Onyx Oblivion said:
*high five*
???
Anyway, a lot of people on this site look down on games like this and Bayonetta. Saying they are "bad for the industry" or some shit.
Fine for the industry, if they sell that is, but not very descent for our public image and getting out the scapegoat situation we're in now.
It took about about 4 decades for cinematography to get it's Citizen Kane (though that movie bored the shit out of me) and really 'get going' as a medium. Lots of enthusiasts of the videogame medium, who see so many potential in it's unique qualities, think that it's about time we too 'rise above ourselves' so to speak and get the recognition cinematography and literature have been enjoying for respectively decades and even centuries.
Some of them say games like Bayonetta are just holding us back, reïnforcing the image and idea that videogames are just for pubescent boys and their juvenile fantasies, or mere children's toys. And honestly I can get that frustration, developers and enthusiasts that are proud of their work, long for acceptation (which is pretty much a basic human need, so need to look down upon that) so that they can spread their work, inspire others and unlock the fullest potential of their much-loved medium.
And what happens then? More incidents blamed on them dirteh violent games, more frowning looks at jiggling pixel-boobies. And all those developers do is fumble with their thumbs and turn red, because heej that is what is produced a lot and that is what sells pretty well. It's one of the things that pretty much killed Six Days In Falluja, which is a real loss for the industry if you ask me.
But what may even be more frustrating are these two things;
- Other media depicting the things games are looked down upon for in an even more gratuitous way (which is quite easy, seeing as it's still real people) are getting praise and tons of awards. Think The Sopranos, Kill Bill, the likes.
- Movies too have their equivalent of Bayonetta, think movies like Desperado, Machete, the likes. Not only does 'higher' (by lack of a better word, do note that I don't look down upon those movies, great fan myself) cinematography not suffer from it like gaming as a whole does, they sometimes get a lot of praise themselves!
With those things going on you can't really blame enthusiasts who want to expand the medium of videogames for their frustrations. Is that an excuse to just shun the other 'pure fun' side of gaming? Hell no, as we can cleary see it works perfectly fine in movie-land. I think people who are mostly fans of the 'pure fun' side get frustrated about that, and rightfully so, and you can see a certain amount of distrust and latent hostility growing between both sides.
Now, as a fan of both sides I get both both group's frustration. Both legitimate but when played against each other they only worsen the situation. We both represent the same industry, are both capable of producing great work and should both work together for a solution to this very real problem for our much-loved medium.
Pfew, I don't think I've ever put this much thought in a single post.
