Lately I've been thinking about games, and what is it that makes them work. Most likely, everything I'll write here has already been said by somebody else, but I find that putting things down in paper (or blog) is useful to get my thoughts clear.
Skip to 2:00 if you want to get to the really intense (and fun) stuff ;)
So, my last realization is that most games revolve around the concept of control or domination. The purpose of a game is for the player to try to control the game world itself, to change it at will. For example, in an FPS, you try to control the game, following its rules, to defeat enemies and meet objectives. In Tetris, you try to control the set of pieces you're dealt.
Of course, the beauty (and fun) of it comes not in the control itself, but in the struggle to get it. A game where you have absolute control over everything wouldn't be much of a game, really. Conversely, a game where you cannot control anything would scarcely be a traditional game, but something more similar to a film or an "interactive experience".
And this is something that got said about the Amnesia game, that it wasn't very game-like. It really doesn't allow you to control much, apart from the direction to run away in terror, yet it was very well received by game critics and sold quite a few units. How is that possible? I believe it has to do with the human desires it tries to instill in the player to fuel his/her motivation to play. Let me explain.
There's a psychological theory that says there are 16 different desires that motivate people into action. They are (copied verbatim from the wikipedia page):
- Acceptance, the need for approval
- Curiosity, the need to learn
- Eating, the need for food
- Family, the need to raise children
- Honor, the need to be loyal to the traditional values of one's clan/ethnic group
- Idealism, the need for social justice
- Independence, the need for individuality
- Order, the need for organized, stable, predictable environments
- Physical activity, the need for exercise
- Power, the need for influence of will
- Romance, the need for sex
- Saving, the need to collect
- Social contact, the need for friends (peer relationships)
- Social status, the need for social standing/importance
- Tranquility, the need to be safe
- Vengeance, the need to strike back/to win
If we look at the list, the element for what I've been calling "control" would be "power". Also, games generally use some other element from the list, like curiosity (adventure games), order (puzzle games), physical activity (dexterity games) or tranquility (plain survival would fit in here). The main motivator however, from Sim City to Bejeweled, is almost always to exert control in the game world to meet certain objectives.
But not in Amnesia! That game substitutes the control motivation with a terribly strong survival (tranquility) motivation. The game makes it very clear from the start that you're powerless to control almost anything in the world. You can explore, and if you find something nasty, the only thing you can do is run or hide. You're not trying to "beat" the game and come out triumphant feeling you achieved to "change something". You're just trying not to die the next time you open a door!
And now the question is: could this same thing be done with a different main motivator? Could we create a game where the main motivation is independence? Or idealism? Or even vengeance? It most likely wouldn't fit the traditional definition for what a game is, but it would surely be interesting!
If somebody gives a shot at it, I promise you'll get my money!
Oh, and if somebody hasn't seen Amnesia in action, check out this video. Turn down the volume, by the way, the player gets quite scared. Also, there's quite a lot of f-word in the video...
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