State of the Gaming Union

By: Eric M. Martin

Monday September 10, 2007

Opinions of a Games Editor
My fellow gamers, this is a time of mixed feelings. Indeed, it is not purely a time of sadness, nor is it a time of plenty. We are faced with largely uncertain times ahead. Times when the giants who are shall no longer be, and the pillars of old shall come back to reclaim their former glory. Indeed, this is more important than one president’s fellationship with his intern of choice or another president’s foreign oil entanglements. I am indeed talking about something that affect all of us…gamers.

So it’s not as earth shattering as all of that. There’s a reason it’s called “imaginative journalism.”

This year at the U.S. Open, viewers the world over tuned in to the final round as Angel Cabrera played a spectacular game of golf on what the PGA considers one of the most difficult courses. However, there seemed to be a very lackluster reception to Cabrera’s victory. The reason? Everyone was focusing on Tiger Woods. Paul Casey got a small snippet for shooting a 66 on the third day of the tournament, which is an incredible feat. But once again, it wasn’t Tiger Woods, so it didn’t last long.

Sure, Tiger Woods didn’t win, but Angel Cabrera and Paul Casey both played great games of golf. But the public eye at large only cares about Tiger Woods. Gaming is the same way. There are all of these great games out there, but people are too busy looking for the next Grand Theft Auto, or Halo 3. They don’t care about whether a game is great or not; they want their status quo. I’m not shocked that gamers, game companies, or journalists display this kind of behavior. Repeating history and all that, right? It doesn’t change the fact that it’s unjust.

Here’s the problem. The above comparison is somewhat ‘apples to oranges’ because Tiger Woods is a fantastic golfer. He will change golfing history for years to come and will set plenty of standards. He’s earned his bragging rights and should be respected because he plays the game well. The point is, don’t shun out others who play the game well just because this magazine or that cable station wants “All Tiger, all the time!” Give credit where all credit is due and don’t suck up to certain players just to maintain a sponsorship or a pre-determined image. The same is true with games.

What makes a great game? Contrary to popular belief, it is not the adherence to the latest in graphical technology, or the continuation of a popular title in an endless amount of moneymaking sequels, or something that tickles the pages of a large gaming publication. Somewhere, in my heart of hearts, I’d like to believe that the making of a great game centers on a basic premise: fun. Is it fun to play? Don’t replace the notion of fun with immediate sensory gratification. When you do, you end up in the marketing trap, which leads to poor product development in future times. Don’t believe me? Look what happened after Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.

The other pitfall facing the future of gaming is a strange one indeed. One that has presented a solution to the notion of “gaming for a living” with what some may feel are disturbing results. While accidentally stumbling upon one of the dark corners of DirectTV, on channel 101, I tripped across the drafting rounds of the Championship Gaming Series. A handful of incredibly rich people gathered the “best of the best” from all corners of the gaming world in order to form teams to professionally play games such as FIFA 07, CounterStrike, Project Gotham Racing 3, and Dead or Alive 3. In the meantime, some plastic posterboy in a smoker’s jacket surrounded by women in bunny suits announced the picks while a trio of commentators acted sportslike, talking about how every player that gets picked is the best player and how they’re always at the top of their game. I watched the draft picks for about ten minutes and was completely overcome by dullness. There was no real excitement whatsoever.

I never thought I’d live to see the day that gaming would reflect everything I hate about professional sports. Everyone dreamed of being a professional gamer at some point or another. Who wouldn’t want to be paid a starting salary of $30,000 just to push a few buttons? But why does it seem that this league of video games only consist of certain titles that are conveniently for the PC and the Xbox 360? And why does it not shock me that IGN and GameSpy are the online media partners?

That doesn’t begin to cover the human aspect entered into these new franchises. This has got to be the biggest hell-in-a-handbasket recipe ever conceived. When these players make it in this newly established big time, the consequences will be similar to professional wrestling, but without the leotards. Egos, especially amongst competitive gamers, are going to flare up worse than anything you might see on an athletic field, and it won’t be pretty. But someone out there is going to bank on it being entertaining, and make money doing it.

At some point in the future, this CGS is going to have a lasting effect on the gaming world, be it positive or negative. Unfortunately, the small, “successful” minority will inevitably define the large majority of gamers. It is difficult enough to break into the gaming world as a developer on any level, and now there is going to be difficulty to break into what will eventually become “professional gaming”. It won’t be defined by skill, or love of the game. Rather than it will be defined by “Which game is the hottest?” or worse yet, “Which game does IGN really like this year?”

Meanwhile, the rest of the gaming public will eventually be forced into two camps: love it or hate it. Some of us will get completely wrapped up in this cirque du ridicule while others will continue to seek out the games we know that we all want. And, just like in the real word, the gaming media will be around to pick up the pieces. The big guys will live off of this gravy train for years and the rest of us will continue to seek the truth of gaming. We will play games for the sake of playing them and we will judge them as they should be judged. In other words, we play games in hopes of finding great games, not something that’s all flash with no fire.