These days, I feel like a lot of people determine that they're either into narrative-centric games or mechanics-centric games, and don't do much in the way of cross-pollination, even when the games themselves do so. I'm sure we all know at least one person who takes inexplicable pride in the fact that they skip all the cutscenes in games, for example.
Me, I've always been a "why not both?" kind of person. There are times when I'm in the mood for a game to tell me a good story, times when I'm in the mood to engage with some interesting mechanics — and times when I find a blend of the two to be most rewarding.
Actually, there are times where I feel like I'm enjoying mechanics-centric games a lot more now than I have done in the past — to such a degree that I've found myself wondering more than once if I actually prefer them. This was particularly fresh in my mind while I was feasting on Super Mario Galaxy while we were on holiday.
Then a game like Nighthawks comes along, and I'm reminded of how involving and immersive a game that places its narrative front and centre can really be. How it can feel like you're really inhabiting a world with a cast of characters, truly sharing your experiences with them.
The gameplay in Nighthawks isn't especially complex, but it is enough to distinguish itself from both visual novels and adventure games. I'll have a lot more to say about this when I write about the game in full once I've beaten it. I'm not sure how far off that is now, but I've been playing for 30 hours and things are definitely building to something. But suffice it to say for now that I am thoroughly enraptured by this dark little world and the colourful cast of misfits that populate it.
I think the simple answer is that I just like a wide variety of gaming experiences, both mechanics- and narrative-centric. I attribute this to growing up in an age where mechanics-centric was the norm and narrative-centric was relatively unusual to see, and then having several of my defining gaming experiences be with narrative-centric games, including Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and Final Fantasy VII. This state of affairs helped me see the benefit of all types of games.
Well, no. There are some games, like grand strategy affairs, that I still find largely indecipherable. But I guess one has to draw a line somewhere. As it stands, I don't think I'm ever going to be short of things to play!
For all the terrible things happening in the games industry, it is still a great time to be into games. And there are a bunch of things out in the imminent future that I'm very much looking forward to getting stuck into. After Nighthawks, of course…
Want to read my thoughts on various video games, visual novels and other popular culture things? Stop by MoeGamer.net, my site for all things fun where I am generally a lot more cheerful. And if you fancy watching some vids on classic games, drop by my YouTube channel.
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