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In a stark counterpoint to the Slate editorial entitled 'World of Borecraft,' Gamasutra has their own feature - this one on the rise of serious games and how video games don't have to be fun, at least not if they fall into the 'serious games' category. Talking with some heavy hitters in the serious game development world, they touch on a number of topics - including the sometimes scathing criticism from other parties in the more mainstream gaming worlds and the fact that serious games desperately need a 'success story' to prove their value, since they "mostly grab headlines and have little real impact."

"I know that comparisons to the film industry have grown tired and overused," [Ian Bogost of Persuasive Games] says, "but indulge me in this one: When you watch the Academy Awards this year, how many films in the running for awards are about big explosions and other forms of immediate gratification, and how many are about the more complex subtleties of human experience?

I don't think we need to take the fun out of video games any time soon, but the point that a lot of these serious game developers is a valid one (especially considering their own healthy dose of self-criticism), regardless of the entertainment value of current offerings. As Bogost says, ""For 30 years now we've focused on making games produce fun .... Isn't it about time we started working toward other kinds of emotional responses?"
Who Says Video Games Have to be Fun?: The Rise of Serious Games [Gamasutra]
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