WHY DO VIDEO GAMES HAVE SUCH A BAD REPUTATION?

BRETT MCCALLON | AT PLAY | October 24th 2008

Critics of video games complain of gratuitous violence and puerile depictions of women. They have a point, writes Brett McCallon in his latest gaming column. But the best games aim much higher than the lowest common denominator ...

Special to MORE INTELLIGENT LIFE

This column has frequently defended the artistic merit of games in general, and of some notoriously controversial games (such as Grand Theft Auto IV) in particular. But the most vocal video game critics do have a point. Many games revel in simplistic plots, overt and gratuitous violence and frankly puerile depictions of women and female sexuality. There's a clear reason for this: the demographic typically served by the modern video-game business consists of 15-34-year-old male hardcore gamers, a group often entranced by thin stories, big explosions and even bigger...accoutrements on female characters.

Now that we've established that gaming is, to a certain extent, guilty as charged, there remains a big question: why do professionals with wives, children and an interest in a wide range of cultural endeavours continue to play games with few artistic and socially redemptive aspects? For me, the answer is two words:

Tomonobu Itagaki.

As a game designer, Itagaki made his reputation with the "Dead or Alive" fighting series, which is renowned less for its gameplay than for its female fighters' decidedly top-heavy physiques. In fact, pendulous breasts are one of the most significant aspects of Itagaki's design philosophy: among his notable early accomplishments was the development of a dedicated "breast physics" engine for "Dead or Alive 2", which surely added unprecedented levels of realism to backflip-induced bouncing (and alienated some female gamers).

Not content to rest on these questionable achievements, Team Ninja (the development group that, until recently, Itagaki headed at Japanese developer Tecmo) went on to create the "Dead Or Alive Xtreme" series (pictured, right). These games take place at fanciful tropical resorts, where the female characters compete in simplistic simulations of beach volleyball, jet-skiing, tug-of-war and "pool-hopping" (jumping and jiggling from one floating cushion to another). Their outfits range from one-piece swimsuits to barely-there swatches of fabric. The games border on soft-core pornography and have no redeeming gameplay qualities. Critics have panned them, and sales figures--at least for the second game in the series (released a couple of years ago)--have been disappointing.

So why devote a column to a guy who has made a career out of pleasing the lowest common denominator?

My Itagaki fandom is based on a third series: "Ninja Gaiden" (pictured, top). As it turns out, Itagaki's gifts are not limited to pulchritude and fisticuffs. He also has a knack for creating challenging, razor-sharp, fast-paced hardcore action games. His "Ninja Gaiden" games are among the most nuanced and most difficult games ever made. Sure, they still feature female supporting characters with totally absurd dimensions, and enemies explode in gouts of blood and severed limbs. Moreover, the histrionic, nonsensical plots do absolutely nothing to explain the characters, their situations or the degree to which the ladies' bustiers have had to be reinforced with steel ribbing.

But to me, none of the above matters. As I fight my way through the punishing challenges of a "Ninja Gaiden" game, battling endless waves of smart, powerful, lightning-quick enemies, my attention is consumed by the sophisticated gameplay. I am forced to learn all of the nuances of the weapons and techniques at my disposal. Unlike typical action games, in which low-level enemies are simpy and helpless, even lowly "Ninja Gaiden" ninjas can make short work of an inattentive player. The games' depth and precision makes observing a skilled player akin to watching a choreographed Wuxia martial-arts sequence. Conquering these trials is a genuine accomplishment, in the way that mastering trick shots in billiards is an accomplishment, and it can induce the same sense of satisfaction. Just as importantly, the games' difficulty almost always seems "fair"--when your ninja dies (and he will die, hundreds of times), it's almost always because you made a mistake, not because your enemy used some indefensible weapon or movement. This sense of fairness makes the games all the more compelling, as success is always a matter of increasing your skill level, rather than luck.

It's worth noting that Itagaki revels in the "Ninja Gaiden" games' hardcore reputation. When players complained that the first game in the series was too hard, he responded with a free downloadable add-on that made the game even harder. Eventually Team Ninja did offer an "easy mode" option, but taking advantage of it required accepting the designation "Ninja Dog" (yes, a ninja dog), and frequent, abusive messages from characters in the game. At a time when most game developers are intent on creating games that even the most casual player can enjoy, it's comforting to know that Itagaki is still looking out exclusively for hardcore guys like me, who will spend precious leisure hours cursing their way through level after level, loving every minute.

Alas, I can't have the serious hardcore designer Itagaki without also accepting the Russ-Meyer-of-the-gaming world Itagaki. Both come from the same testosterone-fuelled creative place, however socially unredeemable and frequently obnoxious that place may be. He's unrepentant, unreconstructed and anathema to casual gamers. Even catching a glimpse of one of his games can harden attitudes toward everything about this hobby. But for all of his drawbacks, he's one of the most singular visionaries the gaming world has produced. He's simultaneously everything that is wrong, and everything that is right, about hardcore gaming. Here's hoping he is never tamed.