Games Aren't Numbers

A little while ago I took a gamble and pledged to support an as of now untitled potential videogame by indie developer Borut Pfeifer. It will be set in Iran during the recent post-election riots, and will be somewhat a experiment in using games to tell stories about serious reality. I call my pledge a gamble because I'm staying skeptical about how good the game will be. This is important because if a game is going to be about a serious topic, then it runs a high risk of becoming too much of a game and trivializes its subject. I remember how Six Days in Fallujah was supposed to be a realistic portrayal of modern war, but before the project was canceled they showed the press videos of players running amuck and blowing up buildings. It seemed to be nothing more than another action game, and by pretending to be serious insulted the subject matter.

Despite my skepticism however, I'm confident that this new game (if it should receive enough funding and be completed) will do its subject justice. I'm convinced that this project will succeed where it matters. You can read about the project so far and what Borut has planned, after looking it over I was convinced that he knows enough about what he's doing to be trusted with this.

Borut seems to understand that his role as an artist isn't going to be to tell the player something, but to present an environment. The environment in a game is a stage for dynamic events that can be meaningful in many different ways. Borut says that he'll incorporate puzzles also, so my biggest remaining question is what kind of puzzles will they be. However after quickly reading through his blog I have faith that he'll design ones appropriate to the context. I'd hate to be supporting a project that ends up trivializing a serious event, but even if this one falls short of a masterpiece I'm sold that it will be at least a great experiment made by competent people. Who knows, it may blaze a path for other inspired developers.