Rethlandir

So, what is a game to me? Well, there are two ways to tackle this question:

1) From the personal perspective. How important are games to me? Why are they my passion? The emotional side of this question.2) From the technical perspective. What makes a game "a game"? What parts of a game matter? What are just "commonalities between all visual media" versus what is unique to the medium of games?

So, what does a game mean to me personally? Well, where better to begin than the beginning: Games have always interested me, from a very young age all the way through to now, and it looks like this will continue. Even though the main "big names" and "triple A titles" are much of a muchness, usually just a texture touch-up but the same mechanics, then thanks to the surge in indie developers and the expansion of the industry in general then games seem to continually reinvigorate and keep my interest. I love that games expand, evolve and rejuvenate over and over, and that even though this is hardly unique to games then because of the many levels games work on then it allows for so much more to be appreciated. Within a game then you don't need to only think of the story and characters as per books, or add in the visuals, sounds and cinematography to make the best things in a film too; in games there's much more though.There's the mechanics of the game engine and gameplay, which vary so widely and are continually worked on, adapted and built upon to create entire new genres and ways to experience the medium of games. The first time I played Prince of Persia 3D (flawed, but I enjoyed it as a sprog) and took on the exploration and combat it was something I'd never seen before, and still remember my trying to get my footing as I explored the cistern; and the side-on combat that although clunky is still something that sticks in my mind.Then the music: From either sweeping adaptive scores that bring the game to life on another level to iconic heavy-melody tunes that stick in your head and return you to your greatest experiences of a game. Sure, iconic tunes are something films do, but generally only the title theme, as the rest needs to be something ambient so as not to detract from the acting. In games then theme songs done right do all the work of the acting, the ambient music and the character's persona. I look back to all the old games I used to play and there was no voice acting, no emotion to be expressed, it was just text; but the whole thing came to life because of the music.Games just speak to me on another level that no other medium can, and will always be a passion of mine.

So, what does a game mean to me technically? This will be much more succinct (in theory) and to me covers the fine line between what I'd call a "game" and what I'd call merely an "interactive experience".

So, there we have it: What a game is to me. Hopefully this will help to understand how this passion of mine plays out in my head and in reality; and why I decided to start up a blog and to stop being just part of the silent majority.

Thank you for reading, and stay tuned. Rethlandir signing off.