Tom Chick recently did a write up saying, “Games have no place trying to make social or political commentary.” On the other side of the coin, Destructoid and its readership have also expressed their desire of games and more mature material coming together. Gaming purity and narrative evolution aside, the industry is tackling serious topics whether you like it or not. Question is, how are they handling thought-provoking issues and at the same time, crafting it into an enjoyable interactive form?

Hey, I’m mature enough to deal with this subject matter, and games have been mature enough to deal with it for longer than you may think. For God’s sake, the concept of shooters is for you to kill. Well, killing in videogames is such an easy task since everyone is conscious of the fact that you aren’t killing real people. Technically, you can call it killing, but to seriously compare it to murder is laughable. Yet, the act is obvious. Death and dealing it is only one of a slew of issues games happen to accompany; some a blunt object that hit you over the head, others, an underhanded message corrupting your wonderful compartmentalization abilities. Whether a developer purposely presents a topic or ham-handedly stumbles over it, I’ll be here, M for Mature, ready, willing, and open-minded.

Now, about that quality control. In constructing a story to set the foundation for your future actions, you have to be careful how you pour the concrete.

I first read about Army of Two in an issue of the now deceased OPM. The piece began by introducing the reader to the former Halliburton subsidiary KBR and its most profitable source of income: its private military company. In reading about the PMCs controversial role and Army of Two’s concept of capitalizing off war, I was reminded of Frontline’s documentary, Private Warriors. A game that touches on such a provocative topic, a game that isn’t just black and white and makes you question your character’s motives: that’s a game I’d more than like to try. Then this came along:



Tapping into the same deposit of fun that Contra does is absolutely fine. It’s a shooter after all. This buddy cop movie approach, on the other hand, brought my interest down a stratum.

“We’re not taking ourselves so seriously in Army of Two.”

It took me a bit to shake that off. In hindsight, the game still looks promising with its Gears of War posturing, partner mechanics, and the still present portrayal of a PMC story, albeit in action movie attire. Yet, my focused attention on a single aspect of the game, piqued by the OPM write-up that stirred up visions of juxtapositions I’d experience first hand, now a fantasy crippled, had me pondering how these game developers really sought to use such subject matter. I’m the first to giggle with demented glee when I see someone portray real world issues, then say, “Here’s a fun game! Enjoy!” Now, that said, I certainly don’t want to have you patronize me with your ponderous preaching in between bosses and puzzles. Bioshock does a great job of showing you the result of unbound progression, Andrew Ryan’s utopia turn dystopia, all without any heavy-handed message constantly hovering over your head. The moral guilt is there for that.



Serious tones, as ones that usually accompany these topics, aren’t necessarily needed for presentation. A game like Mushroom Men hopes to represent, among other goals, a conflict of closely related warring nations in their silly satire. To characterize the squabbles of humanity in a fight between edible and poisonous mushrooms is entertaining. Why should SNL, Stewart and Colbert get all the fun?

Escapism is an absolutely fitting description of videogames, yet it carries a connotation. The good, the bad, the ugly, everything and anything, all left behind to enter a world of someone’s imagination of a particular resemblance. It’s hilarious to escape something such as death only to belittle and deride the concept in your retreat. In the decision making that goes into what to admit into a game, why leave behind what can make such an engrossing piece of entertainment?



In the final minutes of the movie interpretation of Children of Men, Theo Faren, played by Clive Owen, searches in a war-torn ghetto for Kee, who just gave birth to the last remaining infant on Earth. Upon finding her and the baby, what follows is a brief moment of serenity. The regular army and rebel militia both pause in awe of life, allowing Theo and Kee to simply walk away from the fighting. Adventurous games can create moments like that. You can experience that essence in videogames. What with the capability developers have now to shape epic, visually stunning games, big screen posturing is an appealing route in which to be pigeonholed. While videogames present similarities, what they do is all their own. Just let their imaginations run wild. If gaming is your is self-stroking pastime, that’s fine. There’s no reason why those games can’t exist. I’m ready for my mess.