A Glimpse of Games - An Introduction for the Curious

Video games are just childish experiences to indulge the power fantasies of basement-dwelling teenagers. In some form or the other, this is a prejudice we as game developers have to contend with on a regular basis. It is unfortunate that a large part of my generation (and beyond) is still oblivious to the depth and cultural impact of what is now the world’s most consumed media. So many times I have found myself explaining the power and diversity of computer games, that I have decided to create an easily shareable summary post to hopefully bring this wonderful medium closer to friends who have yet to discover its joys.

To that end, I’ve gathered a small selection of titles that showcase what video games are capable of. None of these are selected for their quality of gameplay and design, visual splendour or sheer “fun value”. You also won't see any "core" games here. Instead I want to highlight games that stand out for the impact they leave on players, personal or otherwise.

Games are Art 

Although the European Union and other institutions have recognized video games as an art form, this sentiment is not necessarily present in public consciousness. This betrays the fact that video games and their surrounding culture have become the cutting edge of artistic expression in an increasingly established palette of traditional art forms. This is true both in makeshift game hangouts such as Bar SK in Melbourne as it is in more established institutions such as New York’s MOMA or London’s Barbican, all of which recognize interactive and playful media as a new frontier of human artistic expression. The fact that many contemporary critics loudly proclaim that video games cannot be art only cements their status in a long tradition of past artistic movements.

Personally, I have always defined art as a creation that provoked my thought, taught me something new, surprised me with unique execution or simply had the power to make me feel a certain way. Do video games meet this definition? You’ll be the judge.

Games will make you feel

When all you see is tabloid newspaper headlines, one would be forgiven for thinking computer games are all violent killing sprees bound to raise a society of homicidal sociopaths.

Games that strike subtler, more personal tones get significantly less limelight, in the same way that a French arthouse film rarely garners the same publicity as the latest Hollywood blockbuster. Make no mistake though: the following are considered masterpieces within the gaming community and have touched the lives of thousands of people within it and beyond.

That Dragon, Cancer (multiple platforms, including phones)

That Dragon, Cancer was created to help developer Ryan Green cope with the death of his one year old son Joel. It is a deeply intimate, moving experience that will leave you speechless and in tears.

Papo y Yo (PC and Console)

Another game hewn from the designer’s personal experience, Papo y Yo puts you in the shoes of a young Brazilian boy, escaping his alcoholic and violent father. Veiled in dreams and symbolism, Papo y Yo is an unconventional exploration of abusive family relationships.

Gangbeasts (PC and Console)

It’s not all sophistication and gloom. While film comedies can certainly make you laugh, there is a special joy of input to output that is only reserved for interactive media. Gangbeasts, despite its martial name, encompasses this unadulterated feeling of mischievous delight best experienced with (or in this case, on) fellow human beings. Players wrestle each other with barely controllable jelly creatures for dominance of high places. Impossible to understand until you do it with your bare hands.

Games will provoke your thought

Watching someone do is not the same as being the one who does. The psychological effect of having to make actual decisions in a moral dilemma will have you questioning yourself instead of simply a protagonist. 

This War of Mine (Multiple platforms and phones)

Putting you into the shoes of group of civilians in an Eastern European warzone, This War of Mine is a game of survival and tough choices. When players have to choose between their starving friends and the food supplies of their elderly neighbours, the interactive nature of the games medium exacerbates moral conundrums like no other.

Papers, please (PC and iOS)

Stamping papers at a border crossing may not exactly sound like an exciting proposition for a game. If, however, you ever wanted to experience the total despair and sociopathic machinery of a bureaucratic Soviet dictatorship first hand, this is your game. It might not look like much, but its moral depth and the questions it leaves you with are well worth putting up with its (intentionally) dreary visuals.

Bury me, my Love (iOS and Android)

What is it like to be a refugee? We will (hopefully) never truly know, but relaying you an approximate experience based on real accounts is likely as close as we will get. The added effect of interacting with the characters on your phone in real time adds to (cloer to hokme)

Games offer unique experiences

You could argue that all the above could be achieved, at least to some degree, in film or other media. Where games rule supreme, however, is the creation of truly new experiences through unique modes of interaction.

Journey (Playstation exclusive)

Just like the studio’s predecessor Flower, Journey is a meditative and wordless experience. Being teamed up with a another human stranger from the internet, players share a spiritual pilgrimage to the top of a looming mountain, with no means of conveying more than the simplest information to each other. Zenlike and beautiful.

