Philips Magnavox Videogames and the Entertainment Revolution Trigger Happy - Manual (Page 248)

Trigger Happy
250
are that they are too overdetermined and prescripted
(just like preset “combo” moves in beat-’em-ups, and
just like prescripted “narrative” interactions in story
games). With Kyoko Date, we see further that motion
capture is also aesthetically impoverishing, as it limits
the achievable virtual movements and gestures to those
that are physically possible in real life. But if all you
are getting is “realistic” movement, far better to watch
an actual human dancer. Humans will always be much
better at that sort of thing. And it is just not what
videogames—or computer representation in general—
are best at doing.
Gender genres
The phenomenon of nijikon fetchi raises questions
about gender in videogames. Here, too, there are
instructive comparisons to be made between Japan, the
epicenter of videogame creativity, and Europe or
America. It seems that Japanese developers create more
games that women like to play. Demographics are to
some extent determined by aesthetics.