Trigger Happy
378
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
