Gaming Wednesdays: Young Adult Gaming (for Young Adult Week)

YOUNG ADULT GAMING?!?!

Young adult literature is kind of a big deal. Steadily rising in popularity since the mid 90s and reaching massive appeal with JK Rowling's Harry Potter series, young adult fiction has become one of the best selling genres (broadly defined) to date. Young adult fiction is often characterized by exploring multiple themes in a single book, having memorable characters, and using clever writing that makes for intriguing reading experiences. Furthermore, the major themes explored in young adult fiction are those specially relevant to people in their mid to late teens, but that are also pertinent to people of all ages. These include issues of identity, sexual discovery, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, family struggles, bullying, friendship, and love - among others. But what does any of this have to do with gaming? Well, I thought it might be interesting to ask ourselves if there is a videogame equivalent to young adult fiction, so let's do that: can games be young adult fiction?

Snow and Serah take a stroll. By http://lena-kitten.deviantart.com/

The easy answer to the question is "go find any T rated game". However, many T rated games do not meet most, if any, of the YA criteria. The Final Fantasy XIII cycle, for example, does not feature YA characters or realistic situations. The characters, while likable, are not relatable, and while the game does represent a few of the broad YA issues, they are not the central focus of the narrative. It could be argued that, perhaps, XIII-2, with its "18 year old" female lead Serah Farron coping with the loss of her older sister lightning and her fiancee, "21 year old" Snow Viliers, while traveling through time and space with a dashingly handsome 18 year old Noel Kreiss, and sure, why not? Out of all the 7th gen Fantasies, 13-2 is the closest to YA fiction. However, because the core of the narrative is not character interaction or their relationships, it's still closer to sci-fi fantasy. 

Then there is stuff like the Dragon Ball games, the Sims games, racing games, sports games, fighting games, and a plethora of other games that are rated T, but are not necessarily inspired by Young Adult fiction themes. But there are a few games that can be said are inspired by YA fiction and that could be considered their videogame counterpart. And these games inevitably end up being critically acclaimed titles. 

Monster seems angry

The first one I would like to mention is Papo y Yo. This fantasy adventure platform puzzle video game (we need better ways of classifying videogames, huh?) features a young Brazilian boy called Quico who has run away from home to escape his alcoholic father. Quico finds himself in a magical landscape inspired by the poor regions of the country (although to me they were reminescent of La Perla, Puerto Rico, which I have actually seen in person), where he finds himself face to face with a creature called 'Monster'. Mostly a docile and peaceful creature, Monster becomes enraged when he eats frogs, and quickly turns violent against Quico. With the aid of his friend / fairy Lula, Quico, Lula, and Monster traverse the world down the road to a bitter end. Between stages, Quico gets flashbacks to the real world, where he has to deal with the abusive father. On occasion, Vander Caballero, lead designer, has remarked about how the game mechanics implemented in Monster'sbehavior was based on his own experiences dealing with an alcoholic and abusivefather. Although the game, rated E10, might be a bit shocking for those under 10, it is certainly appealing to teens and adults alike.

Chatting up the ladies

Another well known series that could be argued borders on young adult territory is the Persona franchise. Let us focus on the latest installments, P3Fes and P4. In both of these titles, players take control of teenage characters. The games are divided into two core play areas. The first area is the real world, where players walk around and build relationships with friends and family. If the relationships developed between the players and the NPCs become deep enough, the game will let players help the NPCs deal with problems including that of an alcoholic monk who misses his family, a child coping with the divorce of her parents, a foreign student coping with a new culture and the loss of his grandmother abroad, and the self discovery and possible homosexuality of one of the story's protagonists. The second play area represents a

Yep, we all look forward to school.

subconscious alternate dimension where demon-like creatures roam. Because players discover more about the characters as they delve deeper into the tower of Tartarus and the TV Land, these can be considered as self-discovery spaces. They also serve to drive the plot of the whole "an evil entity" thing forward, but in both games this actually takes the back seat to forming social links and character development.

Oh, and also, suicide or something.

Is this suicide?

 Yep. That's one YA topic thoroughly explored in the game. Death and suicide.

Anyway...

There are many other titles I could list, but I'm running out of space and I don't want Editor K to chew me out, so I'll just finish with this thought: although not all T rated games can be considered YA, there are certainly games that venture into YA fiction territory. Make sure to keep an eye out for them, because they are often the most rewarding.