Better Games

The Wii, with it’s innovative motion-sensor control, is apparently opening up the gaming world, and to think that Father almost bought one when they were on sale and the big corporate push was obviously on. I’m so glad that I was able to veer him away from that and into getting an XBox360 instead, and Microsoft can thank Grand Theft Auto 4 for that. Still, Microsoft is not looking to be left behind, as they are now putting forward their own game system that leaps ahead yet another step by doing away with the game controller altogether, using facial and voice detectors in addition to motion detectors, and they are winning some big fanfare for their efforts, which is especially striking to me since I still associate Microsuck with bugginess more than design and engineering brilliance, but they seem to be onto something with their game console:

"I played with Microsoft's Project Natal and thought of the Arthur C. Clarke law: 'Any significantly advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,'" says Todd Howard, executive producer at Bethesda Softworks. "When people actually experience it, I'll think they'll be amazed."

Personally, I am a bit discomfited by this development, as it may distract attention from other basic issues. Although I appreciate the progress involved in this new game technology, I feel more for the stunted nature of the substantive content of video games, as the expression of sexuality is still largely toned down to the comfort level of prepubescent children, or fundamentalist sectarians.

When playing Grand Theft Auto 4, for instance, the prospect of being able to move my pointing finger for where I want to shoot may be nicer than maneuvering the joystick on the controller, but I would prefer scoring some better quality time when I get lucky with a date or when I pick up a mini-skirted prostitute, though I must confess this last with the prostitutes is not too bad, especially since you can then enjoy the dark thrill of snuffing them afterward. Yes, there are some little joys to be had in a few of these games, in spite of all the sermonizing and censoring, but so few and too little.

I suppose video games for most of their history were largely, if not exclusively, about the children, but it seems to me that we have grown beyond that, and more than a few adults like to find their escapist entertainment in these richly drawn virtual realities, and the ban on sexual nudity is silly, as is being limited to hearing a few exclamatory shrieks of sexual abandon from the other side of a curtained window. True, one cannot complain about the limits on violence, as it seems that practically anything goes when it comes to beating and killing and all your basic anti-social kicks, but some of us would like to rape as well as to pillage, and virtual worlds seem like the perfect place for these most bestial energies, where the civilized man can howl at the moon with impunity.

Better Games

The Wii, with it’s innovative motion-sensor control, is apparently opening up the gaming world, and to think that Father almost bought one when they were on sale and the big corporate push was obviously on. I’m so glad that I was able to veer him away from that and into getting an XBox360 instead, and Microsoft can thank Grand Theft Auto 4 for that. Still, Microsoft is not looking to be left behind, as they are now putting forward their own game system that leaps ahead yet another step by doing away with the game controller altogether, using facial and voice detectors in addition to motion detectors, and they are winning some big fanfare for their efforts, which is especially striking to me since I still associate Microsuck with bugginess more than design and engineering brilliance, but they seem to be onto something with their game console:

"I played with Microsoft's Project Natal and thought of the Arthur C. Clarke law: 'Any significantly advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,'" says Todd Howard, executive producer at Bethesda Softworks. "When people actually experience it, I'll think they'll be amazed."

Personally, I am a bit discomfited by this development, as it may distract attention from other basic issues. Although I appreciate the progress involved in this new game technology, I feel more for the stunted nature of the substantive content of video games, as the expression of sexuality is still largely toned down to the comfort level of prepubescent children, or fundamentalist sectarians.

When playing Grand Theft Auto 4, for instance, the prospect of being able to move my pointing finger for where I want to shoot may be nicer than maneuvering the joystick on the controller, but I would prefer scoring some better quality time when I get lucky with a date or when I pick up a mini-skirted prostitute, though I must confess this last with the prostitutes is not too bad, especially since you can then enjoy the dark thrill of snuffing them afterward. Yes, there are some little joys to be had in a few of these games, in spite of all the sermonizing and censoring, but so few and too little.

I suppose video games for most of their history were largely, if not exclusively, about the children, but it seems to me that we have grown beyond that, and more than a few adults like to find their escapist entertainment in these richly drawn virtual realities, and the ban on sexual nudity is silly, as is being limited to hearing a few exclamatory shrieks of sexual abandon from the other side of a curtained window. True, one cannot complain about the limits on violence, as it seems that practically anything goes when it comes to beating and killing and all your basic anti-social kicks, but some of us would like to rape as well as to pillage, and virtual worlds seem like the perfect place for these most bestial energies, where the civilized man can howl at the moon with impunity.