The games recently have been very dark, modern, gritty, and cold. I know other people have noticed. To me, the creative license in games seems to have been left in favor of a "guarantee" of semi-success with a game to please the masses. No more.There are no guarantees in life anyway, so why try? Just do what you're gonna do. In the movie industry, and the book world as well, the creators make the books and movies that THEY want to make. Of course they consider profit. Of course the financial side is important. I'm no utopian. I know the restrictions of real society. But the developers of these video gamers MUST stand up for what THEY want to do. I always have and always will look on games as the same as movies and books. They are given a blank canvas to paint their most immersive, beautiful, creative, and fun worlds on, so they should take advantage of it! To hell with what other people think! It's a lesson in 7th grade English persuasive writing that you have to be a hundred and ten percent behind your work, or else the audience is just as bored as you. It could be the most popular atmosphere in games today and still make a horrible game. It could be the least popular atmosphere or genre and be far more captivating, but you know what, hell with the if's.
One thing is fact: When you go and thrust yourself and your passion into what you do,your friends, opponents, and audience admire you. It's far more noble and likeable to be a "minor success" or someone who "doesn't make it with the critics" than it is to lose your connection with the users. Face it gamers, there is an emotional connection in great games, however few these games may be, that is just like the movies and books, if not better. That's why I play. I play for the fun and the sort of interactive cinema that games always want to be. KOTOR accomplished this, Jedi Knight 2 did as well, and classics like these are still loved and played for a reason. It's your life, developers,
and it's a shame to end up as just another lemming for the majority of gamers who say they want this, not that. Fine. Be it what it may. But what they say and what they want are 2 different things. They will support whatever you pursue, if it's what you pursue with all your heart. You want that passion that comes from doing what you love; the purpose, the happiness, and the feeling of accomplishment of bursting onto the stage with your ideas and making it.
And if you aren't successful, then there's always next time. Pick yourself up by your bootstraps and cling onto your motivation and ideas! Some artists bloom later than others, and some may be destined to be one-hit wonders. If you don't quite sell enough successful games, your chutzpah and determination to show the world who you are and what you plan to do will get big and important companies interested in you. Don't get me wrong, I know that life isn't always easy to put up with, all the little details. In fact, my attitude suffered a lot, eventhough not with any disorder, due to my pessimism and self-consciousness. Think of actors. Think of great speakers. They would not have been able to do what they did without confidence. An actor who is so self-conscious and self-absorbed that they freeze up and show their nervousness rather than talent end up as nothings, because all mediocre actors have learned that one must put their best foot forward when on stage, or else the audience will not get into it. First, picture a person simply reciting lines quietly while hunched over, shy, and fiddling with themselves. Then picture the same lines read by someone who comes on with a strong voice, good posture, confidence, and good projection, carrying his thoughts to the back of the room, to ol' Gramma Sue in the backrow with her hearing aid in. Compare those two, aqnd which is the better option? This also proves that even though sometimes it may seem like games regurgitate ideas from others in the industry and movies or books, if they do it with enthusiasm, it shows in a high-quality work that will stand the test of time. Nothing is completely original, especialy now that gaming is pretty much pioneered. So what? You develope your own, unmistakeable flavor when you put your soul into any art, including video games. That's a form of originality that will never go away. Above all, make your OWN game. And make it fun for you, and others will show similar tastes eventually. Just keep pushing on. If they ask you why you keep going, tell them you will not back down to peer pressure. If they ask you how you manage to keep going, tell them you learn from failures. In fact, you learn more from failures than success. Like grades, and like life, adversity is inescapable. Straight A's can't be maintained forever, but it doesn't matter, because if a C is your best, there is nothing more that can be asked of you. If life goes into a downward spiral for a short while, you don't give up. You keep going and it ALWAYS gets better. As important as compromise is, don't let them take your identity away from you.
Developers, it's time to gather up that much-needed courage for the road ahead.
Of course, feel free to comment and give me your thoughts on the topic. I'd love to know what you think.
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