Fun and Games

For a moment imagine a game that is not fun. I don't mean one with failed design; I mean a game that never set out to be fun.

Drawing a blank? No matter what genre we're dealing with, the one quality we've learned to expect from videogames is fun. A game might try for some higher purpose, to address a real world issue or communicate a personal feeling, but, without 'fun' at it's core, it's safe to assume many people wouldn't consider it a game. This is entertainment after all; it's meant for leisure.

Not everyone agrees with that. Over at their blog, Tale of Tales, the people behind the recent, Passage like, The Graveyard, point out a new addition to what's probably best called interactive art, though that sounds pretentious and vague. The game is Pathologic, and Tale of Tales praises it for “sacrificing the overrated 'fun factor.'”

Tale of Tales has had an ongoing problem with fun. For example, try their voiceless, screensaver MMO, The Endless Forest, (if you've ever 'played' it you know the exclusion of Game makes perfect sense, though the Role Playing could stay). Or read their Real Time Art Manifesto for a damning critique of modern videogames.

As for Pathologic, it comes from Russia. It's an FPS, RPG hybrid that has you exploring a town, quarantined by a disease, in the role of one of three playable characters, each with their own story line.

In his review of Pathologic for EuroGamer, John Walker jumped back and forth between damning and praise, sometimes in just a few sentences. “It's really broken. It's far too broken to justify the £25 price, and certainly too broken for me to recommend you buy it. But oh my goodness, I'd love for you to experience this.”

I haven't tried it myself. Broken as it is, apparently this game loves to crash, I'm afraid my MacBook can't handle it.

Thankfully, RockPaperShotgun recently saved us all the trouble of working through Pathologic's bugs, with a three part criticism. Titled, Body, Mind and Soul, the three posts look into what makes Pathologic, “the single best and most important game that you’ve never played.” They also say that in Pathologic, “what’s going on /is not fun./ This is not a game.” So it's a tough argument to make, and they spend their time doing it. It's worth reading though, just to get a look at an interesting game unlike anything you've seen, or probably ever will.

After reading it I'm not even sure I want to play Pathologic. That's not true actually. I really want to play, though after reading all three posts the game is completely spoiled for me.  But maybe that's for the best. I've played The Endless Forest and The Graveyard, and I know I'd rather read and write pages on them than ever play again. After reading RockPaperShotgun's posts, I'm sure Pathologic is the same. Depending on your outlook, that's either total damnation or the highest compliment.

[Image Source: RockPaperShotgun]