Opinion: Junk Food Games

Hey there, Gamers and Game Makers!

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how people have been saying games need to push the envelope more when it comes to what we expect. That games need to continue to change expectations and push boundaries. This is something I agree with. I think we do need to explore interesting new ways to entertain and surprise players and create new an enriching experiences. However, that's not what I want to talk about.

Instead I want to make the case for games that don't do this. To give you some context, I was recently looking for a horror game to play. Something short and effective. I wasn't interested in a gripping narrative or new and interesting gameplay mechanics. I just wanted a good old fashioned jump scare game. I wanted a junk food game. The kind that you can argue isn't that great. The kind you say isn't doing anything that hasn't been done already. While this may be true of games like this, can I say the game entertained me? Yes. Yes, it did. Very much so in fact.

The point I'm trying to make is that a game doesn't have to push the limits of what we expect from games. it doesn't have to draw us in with a gripping story that holds us for hours in anticipation of the outcome. Sometimes all we want, all we might need after a long day of work or college is to jump into a simple jump scare game or casual repetitive game that has no end goal. Sometimes we just need some junk food games and in my opinion, having games like that around is just as important as innovating and pushing the limits with new games. So, go and enjoy some junk food.

Until next time!