Trigger Happy
Virtual justice
Terry Pratchett, the videogame-loving author of the Discworld novels (whose universe, like that of a good videogame, is bizarre but consistent), explained to me just why he enjoys games in these terms: “For me, it’s the fun of exploration, and new challenges. I like the big-screen feel of the Tomb Raider series and, for example, Half-Life . . . I like hidden areas, secret rooms, non-player characters who can help you. This gives you a real sense of involvement. What impressed me about Tomb Raider was the breadth of the scenery, and the . . . claustrophobia, the sense that you were really there.” And what does he want from the videogames of the future? Simple, really. “Give me the speargun, the revolver and the shotgun, and turn me loose on an unknown world.” But it’s much better when there are plenty more things to do in a videogame than just spraying bullets around. Pratchett agrees: “That’s what I liked about Tomb Raider—it wasn’t defined by shooting.”
Yet particularly in first-person games, there is still room for massive symbolic improvement. Interesting steps have been made recently by games such as Rainbow Six or Hidden and Dangerous, where the
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