Games with Intellectual Content

[Maitre]

Hi,
I believe what Maitre was saying is that a book or a movie puts you in the position of a spectator. The author has the freedom to teach and preach, and if he does it well enough, you'll at least listen to what he has to say. A game should put you in a different position, that of a participant. All too often if the author of the game has a message to impart, you no longer have the freedom to participate (or, at least not on a level significantly beyond the participation of turning pages). At the least, your choices are greatly limited (e.g., SimCity where public transportation and nuclear power are the only viable alternatives).

So, the question is whether it is possible to simultaneously give the player a true freedom to participate and still impart something beyond game-play. And that is a poorly formed question, I think. Some people will learn something from the most mindless game and others will learn nothing from anything.

--Pete

Sorry to jump in the middle from the end, but I think Pete stated it better than I did. I don't intend to discount the possiblity that games present a ne medium for intelectual content, I'm just doubting that the medium is mature enough at this point that anything meaningful has come from it.

I think I was really trying to make 2 points, one was the above, and the second was along the lines of Pete's second paragraph. When reviewing a book or movie as a spectator you have a better opportunity to evaluate the message and the level of success in its delivery. When playing as the protagonist in a linear story, are you more focussed on the game's message, or the current fetch quest? I'm not smart enough to do both at the same time, and so I'd prefer to consume my intelectual content as an observer.