Despite what my title says, I actually do believe video games have gained an artistic edge which puts them on par with cinema and TV. Honestly, just stick with me. I have proof and everything.
Years ago, in an age before Amy Childs and Geordie Shore, video games were reserved for people in pubs lining up to have a go at eating chasing ghosts, or battling evil aliens invading from space, and not a lot else. Then games got a bit better, and involved a lot of jumping like this. And if you were cool and liked small, blue, woodland creatures #winning then like THIS. Slightly better plots, but not much better. With these types of games coming out they inevitably gained a different audience, specifically male kids and teenagers. Developers seemed to grasp on to this knowledge and started to continue to not offer much in the sense of story telling, and started to exclusively cater to teen boys who wanted brain-candy. Specifically, violent brain candy. We got Mortal Kombat, Streets of Rage, Killer Instinct and Doom just to name a few in this genre. All very nasty and all bloody good fun, but didn't exactly have a story to tell. However, in 1997 the grand-daddy of all violent and totally catered-for-teens games was released. Rockstars infamous Grand Theft Auto. It had cars, guns, violence and money. A lot of very mindless fun, but not a lot else. I honestly couldn't tell you the plot because I don't think it really had one, but teens loved it. Unsurprisingly it attracted a wealth of controversy. Newsnight berated it, The Daily Mail condemned it as more evil than New Labour, and parents were outraged by it. Yet it still sold bucketloads. It was with this that the general, non-video game playing public decided to dismiss games as for teenagers who stay in too much and maturbate too often. And for years, video games were perceived as that. Video games had grown up by dumbing down, lost in a world of shooting stuff because you could.
But now I believe that's changed...
Don't get me wrong, there are a TON of video games out right now which are dumb, go bang bang and involve lots of violence, many of which I enjoy. But what I mean by change is in the quality of writing. Games now try to tell a story, albeit usually with violence, but an intelligent story at that. Take for example Grand Theft Auto circa 1997 and GTA IV from 2008. Both at the crux, involve you playing as an anti-hero rising up through the criminal world, committing acts of violence and serious crime to make it to the top. However, the difference in story between the two is gargantuan. GTA '97 was a game that at its crux was 'bang bang shooty whir whir' with sod all in the sense of a script. GTA IV however told a black-as-night satirical tale on the crime genre of an immigrant trying to snatch the American dream. GTA IV was well written. It actually made you want to watch the cut-scenes because they were not only funny as hell, but genuinely had you captivated, because unlike this blog they were WELL-WRITTEN. Obviously, some people just bought it because, *adopts thick, chavvy accent* 'You shag prozzies and you've got a gun and shit mate' missing the point entirely. But they're probably still in their bedroom's nursing a chronic masturbation problem.
Scripts in games have improved a million-fold since the dunderhead PS1 years. Rockstar's other titles Red Dead Redemption and L.A Noire have proved this. Red Dead redemption told the tale of an old outlaw who is blackmailed by the US government into hunting down and killing his old gang buddies, or they'll take away his family. The game makes you give a shit about lead character John Marston because he says and does things that you would expect a man would do in his predicament. The way he develops over the course of the game's 20 or so hours, is natural and real. The ending SPOILER ALERT of you facing off against the US Marshalls, who after giving you back your family, screw you over by coming to kill you is so damn heart-breaking, you can't help but well up. As you stand there, 1 vs 50 with just six bullets and are told to fight, giving you that glimmer of hope that you can get out of this, just to have it dashed as you are killed in a hail of bullets is writing that is equally on par with something on the big screen or TV. I honestly believe HBO could make a series out of the Red Dead Redemption source material.
Red Dead Redemption isn't the only one. The aforementioned L.A Noire tells the tale of a hardened WWII veteran Cole Phelps who becomes one of LAPD's finest in the 1940's. The way the game highlights his over-bookishness as a counter-balance to his torment over his conduct during the war is inspired. And again, something which could easily be translated to a film script. Furthermore, like most good films, the game made you think. You need wits in this game, the ability to figure things out, to think like a real detective. Brain Candy this ain't, but it's all the better for it.
Now all those detractors that say "But what about all those other dumb games?! The bang bang ones? They can't be as smart as TV or film!" I say this, have you ever watched the BAFTA award-winning (yes, for real) 'The Only Way Is Essex'? Has that ever intellectually nourished you? No, because it's not meant to. Just like Mortal Kombat isn't meant to improve your life. It's meant to distract you for half an hour while you forget about the evils of taxes, that 7am start tomorrow and Justin Bieber. There's certain TV and films that are just their to entertain and nothing more, as there are films which make you think and are clever and genuinely world changing. Just like there are smart as hell games...
...and ones that go bang bang shouty car whir whir.
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