Well, not me, exactly. That’s the title of an editorial which ponders the idea that games can be more personal, with stories about characters and their troubles, not the fate of millions. While high stakes have a place in culture; books, movies, and comics have used world-ending threats for decades, that’s not the only type of story there is. Some of the best art out there is based around smaller concepts. A thought, an old memory, a future hope. There’s no reason that video games can’t work on the same level. Where are the video games that strike close to home? Joystiq has the story.
I still say the most popular MMO to ever exist will be a small town simulator, a sort of Second Life: American Gothic. Simple times, simple games, no real violence, and a dozen different goals to work toward, all at once. Wrap it in a personal story and plot that develops around what your character decides to do, and none shall ever escape its grasp. Small, personal gaming.
Many of the Facebook MMOs aren’t about saving the world, they’re about controlling it. Pitting people against one another in a competition to carve out their section of resources. Video games, solo player, on the other hand are an entertainment experience designed to be vicarious heroism. Thus, saving the world becomes a strong component. Perhaps we need to move away from that and offer smaller more likely goals, but video games suffer the same sort of plot creep that science fiction and fantasy novels do.