Postmodern Gaming, or, what the hell is going on here?

I think most of us don't really consider how normal our games really are. I mean, we take up swords and guns, we defeat these scourges of evil, we save the world, and...wait, wait, that's not normal at all! Well, you get my point. Although the plot, settings, and features of games change all the time, games follow much of the same conventions they always have. Nowadays, we usually go from point A to point B, save this person, kill this baddie, and we call it a day. These games follow the conventions of their own in-game universes, and they don't usually talk to the player directly or mess around with their psyches too much.

But not all games are like that...oh no, not at all. I think we can all agree that Hideo Kojima has done some pretty weird stuff in the Metal Gear series. Where else could a boss read a memory card filled with your saves from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night? What about the plot of Metal Gear Solid 2 itself? I can't help but think of the number of times Kojima has broken the fourth wall, and of all the times the Metal Gear games have been just plain weird and unusual. Call it what you like, but it has a strange impact on the player, that's for sure. Somehow breaking all the rules draws you into the game even more...at least when I wasn't searching for Meryl's codec number and didn't know what the hell they were talking about, but that's a story for another day.

But are there any other examples we know of? Well, I might have one: Takeshi's Castle. Released in 1986 for the Famicom, it's a weird, experimental title designed by actor and director Takeshi Kitano, and...let's not mince words here, it's pretty messed up. You have to sing into the Famicom's microphone (on the second controller) for a hour without stopping, hit a button 20,000 times to beat a boss, and...well, just see for yourself. Trust me, this game breaks so many rules and tortures you so much. From a guy like Takeshi Kitano, who has his own unusual philosophical views in his movies, this kind of makes sense. But only somewhat. It's still a pretty devious game. As a piece of postmodern gaming, I think it gives Kojima a run for his money.

Oh yeah, that link I posted on Takeshi's Castle? It goes to Polas' Goodtime Retro Cafe, which, despite hardly updating EVER, is still an underrated, humorous game site. Check out some of their stuff on Karnov (which is weird enough in itself).