The Forth in a series of discussions about games with Gods
Shit the chill was hardening my bones. It must have been more humid because according to my trusty iPhone, the outside temp read only 30. The breeze was slight and I wasn’t really ready to talk — my legs felt the urge for going. I wasn’t sure why I was making my way to Prometheus today. My feet were cold and the rocks I used for support seemed colder than the air on my face. I forgot my gloves which is normal and always moronic.
Somehow as I made my way up the hidden trail, Prometheus seemed to make it much more comfortable for me. I must have added 1000 feet to my elevation and I busted through the dense fog to find the bright sun around him, like a battle arena. My nose defrosted and I took off my hat exposing a nice mesh of bed head.
Where was Prometheus? Usually, it’s as though he knows I’m coming up, he’s waiting for me. But not today. I sat around for a moment warming on a rough boulder and closed my eyes. I’m not sure how long I napped, but I woke up to rustling trees. The tall pines next to me were all moving their crowns on marching kings. I quickly turned around to find Prometheus pounce from above. He didn’t tackle me, but just stood there and smiled.
“What the hell was that?”
“I think I’m getting better at this.”
“At what?”
“Being sneaky. Athena taught me when she was here with us last time.”
“Are y’all dating now?”
“Ah, we don’t really do that sort of thing.” He said as if I should have known. “Where have you been anyway?”
“Right, I know. It’s been a long time.”
“So what happened?” “Lots of things I don’t really feel like talking about.” I turned away to walk slowly toward his rock.
“Suit yourself.”
I turned back to face him and he had disappeared as no trees rustled this time. So, I faced his rock cricking my neck and there he was, standing right behind me smiling.
“Yes! I did it again. This is great.”
“Yea, great game man.”
“So are you jealous or just being a baby?”
“Let’s say both.”
“You really aren’t making me want to stick around.” “Um, it’s not really up to you. Your rock is right here.” “Well, I’m not scheduled for another liver eating for a couple more hours. So, I can kinda do what I want right now.”
“Great.” “Maybe I’ll throw you off this mountain.”
I sat down crossing my arms like a pouting three year old.
“So what’s the deal today?”
“I’m not sure what I’m doing today.” “That’s ok. Why do you think you need to?”
“Cause I feel useless, but yet I have a feeling there is something I need to say.” “You can just sit there quietly and think about it. That’s why I brought you some sun.”
“Thanks.” “Most people find a quiet space to find visit their mind. But I can see how difficult that is now a days for your generation — the Information Age as it’s called..”
I didn’t argue. I sat there looking around the small area of rocks, realizing I couldn’t see passed the tall ponderosas. In fact, I couldn’t see the trail I came in on. I was feeling a little shut in suddenly thinking of Prometheus’s haunting smile didn’t help my mood.
“Can you tell I’m hiding you?” “I was picking up on it.” “Want to know why?” “Because you’re crazy and feel like torturing me?” “Precisely.”
I wasn’t expecting that. I actually laughed a little, not really getting it, so Prometheus walked next to me and sat down without making a sound. He always seemed to float when he moved. Think of Leoglas walking atop the snow on the Pass of Caradhras in Lord of The Rings. *geek moment*
“When you play a game what do you think is your most favorite realization?” “I think when I forget that all the choices I made brought me to some profound moment of the story and the whole time I thought it was all me.”
“So you found how all the story and mechanics actually work together to create an experience and not a technically defined moment of a game?”
“I suppose that’s it, yeah. Kind of a philosophical moment of the game. And it’s always unexpected.”
“Now what happened when I took your choice away? I hid your trail? I hunted you?”
“I was scared. Then I thought you were weird.”
“But I changed your feeling without changing the world. I didn’t introduce a bloody monster, I took away your choices.”
“Yes you did. But games do that all the time. Some games actually restrict play to a fault.” “Well, is that because restricting play is the issue or that someone didn’t design the experience well enough to justify the control?”
“Well, I guess it is the fundamental quality of designed control — like affecting my feeling without me realizing it. It was smooth.”
“Gods are always smooth,” he winked.
“Really?”
“Here’s my point, my little human. Real life is the best Game Master. Because you must live through it, the idea of having anything happen or nothing at all, allows you to naturally change your emotional state. In a way, it’s always a little bit surprising or at least unnoticed. For instance, you see a little child laugh on the sidewalk and you laugh, you take a sip of coffee and it suddenly taste better and as you walk into work you sit down a little more ready to make games because you are also thinking of that little child.”
“But then the boss walks in.” “Sure, unexpected, to ruin your day. But today was the one to be ruined whether you wanted or not. And your super brain allows you to move your reality around as necessary — always interesting and always the right way (maybe not the way you like) to affect your emotions and outlook of that moment or that day or that week, and so on.”
