An analysis of video gaming pt1.
March 1, 2010I recently got back into playing some video games, as I received the New Super Mario Bros Wii (or Super Mario 3: 3D as I like to call it), the sequel to Shinobi on the PS2: Nightshade, and Final Fantasy XII.
The New Super Mario Bros Wii game was essentially just the way I remember super mario on the NES, and I ended up taking a trip down Nostalgia lane. Nightshade was an interesting ninja killing game, albiet its more of a time attack game compared to other ninja games such as Ninja Gaiden, and Tenchu.
Then came along the kicker, Final Fantasy XII. It was sorely disappointing for me to find that one of my favorite series (I played 1-9) had created a game that felt more like an interactive movie than game.
So I sat down and thought (as I often do). What is it about games that makes them games and not movies? I mean games like Metal Gear Solid 4 and the Xenosaga series are essentially just movies with gaming bits as well, but they have reached some high acclaim in the gaming industry. So what is it about a game that makes it game?
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With this in mind, Lets examine video gaming shall we?
First of all, we should all know that video games have a special quality that makes them different from movies, in that you can feel as though you are a part of them. When you beat a boss for the first time in Zelda, you can say “I beat the boss!”, while in the case of movies, when the boss gets taken down, it’s always due to the incessant gunblazing Action McBiceps or some hero with meatloafs stapled to their shoulders, or something like that.
It’s this immersion that typically makes games so engaging and satisfying. But how do they work?
When it comes to how video games work, typically, I see games working with a very crude form of satisfaction-quenching mechanic. Lets say you start playing a MMORPG, and you start going through the steps of any MMORPG: Take mouse, click monster, watch avatar attack, click monster again, use potion, use skill, click monster, rinse, and repeat.
Lets step away from your actual experience with video games, and read that description again. Sounds pretty bland huh? (if it sounds fun for you, you need a life), but then why do people even bother playing games? In the case of most MMORPG’s I’ve played (I’ve since sworn off them), the actual gameplay does not hold your attention for very long, and soon wears you out. But I keep playing it for other reasons, specifically for the sake of strengthening my character and accomplishing quests. Every time I finished a quest, I would often feel like I had completed something, and I would feel a slight sense of satisfaction. This is the quality that really draws players in.
Lets look at a different example, say the simple tasks of a game such as Zelda: OoT. Lets face it, the majority of quests and things you have to do in Zelda are pretty straightforward and lack any sort of real challenge. You see a giant boulder with the crest of royalty, and you know you are supposed to play Zelda’s lullaby. Mindlessly simple tasks, rather mind-numbingly simple, and yet they are satisfying. Why? Because it feels like we have accomplished something when the giant boulder/wall disappears and something happens in the world. The fact that we can have such a profound effect on what goes on in the world makes things more interesting to us as well, we feel like we are a part of it- which feeds into the immersion.
(continued in pt.2)
