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There's a certain kind of game that is "all about the gameplay," and then there are kinds that are not. What I am saying is that, with some games, the setting and visual style is completely unrelated to what you're doing in the game, and in some games, they are much more related. What I am NOT saying is that one of these types of games is better or worse than the other. It kills me when I see gamers debate over which one is better or more appropriate for one's age, because that is irrelevant.The first of those two types is the kind that seem to be pegged as frequently being on Nintendo systems. Super Monkey Ball (which is not made by Nintendo) is a good example of this. The setting and visual style of that game has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the gameplay. The fact that Super Monkey Ball is colorful and features monkeys does not indicate it is for six year olds, because it's a hard fucking game. Is is an entirely abstract game in that it is not "about" anything; the only reason it exiss is for the platforming gameplay. That is why you play it, not because you like colors and monkeys. If you play Super Monkey Ball because you're six and it's colorful, you will probably kill yourself because it's a fucking hard game. Fighting games--ranging from Street Fighter to Soul Calibur to Smash Bros.--also fall into this category.The second of those two types of game is something like Splinter Cell, or a graphic adventure game, or Halo, or a movie licensed game like Shrek. With these games, the gameplay is tied to the graphics/sound/presentation. These games actually REPRESENT something tangible; you still generally play them because you enjoy the gameplay (in theory), but you ALSO play them because the thing that they are representing appeals to you. Obviously to be a good game, these games need good gameplay too, but that is not their sole reason for being. They also exist to tell a story, or to tap into somebody's love for sci-fi settings, or to make somebody feel like a crazy high-tech spy, or whatever.To hear that somebody doesn't like games from the first category because they're "targeted at kids" is such a crazy thing to say that not only do I obviously not agree with it, I literally don't understand what it means. The appeal of those games has little to nothing to do with their actual setting or sound effects or graphics; their appeal has to do with the challenge and the feel of the actual gameplay actions you're doing, and nothing more. Age has NOTHING to do with it.If somebody doesn't like Super Monkey Ball, it better not be because they're 25, it better be because they don't like that kind of platforming gameplay, because that's the ONLY thing that game is about. I LOVE Super Monkey Ball, and it has jack shit to do with the fact that it's about monkeys in balls.Games that are ACTUALLY aimed at kids (SpongeBob, Shrek, etc.) tend to fall into the second category more than the first, because gameplay is irrelevant there, all that matters is getting kids to buy the license. Putting Rayman or Monkey Ball into the same category as SpongeBob and Shrek makes me genuinely sad because it means the person who considers those games part of the same category literally doesn't understand an entire class of games. It's one thing to not enjoy that gameplay, it's another to brush them aside because they're colorful.And really, when it comes down to it, most games marked "Mature" are not particularly mature. It's all the same teenage fantasy shit, some of it just has more blood. I'm not trying to be a jerk or crap on anyone's taste, I'm just being frank. I try not to have any illusions about the stuff I play being particularly mature, which is why I get so excited when something that actually IS well-written or interesting comes out. The rest of the time, though, I just play games from both categories, whatever's good. By limiting yourself to one you miss out on a lot of great games.Also definitely not everything in this post is directed at the original poster in this thread. This is a general response to these arguments that always pop up and make me want to bash my head against the wall.
