Design Idea: The Dogma Manifesto.

I was immediately familiar with this topic, as it has come up in a number of my previous Media and Film Studies courses, and I have always found the Dogme95 Manifesto fascinating. While it may be fun to explore what new technologies can do in a medium (the CG robots in the first Transformers movie), these techniques are often over-saturated in a very short time – generally after everyone else but the country bumpkin has jumped on the bandwagon once the first ‘pioneer’ of said technique (not that I am calling Transformers a pioneer, might I add) has proven successful and profitable. The technique, style, character-type, technology – the Idea grows old and tired fast.

You might have noticed that vampires are the ‘in’ thing right now. Unless you’re living under a rock – and even then, I’m sure Edward Cullen dazzles you.

Ahem.

So it comes as little surprise that there is a similar manifesto for the games industry, perhaps just as ignored and unloved en masse, as the Dogme95 one. Personally, I find the Dogma 2001 (and I almost typed ‘Space Odyssey’ there XD) to be a lot more restrictive than its filmic counterpart. This might just be because I am personally a fan of (and prefer) the immersive RPG-style of gaming, which seems all but forbidden by this manifesto, whereas the style of film Dogme95 calls for is something I could enjoy for itself. Of course, that’s not to say I wouldn’t enjoy the games that would come as a result of Dogma 2001; just that I find its call more restrictive, despite its claims.

In any case, Dogma 2001 has its selling points and its retractors. Firstly, I have to agree on points eight and nine. In point Eight, the Dogma 2001 Manifesto states that ‘There may be victory and defeat, and my side and their side, but there may not be Good and Evil.’ – I dislike strict terms of ‘black and white – good and evil’. I think the most interesting games, ideally, are those that deal in shades of grey – where characters are not one or the other, both or neither, and make the player question each aspect of the opposition’s and their own actions.

Nine, I agree with more strongly. I like stories, and stories within games. Random can be fun at times, but it can be, and usually is, ridiculous. Realistic gameplay – logic – within the guidelines and abilities you have been given shouldn’t be too much to ask for in a game.

Really, those are the only two points on which I can agree with in the manifesto. On the other points, I’d have to disagree, because for a majority of them, it seems that just because there have been a lot of games who have used these elements poorly, means that everybody loses out on them when I still think that in the right hands, they can be used creatively and innovatively – which is something that I thought was one of the main appeals of trying new games – innovation.

Also, I’d just like to point out that I think the last point in particular is ridiculous. Black = cool = bad? Ridiculous. Using black in a game can be most effective emotionally – it stems from the fact that what we can’t see can be more intense than what we can, because possibility, imagination and the unknown can scare or thrill us more effectively than things that are visibly and solidly defined for us. Just to avoid it because of a general social connotation that not everyone agrees upon? It seems tremendously idiotic.

Game Idea

Might get back to you on that one. XD

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