The Less Interesting TimesDon't Panic

Comments

• Yaron says:

  2013/05/29 at 17:20:24

  You need to re-watch the video, they clearly state that you start out by thinking about the emotion or idea that you want to explore – THEN figure out what mechanics will best convey it. ( time 3:19)

  They are very much against the notion that you start with the mechanic itself as can be seen in their other videos :
  http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/aesthetics-of-play
  http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/the-role-of-the-player
  http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/so-you-want-to-be-a-game-designer

  Also something they do give as examples of Mechanics that fulfill the narrative by themselves:
  http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/narrative-mechanics
  http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/mechanics-as-metaphor-part-1
  http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/mechanics-as-metaphor-part-2
  Note: the mechanics are not what you aim for, they are something you use to convey what you aim for

  PS
  A game is not just about uncertain ending, what defines a game is actually a deep philosophical question that originally had no answer for hundreds of years. The current best philosophical definition of a game that I know of is by Rodger Callois (see below).
  ===============================
  * Play and Game are opposites
  * Voluntarism : both games and play need to choose to engage it – play is done for it’s own sake, and games involve meaningful choices

  * Play is spontaneous, aimless, allows children to behave beyond their age limit
  * Play is freedom; doing whatever you want, within a boundaried world, you can try anything inside it, but you have no real limit inside it – you do things for it’s own sake

  * Game – closed,formal, system, structured, produced outcome, series of meaningful choices, interpretable outcomes, a problem solving activity approached with a playful attitude
  * Game is a branching path of choice where each choice gives us various outcomes, and each choice can give more choices to be made, and we finish at some point – the game is about moving to the finish through the
  * games require learning or problem solving – games have some structure some objective, and something to overcome
  * balance of structure and exploration – to much structure and no fun to limit, to much of the other and you feel no progress and that your actions lack meaning

  PPS
  http://xkcd.com/386/

  • Eran says:

    2013/05/30 at 13:19:32

    Yes, I’ve seen all of those and read that.

    I’ve also seen game described as a series of predefined challenges governed by arbitrary rules. And Rodger Callois seems to be agreeing with me: games are about problem solving. And interactive stories are about narrative/emotional/moral choices. A piece of art could be either or both. But since we consider Game to be more descriptive and inclusive, we use that. But not all games are also interactive stories and not all games which are are good but I think you can find that all truly superb games are also good interactive stories.

    And I love it when story and mechanics harmonise (I also like it when music and lyrics harmonise, i.e Hammerfall, but that is another discussion) and those usually produce the best games but not everyone can do it or do it right. When I want to tell a story or an emotion, I start with that and think about what mechanic later. When I start with a mechanic it’s usually because I think and want it to be fun.

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