the argument

I'm getting sick of the narratology versus ludology argument.

what spawned this?

David Byrne, probably most famous for being the frontman for the Talking Heads, posted a great post in his journal about games.

http://www.davidbyrne.com/journal/current.php
(July 31st)

I read it, and in my best Sean William Scott impersonation, I'm like "Dude, right on."

Now yeah, it can be pretty much said that his thoughts lean more toward the narratology side of the argument. And yeah, I understand that his post is more questions, but he doesn't pretend to have the answers like some people. It's just another kick in the ass to us in the trenches going "hey man, why can't you guys figure out how to do this?"

You know what? we need that! And if more people say that with their pocketbooks, you might see some change.

But Kim points out Mr. Koster's book, which, you can probably go down to see my praise of. However if you read it, the book really does lean towards more of the ludology side.

He also goes to point out how the answer lies in both. Well, I propose that there is no real answer.

I propose that we're dealing with a medium that's as broad as reality itself here, that's full of so many infinite variations, that EVERYBODY's right.

I mean look at the market. How well do these "interactive stories" like Final Fantasy (although not a favorite of mine) sell? They become cultural icons for Pete's sakes! On the other side, look at games like Tetris, a pure ludology game. Again, cultural icon!

Everybody falls somewhere on that spectrum. Now you may be wondering then, why am I so hot to trot about games then if I think that the market is rightfully addressing people's desires?

Well, I'm hot because I don't think the market IS rightfully addressing people's desires. I think that the needs and wants of the potential majority are going unfulfilled. Sure, gaming isn't in the minority that it used to be, but that's due to a lot of factors. And I think that one of them is that people lowered their expectations. And well, that sucks.

None of these guys actually argued about narratology versus ludology, but the opinions just make me remember those who do. Or rather, those who argue more than act. And well, that just bothers me. Because well, I don't have any answers, and it really pisses me off. You can only bang your head against a brick wall so many times before you get sore about it. And part of me hopes that there are more people banging their head against that wall and eventually we'll find a soft spot. But looking at people shouting at the wall, expecting it to crumble, well it's like "what the hell are you doing man? get down here and help me chisel at this thing."

Who knows, maybe it's just me.

But thanks for kicking me in the ass Mr. Byrne. If we can satisfy people like you, I'm sure that there's a lot of money to be made.