mezrabad
06-24-2006, 02:26 PM
Can a videogame be classified as fictional or non-fictional?
If games can tell a story, then is it unreasonable to expect games to be able to tell true stories? Could games which report or demonstrate research be considered non-fictional?
We're not going to get into the "videogames are art" "no they're not" "yes they are" argument here, okay? Don't go there.
Can we look at videogames as a media and try to generate a list of "non-fictional videogames" and feel free to include computer games as well.
For instance
Sid Mier's Gettysburg and any simulation of a battle which has taken place, even if the outcome of the battle can be altered.
Microsoft Flight Simulator (?)
Sim City (?), Sim Health, Sim Earth (?)
Civilization (?)
America's Army (?)
You see what I'm getting at? I'm not sure if Sim City can count as non-fiction but the original was based on research in city planning. America's Army has fictional scenarios so it may not count either. JFK Reloaded, as offensive as it is to some, could be considered non-fiction as it simulates an actual event.
Then again, there are games with out stories at all, like Dance Dance Revolution which aren't fiction or non-fiction, they're just "games". I'm not looking for them either, otherwise, PONG could be considered non-fiction. I'm looking for games that tell true stories or try to realisticly simulate possible events. "The Great Wall Street Fortune Hunt" might be non-fiction. "Conquest of the World" not.
Anyway, I hope you get what I'm asking.
If games can tell a story, then is it unreasonable to expect games to be able to tell true stories? Could games which report or demonstrate research be considered non-fictional?
We're not going to get into the "videogames are art" "no they're not" "yes they are" argument here, okay? Don't go there.
Can we look at videogames as a media and try to generate a list of "non-fictional videogames" and feel free to include computer games as well.
For instance
Sid Mier's Gettysburg and any simulation of a battle which has taken place, even if the outcome of the battle can be altered.
Microsoft Flight Simulator (?)
Sim City (?), Sim Health, Sim Earth (?)
Civilization (?)
America's Army (?)
You see what I'm getting at? I'm not sure if Sim City can count as non-fiction but the original was based on research in city planning. America's Army has fictional scenarios so it may not count either. JFK Reloaded, as offensive as it is to some, could be considered non-fiction as it simulates an actual event.
Then again, there are games with out stories at all, like Dance Dance Revolution which aren't fiction or non-fiction, they're just "games". I'm not looking for them either, otherwise, PONG could be considered non-fiction. I'm looking for games that tell true stories or try to realisticly simulate possible events. "The Great Wall Street Fortune Hunt" might be non-fiction. "Conquest of the World" not.
Anyway, I hope you get what I'm asking.