With our first game (Shadows of Light) we literally had a 100% finished product and the publishers and distribution channels (Christian bookstores) felt that THEY had the right to tell us to completely overhaul the game to meet their every whim. Even after we made every single change requested change some of them refused to carry the product. When asked why the answer we received was silence.

I can “guess” that they feel that there is too much action and violence, but personally I feel that is a double standard considering some of the products they were already carrying. For example, at the time there was a novel from a major Christian author where an angelic character literally shoved his arm up a demon’s anus and ripped out its innards. Even if we hinted at, but did not directly show, such an event in our game they probably would have outright banned it.

The other major issue was of advertising. They really don’t know what to do with these video games. Most of them get relegated to the bottom of a shelf hidden in the back of the store. No signs, no banners, no training of staff on how to sell the games (or even mention they’re there!). Fortunately, this is slowly changing from what I’ve heard but it’s still not “good”.

I do especially like your part about “Promot[ing] the developers that are already exploring adult themes through games.” since that’s exactly what we want to do here.

So like…um…wanna tell your friends about Soma?

I haven’t met with these publishers myself, but maybe the only games on their radar are the ones that meet their own qualitative distinction of worthwhile. That’s why they’re just thinking kids/family in the first place.

I think too many _developers_ are missing a massive market segment by limiting their interest to games that target adolescents. I believe that to be the case because many of the developers themselves still have adolescent (immature) tastes. Or they did until the industry became established and started relying on a self-feeding cycle. What’s left on the mainstream radar is family (lately Wii things) and kids (franchise IP and…DS?).

So book publishers look at this – the “surface” of the gaming landscape – and see that the shallower things that target adolescents (GTA as a cliché example) might not work for them, so they assume what’s left is family & kids stuff, which is true to a certain extent. They simply don’t know a whole lot about the game industry, so they aren’t aware of the more obscure (and IMO interesting) games that exist.

Assuming those problems, some solutions could be:
- Show the book publishers these obscure games that actually do explore adult themes, which could start with more “mainstream” indie examples like Braid.

- Convince game publishers that players will enjoy games with more adult themes (they are slooowwly coming around to this).

- Promote the developers that are already exploring adult themes through games.

But you add a layer here that is important, but not really what I was after. What makes a story ‘worthwhile’ is a qualitative distinction – a matter of opinion by definition and good grist for a different discussion.

I’m really just considering the business and demographic aspects here. If the average player of video games is mid-thirties with an almost even split between men and women, publishers are missing a massive market segment by limiting their interest to games that target adolescents.

I do think the two questions are related however and a feedback loop is operational. The publisher that starts bringing more grown up games to that demographic will create a market (read: paycheck) to the writers and developers who want to create more grown-up content. As it is, people go where the work is and that slants strongly toward the youth.

If that’s your point, then I would agree with the publishers in the context of worthwhile fiction. Most games don’t provide the same fictional experience one would get from books.

Right now games are WAY too adolescent and not enough adult in their subject matter. Thankfully the indie scene is starting to pick up some slack in that area with small freeware titles like I Wish I Were The Moon, Don’t Look Back, Edmund, and Judith. But most people don’t even know that indie games exist.

Maybe the book publishers see the adolescent game titles, try to think of a way to translate that to books, realize the result would be kind of trashy, and opt for the gaming alternative of kids’/family games?