Perfection in Games (and Why We Don’t Want It)

I’m in an American Literature Class at the University of Missouri and a recent reading assignment really got me thinking.

The reading was Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “The Birth-Mark.” For those of you not familiar with the plot, a scientist named Alymer believe his wife to be perfect in every way, save for a small birthmark on her cheek. He convinces her that it is an imperfection that must be done away with. He concocts an elixir and when his wife drinks it, the birthmark disappears. Then she immediately dies (with the implication that something perfect is not allowed to live among mortals.)

This guy obviously knew a little something about not being perfect.

Obviously, Hawthorne knew a little something about not being perfect. Nice 'stache.

While I generally find Hawthorne’s writings to be impenetrable fortresses of unnecessary and confusing words, the simple theme of the consequences of perfection fascinates me, especially when it comes to games.

Gamers say they want their games to be perfect and developers try to make their games perfect, but is perfection something we truly want?

When discussing the philosophy of review scores, I have heard many people (including Dan Hsu and many other regulars of the Mobcast,) say that even when a game gets a “perfect” score, it doesn’t mean that a game is without flaw; “No game is perfect.” And thank goodness for that!

Imagine, if you will, the perfect first-person shooter. It might have the vehicle combat of Halo, the leveling and upgrading system of Modern Warfare, the destructibility of Battlefield: Bad Company. Regardless of which elements it possesses, the final question is the same. “Would you ever play a different first-person shooter again?”

This is an extreme example of course, a perfect game will never happen thanks to the fallibility of humans, but it’s something to consider the next time you find yourself bitching about the menus in Borderlands or the repetitiveness of Crackdown. Imperfections make us who we are and in turn, make each game what they are. The important thing is that you’re having fun because really, that’s what games are all about.

Also, as an aside, can we stop using the word perfect when describing things in games? Our culture is exaggeration-filled as it is. {readmore}

Tags: Mobcast, Crackdown, Borderlands, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Halo: Combat Evolved, battlefield 1942, Bad Company

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Ed Grabowski

February 21, 2010

I agree (although guiltily I often call the original Mass Effect "Perfection on a disk"). I say this quite often as well. Unfortunately It often falls on deaf ears. Why must games be perfect? I wish I could tell you how many times I have seen someone put a fantastic game down because one or two small things got in the way of their enjoyment. It is too many to number. I can give you an example though. Someone I know will not finish playing Uncharted 2 because they don't think the story is captivating enough. Seriously. You are never going to find the perfect experience. Even my best game of all time, Mass Effect, had a dreadful frame rate. However, too many gamers are too quick to take off their gloves and start swinging when every piece of the puzzle does not fit perfectly. I remember when Killzone 2 came out. The forums were on fire because the controls were not as pin point accurate as Modern Warfare 2. The developers tried explaining to everyone that your character in Killzone 2 weighs a lot more than an ordinary character in Modern Warfare 2, and the added delay in the movement controls were purposely added to convey that weight. Sadly, the community was not having any of that. They saw that ONE flaw, and the flocked to it like flies on shit. The forums blew up with users threatening to trade their game in, and others threatening to break their disks. A small group of us defended the game by pointing out the bajillion things that was so great about it. None of that mattered though, because there was a flaw in the game, and to those gamers, the entire experience was defined not by it's accomplishments, but rather it's failures. The Developers eventually gave in and made the controls just like Modern Warfare 2, essentially destroying their vision because of perfection demanding "gamers". They need to learn to love the good and the bad. If the good in something far outweighs the bad, like in Killzone 2, you should consider yourself lucky. Unfortunately, it isn't like that in this industry, and I feel bad for the Developer who releases a great new game only to find the forums lite up with complaints about how the Menu's don't look great and the game sucks because of it.

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Alex Martin

What makes a good a game is subjective. So devs can get every little thing right (which they should try to - a cumbersome menu system isn't endearing) and it won't fit with everyone's idea of perfection.