Play in Process: What is Wrong With Me?

Last updated on: March 31, 2011 at 1:37 pm by Richard Clark

Play in Process: What is Wrong With Me? 2011-03-31T13:37:03-06:00 Richard Clark

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Each week in Play in Process, Richard Clark shares what he’s been playing and why it means something to him.

Well, I haven’t really been playing all that much lately, mainly because I’ve been too busy writing. One thing I’ve been writing is this post for Gamasutra, about how games make us more aware of our own flawed nature. It’s a subject that I’ve been thinking about quite a lot lately, and it’s the motivating factor behind my most recent post here, The Beautifully Dark Side of Video Games. If you read that post, and weren’t sure what to think, I recommend you read the one at Gamasutra, which more specifically focuses on kind of spelling out the implications of the article I wrote here.

Ultimately, the whole point of all of this is one of two things, depending on where you’re coming from. If you think videogames are too violent, then I would challenge you to consider whether maybe a little violence, rightly portrayed, isn’t a little bit good for us. After all, it forces us to come to terms with the reality of what we’re doing, as well as the ugliness of sin in general.

But, if you’re the type of person who wishes that games were more meaningful and resonant all the time, I would simply say that games seem to be most resonant when they focus on our depraved nature. A game that’s “just about fighting” can actually be about more than that. We can deal with those games on a case-by-case basis, but the best example is Far Cry 2, a game that years after its’ release, people simply cannot stop thinking and writing about. That’s because it provides the means to put our own evil nature on display. In fact, we can’t stop writing about it ourselves – this Tuesday, Drew Dixon will be posting his “Moment that Matters” with Far Cry 2. Take it from me: it will blow your mind.

In the meantime, I would encourage you to try playing games this weekend with your own depraved tendencies in mind. Why are you doing the things you’re doing in the game? Why are you doing them that way? And why does a particular mechanic or storyline resonate with you so much? Sometimes, it’s okay to ask, “What is wrong with me?” Games can help with that.

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...by the Bell, Chapter 2: Is Heaven Now or Later... or Both?

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April 1, 2011 Elsewhere: Game of Thrones, Sucker Punch, Sufjan Covers, Duke Nukem, etc.

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