The Video Game Renaissance is coming to an end.
In the best possible way, of course. Now that the Video Game Renaissance is over, we can move onto the Gaming Baroque movement, or perhaps the Romantic movement of Electronic Entertainment. Take your choice of 19th century European art trends, because gaming is becoming something the wider public can finally enjoy.
This decade, the latter half especially, has been very kind to gaming. The current crop of consoles (XBox 360, Wii and Playstation 3) has brought numerous advancements in terms of graphics, distribution and online play. But the biggest advancement these consoles accomplished is a social acceptance of gaming. For proof, check any freshman dorm.
The seeds were planted last generation. The original XBox touted Halo, while Playstation 2 had Guitar Hero. Party games existed on Nintendo consoles since the dawn of the 80s. People like games, but they just didn't want to be gamers
whatever the term entails.
Only with Halo 3, Rock Band, and the Wii Fit balance board has gaming become something the population at large does. No longer is it purely the realm of guys in Punisher T-shirts with unwashed hair, though they certainly still represent a powerful, vocal demographic.
We are coming out of a recent tunnel of supreme hits. Nary a full Grand Theft Auto or Legend of Zelda is in sight. Even Halo seems to be dwindling, with only one more confirmed title in the series. Although this may be a sad time for the dude in your Econ 104 class who always talks about Natty Light, even he will find something to like.
The major difference between my preference for blockbuster films and disdain for gaming mega-hits is that in the world of video games, there is nothing but A-list titles and their sequels. Often these franchises only appeal to hardcore gamers, not the public at large. It is steak and Cabernet for dinner every single night.
Maybe I want some pasta to challenge me in different ways, or a fast-paced stir fry cooked up at Jeff to go with that smoothie. I would even be willing to try some sort of seafood, if it were prepared in an innovative manner potentially influencing future meals of the genre. This metaphor kind of got away from me, let's move on.
This year brought some surprise hits. Batman: Arkham Asylum managed to descend upon the gaming public and tie them up, leaving them hanging from an ornately-carved stone gargoyle. It is potentially the first licensed property in video gaming to win Game of the Year honors (Ed note: Goldeneye, stupid.), something which before would be as unlikely as people actually standing to the right and passing on the left when using Baker's escalators.
Even our own beloved Ohio University has gotten hip to the groove, in a variety of ways. We all heard of the Second Life classes, where students communicate in a virtual medium. The Grid Lab, a favorite hangout of mine before it closed shop, is now housed in the Scott Quad, enabling a future generation of game players and developers.
The problem now is how to get the general public to accept smaller, niche-level games instead of solely blockbusters. The Wii has done a good job of this, creating new contraptions like the Wii Fit that appeal to yoga instructors and hardcore gamers alike. As much as my out-of-shape body hates to admit it, we need this to be taken more seriously.
Death to the Gaming Renaissance, I say. Be gone with your God of War 5! Usher in a new age of smaller titles revolutionizing the population at large. I will be ready to win.
Greg Mercer is a junior studying video production and columnist for The Post. Send him your memories of playing Shaq-Fu while drinking red Kool-Aid from an Aladdin tumbler at gm295306@ohiou.edu
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Opinion
Greg Mercer
