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Gaming Doesn't Need "Schindler's List," it Needs "The Twist"
Come on Baby!
by Coop
For years, film fans have criticized their closest entertainment cousins, video games. Usually, they start pointing fingers at the industry, complaining that video games haven't really truly achieved greatness. They argue that gaming doesn't have any true classics, nothing that can be held up against the likes of Schindler's List or Citizen Kane. Because of this, there are those who think that gaming cannot be propelled into mainstream until it has its own equivalents of these films. However, it would make much more sense to compare games to the music industry than to films. More specifically, the current era of gaming has a lot in common to the early years of rock and roll. Both share a long list of similarities and public misconceptions. If this comparison is made, then it becomes evident that gaming needs something more akin to Chubby Checker's "The Twist" than anything else.
It took a while for rock and roll to be accepted into mainstream. Even after it had achieved popularity, it was still seen as a lesser breed of music, with many considering it to have negative effects on the youth. In fact, most adults thought that it was something that only children enjoyed. This was, obviously, not the case, as more and more people of varying ages found themselves enjoying the likes of Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry. However, it wasn't until Chubby Checker's "The Twist" that the masses found themselves bobbing their heads to the music. It was the simplicity of the dance and the memorableness of the song that helped propel it to number one. That success opened up the public's eyes to this new form of music, making them realize that the genre, in general, was legitimate. In fact, it is commonly believed that without "The Twist," rock and roll may not have gained acceptance in the mainstream. It wasn't because the song was revolutionary or fantastic, rather that it was just accessible, while still retaining the core principles of rock.
Cut to the present day, when video games still struggle with problems similar to those of of early rock. Parents think games harm children, churches consider them blasphemous, and many adults write them off as child's play. In 2006, Nintendo released the Wii, which included a copy of Wii Sports. Instantly, gaming was accessible, and finally, the masses found themselves playing video games. People who never expected to play a game were instantly involved, and the system ended up selling so well that it was impossible to keep it on shelves for several years. However, Wii Sports is not gaming's "The Twist" because it doesn't retain the core principles of gaming. It had people doing something new, but not sitting down and gaming. "The Twist" wasn't a stripped down rock song, it had people dancing, which was a hallmark of rock music. Gaming's version of dancing is sitting down for long periods of time and playing video games. Real games with stories and gameplay beyond basic waggle. There's nothing wrong with Wii Sports, it's a fantastic game, but it's more like a board game than a video game. It didn't bring people in to gaming, it brought people in to Wii Sports. The same can be said about Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Yes, they're technically games, but they're so far removed from Halo, Mario, and Final Fantasy that it's almost an entirely different classification.
Developers strive to create greatness every day. They're passionately working around the clock to create the Citizen Kane of gaming, and there's no problem with that. Not everyone needs to try and make something accessible. However, the gaming industry has to accept that it isn't going to take a very good game to turn the masses on to the industry. There already are very good games, and that's not what people who don't play games want. If they are to become "mainstream," they need something that's easy to play and approachable without throwing the traditions of gaming to the wind. Then, and only then, will gaming become "mainstream." Then again, is that even something we want?
Comments
I don't necessarily agree with this. In general, I think we need to stop trying to compare the video game industry to other forms of media. It's hard to predict the one thing that will make gaming either more mainstream, or taken more seriously, and trying to compare it to one thing in the history of either the music or movie industry is kind of pointless. We don't need a Citizen Kane or "The Twist"; we don't know what we need yet, but it probably is just more time. Also, just because Wii Sports and other popular "casual" Wii games don't make you play them the way games have been played for decades doesn't make them not games. Developers should be encouraged to try different things, and though Wii Sports was basically just a tech demo, it was also the beginning of bringing gaming to the masses.
With Modern Warfare 2 being the most successful entertainment launch of all time, combined with the lifetime sales of the Wii, DS, and DSi, coupled with countless other sales statistics, isn't it fair to say that gaming is already mainstream. I think the issue here is that defining "mainstream acceptance" as "a lot of people playing the games I like" is very limiting. Even when "The Twist" was the number one pop song, people still listened to classical, country, opera, and countless other types of music.
The fact is: gaming has already arrived as a legitimate mainstream entertainment form.
yeah, i think that anytime you have a single game that sells upwards of ten millions copies, or thereabouts, you don't need to compare the genre to another milieu anymore. gaming is gaming, plain and simple. all we need is more good games.
I don't think this is a valid argument. Video Games already had The Twist. Who hasn't played Super Mario. People who were born after it's release, know what it is and have played it. Everyone has done The Twist even if they were born after it. Shit even James Franco did it. Video Games are mainstream.
If video games want to be recognized as an art form, they need to have something that everyone considers a piece of art. Mass appeal isn't enough. They have that. Video Games need to separate themselves from film because they will always be a pale imitation of it. I consider some games to be art. But I'm one man. They are on the right path. but they won't get there by making games that are full of cinematics. They are a legitimate entertainment form, can they become an art form?
Maybe they should have Video Game Oscars. A set of industry people who form some sort of academy and decide what has the potential to become legendary. Every website in the world giving out "Game Of The Year" every week to every new game doesn't help.
@Nick: True, but it's going to be much harder to have something that everyone will agree on. Entertainment has changed, and producing quality isn't enough. Gaming has its BioShocks, Metroids, and Portals. It has plenty of amazing games that have gone completely ignored by mainstream media. Granted, as others have pointed out, it doesn't "need" anything. Selling a billion dollars worth of one game is enough. However, for it to be considered "art" by those who have strangely strict definitions of art, it needs something different, not better.
@Coop. Right. They need to do something big. Films can be socially relevant and have social impact. I think games might need that to be taken "seriously." Photography was taken seriously through like war journalism and even in like The Dust Bowl. Films had an impact through news reels and even through propaganda films. Maybe that's when people took those mediums seriously. Maybe video games need to do something like that.
@Nick: True, but I'm not sure that it would help. Photography is so much different, and it's hard to find something to compare gaming to. The reason I think it's more akin to music is because of the way people treat it, which, for me, reminds me of 1950's rock.
You know what I think?
http://tinyurl.com/2pbhvr
Coop, don't you ever again write an article using a popular dance craze as a metaphor without including an animated gif of you performing it.