Tuesday 27 March 2012

Games Britania-Part 3: Joystick Generation

In this part of Games Britannia Benjamin Woolley talks about the modernising of Games Britannia from classic board games to the first fantasy RPG Dungeons and Dragons, to the move from board games to 3D entertainment.

Benjamin Woolley talks about the importance of fantasy games in Britain in the 70's "the winter of discontent" no electricity, no heat, and uncollected rubbish lying in the streets. People needed an escape from reality and thanks to a group of Californian gamers in 1973 Dungeons and Dragons was created. Dungeons and Dragons was revolutionary for games as we know it, the use of narrative and the choices determining whether to enter conflict or avoid it and dealing with the consequences of your choice.

It was these aspects of Dungeons and Dragons that allowed video games to kick off. These games gave players power and control the likes you wouldn't see in a board game, but after playing games as a character in a story or narrative came about God games. God games give the player even more control and limitless possibility's however when playing God games although you have direct control over what happens in game you still have a responsibility to take care of your people, ironically this makes you more like a slave than a God.

As time went on and video games continued to advance and because of the narrative you now see in games players have more emotinal ties to the character. You learn there story and make a conection, you want them to succeed, you want to help the character accomplish their goal. It's the feeling of responsibility for the character that draws out the emotion and feelings of the player, it is a connection that you can only find with through games.

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