Post by Morreion on Apr 21, 2010 7:22:38 GMT -5
Justin Webb: Why You Like What You Like
MMORPG.com's Justin Webb uses his column this week to talk about the history of RPGs and why it is what we individually like what it is that we like.
This is an interesting approach- Webb may be onto something here.
MMORPG.com's Justin Webb uses his column this week to talk about the history of RPGs and why it is what we individually like what it is that we like.
Here’s where it gets interesting. Marshall McLuhan originated the terms “hot” and “cool” when referring to media in his groundbreaking 1964 book Understanding Media. Some media, like movies, are “hot”, meaning that they enhance a single sense to the point that the viewer need “fill in” very little information themselves while viewing (other examples, include photographs and (1960s-style) radio). Cool media, on the other hand, provide less supporting information, and require less involvement from the viewer but result in additional stimulation (for example, cartoons and (1960s-style) TV). I’m obviously paraphrasing here, but the interested reader should definitely check out more of McLuhan’s stuff on the web.
I’m now going to steal/adapt the hot/cool definitions and apply them to video games. Doing so leads to some immediate conclusions. Some RPGs are much “cooler” than others – they require the player to participate/investigate more and observe less. For example, UO (with its sandbox play style) is much cooler than, say, WoW or Mass Effect 2 (which is much more “on rails”). MMORPGs are much cooler than single-player console games. And Eve is much “cooler” than WoW. Pacman is “cool” to the point of being almost arctic, while CoDMW2 is so hot your face will melt off.Games from the First Age are all pretty “cool”. Since then, the average game temperature has become progressively hotter. That’s not to say that all current games are hot – they’re not. But the overall gaming environment has thawed since the era of MUDs. However, the current gaming environment is also gradually getting cooler … by virtue of the cooling nature of the internet, iPhones, browsers, social networking, and online play.
Gamers will play just about anything, but every single one of us has a built-in thermometer. We also have a sweet-spot on our thermometers where we feel the most comfortable. Some people’s thermometers are set hotter than others, some are “wider”. The games that resonate the strongest for you exist squarely in the middle of your sweet spot.
Your RPG sweet spot gets “set” when you play the first game that “resonates” strongly with you, the first one that completely absorbs you and turns you into a “gamer”. The position of your sweet spot is a direct function of the temperature of that beloved game. If you are an older gamer, you are more likely to “be” cooler than a younger gamer. However, that’s not always the case. If your first game was hotter than average, or you came to RPGs relatively late, you could easily be a “hot” old gamer.
Gamers will play just about anything, but every single one of us has a built-in thermometer. We also have a sweet-spot on our thermometers where we feel the most comfortable. Some people’s thermometers are set hotter than others, some are “wider”. The games that resonate the strongest for you exist squarely in the middle of your sweet spot.
Your RPG sweet spot gets “set” when you play the first game that “resonates” strongly with you, the first one that completely absorbs you and turns you into a “gamer”. The position of your sweet spot is a direct function of the temperature of that beloved game. If you are an older gamer, you are more likely to “be” cooler than a younger gamer. However, that’s not always the case. If your first game was hotter than average, or you came to RPGs relatively late, you could easily be a “hot” old gamer.
This is an interesting approach- Webb may be onto something here.
