Extra Lives and Saved Games

So, I started Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter by Tom Bissell last week and even before I started the book, I knew there were going to be issues.

First, with a topic so broad a video games and justifying their existence, you'd expect to pick up a tome. But this book barely makes it past 200 pages.

Second, flipping to the table of contents, it was pretty clear that Bissell was only covering PS and Xbox games. No Nintendo. In fact, almost all of the games mentioned were from the last few years (except for the essay on the first Resident Evil game).

Then, I actually tried reading it and pretty much had to put it down by the end of the second essay. Bissell wasn't explaining why video games matter, he was only talking about why they matter to him personally. Plus, in his effort (or maybe his editor's effort?) to make the book readable to non-gamers, he spends pages telling us about certain scenes in games, but I never felt he really explained WHY these scenes were important.

He also makes some snide comments about PC games and when I saw no sign of Nintendo in the table of contents, I knew he was not going to cover the topics I was interested in. I aired my greivances with andy_wolverton while at work last week, ending the conversation with the classic "I could write a better book!" and him telling me I should.

So I typed up some stream-of-consciousness notes and realized that there is no way I could write a single volume. I talked with AD about it today and he pointed out that you could probably write an entire book on the 'Legend of Zelda' series, let alone the entire video game world.

To me, video games are a very personal experience, more so than any other form of entertainment out there. There are so many questions to be answered, so many reasons that one person might say games matter to them. Bissell did a good job in the first two essay telling me why he liked to play video games, and I probably wouldn't have been so perturbed if he had called the book "my adventures in video games" or something like that. But the "Why Games Matter" title just demanded so much more. Here was his chance to talk about the evolution of video games - from the simple pong to the cinematic Heavy Rain. Here was an opportunity to discuss the "are video games art?" question. And the million dollar question - WHY? Why does someone play a video game.

But, see, to me, that question cannot be answered by one single person. Because my answer will differ from your answer. My retired-Navy Dad LOVES World War II games...WHY? My Mom can play Dr Mario into the wee hours of the night - WHY? After so many years, why does destertale still log into World of Warcraft? Why is AD drawn into Starcraft? Why did faeriesfolly and lostacanthus disappear from LJ right after DragonAge was released?? Why were so many people pulled in by the Nintendo Wii?

Yes, we could just say "escape" - but that's too easy. We could say that about fans of books, theater, or movies - but there is always something more underneath.

I'm trying to figure out if I could even pretend to start a book like this. Part of me thinks this would be a great online project - asking gamers to submit their stories about why video games matter to them. I can type up my personal experiences, my hypothesises, my understanding of the history of video games - but there is just no way I could explain the appeal of so many different genres and styles of video-gaming today.

It would be a big project to manage, but maybe it would encourage hardcore gamers, casual gamers, and non-gamers alike to think a bit more about why they pick up the controller/remote/keyboard/DS etc. for a few hours every now and then.

What do you guys think? Would this be something worth persuing? I was thinking of calling it "Saved Games" or "Save Point" or something along those lines...