[JamesE]

Games are played to be entertaining. You might get a few perverts trying to get other things out of them, but at the end of the day the main thrust is either to thrill, immerse, puzzle or whatever. Narrative games tend to fall between two stools and end up empty and lacking for it.

Have there already been entertaining games? Immersion games? Scary games?

Games are doing great! They have their own set of rules which don't really compare well to TV shows, plays, movies or longform novels. They've more in common with adverts, pop art, pop music and sports (any sports). That's why I find all this... fretting and artwank anxiety over their development sort of hilarious - Mega Man 2 or Super Mario Bros hold up strongly as awesome pieces that are aging well and have a really great consistent asthetic. So for Sonic, Gunstar Heroes, etc. There's no need to worry because we're constantly being blessed by excellent examples of the form. If we weren't we wouldn't be posting here.

[JamesE]

Well, adverts are short and usually pretty consistent in style and tone. There's often some kind of strong style, be it inane or impressive. Music is often used in close synchronization with the action. There's increased use of graphic decals and abstraction.

Here's a really fucking terrifying example that stands out from my childhood: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ecBl2HK60Y

Here's another one that linked from that one. Fuck I miss matey bubble bath: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcHCeyQKf3U

And searching for videos just became disabled!

I think what I'm trying to get at is the same kind of abstraction and encapsulation that the two share, as well as the degree of risk it's acceptible to take with visual elements.

SEE ALSO: Music video