In a recent interview with Gamasutra, 2K Boston’s Chris Kline commented that he believed that a game like BioShock could be a success on the Wii, as long as audiences were properly introduced to more complex content.
Further expounding on the topic of accessibility, Kline mentioned that he does not feel that Wii Fit and other user-friendly titles “aren’t real games”, as some others are quick to say. He does, however, mention that he feels the constantly changing controllers can make it difficult to enter a game’s world with ease:
“Every time I pick up a new game, I’m like, ‘Oh my god, they’ve changed the controller mappings again,’ and now I’ve got to, you know, reconfigure my head, just so I can start to enjoy this game.”
Chris is right. The Wii could use more complex experiences — I can only replay Resident Evil 4 so many times before I start to crave something that challenges me to do more than swing my arms like a monkey. On the other hand, there’s another issue that he doesn’t address: graphics. For me, a part of what made BioShock so enthralling was the ability to lose myself in Rapture’s startling beauty. Let’s face it — the Wii doesn’t quite have the oomph to make a game look like that.
We were told complex stories in 8 and 16 bit games that still sit as profound parts of our memories to this very day, so I certainly am not saying that graphics will make or break an experience. In the modern age of gaming, though, it seems like the trend is leaning more and more towards immersing the gamer in photorealistic worlds. Would a graphically lesser version of a title like BioShock be able to hack it, regardless of strength of story?
[Thanks, Joe]
