What is a game?

Researchers of gaming studies field are always discussing this subject. One thing is certain: there’s no absolute answer for this question. A game can be defined in many ways and videogames – specifically – become so complex platforms that is very difficult to reach one single idea about “what is a game”.

The good point is: there are lots of good visions about it. In an excellent presentation made at DiGRA’13 keynote named “The Ambiguity of Game Studies: Observations on the Collective Process of Inventing a New Discipline” the author Janet Murray discusses (among other things) what is a game.

The graph below, from the book “First Person" shows one (of many) interpretations of this subject:



I strongly recommend the complete reading of this presentation. You can find the slides HERE.

Using fear as narrative in video games: origins

In the last few years we had lots of iconic survival horror games launched around the world for video game consoles. Just to give a few examples, we can bring to our discussion Silent Hill 4: The Room (Playstation 2, 2004), Slender (Parsec Productions, 2012) and Alan Wake (Microsoft Game Studios, 2010). All these games are very scary and possess sophisticated features in their narratives but it’s important to look to the past to understand the origins of horror in video games.



One of the first horror narratives in video game was used in an Atari game named Haunted House (Atari, 1982). With very limited interface and resources, the game creates a classic horror movie atmosphere with a house full of bats, phantoms and traps. The player commands a pair of eyes in the dark trying to find pieces of an ancient ark.

You can check a game play video below:



The game is very simple and there’s a fundamental detail that puts the player inside the gaming reality: the illustration on the cover of the box. The drawing dialogues with the player about the ambient of the game, and it’s possible to understand better the game mechanics (a good text about this subject could be found here).

Recreating game mechanics

One important thing about game design is the ability to learn from games. The act of creating a repertory full of different references and mechanics is fundamental for the work of a game designer.

With great knowledge of these points it is possible to recreate game mechanics. To demonstrate this, I will use as an example in this post a game that I created: ÁLMOK.



ÁLMOK is a card game for 2 to 4 players that uses an oneiric world as a scenario. Players need to find combinations of dreams to escape from a nightmare dimension.

The game mechanics were based in the classic memory game, with some modifications. In the original memory game, the idea is to find a pair of equal images, but in ÁLMOK, the players need to find three of a kind. After a player finds a “combo” of three cards, he or she earns a special coloured gem. Each gem has a special power (like discard cards from the table, see hidden cards, etc.) that could be used in the turn of a player.

So, in essence, it’s a memory game, but we have some “turbo” modifications.

The game is played with a 64 deck of cards in a 8x8 grid that offers a major challenge for the player’s mind.

Ceilikan Games launched the game in Brazil in February 2013. The art made by me and ÁLMOK means “dreams” in Hungarian language.

At this moment, I’m working on a translation into English for the rules and a print and play version to make available for download to non-Portuguese speakers. Wait for news!

Top Ten Tips for Boardgame Designers

Good stuff from the Dice Tower site. Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Sam Healey give advice to aspiring boardgame designers. Have fun!



Recap for everybody:

10. Do your Research;
9. You will not make much money;
8. No one is going to steal your brilliant idea;
7. Be inspired by other game, do not just copy them;
6. Match your theme with the game mechanics;
5. Listen to developer and publisher, they want your game to succeed;
4. Streamline your game, remove unnecessary aspects (keep it fun);
3. Listen to your play testers, but don't design by committee (it's your game);
2. Design the game your way, there is no "one way" to do it;
1. Play test your game along the way! (use honest people who aren't afraid to hurt your feelings).

Beyond Two Souls

I put away GTA V (for a while) to start playing BEYOND TWO SOULS (2013), that is the new interactive drama action-adventure video game for PlayStation, developed by French publisher Quantic Dream.

In the publisher’s site is the plot of the game: “Born with a connection to a mysterious entity (named Aiden) with incredible powers, Jodie was different. In an adventure spanning 15 years of her life, your actions will determine Jodie's fate as she faces extraordinary challenges, danger, and heart wrenching loss on a journey to discover the truth of who she is. Beyond promises an emotionally-charged journey unlike any video game before.”



As the publisher's previous project, HEAVY RAIN (2009), in BEYOND TWO SOULS the player is invited to experience a kind of a movie with special commands. The game works in what we can call “decision trees” and the narrative is driven by choices the player makes.

The idea of these “decision trees” is to offer the players some choices to create uncertainty and unpredictability among the narrative. Sometimes you have time to choose what to do, sometimes there’s time pressure to choose one way and at moments you have to choose some actions just to add charming flavour to the universe of the game.

To create a perfect balance between game and interactive movie, Quantic Dream brings real famous actors to the production, and you can see Willem Dafoe and Ellen Page acting side by side, but in a different interface. It’s not new; we have lots of games with famous real actors, but BEYOND TWO SOULS brings a new experience in using this cast to create the atmosphere of the game. Check the trailer below:



The narrative is the main point of the game and in BEYOND TWO SOULS players have a chance to use a second screen experience downloading an special app in mobile phone that gives some complement interaction to the story. The connection between different narrative elements give to the game a unique kind of experience.

As Dille and Platten (2007, p.52) remind us, there are a pallet of media elements (voice, sound effects, music, cinematic, text, graphics, commands, etc.) to tell a gaming story. The authors also say “think of them as story elements. Don’t forget – story in video game is anything that helps you immerse yourself into the game-playing experience. Story isn’t just characters and dialogue. An interface element can be a storytelling device”.

In the last year, we saw many games with a focus on the narrative and I’m very excited with the evolution that kind of game will have in the generation of consoles.

Now on to your opinion.

Reference:

DILLE, Flint; PLATTEN, John Zuur. The ultimate guide to video game writing and design. New York: Skip Press, 2007

The History of Video Game Consoles

A very entertaining documentary full of good references. Enjoy.



Go gamers!

The new generation

Ludic interfaces are leading and intertwining landmarks of contemporary culture. In the last thirty years or so, gaming culture has become a major trend. From videogame consoles connected to the internet to playing traditional board games, people are increasingly experiencing the field of entertainment.

The contemporary multiplatform environment, with so many connections to different devices, becomes a privileged ambient for the wide use of gaming language.

The new category of mass self-communication (CASTELLS 2009) poses further challenges to understanding current modes of sociability and consumption inside this field. As Castells says (2009:135), the great amount of content access by multiple platforms - digital TV, tablets, smartphones, video games etc. - offered to the public is one essential characteristic of global communication in the digital age. In this digital scenario, many governments, citizens, business groups and entertainment companies have begun to explore the advantages and have started to integrate these multiple platforms in their everyday communication processes.



Why mention all this? The new generation of consoles that will be arriving in the end of the year is a mirror of this process. The Xbox One and The Playstation 4 will surely create new ways of selling entertainment. Not only through the high sophisticated games, but integrating the gaming experience in an ecosystem with television, internet, voice command and social media.

We have many languages involved in this process, but undoubtedly the language of entertainment has a very important role in this context. It’s still early to make predictions, but I bet we will have a significant revolution in the way to make entertainment with this new generation of consoles.

PS: I played Xbox One and Playstation 4 at F.R.O.G congress 2013! Awesome experience.

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References:

CASTELLS, M. Communication power. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.