I have to say, I find it quite depressing that these days, when watching a particularly mediocre movie on TV, I find myself writhing in disgust at the cheesiness of the dialogue and the clichédness of the plot and characterization, while at the same time thinking to myself “…but if a game were to have a story of this quality, it would probably be lauded by critics everywhere as being the best thing since Grim Fandango.” [1]

I also have to say that I absolutely hate when people cite the ability to cry in a game (or lack thereof) as an indicator of its artistic merit (or lack thereof). The majority of books and movies I read do not make me cry at all, and on the rare occasion that one does, it’s quite likely that I’ll never, ever want to read or watch it again. Such a lack of waterworks on my part does not, however, imply that I wasn’t emotionally moved by a particular story. There are many more emotions in the panopoly of human experience than just pure, abject depression, after all. Yeesh!