Are "Timeless Games" Timeless?

IGN has tried this new thing where they feature thoughtful articles that make the reader stop and think. It stands in stark contrast to the rest of the site, but I love the intellectual discussion of games! I just read one today that asks how long a video game can matter. I'd highly encourage you to read it before continuing with this post.

The writer makes his point very simply. If you had to make a list of 20 books, films, and video games that will stand the test if time, you'd have no problem with the first two. But really, what video games have ever been made that are still popular?

To clarify, that's not talking about a series. Mario, Sonic, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft... they're all still relevant, but not in the form they were released in. The original Mario doesn't have much of a following. Few people still pick up an old Zelda game and play it "just because," and in 100 years I really can't see classic games being so relevant that people would say "Oh if you want a great example of a video game, you need to play Mario Bros" in the same way that someone would say you need to read Twain, Shakespeare, or Faulkner if you want to really appreciate literature.

That saddens me. Many old novels and movies aren't good by our standards, but we revere them because of what they did for their time period, as well as the stepping stones they created to give us what we have today. I had college teachers baffled that I was an English major, and yet never had anything good to say about classic literature. Why? Because while I appreciate the artistry involved, Jane Austin really is a dull writer. Shakespeare can't tell a story. The Lord of the Rings is an amazing world with pages upon pages of monotone dialogue.

Video games are no different. Judged based on how far we've come, Mario Bros is a terrible game. The colors are awful, the physics are wonky, the threadbare story stands solely upon a bait-and-switch that makes you wonder if Princess Peach is even real.

Still, we look back at the game with fond memories. I remember spending ours playing that game, and I can still remember the sound of hopping or entering a pipe. Despite it being a classic, and arguably one of the most important games ever created, we can't imagine spending time trying to beat it again. Mario isn't played and replayed the way a Tale of Two Cities is. If anyone has a Mario cartridge sitting on their shelf, it's purely for decoration and is never pulled out on a rainy day so someone can finish it for the 5th time in their adult life.

Take any classic game and apply that logic. In 10 years, who will play the original version of Minecraft? Or the Uncharted series? The writer points out that some touching indie games may stand the test of time, but even his examples are a bit dated. When games like Limbo and Braid came out, people were sure that those games would be classics too, yet when is the last time anyone talked about them?

The problem may be with the generation that popularized video games. As time has worn on, we have a huge range of entertainment to occupy us. While we all look forward to the release of certain games, it's not like the day of yore when a single book would cost a person's entire "spare money" budget, or going down to the talkie and watching Casablanca. Video games, like current books and movies, are a dime a dozen that are made to be devoured and discarded.

Even more mind-boggling is the fact that games are infinitely more immersive than books or movies. We get to control a character's actions and develop their story. Imagine 1984 The Game, where you could actually feel Big Brother watching, or worry if a little kid was going to rat you out to the police, or walk down the street and wonder if a bomb would go off right next to you. Seeing the main characters creepy dreams, or helping him find his freedom, or getting to live out that final scene would be something so much more memorable than simply reading it.

And yet no matter how good a game's story is, it's good for maybe two playthroughs before we go buy another game on our eternal list of "games I need to beat." The game industry makes billiions of dollars each year, and yet nothing lasts. In a a year's time, $60 can be picked up for a fraction of the price.

This is ominous when the "Can Video Games Be Art?" discussion comes up. Sure, video games evoke emotion, make statements, and can be more than mindless entertainment. Then again, go to DeviantArt and find something that will be talked about a century from now. Any art has a flood of creations that are lost, but movies, books, artwork, dance, music... they always have those things that will stick around until the world explodes.

When the games themselves become increasingly outdated, what reason is there to remember them? Because Mario Bros spawned the 1,000th game featuring his likeness? Because Call of Duty and Battlefield are progenitors to a motion-capture copetitive shooter that becomes a worldwide eSport? Will anyone care about Master Chief other than to be featured in a comedic "Games That Got the Future Wrong" list?

What game will forever stand next to Tom Sawyer, Swan Lake, Citizen Kane, Beethoven's 5th, and the Mona Lisa?


See you tomorrow!

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