Games Aren't Numbers

Seven Minutes is one of the latest games to catch Portal Syndrome, a condition where anyone who plays it feels compelled to analyze and criticize all of its not-so-deep metaphors. I think this is funny in Seven Minutes' case because the players who do this usually admit that the game isn't very good at making a statement or that the statement it makes isn't very meaningful. So I'm clueless as to why they even bother unpack it at all if they don't think it's good. I didn't think Super Mario Bros. was very good at making a meaningful philosophical statement but that didn't dampen my opinion of it.

(Oh by the way, I'm not going to try to avoid spoilers in this post. If you want to play the game first then there's really no reason not to, it's free and only takes twenty or so minutes to complete.)

Of course the game isn't without fault in causing this. Here's the description its creators give it: "The game has an interesting plot that makes you think." When you say something like this then of course people are going to go in already expecting there to be a deep meaning and thus be upset when it turns out that there isn't one. The biggest factor of course is the fact that it uses extremely sensational, almost exploitative, symbolism. Virtanen might as well have just shown a giant crucifix at the end, or anything that would have had an equally cheap yet sensational impact on the player. It goes to show how easy it is to generate blog bait, make a game with any indication of a deep meaning and the internet will either love it or hate it, but either way will be very vocal.

Labeling games as being pretentious isn't a good habit so I try to avoid it. I enjoyed Seven Minutes for being the creative game it is. For one thing it's the only game I've played which not simply gives you the option to play it multiple times, but it actually requires you to. That concept could have been used in a more creative way, but right now it seems fresh and interesting. The levels were decent platforming levels, with plenty of clever visual effects and challenges. The thing about it though is that the ideas it uses aren't particularly mind blowing once you step back and look at it from a more objective perspective. I wish there were more games like this so that way it's not considered a big deal when something like Seven Minutes is made, because it really shouldn't be.