Rev Rant: the freedom to be boring

_{Every once in a while, Destructoid features editor Anthony Burch discusses game design and gamer culture in his “Rev Rant” video series.}

Are players inherently boring?

I’m really not sure. On the one hand, you’ve got people who will experiment with a game’s mechanics and express themselves in  totally unique, totally groovy ways (example: this). On the other hand, my first few playthroughs of Metal Gear Solid 4 consisted of me shooting everyone in the face with a tranq gun before running past them, which got really goddamn boring really goddamn quickly.

If the player is boring, whose fault is that? Should games force players to not be boring, at the expense of the player’s personal freedom?

I’m not really sure, but that’s what this week’s rant is about.

[Want more Burch?  Check out the Rev Rant and Hey Ash channels on Video.Destructoid]