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| 08.12.2006RE: Ian Schreiber’s comments on Ernest Adams’ “Where’s Our Merchant Ivory?”
Ian Schreiber puts forth Final Fantasy VII and Battlefield 1942 as “highbrow games”. I respectfully disagree.
I finished and largely enjoyed Final Fantasy VII.
Final Fantasy VII is not a highbrow game.
Its interactivity consists of exploring spatial environments, maximizing the protagonists’ ability to destroy hostile creatures, and destroying these creatures. Repeatedly. Frequently by selecting “Fight”.
These activities did not consistently or deeply involve me in themes of Nature vs Technology, or any other serious exploration of the human condition.
The audiovisuals were fantastic, but the “choose Fight” drenched gameplay cannot be considered highbrow. (Recall that interactivity is games’ USP compared to other art forms).
I can’t speak about Battlefield 1942 from experience (though it’s a game I would also probably enjoy), but I suspect that here too, the gameplay would fall short of the “elite” art Ernest alludes to.
We still have a ways to go.-Nathan Frost
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Letters to the Editor
