Shot Across the Bow, Volume 1
The interesting blog known as The House Next Door has traditionally concentrated on properties from the world of film and television, but with a piece entitled The Alligators Have Good Graphics: Beginning Game Criticism Vol. 1 writer Logan Crowell tippytoes into the crocodylidae infested waters of calling out videogame writers for the extant lack of real criticism. While a few of Crowell’s pronouncements about what’s going on (notably “video game criticism, as a form, just doesn’t exist”, a claim which is probably more inflammatory than he really intends) seem to belie a lack of knowledge of some of the serious work that many are trying to do in this area, there is a fair amount of heft to what he says and his analysis deserves to be considered on its merits.
Initially beginning with a proper separation of reviews and criticism (a distinction which still seems to escape many in this arena), Crowell uses his post to discuss a multitude of reasons that he believes there is as yet no great game criticism. He cites the game community itself, the history of the medium and the industry mechanics of the videogame business and points out the ways in which these factors have hindered the development of a proper criticism. He then also moves on to the property of games that he believes has caused the biggest problems with the creation of good work: its inetractive nature:
“Looking at story, character and design while ignoring interactivity would be akin to analyzing a movie based solely on the script; the entire point of the medium would be lost. To make it worthwhile, we need to analyze what the game allows the player to reveal. Be it a revelation about a player’s own tendencies in a given environment or a deeper thematic connection through immersion, game criticism needs to address how the player plays.
When we do this, we begin to lose interest in the artist and begin gaining interest in the player. There is little use in asking “What is the artist saying?” and every use in asking “What has this game helped me to say?” That type of change defies most notions of criticism, which is why gaming demands new forms. Our old standbys aren’t good enough any more. Game criticism needs us to go one step further.”
There is much more contained within the body of this entire essay, and it’s certainly one which bears a full reading by anyone who visits (or writes for) a site such as Critical Distance. Crowell deserves an active engagement, both to point out the writing that exists that tries to grapple with the problems he mentions and also to bring him into the conversations that we are already having in how to build a better game criticism. Happily, the writer does not appear to simply want to throw stones without demonstrating himself how to do the sort of critique that he says does not yet exist: part two of his series will be a discussion of Braid and the game’s relationship with interactivity. Stay tuned as we find out whether he walks the walk as well as he talks the talk.
