To be fair to Mr. Cage, the graphics and engine are very impressive, and he is the greatest hype man since Peter Molyneux. But let’s look back on an earlier, and somewhat popular Quantic Dream game, Heavy Rain. Heavy Rain was an extraordinary risk in game design, relying heavily on narrative and emotion to run the story, as opposed to non-stop action. I will not lie, I am a fan of the game, but not for all the right reasons. The dialogue is incredibly inconsistent, and some controls are kind of silly. Nothing hits you quite like a sex quick time event. However, it was beautiful for the time, which leads to my point. Just because a game is beautiful, does not mean that it’s done well. For that, I direct you to a very notorious game that you can easily play, watch, or cry to: The Walking Dead.
When the game was released many, including myself, were skeptical, thinking it would be some re-skinned money grab like most adaptations. I was wrong… and soon, like countless others, I fell in love. In minutes I was hooked; the unbelievable system of writing keeps you absorbed just enough to panic when a walker comes around, while each crucial decision will make you feel like a terrible person before you end up crying.
Writing is important; writing is what makes games into stories. It transforms a static world into an immersive experience, driving you to take up arms and save it because you are a hero, not just someone behind a controller. Writing is that next step. It is that final leap that, if done correctly, can take a game from just a game to an intriguing journey of self discovery, tears, anger, and maybe a bit of depression afterwards when you finally realize that it was just that, a game.
So I say nay to games that rely solely on graphics, all the fancy lights, and action. They are often just a bunch of numbers until you put true human emotion and interaction in them. So here’s hoping that in these following years, more games create that amazing experience. Because writing matters dammit, and when graphics and dialogue mesh and flow in a delicious Yin Yang of media, it’s simply surreal.
