Most pretentious indie game?

[Froge]

I was browsing through the Wikipedia article for Hatred and I like how:

The developer described Hatred as a reaction to video game aesthetic trends such as political correctness, politeness, vivid color, and games as art.

So which is the most pretentious indie game you've played? I would say Braid. The gameplay mechanic was fun, but the story was like an entrance exam for some snobs "Masters of literary analysis" club

[Kurton]

You're going to have to give me a right definition because all YouTube comments have told me is that "pretentious" means "anything the least bit vague or unconventionally presented"

[Froge]

That's indeed the definition of pretentious I'm using. However, the threshold at which a game becomes pretentious is up to you.

[Traggey]

Dear Esther, pretty game with a nice athmosphere, but the whole concept of listening to story as you just walk around is probably one of the most pretentious things I ever saw.

[Newsman Waterpaper]

I find Gone Home more pretentious then Dear Esther in my opinion.

[MrBehemoth]

Oh wow, we're going there.

If we are going there, we need to all agree on a definition. Please, let's not use the bro-gamer definition of "pretentious": anything that requires or encourages intellectual involvement, or that challenges the idea of what a game is, i.e. not-a-games, or that focuses on aesthetics or narrative rather than mechanics, or that opts for a symbolic or representational style rather than striving for realism. Blech.

Until I started hearing people apply it to games in the last couple of years, this is the only definition of the word that I was aware of:

Pretentious Adj. Attempting to impress by affecting greater importance or merit than is actually possessed.

That said, I don't think it's possible for a game to be pretentious. People can talk about games in a pretentious way. A game's packaging can be pretentious. Game journalism can be pretentious. Developers can be pretentious. You probably think I'm being pretentious. (Moi?) But a game, as a piece of media, is what it is and doesn't say anything about itself. Therefore it is not pretentious.

[Traggey]

Well then let me correct myself.

Dear Esthers ''story''

CHANGES EVERY TIEM YOU PLAY! Nooo I played the damned thing four times and it was the same thing but with the clips played at different places.

I am absolutely not going at this from a bro-gamer perspective and I absolutely do not consider myself one, the reason as to why I found dear Esther pretentious was because it made itself out to be something to challange what a game really is, and all it did was end up being an incredibly boring experience out my own perspective.

There, better?

[Newsman Waterpaper]

Well then let me correct myself.

Dear Esthers ''story''

CHANGES EVERY TIEM YOU PLAY! Nooo I played the damned thing four times and it was the same thing but with the clips played at different places.

I am absolutely not going at this from a bro-gamer perspective and I absolutely do not consider myself one, the reason as to why I found dear Esther pretentious was because it made itself out to be something to challange what a game really is, and all it did was end up being an incredibly boring experience out my own perspective.

There, better?

Agreed, maybe I should have said something like this about Gone Home but I'm totally not a "it canmt b3 a g0me if d0mts have FIALLLL 2tate!" douchebag.

[Kreekakon]

But a game, as a piece of media, is what it is and doesn't say anything about itself. Therefore it is not pretentious.

I disagree. Games, just like movies, books, and other sorts of media all have some sort of developer intended tone, story, atmosphere, or message that is conveyed through depending on how the developer crafts it. The exact same story can appear vastly different through different forms of execution.

This is where the potential for games themselves to be pretentious arises. When a game has no real depth, whether emotional or otherwise, but still tries to dress itself up with a tone that makes itself look like it's better than it actually is then that would be being pretentious. It's something taking itself more seriously than it actually has any point in being.

[MrBehemoth]

Well then let me correct myself.

Dear Esthers ''story''

CHANGES EVERY TIEM YOU PLAY! Nooo I played the damned thing four times and it was the same thing but with the clips played at different places.

I am absolutely not going at this from a bro-gamer perspective and I absolutely do not consider myself one, the reason as to why I found dear Esther pretentious was because it made itself out to be something to challange what a game really is, and all it did was end up being an incredibly boring experience out my own perspective.

There, better?

I wasn't trying to imply that anyone here is a bro-gamer. I have far more respect for you than that, Traggey. Maybe I should have been clearer about that. I wouldn't wish that title on anyone. I just have a problem with people (other people, no-one here) mis-using or over-using the word "pretentious". No offence intended.

This is where the potential for games themselves to be pretentious arises. When a game has no real depth, whether emotional or otherwise, but still tries to dress itself up with a tone that makes itself look like it's better than it actually is then that would be being pretentious. It's something taking itself more seriously than it actually has any point in being.

I see your point, and mostly agree. My feeling is that the pretension around, for example, Dear Esther, comes from the hype, not the game itself. I don't mind a game that tries to be serious or intellectual, but I agree with you both in that I object to people making pretensions of grandeur about a game because of these reasons. For example, we probably wouldn't say the Mona Lisa is pretentious - it's just a painting - but people can talk about it in a pretentious way.

For me, the statement that Froge quoted in the OP, from the developer of Hatred, is itself very pretentious.

Anyway, I think I've derailed this thread a bit, sorry.