Ars Technica recently posted an article about serious games, which was interesting, but which I believe missed the mark. They talk about Super Columbine Massacre, and Imagination is the Only Escape in the games as art genre, and mention Metal Gear Solid 4 in reference to the games as political discussion sphere, but it feels like they missed some valuable additions to their list.

Hence;

Top 5 Serious Games

5) Shadow of the Colossus

Definitely a part of the 'Games as Art' subsection of serious games, Shadow of the Colossus and its ilk (Braid, Rez, etc.) really stand out in a medium dominated by over-the-top plotlines and scantily clad women. This game in particular strikes a chord due to its sensitive subject matter, dealing with the concepts of what life is worth, and how futile our efforts are at changing the natural cycle of death.

The game has provides a sense of scale not seen before its time, and it contains a whole sub-strata of questions about morality, literally laid bare as the hero character goes about murdering massive columns of life in order to save the life of the one that he loves.

Very touching, and extremely unsettling.

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4) Second Life

While definitely not art, Second life occupies the social experimentation seat well. It is a real and open world with very few constraints, most of which can be gotten around in one way or another. The experiement centers around the turn of the century ideals of free society, and virtual spaces. What we see, not surprisingly, is mostly fetishistic sex acts, and a few interesting virtual innovations. Very telling, as far as what is on our minds as a species, even when we are supposedly freed from our mortal bounds, the first thing that we want our digital selves to do is screw in every way possible.

The sex aside, however, Second life is truly promising in its conception of what an online virtual world could be. It plays with rules, and if they aren't needed, it throws them away completely.

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3) Wii Fit

Not a social statement, and not art by a long shot, Wii Fit makes it high on the list because it is exactly the opposite of what a videogame should be. Normally, videogames are there so that you can do something that you normally have no capacity for, like killing Nazis or Driving a car at 200MPH. Wii Fit takes that notion of 'easy' and twists it into something actually productive.

It is primarily a way of tricking yourself into exercising, much in the same way that people will watch an exercise video so that they don't have to actually go outSIDE to work out. It works, though. The game actually allows you to train yourself, all the while feeling like it isn't work, it is just a game.

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2) Black and White

God is kind of a big deal. He'd tell you so himself, but he doesn't talk. Black and White takes on the idea of god, and turns it into an interesting game based on pretty narrowly defined notions of good and evil. The interesting thing about this game, however, is not that you can decide whether your godly hand helps or hinders the villagers. What is truly fascinating is the way that you raise your creature.

The game starts you out with a cute little manifestation of your godly will, an anthropomorphic animal. Throughout the game, this creature learns from you and the world around it, eventually becoming nearly as powerful as your avatar in the game. Most interesting about this is that the creature is actually quite difficult to mold the way you want. For example, I wanted the creature to stop pooping on the villagers, as this would kill them, so I would slap him every time he did that. He ended up learning that it was not okay to poop at all, anywhere.

Expanded out to the limits of the game, and you have a myriad of possibilities for your creature. The hand of god in the game was somewhat limited, but the creature developed a real personality, usually quite interesting due to the player's choices.

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1) Sim City 4

Sim City 4 is at the top of the list not only because it is one of the best games ever made, but also because it is one of the most complex games ever made. On the surface, the game is extremely simple. You build roads, and people build buildings in spots where you point them.

In practice, however, Sim City 4 is one of the best educational tools that I have ever encountered. The game is balanced perfectly, as your city grows, you need to balance your budget with extreme vigilance, lest you go into the red and people start moving away. It is easy to say that we need more social programs and our schools need to be better, but what if the city budget is already maxed out? What if you have to choose between a new school and the bus stops that people need to get to work?

I am notoriously a tree-hugger, and have been for some time, and Sim City 4 has helped me round out some of my more extreme viewpoints and 'plans' for the world. It is easy to say that we need to live off renewable energy, but what does that actually take? I have run through many cities with many different energy policies, the ones that focus on green alternatives like wind and solar have a much slower growth rate, but they are much easier to manage once the city starts getting dense.

These types of lessons abound in the game. Transportation alone could be a game in itself. Sim City 4 should be a college level course for anyone with ideas of political or social leadership, as it seems like the basic ideas in the game are things that many politicians are completely oblivious to (like a balanced budget).

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