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God of War Creator Calls For Games With Soul
David Jaffe, creator of last year's very popular God of War, made a plea during a talk at the DICE event for developers to create games with soul. From Next Generation's coverage: "He then made clear that the game industry had to adequately compensate those with talent in order to attract them, saying the industry must provide 'financial incentive for more creative people to come join us instead of working with TV and cinema.' Jaffe appeared to debate the issue of the industry's future within himself. 'Maybe it's all bullshit. Some days, I think games can be something else, the next great entertainment media. And then other days, I feel it's just like porn or motion rides, where there's no capacity to reach high emotional levels.'" Update: 02/10 05:44 GMT by Z : More views on Jaffe's talk are available at 1up and Gamespot.
I had no idea that 'soul' was a synonym for 'tits.'
That being said, I have a big beef with this article. He's calling for "Games with Soul," eh? Oh yeah? How so? That's a pretty broad statement, there, feller. And whatever Jaffe meant by it, we can't figure out from this article.
I think he meant in the same way good music is the one with soul, regardless the style. The one made with passion and love for what you do. Not the one tailored to sell X copies by a commitee.
And if it's that, he'd be right. Damn right.
1. derivative != lacking in soul.
Games can take existing genres and either improve upon them or simply be entertaining in their own right. They dont have to be new ALL the time, otherwise there would be about 20 games in total, ever. 'Games with soul' means a game where you are in awe of the experience the game provides you. Where the controls are so streamlined, the interface so clean and the gameplay so pure that you forget that you are playing a game and just get immersed in the experience, and the game does its best to never knock you out of that feeling. Its a game that, as you play it, you feel as though the game has been made by GAMERS, who would be proud to put their name to this game, and who would love to play their own game, instead of just shovelling crap out the door to meet financial quotas. Personally i think GoW fits that bill. FEAR is another recent example.
2. I happen to like gore and titties in my games. So sue me.
... you need an Orb of Thesulah (not to be mistaken with a paper weight) and a powerful gypsy or wicca.
Actually, the game would be something like:
You have been assigned by the emperor to rule over a far-away province, and to make it managable. Your pay is a cut of the proceeds you send back to empire central. The province is unruly, for the population is a stiff necked people. It is your job to keep the peace, put down rebellions, and eliminate the usual troublemakers. The Emperor is sending you in because it needs more taxes collected for massive expansion projects, and to maintain the borders. Do well, and you'll retire a rich man. Your Name is Pontius Pilate. Good Luck.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"