Leigh Alexander said:
but the real victory for mature gaming that Catherine achieved is how it reflects the unspoken anxieties, the broad social questions and truths, of the world in which we live.
Some interesting ideas in this article. As I do not routinely comment on the Escapist, there are a few ideas presented here that I think merit, at least, some debate.
Ms. Alexander points out that the two (primary) pathways of psychological titillation are through the use of sexuality, and death. As a truth (while we are on the subject), sex and death are both some of the easiest accesses to human responses due to the base nature of the experiences. Both the ease of implementation and the large audience these methods address is explanation enough as to why they are seen as much as they are (in electronic entertainment). However, I am not sure that a case for sexuality is being made by referencing Japanese games, especially the eroge games, as a projection of western society and the paradigm shifts towards a singles lifestyle. I am simply at a loss as to how to bring something like "Itazura Gokuaku" into the discourse and maintain a straight face, or ask a Japanese woman what her thoughts are on the subject matter every time she boards the A-Train to Shinjuku.
The movie references do share some similarities to the themes in Catherine, but I will address those in conclusion.
On Catherine, it certainly borrowed from the steam of the Persona series, and this is quite intentional. Shin Megami Tensei has had most of its market success (especially in the west) with the Persona spin off and derivatives, so why not attempt to associate a new IP with the series? In the context of the Persona series, the fourth game is certainly more sexually charged than it's predecessor. At least one sexual relationship is implied between the protagonist and a secondary social link, further more, one of the party members is dealing with his own sexual conflicts. In this sense it would be quite debatable that the Persona 4 game is, in fact, more socially aware of its own dealing with complex sexual issues in the medium of electronic entertainment. Just as Persona 3 deals almost exclusively with a gnosis and messianic construct that is very familiar in Japanese electronic RPG's. Beyond the obvious sexual nature of Catherine (on the outset), there is no linking ties to the content, aside from the anime style art direction and music composition.
Catherine debatably lacks the depth of character that the Persona series brings to the table. What is there in Catherine then? A man who is pulled one way or the other by dominate females in his life? Seemingly trapped by a conundrum of his illusionary freedom "do what I want with whom I want", or "face up to the responsibilities of life as parent". A sense of psychological "magical thinking" that relates his experiences to some vague concept that those experiences will and are shaping reality. Truly, nonsense. A nonsense, nevertheless, that many people have and continue to have today (especially in the west). It is socially relevant, but I doubt that "it" is, or the "audience" is, even aware of that relevance or grim conclusions.
Invariably I found no sexual exploration in Catherine other than as the lead in, the initial titillation to dupe the player into a very simplistic three-way of immaturity, fear, and social reflexivity on the narrative side, and a puzzle game of dubious merit on the interactive side. Hardly anything more than the monetization of mediocrity. So what is Catherine then, other than a Japanese spin of the "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"?
The sad part is that it is games such as Catherine, and to an extent the eroge games of Japan, that demonstrate the video games limitations when exploring anything that is complex in the way of social interactivity. The west has had some titles that are exceptions to this rule, but those are easily explained by the influences from which they borrow. If there is a market for this medium (and there certainly is), it is in the fact that many of those who interact and consume this medium are as shallow and short sighted as those who produced it.
It has appeared to me as a trend of society, and that is interesting in many ways. I would have a hard time stating that what this is, is a general crumbled society and weak social values that are driving weak social value medium, or weak social value medium that continues to drive a society seeking a panacea to justify the fact that it is failed and weak on the personal level.
Is Catherine making a social statement? Sure, but that is just it, I am not convinced that it is "aware" of the statement that it is making. A pregnant woman faced with the reality that the man she has a relationship with may not be the man she "envisioned" he was, thus a control issue from beginning to end. Did she know him on any real level, or just his personification presented to her, or her imagination of him presented to herself? A socially reflexive woman who thrives on the opinions and reactions of others... nothing new here. Could be this guy or a dozen of others, totally irrelevant. A man who is driven around like a pig with a ring his nose by every breeze that happens his way. It is Scott Pilgrim, the every man, or teenager rather.
It's not complex issues of sex, its fear, all the way around. It is common but the appeal is one of seemingly insidious if not subconscious use of the availability heuristic. As the previous paragraph asked, is it society demanding more examples of nonsense to self justify itself, or is it media trending towards the data of the crumbling society and fueling the feel good of dubious choices made good?
The American movie line up mentioned all seem to play to these questionable and dubious themes. I could simply reference an episode of ABC's "secret life of the American teenager" and ask the questions, "where is the outrage, where is the backlash?" That perhaps is the point. Catherine explores some of the most negative aspects of the dualistic nature of people, especially women, and the most pathetic nature of man. Much like many of these movies portray and to that end, the television show demonstrates.
The question again, "Where is the outrage where is the backlash"? Where is the meaningful debate or conversation? I do not think there is one to be had really.
I suppose to sum up, is to ask the question, how is digital medium to "best" works such as "Autobiography of a flea" or the works of Marquis de Sod? When it comes to exploring the darker natures of human sexuality? Is the only question concerning sexuality in the digital mediums to be the farce of Electronic Arts self debasing it's own properties such as Mass Effect 2, to start a meaningless conflict?
Why is it that modern digital works are noted for being the heralds of the paradigm shift in western society, when many who would praise these works have no real experience in or with long term relationships or matters of responsibility? How could this be anything more than an a priori, which is nothing more than imagination land and assumptions. This is not a statement of attack, rather a question of competence.
How is there to be an objective weighing of the medium, when those doing the creating and the weighing, truly, do not know the difference.
Perhaps my own difficulty with this lies not with the subject matter, certainly as a contributing member of Hong Fire, I am well aware of this material. As a father and married man of 12 years I am no stranger to long term relationships. What troubles me is that this notion of what is social expected and frowned upon is used a "truthiness" of things, when in a more objective reality, they have no bearing on reality at all.
Has "truth" of the world in which we live been explored?
I think yes, but not through the content of the medium, rather that the medium exist at all and is praised as a triumph of "something" is far more telling of the situation in which we find ourselves in the western society today. I suppose it is to say that I am in as much of an agreement with this as perhaps I am of Dawkins and his Selfish gene... merely a zeitgest of the age, not really true, as far as truths go. That is to say, I find the thing debatable.