Childish games

Why must we belittle our younger kind? Kid games today, as they pretty much have always been, are dumbed down and poorly created. Rather than talk about these games, I want to discuss two games that I think would make for excellent kids games if the difficulty was adjusted slightly to make them begin easier.

Geometry Wars is a fantastic little title on the XBox Live Arcade. The gameplay is simple enough, with maneuvering of the space ship handled with 1 joystick and shooting handled with the other. It is an abstract game with colorful, bright graphics and catchy music. There are several reasons why I think this is a terrific kids game. The first of all is that it is violent without being specific. Many parents do not want their children killing people in a video game, yet have no real concern with violence overall. This is why those same parents see no hypocrisy with their child killing aliens, or having blood in a game as long as it is green and not red. Whether or not these trivial differences is important is not for my discussion, as it is difficult as a childless person to tell someone how to raise their kids. However, Geometry Wars, with its abstract shapes, avoids this problem entirely, and kids who want to play something somewhat violent get to. Moreover, there's always a debate whether music and colorful graphics stimulate a young child. This is perhaps why those Baby Mozart videos are popular despite having no scientific effect on a child. Again, here is a game that is bright, filled with many primary colors, shapes, and techno music. The only reason why this game would not be perfect for a child is that it is currently too difficult. If there was an addition of a kid's mode where the number of ships were lessened and the rise in challenge leveled, this would be something I'd recommend to every parent.

And for much of the same reasons, REZ is another great game. It is colorful, abstract, filled with great music, and features easy enough controls. Again, the difficulty would need to be addressed. However, unlike Geometry Wars, REZ features a complex story that deals with self identification, what it is to be human, and the environment. These are important topics of thought and discussion for any person, even a child. However, given the obtuse nature in which the story is presented, it would need to be simplified and explained in much more concrete terms.

The thread between these two games is obvious: bright graphics, abstraction, interesting and repetitive music, simplistic controls, and a non-demeaning attitude toward children. It's a shame games like this are so hard - much harder than games in other genres. These are the games children should play.