Last night I went and saw "little shop of horrors" at the theatre. For those of you unfamiliar with the classics it is a about a giant Venus fly trap which eats people and grows bigger and bigger. As I was watching I thought of how metaphoric this giant plant is to gaming. Gaming used to be that small little past time. It needed nurturing and love, and its future was uncertain. Little by little it has grown into this giant out of control medium. It is no longer a geek paradise it is huge, it has its roots in everything, and its growth looks like it has no end.

I do not view this as a good thing. Small companies are getting gobbled up, mergers, absorption, and bankruptcies are everywhere. Yet the industry plows forward. No one is stopping to look at what the affects of this boom are going to be, no one is taking the time to see why companies are failing. Everything is booming ahead without a care in the world. We have these "target audiences" and "average gamer" stereotypes floating all around. Are we really just a mindless bunch of sexually charged, explosion seeking, blood lusting, 20 year olds. Because that is what the game biz thinks we are. They give us porn stars at awards shows, flashy lights at out expos, and gore galore with our graphics cards. The M rating shouldn’t be "mature" it should be "adolescent" because that’s what they seem to think we are. If nothing is done this corrupt industry is just going to keep getting bigger and more out of control. If things continue in this manner gaming will fail in my opinion. Sure a few huge companies will make billions, and every person will have a game console in their home, but it will be no different than TV, or movies, or books. In fact it will be less. It will be 10 times more addictive with 10 times less intellect involved.

What do I want out of games? I want art, I want beauty, and I want to come out of it feeling a sense of real accomplishment. I want to learn something new, and to be challenged, not on reflexes but on intelligence and problem solving. No I don’t want Myst or Riven; I want to see an fps or action game with these characteristics. Is this too much to ask? Maybe. Maybe gaming has past the stage where we can stop this uncontrolled growth of mainstream mindlessness. I sure hope not though. For there have been a few instances of light in the tunnel. Games like Prince of Persia and Beyond Good and Evil both broke the mold and accomplished something truly great. Yet neither of them sold well. BG&E will have no sequel, and PoP is being completely reshaped into a "dark" game.

Unless we can step up and try to make a stand for truly great gaming, it looks like it shall become just another drug of the masses.

-Nap

Well this is my first journal so i will simply start out with a little about myself. I am 17 and live in nashville, TN. Although gaming is my forte i am also very interested in music and movies. I saw hero the other day, it was excellent, if you havnt seen it i fullheartedly recommend it. It is the most artistic and cinematically beautifull movie i have seen in a very long time. I am currently listening to the Josh Joplin Group, a very talented band which hails from atlanta, check em out, you wont be dissapointed.

This will be my only journal entry with no real purpose. In the future i will try and outline some themes in both gaming and mass media in general, in which to discuss. Especialy in gaming i am becoming increasingly worried about the future. But alas this is an issue which I will discuss at a later time. I will also try and talk about politics since it is in many ways the most important issue at this current time.

So sit back and relax, I will try and get out at least one new journal enty each week, maybe even more if i get bored and have nothing better to do.

In the words of modest mouse, " Well we'll float on good news is on the way"

-Nap