| Topic List | Page List: 1 |
|---|---|
| Topic | What videogames should be taught at school for literature class? |
| Timmyjinkle 07/13/22 7:17:55 PM #33: | Sounds like Forest (if the class is 18+) should be on there: "Forest, blends Metafiction, and fiction into a stunning amalgamation of pure Literacy, the world will not see it's like for decades. The narration is often at odds with the writing in subversion, subtle ways that is apparent in the English version, but has a life of it's own in the Japanese version. Forest is a many-layered construction of English literature and dueling narrators and really weird sex. You could say that it is "about" five people in Shinjuku who are chosen to do battle with the Forest, a world of magic that has begun to intrude into the modern world. But this is really about as accurate a summary as saying that Finnegan's wake is "about" Mr. and Mrs. Porter and their three children's life in Chapelizod --it's part of the truth, but not all of it. Theoretically, if you played Forest enough times you'd be able to get to the core of the story, and be able to describe it in two or three pithy sentences. Unfortunately, this will almost certainly not happen by the time you're finished with your first playthrough of the game, because Forest is dense. It's only about six hours long, but in those six hours it covers more ground than other games two or three times the length. It pulls threads from the body of English literature, sometimes even from the most unlikely places: there are references to "Five Children and It", "Lord of the Rings" and "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", to name a few. But in contrast to games like the Kingdom Hearts series, which reduce their crossover elements to playable cameos, Forest does some remarkably bizarre things with its source material. Its use of Winnie the Pooh and its ilk, for example, is freakishly inspired, both horrifying and affecting in the same measure. For a relatively short game, Forest has an immense amount of graphical and musical variety. The game takes place over roughly a year's time, and the characters have different outfits for literally every major chapter of the story. Mundane passers-by morph into cats. Ravens take off their faces to become dashing gentlemen. The backgrounds are made up of what appear to be photos of Shinjuku, until you realize that there are gaping holes in the scenery through which you can see masses of leaves. Forest is a unique work of fiction. How much you enjoy it depends on what kind of person you are--if your taste in fiction ranges more conventional, you might very well be repulsed, confused or even disgusted. But like Finnegan's Wake, like Dhalgren, like any high literacy you can name: if this game is for you, and it very well may be for you, then you should play it, at least once. Come at it from a pedestrian view, and and Forest is an incomprehensible mess, but to the right pair of eyes and ears it is a master piece. In closing, Forest is essentially a must-play. Just be aware that it's a challenging play." --- "Some things have to be believed to be seen." - Ralph Hodgson ... Copied to Clipboard! |
| Topic List | Page List: 1 |