Video games are evolving. As a new form of media, games are maturing and finding their creative potential. Today’s technology for video games allows developers to push what’s possible and create titles that are emotional and rewarding.

Most notable for innovation in this regard is the game made by the developer, Thegamecompany, simply named “Journey.” In the game, you play an unknown, cloaked figure. Without words, the story unfolds through environments, and you are only aware of the dangers in the world through sounds and music. By understanding the gameplay, you learn what needs to be done to advance ever closer to the glowing mountain that the game puts front and center.

The amazing thing about the game is the wordlessness. Because of this, you are left only with sights, sounds and thoughts. You’re subconsciously committed to uncovering the purpose of embarking on this beautiful journey. It becomes your journey, and it’s a sight to behold.

While That game company strives for interactivity, others including Quantic Dream strive more for story.

With what he calls a “psychological action thriller,” director David Cage of Quantic Dream aims to give players something new and that is “Beyond: Two Souls.”

Through a story surrounding the mysteries of death and beyond, Cage seeks to illustrate a deep story through the life of a young woman named Jodie Holmes and the obscure entity plainly known as Aiden.

One of the strongest points for the game is the use of the actress Ellen Page as the lead. “Well, what I tried to do was to trigger emotions with the players. I use story to do that but the real vehicle for emotions is actors,” Cage said during a Playstation Blog interview.

Perhaps the best element to Cage’s games is the choices you make during gameplay that profoundly change what you experience. “You will have the opportunity to make the story yours. It’s going to be your experience, your decisions, your choices,” said Cage.

All of the work Cage and his team put into the game allows them to give players entirely different stories within the same game. Just like their previous title “Heavy Rain”, there are no “game over” screens or restarts. The game saves all progress and continues the story, resulting in many different endings.

Titles like these are moving games away from the negative stigma that gaming is wasteful. But titles such as “Journey” and “Beyond: Two Souls” showcase what can be accomplished; that games can be taken seriously.
We as gamers should be very proud and feel lucky to live in a time where developers believe in making something different and are unafraid to risk moving away from yesterday’s traditional methods.