Games as Work

Posted on Tue 10 Feb 2009 by Keira Peney under Community , Links .
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I read an interesting quote by Mitch Krpata at Insult Swordfighting. He writes:

But ultimately, playing games is work. They ask a lot of you. It’s a matter of how much effort you’re willing to put in to get out what’s there.

Mitch was mainly referring to the learning curve inherent in most games, and most consoles, but I think an interesting parallel can be drawn with other kinds of literature. A throw-away summer read is easy, but doesn’t make a lasting impression. A book with more than just a slick surface plot takes more work to read, and often can be incredibly demanding (think Umberto Eco or Thomas Pynchon) but can create a much bigger impact.

Like with any medium, you have to learn all the rules and context and history - either explicitly or implicitly by immersing yourself into that medium - before you can make headway with the most complex, and ideally rewarding examples of it. Nobody should start to learn how to read poetry by tackling Paradise Lost, and nobody should try and jump into gaming by starting with Metal Gear Solid 4.