Story Telling and Video Games

A couple of years ago I went to a Story Telling conference. One of the discussion groups I went to was one about video games. Being an avid video game player, I was curious about what people at the conference had to say.

After some fairly negative comments that mainly centered on the perception that video games are mainly things like Grand Theft Auto, Halo, and such I asked if anyone in the group were regular players. The response was no.

So I proceeded to describe games of a completely different nature that are incredibly popular. Stuff like Animal Crossing, The Sims, Harvest Moon, games that center on helping, relationships, and problem solving.

In addition there are games packed with great drama. I'll never forget playing Metroid Fusion for the first time. When you find out what you're up against in the game, it's a shock. And the jump out of your skin moments when you encounter this foe that is trying to hunt you down and is way beyond what you're capable of dealing with? Talk about getting your heart racing! Your only hope to survive is to run like crazy or find a place to hide and hope it doesn't find you. I don't think any other game has had me on the edge of my seat so much.

And the Zelda games? Great stuff! Drama, honor, loss. I still love watching the trailer for Twilight Princess, gives me goosebumps every time.

So I think there is a fairly distorted perception by non-gamers about games all being about shooting and killing, but the reality is there is incredible variety and some amazing stuff worth seeing if you dig a little deeper and give it a chance. The best games do tell great stories.