Aleks is suffering from Orc overload
Aleks Krotoski is our monthly gaming columnist. You may remember her from gaming show Bits. Or Thumb Bandits. Or Richard and Judy. Or you may have read her columns in the newspapers. Or you might have seen her on the arcade machines down the Rat and Flute...
In my gaming life I’ve played with plumbers, Pac Men and space ships, alien intelligences, hoodlums and motorbike drivers.
I’ve been dragons, robots and busty broads. I’ve saved the world, rescued the girl and destroyed my enemies with arsenals that would make George Bush green with envy.
But oh my, aren’t they all so sincere.
Sure, I’ve enjoyed my time with most of them, but come on; can’t we have a little fun here?
I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen satire in their plots, weirdness for no reason or surreal escapades that take the mick out of games and us, the players.
"Elves and other mythical beasties are as uncool as someone saying "LOL" out loud."
There’s no genre that bleeds this sincerity more than the role playing game.
Peter Jackson may have made orcs and trolls all the rage for a brief few years (too long if you ask me), but please, to the rest of the known world, elves and other mythical beasties are as uncool as someone saying "LOL" out loud.
You can probably tell I’m not a fan of World of Warcraft, and I won’t be swayed by the 8 million people who have lost themselves to its fabled land, Azeroth.
But remove the damned makeup, and there’s something in there that seems to appeal to a whole heck of a lot of different people. It’s even turned non-gamers over to our side.
Published 7th February 2007
