Email: People and New Worlds

Hi, I think I’ve discovered something interesting about video game worlds and why entertainment in general is failing to entertain people.

First of all, I’ve noticed that all forms of linear storytelling are worth roughly the same amount of money (I live in the UK, so I’m not sure I could quote the exact American figures, but I hope the point is sufficient). A DVD for an expensive blockbuster film doesn’t cost much more than a book, and the people I’ve talked to are incredibly reluctant to pay more for them. But video games are something different. People have always been willing to pay three times more money for a video game than they would for a film or book, regardless of the development costs or the technical capabilities of the console.

So this got me thinking. What unique feature is it that video games have that make them more valuable than films and books? The simplest answer is that every playthrough has different results, and the ability to challenge one’s own performance or the performance of others is especially rewarding. This is a fair enough explanation, as it covers everything from Tetris to Super Mario Bros. to non-videogame activities like sports or board games, but I think there’s something else to it.

Here’s what I think the key difference is. In linear storytelling, the world revolves around a central character, like Hogwarts revolves around Harry Potter. There is a degree of separation between the reader and the world, as everything has to be interpreted through the main character and his decisions. But in video games, the world revolves directly around the player and his/her decisions, so that separation between the player and world disappears. This makes video games more immediately enjoyable, and is what gives them replay value. I’ve completed New Super Mario Bros. Wii at least three times this past year, but I can’t watch a film or read a book three times in that same period.

Ultimately, new worlds (or new situations) are what audiences value most in entertainment fiction. Unless a character serves to create or demonstrate a new situation, the character just gets in the way. This is why writers have the famous “Show, don’t tell” rule. Every time a secondary character tries to relate their world or situation to the main character, it creates another layer of separation between the reader and the world. The act of reading becomes more tiresome. As such, characters are at their best when they are simply part of the main character’s world.

If ever someone expresses their love for a character, ask them if they would like to see the character’s life story in detail. Chances are they don’t care about the character’s life story, and that’s because they don’t really care that much about the character. They care about the situation that revolves around the character.

So if you look at stories from the perspective that new (and exciting) worlds and situations are most important, it becomes incredibly apparent why entertainment is stagnating in the 21^st Century. Book writers are obsessed with characters and life experiences, so they fail constantly to provide new worlds.  Film writers have resorted to adapting old works of fiction, as well as old film genres, so they are failing to provide new worlds. Video game developers are imitating the film industry, so their worlds fail to innovate and excite audiences.

If video games are to ever get back on their feet, we need new worlds. Thanks for reading.

The slogan of Origin was “We create worlds…” They made worlds like Ultima and Wing Commander and did things like include cloth maps and blueprints for space ships.

Super Mario Brothers was all about the Mushroom World. In an interview about making Super Mario Brothers 3, Miyamoto described it as ‘exploring the Mushroom World more’.

Legend of Zelda was all about Hyrule. Metroid was about planet Zebes. Final Fantasy was about its own unique worlds.

Now, no one is interested in making worlds anymore. They just make ‘stories’. Miyamoto says it has been five years since he made Pikmin and that he needs to make a ‘new character’. Perhaps he should forget the ‘new character’ and just make a new world. What new worlds have Nintendo made? With the exception of Starfox, none since the NES days (25 years ago). Nintendo can say Wii Sports and Wii Fit are ‘new IPs’, but they are not new worlds.

This concept of ‘creating worlds’ is what I have always referred to as ‘content’. There is a content crisis going on in gaming. It is like no one has the talent to create quality content anymore. And when an exception occurs (like vanilla World of Warcraft when it was released with its vast, interesting world), a massive entertainment phenomenon occurs. And with a game like Minecraft, its stunning power is the vast world the game is. I cannot tell whether the appeal of Minecraft’s randomized world is due to Notch’s skill or due to how poor other games’ worlds are. Perhaps both.