Over at the Sydney Morning herald’s Screenplay blog, guest writer Caleb Bridge recently took a turn at the emotional content of narrative videogames. It seems that everyone and their dog has pondered the place of games in the cultural/literary landscape as of late, but Bridge does have a few interesting points worth considering.

First, he compares the storytelling techniques of three recent titles: the atmospheric, interactive approach of BioShock, the largely cinematic, hands-off style of Metal Gear Solid 4, and the mix of styles in Grand Theft Auto IV. Bridge seems to think each method has it’s merits (and surely, these are the best recent examples of each), but argues that videogames still can’t touch him on a deeply emotional level the way that films have in the past. He feels that they are simply too far removed from reality.

Eidos New Media announced the developer’s first Xbox Live-exclusive title Thursday (July 19, 2007), titled Geon: emotions. The Strawdog studios co-developed title features psychedelic visuals, twitch gameplay, and several “emotions” to play as, and is due for release later this summer. The arcadey game plays a bit like a mix of Marble Madness and Pac-Man more »