Josh

It’s exciting to find articles like this, which validate the work of video games and video game characters as literary. There has always been the argument of whether video games are worth consideration as anything more than playthings for children, and though some still refuse to see them as art and proper fiction, it’s more than obvious what depth can be gleaned from video game worlds and their characters. This is not to say there aren’t shallow or otherwise unexplored games, but rather to help liken video games to other forms of literature and art. Just as there are horrible, terrible books, movies, magazines, and television shows, there are awful video games; the same can be applied for the opposite end of the spectrum. An excellent game and its world/characters can foster connections and investment as readily and thoroughly as any exciting novel or other such piece of prose.

While I could continue rambling, I should rather thank you for your great article!

DLC and addon packs are, to say the least, disconcerting. I find myself missing the days when spending $50-60 left you with a game. A complete, polished game. Now, it seems you spend that same amount and are met with glitches, bugs, faults, and a blatant lack of content. $60 and you have to wait for the day one patch, countless other hotfixes, and you’re still almost guaranteed to run out of content in a week… Unless you buy the downloadable content. Buy the season pass for anywhere between $20 and $60 (the price of another game!), and you can have some stuff. Maps, skins, characters, gun camos, etcetera. What happened to quality expansions and content?

Blizzard’s expansions for World of Warcraft have been successful forms of additional content. Although not all have been successful, they are not only relatively affordable, but they change the game — they add content, further the story, give you something to do that doesn’t involve skins or patterns. It seems few games have adopted similar policies with their expansion packs and DLCs. Rainbow Six Siege has, perhaps, one of the less obnoxious DLC platforms. Sure, you can buy the season pass to unlock the new operators a week before everyone, but you can save your real money and simply play the game, earn in-game currency, and unlock the same characters. This, plus free new maps and continuous updates.

While additional content can be new and exciting for the right game, it rarely is. It’s a dreaded “Do I really want to spend double for this?” And if you don’t, you’re left with a title that will more than likely be exchanged for something else. DLC and expansions would be great if they added actual content, exciting and worthwhile content, story progression, new modes, new adventures.

It’s refreshing to find this subject poised in the light, enough to (hopefully) open some eyes. I’ve played video games for the majority of my life, and, as an avid gamer, it can sometimes be frustrating to find people responding to games like “The Last of Us” and “Until Dawn” as they would a relatively mindless shooter or multiplayer game. The Last of Us, especially, is an exemplar of excellent storytelling and realistic characterization, more so than more lauded novels, T.V. shows, and movies. Of course, I did like that game and I do look forward to the sequel, and some may find it unpleasant, but it’s the first example to come to mind.

There’s an odd balance between story-driven games and multiplayer-based titles like Call of Duty and Battlefield. Those games may have story modes or campaign modes, but they’re often brief and relatively rudimentary. It seems games, as a whole, are shrinking in an effort to streamline players into multiplayer content, paid expansions, and DLC content. But, on occasion, we’re given a game that exhibits exactly what can be accomplished with quality writing and storytelling. The shrinking of quality and playtime may be detrimental to these more literary titles, as, whenever someone discounts video games as childish and toy-like, they often use brainless shooters and the like to support their argument.

I appreciate the content and quality of your article, especially in noting the ridiculousness of discounting the literary value of video game content as opposed to other mediums. I’m currently an undergraduate, though it’s my last semester, and I could only imagine the stares and incredulity with which I’d be met if I tried to use a video game as an example in an essay or during class. This skepticism will hopefully dissipate as older generations shift out of the classroom, and other such positions of power/literary finality, and video games advance.