80 Days (iOS and Android)

What games add to traditional fiction is interactivity. The autonomy that comes with choosing your own fate in a story told by someone else is something that book and film cannot offer. 80 days isn’t the genre’s best writing, or its most visually pleasing. It is, however, quirky and entertaining, and most importantly, native to phones and hence easily digested. If you lust for more, you can find bigger and more graphically involved interactive fiction games in the appendix.

Minecraft (multiple platforms)

If you have children (or tech friends) you will probably have heard of Minecraft. It’s not only the second best selling video game of all time (with 122 million copies), but also has been used to make movies, virtual computers and has its own annual convention.

While some would argue that it is simply digital Lego, the key difference is you can live within the very world you have created. It is limitless creativity you can inhabit.

Games will teach you things

Often people think of games as mere entertainment, but the ever-growing application of games to a variety of problems from cancer research to better teaching methods shows their true potential. Games by their very nature engage people to partake, to explore and to feel good about a certain activity, making them ideal tools for learning or crowdsourcing of complex problems.

Kerbal Space Program (PC and Console)

Can accurate astrophysics be adorable? Kerbal Space Program certainly says so, and international space agencies agree. By trying to get the nascent space program of a bumbly alien race called Kerbals off the ground, players can understand and replicate actual space missions. Even Elon Musk approves!

Plague Inc. (iOS, Android, PC)

Have you ever wanted to be a disease and eradicate humanity down to the last person? In Plague Inc. you can, and take some key learnings about disease control and mutation with you. It’s a slow but oddly entertaining game – particularly when you manage to infect Greenland and Madagascar before they close their ports. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention considers it a good way of raising public awareness on public health issues.

Foldit + Play to Cure (multiple platforms including phones)

Instead of infecting humanity, how about curing real life diseases? Not many people associate computer games with the advancement of medicine and human wellbeing, but it’s exactly here where the engaging nature of games shines. When the university of Washington released a protein folding game in hopes of expediting its algorithmic research, it was met with 57000 enthusiastic players who significantly improved its research speed. Foldit does not stand alone, cancer-researching game Play to Cure, among others, has had similar success. The players are actually helping scientists spot patterns in gigabytes of genetic information from thousands of tumors. By finding the best route to pick up the most Element Alpha, players plot a course through genuine DNA microarray data. Players end up analyzing significant amounts of genetic data that would have taken scientists years to do.

Final Words

I hope this will give you some insight into how interesting, thought-provoking and powerful games are as artworks, immersive story devices and teaching tools. Maybe it even encouraged you to try a few of these yourself!

Finally, here are some further leads: reading tips, links and other games that were list contenders. Thank you for reading, and enjoy!

Appendix

Further Reading

Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal – a great little book about the power of games 

http://www.gamesforchange.org/about/ - a popular one of the many games charities

http://www.sciencegamecenter.org/ - a review site for video games that teach science

https://www.gamasutra.com - one of the industry’s key outlets and discussion forums (if you want to dive deep)

Non-exhaustive list of contenders 

The list could be endless, and I’m sure you’ll find a favourite that isn’t on here. Some of these were repeatedly mentioned, so I've added them here. Feel free to recommend more in the comments!

Never Alone – A game funded by Inuit tribes to preserve their culture.
Facade - a AI based interactive experience featuring you visiting an awkward couple

Year Walk -  Swedes making a Horror game about forgotten Swedish traditions.

Papa Sangre – A game entire in audio, you are dead, there are no visuals

Her Story – solve crime fiction based on a set of witness videos…are they lying?

Last of Us – Probably the most traditional game on here. Famed for its emotional story.

Inside – A young boy trying to escape an Orwellian world of death. It’s like going to work.

Katamari Damacy – so you are a sticky glue ball trying to grow by sticking skyscrapers…on behalf of the disco king of the universe….okay, this can’t be explained. Just play it.

I am bread – Be a piece of limp sliced bread. For some of you, thin might be new.

Dear Esther – Wistful and haunting, dear Esther is interactive poetry on a barren island.

Firewatch – an acclaimed mystery adventure set in the surrounds of a firewatch station

Octodad – you are an octopus trying to pass of as a normal human dad. What could go wrong?
Loco Roco – the designer’s mission was to “create happiness”. Mission accomplished.

Doki Doki Literature Club – what if you were dating a sentient AI?
Monument Valley - A beautiful phone puzzle game that would make M.C. Escher proud