Philosophy and Video Games.

With the ever increasing advancement in techonology, and the ever changing world which we live in, it appears as if videogames are becoming ever more philosophical. Characters are becoming realer, more solid and well rounded in their personality, but what we have also seen is a further emphasize on those character's convictions and how deeply they are able to convey them.

It doesn't end with the characters, the very situations you, (The Player) are placed in, and the very worlds which are being concoctedaccentuate inner and outter meanings of greater depth. We are not seeing a blur of realities, but merely a far greater grandiose construction of solid colors, the variety of which are expanding.

We are now seeing more results in the actions we choose to commit in our games, and they continue to change the world which the player has been placed in. A player must now think deeper then ever before he acts because the fruition of his actions could spread to various different events instead of a simple linear path.

How do you feel about the increase of Philosophical substance within not only the stories of our games but the very meanings the existence of said game is trying to represent?

Do you feel we are ascending towards greater venues of deeper meaing or do you think that we are descending towards a madness of greed and monotony?

Bonus Riddle: A clock can never reach me, people fear to wear me, yet many are surprised when they see me, what am I?

Note: I will respond to the one who gets it right.

Bonus Riddle: A clock can never reach me, people fear to wear me, yet many are surprised when they see me, what am I?

Chronicles-Lore

Boy, talk about a loaded question lol!

As far as the psychological and philosophical ramifications of videogames on the player, I can only think-- isn't it a writer's job to illicit emotional responses in those who enjoy their media of choice? If they're doing their job right, that is. Thanks to the upgraded hardware of today, we also get to enjoy the benefits of facial expression, body language and fantastic voice acting which (in my opinion) doesn't make the message much more personal, but it enables us to use more of our innate ability to read social situations.

That said, not all games can do that, only the really great ones. Take FF IV's opera scene for instance, that chokes me up every time I see it and the graphics were little more than blocks of color. ;)
I guess for me, being a natural cynic, I would say that the quest for "deeper meaning" doesn't begin with a single video game. It depends upon all sorts of social influences and the emotional state of whoever is asking the question.

Bonus = The End? Either that or wearing white after labor day...

Gaming is one avenue where such questions of moral ambiguity can really be put to people, and it's good to see some developers starting to use this medium to it's potential in this way. It will only get better!!

I bet no one would have predicted that Ayn Rand and her philosphy of objectivism would wind up being central to one of the most popular games of this generation, but it happened, and I loved it. I think the more outside artistic and literary influences that come in to gaming, the better. I want games that are smart or at least imaginative whenever possible.

Well games sure have changed since the 8-bit, 16-bit, and eras :P. Alot more freedom and thinking to be done in todays games then back then

Bonus Riddle: A clock can never reach me, people fear to wear me, yet many are surprised when they see me, what am I?

Chronicles-Lore