More of My Video Game Journalism

Here is another article and a multimedia piece, too:

"Editing & Writing the News" Final Class Project:

The GameStop on Church Street became a video game Mecca Saturday night as dedicated video game fans waited to get their hands on the newest Nintendo piece – Super Smash Bros. Brawl. As they waited, the anxious gamers competed against one another in a Smash Bros. tournament that quickly became a spectacle of its own.

Over 50 people huddled around a single TV screen and Wii console to battle it out, laughing and cheering for the gamers they wanted to win. Once midnight rolled around, though, the competition froze and the fans lined up outside to pick up their pre-ordered bits of heaven.

The anticipation and fanaticism of the loyal fans at GameStop was a testimony to the remarkable growth of the video game industry in the past year.

2007, in particular, was the best-selling year ever for video games – the industry overall experienced a 43% increase from 2006's sales to generate $18 billion in total revenue.

The statistics, published by retail information group NPD, mark an interesting new place in the world for video games; now, more than ever before, games are branching out to a larger audience and striving to be looked upon with greater respect from consumers.

Stephen Johnson, Lead Editor of video game network G4TV's website, says there’s a good reason for the sales jump: "The year that just passed was sort of a landmark year for video games. Because there were three very, very strong consoles out, and all three of them have a selection of really great games that are on a technologically higher level than anything that has previously come out, it has caused consumers to buy a lot of video games."

And the statistics prove it. Game consoles jumped 73% from 2006, generating $5.12 billion. Software, in a similar manner, managed to rake in $9.5 billion, a 28% increase over 2006.
Amanda NeMoyer, A Medill sophomore who said she doesn't play games frequently, said that developers "have started to make games that appeal to more people like Guitar Hero and Rock Band that more people who wouldn't consider themselves very into video games can find fun."

Reilly Brennan, Vice President of Media Relations for game publisher Midway, took that one step further and applied it to the developers’ responsibilities: “It's up to us to make these games accessible not just to people who are into this stuff and want the hardcore experience, but also new players - we kind of make it accessible to everybody.”

Which is something that the gaming industry has yet to fully accomplish. According to the Entertainment Software Association’s latest research, adult gamers have already been playing video games for an average of twelve years. Most gamers, then, have been playing for a long time, and newcomers to the video game medium are hard to come by.

Scott Olstad, a Medill Sophomore who calls himself a gamer, thinks the that gaming industry will remain more or less the same in the near future.

“I think casual games will have a much wider role, which is a good thing, but I think it's not going to look too vastly different from what we have now.”

In contrast, Perry Gunderman, an 18-year-old Evanston resident who's been playing games since he was a toddler, foresees big changes in a small time period for the games industry: “I imagine that one out of every three people will own a video game unit by 2010 or 2011."

Whether or not video games become fully mainstream within the next 5 to 10 years, the current generation of games has seen a shift in the intrinsic ability of video games to affect audiences. Better graphics, more impactful plotlines, smoother gameplay, and movie-like voiceovers make it more possible than ever to tell a great story using the video game medium.

Johnson believes these new methods of storytelling have helped with sales and audience expansion: “The technological limitations that gaming used to have it no longer has, and that frees up a lot of people to create more interesting artistic experiences like BioShock and Shadow of the Colossus, and that'll draw more people into gaming. It becomes less about what button you push... and more about an overall artistic expression.”

There are obvious differences between the way gamers and non-gamers looked at the future of gaming. On the whole, those interviewed who didn’t play games said they wouldn’t gain the status of movies or literature, and those who did said that video games would eventually break into the mainstream.

Either way, the gaming industry is steadily growing, and we can only wait to see whether or not it breaks through society’s mold.

Olstad’s take: “There's going to be a time when games hit a tipping point in the mass market where people can view them not as a child's play thing, or not as something that corrupts your kids, not as juvenile; people will see it as a legitimate form of art, just the same as literature and movies. And people will treat it with that kind of respect. But we're definitely not there yet, and it's gonna be a while before we get there.”

Radio Story for "Multimedia Storytelling" Class:

The First Games Piece

This piece was my first and most personal one yet, and it can be found at www.northbynorthwestern.com. I figured it was a good essay to start out with.

Take that, Roger Ebert. Video games are art. BY JOSHUA CALIXTO

A massive creature towers above you, dwarfing the hills behind it. As your heart races in fear, you know you have no choice but to slay this monster if you are to restore the life of your loved one. Armed with no more than a sword and a firm resolve, you run toward the colossus, and begin climbing up its legs.

