Like caviar wrapped in Jelly Belly, there’s been a strange trend of putting together games that by all appearances are for children, but quickly reveal themselves to be for an audience of finer tastes.
I’m not talking about that copy of Toy Story you had for your Super Nintendo, either. That was just poorly made, with controls and mechanics that no gamer of any pedigree could cope with. Instead, I’m referencing recent efforts like Viva Pinata and Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. The reason behind all this was an admission of what went wrong with Zack and Wiki, a puzzle game with a dose of both pointing and clicking. Now nothing more than a cult hit, it once carried a lot more weight. As Capcom’s first genuine foray into Wii development, Zack and Wiki was poised to become what every publisher dreams of; a franchise. But despite great reviews and a vocal fan base, it sat on store shelves. Despite it’s critical success, the jury was out on Zack and Wiki very early on; it was something very few people would actually want.
Unfortunately, Z&W failed in appealing to two very important markets. To the traditional gamer, it’s interesting gameplay was marred by its childish aesthetics. No matter how often people say gameplay is king, there’s many out there who still need the game to be visually appetizing. Otherwise we wouldn’t have wound up with situations like the initial backlash to Wind Waker. Accordingly, the market segment that would like this type of game became significantly smaller. They just couldn’t get over pirate boys and robot monkeys.
As for the younger demographic that would have found Z&W visually stimulating, they were put off by a genre they couldn’t understand. At retail, it was difficult to recommend the game to children, as they would likely be put off by the difficulty. Zack and Wiki was far from an easy game. It was difficult, and after the first few introductory stages, would through the most seasoned of gamers for a loop. So now, another large portion of the market has been turned off from a game deserving of their time.
And the pattern just continues to repeat itself. As mentioned earlier, Rare caused itself the same problems with its Viva Pinata titles. Here’s a game that hoped to claim that same market that Pokemon had; children with mountains of disposable income, and young adults that would support the games long past it’s eventual abandonment by the aforementioned children (likely due to the next best thing). Despite an animated television show that would lead one to think that its video game companion would be just as light, the Viva Pinata video games proved to be as hardcore as possible. In the face of its childish visuals stood a game that required one to labour over its many hidden details. Micro-management has never been a child’s strong suit, and the game never took off in that market.
The most difficult aspect of this problem is how do you tackle it? Is there any reason a developer should change the title’s art style just so it fits the confines of the genre better? And should a game have to instantly become an easier experience because it looks like something sandwiched between Spongebob and Bakugon on a Saturday morning?
It doesn’t have to go in either direction. The most important thing is striking that perfect balance. Take The Sims for example, here’s a game that has the same life-management focus that Viva Pinata has, but it manages to take it easy on the 12-year-old girls playing, as well as possess that time-sinking ability that draws in the more hardcore of us. New Super Mario Bros. is an interesting example as well. Here we have a design that’s just as childish as Zack and Wiki, but it provides branching difficulty levels. Kids may not be able to access every hidden nook and cranny, but there’s still a full experience there for them.
The only obstacle still remaining is those thick-headed individuals who can’t play a game without bare midriffs and thick armed steroid addicts. And I wish I could list off some magical solution. A graphic filter that instantly upsizes any female character’s brazier, perhaps? But, and I say this with as much venom as possible, they just need to get over themselves. If they choose to miss out on some of our greatest treasures, they can live with it. Because, when they pass on their game collections to their own children and are asked why Zack and Wiki isn’t part of it, “I was a damned fool,” is all they’ll have to say.
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