I chose an IT course because I thought it was the right thing to do. IT is big business, computers are popular, my parents don’t have a clue what I’m doing but it sort of sounds good, blah blah all of that. And yet, my heart aches for gaming. They just brought out the latest MMORPG extravaganza for the Frolic-Box V, and it’s…ugh, it’s no good. We were promised that Fate would be the spacefaring-yet-traditional RPG experience that we never had. Instead, the story is rubbish and the customisation lacking, plus people are all up in arms about how scandalous some of the female armour is. I have to admit, it’s pretty scandalous. I play it, and every minute I’m just thinking…if people like me did video game courses, this wouldn’t be a problem.
Or take that super-hard adventure game with all the artistic graphics, Dim Spirits. Everyone’s going nuts on the internet about how hard it is, about how it crushes you and leaves you broken, and that’s supposed to be a good thing. Sorry, what? When I was growing up, games were fun. They kept you playing through whimsicality, replay value, and many of them told a tight, self-contained story. Dim Spirits leaves you with practically nothing, because the story is all shrouded in mystery…well, la-dee-da, that doesn’t make it fun. Imagine that guy doing his video game design course. He’d be the one none of the other students wanted to talk to, because he wanted every game to be filled with mystique and so hard it makes you want to hurl the controller through the screen in rage.
Look, it’s just that I think of that more as a piece of art rather than a game. People are far more obsessed with creating art than a unique playing experience. And I like my IT course, really, but I just think a game design course is more my speed. It’s my passion; I NEED to bring my ideas to the table. And if people declare that they prefer the art, well…at least I tried.
-Pierre