The colossus, fighting for its life, attempts to shake you off. As you cling to its hair for your very survival, you frantically seek out its vitals. Finally, you spot a weak point on the giant’s head, and drive your sword into its skull, causing a spray of black blood to spew forth. The mystical colossus roars in pain as it crashes to the ground, and slowly dies. The earth rumbles and you are, once again, alone with your horse.

This moving scene was one of many in 2005’s Shadow of the Colossus, a critically praised Sony Computer Entertainment adventure game. Gamespot lauded Shadow’s artistic style, calling its aesthetic presentation “unparalleled, by any standard.”

Since Shadow of the Colossus‘ release, the video game industry has been growing at a steady rate. The industry’s total revenue last year was $18 billion – a record high. And no wonder: Now, more than ever, the intrinsic ability of video games to affect audiences is evolving. Better graphics, more impactful plotlines, smoother gameplay, and seamless voiceovers make good storytelling through video games not only a possibility, but an expectation.

Even though it’s already over two years old, I still find myself deeply nostalgic about Shadow of the Colossus, specifically the beauty and gravity with which it told its story. My time with the game was an artistic experience that was as arresting to me as some of the best films I’ve seen.

Movie critic Roger Ebert once said, “A game can aspire to artistic importance as a visual experience.” But he also said that the video-game medium could never achieve the status of “art”. This may have been true in the days of rudimentary Atari and Pac-Man, but in the 21st Century, interactive entertainment is reaching unprecedented artistic standards of design, gameplay and overall experience. Sure, most games serve only as a means of escape and, just as in Hollywood, most developers are in it to make money and not to push the medium’s limits. But every once in a while, a game transcends the standards, and revolutionizes genres and expectations. These gems, like some Oscar winners, aren’t always best-sellers, but they provide consumers with a unique, artistic experience.

We can talk all day about what “art” really is, but a more effective way of arguing the value of video games as art would be to carry the argument across other media that are already recognized as art. I'll take film.

Many movies aren’t artistic, moving or evocative. Some of the most popular movies– just like the most popular games– contain few individualizing aspects, and instead stick to tried-and-true formulas to make money. The gaming industry, however, gets more flak for this lack of content because the artistic side of gaming has yet to be fully realized. If people watched movies like Saw and Meet the Spartans exclusively, film wouldn’t be a respected art form, either.

Shadow of the Colossus is a perfect testimony to the artistic potential of video games. It illustrates important, evocative aspects of gaming that many critics of the medium have yet to experience, and is more moving and impactful to me than most films I’ve seen.

Nevertheless, Ebert’s main argument against games as art states that, “video games are inherently inferior to film and literature,” as they “require player choices, which is the opposite of the strategy of serious film and literature, which requires authorial control.” He also made the point that, “no one in or out of the [video game] field has ever been able to cite a game worthy of comparison with the great dramatists, poets, filmmakers, novelists and composers.”

In refutation of Ebert’s first statement, the very beauty of video games is that they let the player act within the story’s context. The experience of playing a video game is more akin to acting in a film than watching one. Actors, like gamers, play their character within the context of the story, yet no authorial control is sacrificed.

This duality of control speaks to the uniquely-effective way whereby video games can contain emotionally touching players. As I played Shadow of the Colossus, I realized that the creatures I was killing were innocent, and though I felt accomplished, I felt no glory nor happiness after taking them down. Killing the colossi was a joyless task, a necessary sacrifice. Shadow confronted me with a moral dilemma – something no other medium has ever done.

In response to the second quote, Ebert forgot to mention the fact that film, poetry, literature, and music were already respected art forms when their masters were noted as such. How can someone call a game a piece of art when they don’t believe the video game medium can produce it? Maybe we already have modern Francis Ford Coppolas and Steven Spielbergs in game developers like Fumito Ueda.

As some statistics show, the gaming industry is doing quite a bit to universalize its audience. Until the time comes, though, when people appreciate games for the means of artistic expression that they are, most consumers will remain deprived of the artistic value that games in the current generation have to offer. 2007 was, in my opinion, one of gaming’s best years thus far, and I’m convinced that it’s only a matter of time before the video game medium gains respect. But until that day comes, I’ll be playing Shadow of the Colossus: a modern masterpiece.

Mission Statement

The video game medium is changing, and within the next few years, there will be dramatic shifts in the way people view, play, make, and talk about games.
Keeping this in mind, the goal of this blog is to discuss games and encourage games-related discussion with the purpose of spreading the word about the progress of this flourishing medium.