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Exactly. A completely different discipline entirely actually, it's questionable as to whether games are really even stories in the traditional sense of the word. There are now armies of people studying this kind of thing (http://ludology.org/index.php). And actually, more discussion of this story here: http://www.dadmobile.com/trawler Interesting stuff!

Delaney's absolutely right, but he didn't seem to offer any solutions. Here's one:

First of all, there needs to be a sort of academic overhead to video game analysis. I think our great hope in this is the imminent rise of Ludology and video game theory. By and large, video games are still generally regarded within the academic community as, well, non-academic. This notion needs to be challenged, by academics and professional review writers alike. When this "aura" of justification occurs, it will result not only in better writing within game reviews, but also a focus on critique, or true critical analysis, and less focus on screenshots or graphics. At a recent video game developer's conference, the head of Naughty Dog stated that the industry had reached a point of diminishing returns in respect to graphics, and that the focus now ought to be on storyline and character development. Likewise, so too should reviewers begin to shift focus away from the technical aspects of the game, despite Kasavin's insistence that these are "indelible qualities of gaming." He's technically right, but he's also wrong. They're indelible, true, but only because the entire focus of the game media (Gamespot very much included) is on these same indelible qualities of gaming. Don't believe? Open up your favorite gaming magazine or website, and see how much of a focus there is on screenshots. That kind of visual attention doesn't even happen in film media, which is at least as visual as gaming. When it does occur, it is done so with focus and intent by the studios, not the sprawling bi-daily update of screenshots that is so emerged within the game industry.

Secondly, we need a new word. Moving pictures found the word "film" to escape the pure entertainment association, video games need something akin to "film" but still connotative of the properties of video games. I know there are some, including John Carmack, who think that video games cannot and should not attain to anything higher than entertainment. And indeed, entertaining games is no less noble than games "with purpose." Nevertheless, saying that video games' sole purpose is to entertain is like saying that all paintings should be pretty and nice to look at, or that all books should be "fun" to read. Video games are a method, a medium, a means unto an end, and not the end itself. Can they communicate "entertainment"? Obviously, but the realization among game developers should also be that they can communicate or impart other abstract ideas as well, apart or alongside entertainment.

Thirdly, the industry itself needs to allow padding for games that are not purely entertainment driven. I think that the Japanese have this idea, hence games like REZ or Pikmin; games that I'm sure the publishers knew won't sell GTA3 numbers but they publish and develop as an expression rather than an attempt to make sales. The Japanese, and European to some degree, do this with intent, whereas American gaming companies do it completely unintentionally. This needs to change.

Basically, the entirety of the industry needs a swivel towards an overall awareness of "abstract gaming." Reviewers, whether they are aware of this or not, lead the vanguard in this respect. Why is there a need of, for lack of a better term (and the complete aversion to using the word "artistic"), purpose-oriented or abstract gaming? Because the gaming industry is at a crossroads now. The comic book industry found itself at very much this same point in its journey and it took the wrong path. Instead of creating what was considered "niche" titles, as a whole the industry instead moved towards a purely sales-driven strategy. The end result is that it quickly quarantined itself within a subculture that it has never really moved out of, requiring nearly 20-30 years and Frank Miller and Alan Moore to deconstruct the genre so it could be reinvented. The movie industry was also at the same point, much earlier than comic books of cour

Curmudgeon Gamer's examination is certainly an interesting one, but what it complete neglected was the trend of increasing stupidity in gaming reviews.

Perhaps the slow but steady rise of ludology means that we may yet see a rise in the quality of game reviews, but by and large the current level of intelligence in most game reviews is as low as the number of female companions most of the game reviewers have (and I mean that collectively). Reviews inevitably follow the "Background, Cool Trivia About Game, Graphics, Controls, Bad, Good" template. The size of the font of the scores at the of end review keeps getting bigger, as does the size of the screenshots. Basically, we're left with an industry wide standard of two paragraph GamePro-esque reviews that generally boil down to, "It rocks!" or "It sucks!" EGM's recent redesign is a fine example of this. There is little in the way of anaylsis, or the game's relation to the industry at large, or (heaven forbid) society itself. I think there are sites on the net that are the exception, such as GameCritics.com, and ironically, Penny-Arcade. Likewise, I think either Computer Games or CGW (I always get them mixed up) is making a conscious move in the other direction. Kudos to them, and shame on the rest of the reviewers. I suppose that online is, strangely enough, more "textual" than the magazines due to the lack of space confinement. But the actual content is about as low.

What I'd like to see is a complete abolishment of scores all together in a magazine or website. It would mean, yes, you'd actually have to read the review. That's not to say there's no place for the blurb-y Gamepro-style of reviews with a big thumbs up or thumbs down at the end of the review. There obviously is, as it's quite handy for a quick reassurance when you're in the line at EB almost ready to buy the game.

But there needs to be more peer reviewing, more intelligent discoursing, and more analysis ala ludology in the gaming industry. Not everything is the next best thing since, well, the last game the person reviewed. But some things most definitely are, and it's these that need extra attention. Not, contrary to popular belief, more screenshots.

The Video Game Ombudsman does what this article did on a regular basis, with more structure, in the form of a (we)blog. Plus, Kyle has heard of the word "ombudsman" before, so that gives him a little more cred.

Websites like GameCritics, Joystick101, and GameGirlAdvance have gotten notable mentions from industry and academic heavyweights, such as the venerable Henry Jenkins.

I encourage smarter game/gamedev/gamebiz/gameculture/gameacademia journalism, but to say this is new and unique is an insult to those that have come before.

a few other good sites include: games.ars, gamegirl advance, games.design.art.culture, got game?, how they got game, ludology, or for regular gaming news, the friendlier ones are bluesnews, gamespy, games are fun and shacknews. where do you go?

There is a growing number of other sites that have the same goals in mind. here are a few of the one's I visit pretty regularly:
Probably my favorite is Gonzalo Frasca's Ludology.org.
Also occasionally of interest is Lars Konzack's Ludologica
Greg Costikyan's Games * Design * Art * Culture has gotten a fairly good amount of press.
and to toot my own horn, there is my blog Popular Culture Gaming.

Something that would be cool - and Gonzalo Frasca's thesis on ludology.org makes reference to it - would be including the favela/barrio model of development in SimCities. The idea of zone development occuring on a grid is pretty much an American one. In Brazil and Mexico and Peru, the urban planning challenge is to bring services into unplanned communities - to bring water, electricity, roads, police, schools and the like to communities that began as shantytowns but grew into rebar and concrete neighborhoods. These types of cities are the future of the urban experience for people in many countries - Lagos, Nigeria may become one of the largest cities of the world, and mostly with this sort of improvised, informal development.