“This doesn’t happen in games. It’s as though they either try to stick to traditional modes of scare-through-shock, or they oversimplify and it’s not scary at all.”
“I’m not talking about horror only.”
“I know it’s just an easy example.”
I was remembering the brilliant game, Dead Space, because it’s a great survival horror, but it’s the survival part that is so engaging and bloody difficult. For a simple example, (other games have done the same) in Dead Space you have very limited ammo and the enemies are moderately difficult right off the bat. You are a n00b placed in a scary world that doesn’t care you’re new. That adds suspense without adding a game mechanic.
“Then think fundamentally.”
“One must manage choice.”
“And what else?”
“The choices must be something that affects the situation right away or not at all.”
“Does the choice have to be in the moment?” “No. I guess not. I think it just needs to be obvious to what the outcome will be.” “So try again. What did I do to you today?” “You took away my trail. As a designer you knew I’d need to leave the mountain and without letting me know, you scared me for a moment which made me then, realize how I couldn’t get away if I needed or when I would wanted.”
“I placed you in a story I wanted to tell before you could know. And the realization is how your brain modified it’s response to your new reality.”
“I see it now. I don’t have to worry about making a game scary or funny or thrilling. I have to bring the player into that experience as if there is no other way to go.” “Exactly. How did you feel when you were walking up here today?” “I’ve been unhappy. I didn’t know what to talk about, but I knew I had something to say.” “Your life is one big example of what I just did to you. It’s what we just talked about with games. When you so easily feel scared or confused or depressed, it’s because your mind feels as if it’s freedom is taken away. Maybe there is so much to handle it can’t decide on a particular solution so it can’t even understand it’s situations.”
“This is why everyone should go to therapy.” I laughed playing with my ring. “Well, most people don’t think too hard at how to bring themselves to the “light” — as it’s called. What you can learn from your real life is that games should be designed to move a player to a point in the story. When your cohorts argue about what games should be — story, mechanics, graphics, etc — it’s rarely debated how a game must use them all simultaneously. It’s usually debated on which particular piece was implemented poorly.”
I realized in Dead Space that just running out of ammo wasn’t enough. The environment I was forced to survive through, couldn’t have told a different story. The atmosphere, the sound, the silence, the combat, all of it made that experience exactly how it needed to be. Otherwise I wouldn’t play.
I thought of another example that as a totally different experience — Limbo. It’s a puzzle game really. Except I’m the protagonist and the puzzles control my choice and even in it’s linearity, the game wouldn’t have been successful without the designed experience with the physics engine and audio so finely tuned to the puzzle’s mechanics and my providing a feeling of need — a need to make it through the story to know what was happening to me (my character).
“But who’s designing my life in front of me?” “What’s tricky being alive — and I’m sorry us gods started it — is that you are the game master and the player. We could have continued to intervene and play the omniscient role. But that actually ended worse for you.”
Prometheus actually turned away in that moment tilting his head to the ground. I thought he was trying to hide some tears. I think he misses the more active roles of Gods. He was sorry for something and he wasn’t about to say what — not to me anyway.
“You have to understand little human, games are not always for entertainment or escaping. You’ve experienced a story so vividly that you don’t register touching a mouse or a keyboard. You left your room and traveled to a placed only a game could take you. And you came out the hero. There aren’t many times or many ways that can happen so easily in modern day.” “You’ve got that right.” “So keep trying. Don’t stop designing something meaningful.” “But making a controller for a robot isn’t so meaningful.” “Maybe the story isn’t there yet, but you can imagine how you want the best experience to be — even when it’s limited. Remember, people can create stories while they play. Maybe you can give them the tools.” “I know. You’re right. I just want something bigger. I want to make an impact.” “Your young good sir. You are learning. Do you think you could make that impact to your specs right this moment?” “No.” “Exactly. You have the ideas but not the execution, yet. Life doesn’t give you all the answers right off the bat. Why should you succeed instantly?” “Because the ideas are exciting. They are exciting enough to make that reality feel within reach.” “What did I start out saying to you today?” “Ha! That I change my emotions and my reality based on how my day is going and what experiences I have at any given time.” “You can make the story you want — you are the game master.”
The pines rustled behind me and a single tree bent sideways out of the way like an old troll to expose my trail. I took this as my cue to leave. But I sat in the sun for a little while longer thinking about not just games, but what life challenges present themselves so obvious in our games. Prometheus sat silently letting the student ponder the wisdom.
“You’re like a snarky Aristotle basking in your infinite wisdom aren’t you?” “Ha. Aristotle! That guys was full of air. A talker.”
I laughed at that one as I got on my feet and walked down the trail. As soon as I passed the threshold of the dirt path and Prometheus’ hidden plot, the clouds moved all around me, the freezing wind rushed back, the pines shook, and a chill ran up my spine as I paused looking around this place. I smiled. Prometheus is such a jerk.