Editor's note: Elizabeth takes issue with what Quantic Dream's David Cage has to say about games-as-interactive-art vs. games-as-toys-for-kids. -Demian
A couple weeks ago, I was taking the bus from New York to Philadelphia, reading the May issue of GamePro. Despite the fact that I’m still in the middle (I think?) of Heavy Rain, I decided to read the magazine’s interview with David Cage, the game’s creator.
It was a really interesting interview, especially as someone who cares about the direction the video game industry is going, and I was struck by this quote (my emphasis):
"My goal is for Heavy Rain to leave an imprint in you and change a little bit of who you are and how you see things. Maybe the key characters and key moments will leave a trace in you. If you don’t have this ambition as a video-game creator, then maybe you should do something else, because this is what creation and art is about. If you don’t do art with interactivity, then you better make toys."
And also this one, continuing on the same theme:
"I think the industry is at a turning point where it should decide if we want to be toys for kids forever, or to allow some creators to express something deeper than just smashing zombies or killing monsters…I see Heavy Rain as year one of this new era where games should be more than toys."
“Yes,” I thought, for I am a longtime fan of serious, mature games. “I totally agree!” And then I put the magazine down to play some Bejeweled 2 on my iPhone.
A few minutes later, I became aware of the irony of the situation. Bejeweled, as you probably know, is the epitome of what many call the “casual game.” Of course, as someone recently said or wrote (I forget who), any game becomes hardcore if you play it enough, but I think it’s safe to say that Bejeweled fits into the category of so-called toy games that David Cage mentioned in the interview.
As I mindlessly matched colored gems, I got to thinking. And I realized this: There are two major problems with David Cage’s statements as quoted above.
1. Heavy Rain is so not the first game that is “more than [a toy].”
I’ve been playing video games seriously for ten years or so, which isn’t that long in the grand scheme of things. But I’ve made it a priority to play as wide a range of games as possible in order to learn as much as I can about the industry and its history. My favorite games range from the frivolous (Guitar Hero 2) to the somber (Suikoden, parts of the Metal Gear Solid games, Final Fantasy 8, Hotel Dusk) to the over-the-top absurd (Katamari Damacy, other parts of the Metal Gear Solid games, Typing of the Dead).
I’ve played text adventures that scrutinize the meaning of life (Galatea) and games where the story is barely relevant, if at all (Puzzle Quest, all Mario games, games that mix the lighthearted with the heartrending, Super Metroid, the Chrono games) and games that defy categorization (Earthbound). Need I continue?
Pretty much the only thing all the video games above have in common is that they came out before Heavy Rain.
Games have been pushing the envelope for years — be it in terms of storytelling, graphics, or the ever-nebulous “gameplay.” Forget the question of whether or not games are art; ever since the birth of the medium, games have been adapting to incorporate an ever-expanding variety of, well, games.
And yes, many of these fit easily into the category of “toy,” and even, in Cage’s words, “toys for kids.” But, regardless of what some mainstream media outlets, obnoxious politicians, and other generally not-in-the-know people would have you believe, the majority of gamers are adults, and the majority of games are aimed at adults.
When prominent designers like Cage imply that video games are mostly created for kids, he just hurts the image of games that non-gamers have, and puts himself squarely in the camp with everyone who doesn’t understand the nuances of the industry.
The result of this? I’m sorry, David Cage, and I do like Heavy Rain a great deal, but you’re not the first one to think of making games that are “more than toys.” And, more importantly, you're not the first one to do it.
2. There is no reason why, if game developers want to make them and gamers want to play them, there shouldn’t be “toy” games as well as “serious” games.
This is actually my bigger problem with the Cage interview that is clearly really getting on my nerves.
As I said above, I do like Heavy Rain. I like it a lot, actually–I enjoy the moral tension of my decisions in the game, and the feeling that my actions really do affect the lives of the characters. I’m a big fan of the mature storyline. To be fair, the controls can be a little crazy-making and very much like a several-hour-long QTE, but that's beside the point.
I like Heavy Rain’s serious, gritty approach to in-game storytelling, but that doesn’t mean that I like it more than the way that other games do it. The two are simply different. Should the Katamari series start allowing the player to decide to cut off one of the Prince’s fingers or shoot the King of All Cosmos? Um… obviously, no. And should game designers stop designing games that aren’t going to give their players options like that? Again, obviously, no.
I’m not saying that David Cage is calling for an end to fun (purely fun, that is) games–even though his quote could totally be interpreted that way, I’m going to choose to give him the benefit of the doubt here and assume that isn’t what he meant.
But come on! There’s nothing wrong with games that don’t take themselves all that seriously. It’s far more important for game designers to do a great job at what they want to do than to try–and possibly, even likely, fail–to make every single game about serious moral choices and societal problems.
It’s great that David Cage and the others who worked on Heavy Rain are making strides in their niche of the video game medium, and even better that they’re so passionate about it. But just because they believe strongly in what they’re doing, that doesn’t mean they should rain scorn on the game designers who are moving in a different, albeit just as valuable, direction–and, by proxy, the gamers who play those games.
This post originally appeared in a slightly altered form on my blog, http://amour-fou.net.