Response to Doug Church - Formal Abstract Design Tools

I thought this article was an interesting read. It really got me thinking about why designers insist on creating games which all seem so similar. There are so many first person shooters out there - Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, Modern Warfare, Counter Strike etc ... so why if we have one do we need another? Sure they may change location, focus on a different war or even have a different guns but when you get down to it they are so similar is is only those little details that make one differ from another.

Maybe its the designers fault. So many young designers like to make the games they have played that the market has become over run with games that are just copies of previous hits. This was also a point that was suggested in the 'Dont be a Vidiot' article by Greg Costikyan. I agree with him to an extent, but i don't think that is the only issue. Perhaps so many ideas have been done its hard to find something new. I'm sure it is possible to create something exciting and fresh but i feel that games designers being given boundaries in what they can create by one thing only - publishers.

I studied Media studies at A Level and this is definitely a trend that runs through multiple industries. Like the movie industry, why when the world screams 'no more vampire movies!' do they insist in drowning us in them? The answer is an obvious one; money. A publishers priority is to make money so why take a risk? They know for a fact that a war game that has been published is doing great, they can just make something similar and do great too. So there instruct their team of designers to create a new war game similar to the latest craze, but give it better graphics or a new gun. And so they do.

So what is causing all this madness? I think we, the consumers, are to blame. I brought call of duty recently and i enjoyed it so much i brought the new medal of honor game too, just because it looked similar. Does that sound familiar? And that's the issue. This trend will continue until we say enough of this genre now! I wont buy it anymore i need somthing fresh, but really whats the chances of that happening? And so the trend will continue publishers will carry on making money and stop the designers doing what they do best, creating, inventing and designing.     

Reference:

Church, D., Gamasutra - Features - Formal Abstract Design Tools. Available at: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3357/formal%20abstract%20design%20tools.php

   

Types of games

James Newman discusses types of games in the extract we were given to read. He particularly focuses on four distinct forms that Caillois had already identified. Agon - in which competition is dominant, Alea - where chance and randomness are key, Ilinx - in which pleasure is derived from the moment and  Mimicry - in which games are oriented around simulation, make-believe and role play. It is easy to place games in to each of these sections and some games even fit into multiple categories. However i think that more categories could be added to this list, such as one that the key outcome is to have learnt something from the game (like an educational game). However i do like and agree with the categorises stated i just think there is room for expansion.

One game that focuses heavily on the Agon is fighting games such as Soul Calibur 4. The aim of the game is to beat the competition, whether that is in the form of another player (like a friend or someone online) or whether you are playing against the computer. There are also elements of Mimicry when you play the game on story mode, although you are to focused on winning to notice!

One game that i think includes a lot of Mimicry and Alea is Halo. You are pulled into and focus on the story as you work your way through the game beliveing that you are fighting in the war to protect earth. Also when you die you can spawn with random weapons and in multiple locations.

When trying to think of a game that involved the Ilinx i really couldnt think of any, however when i sat and focused on the subject i belive that actually all games contain an Ilinx element. If Ilinx is about movement it 'fuels' the two of the other catagories, for example if in Soul Calibur one player chooses a character that is slow moving, whilst the second player chooses a character is fast moving this adds to the competition (Agon) of the game. The pace you move through the game effects the story (Mimicry) as if you move slowly through the levels it can make you feel as if the game is dragging on.     

Reference:

Newman, J., 2004. Videogames, London: Routledge.

    

Paidea and ludus

After reading an extract from 'Videogames' by James Newman we then went on to discuss different games we define as being 'ludus' or 'paidea'.

One game i consider to be a ludus is Resident Evil. Although you appear to have the freedom to explore the map once you have fought your way through and defeated all of your enemies there is nothing left to do in that area except move on to the next level, forcing you to carry on with the game. The map isn't unlimited as you are restricted within areas and many objects you cant interact with, even if you think they could be useful within the game. Also if you play the game strategically by killing all the zombies the game will still end the same way even if you rush through all the levels. You are given clear objectives throughout and you can only proceed to the next level after you have completed each one.

One game i consider to be paidea is Harvest Moon. In the game you are given a farm and are left freely to go about your life dealing with all the issues that farmers face. You can choose which towns people you interact with, the animals you have, the crops you grow, the buildings you have built etc .... There is no way you can win or lose the game, you really just play it for the fun of it.

Although many games do fit into these categories i believe they cannot be 100% and one of the other. When i play a paidea game such as the Sims, i find i can get bored of it a lot quicker as i don't have any objectives other than the ones i create and that can be a tedious. However when i play a ludus game such as Halo i really enjoy working within boundaries and towards goals. In my opinion games that fall into the ludus category can be played for pleasure and games that fall into the paidea category, once the novelty wears off, aren't always that fun.  

Reference:

Newman, J., 2004. Videogames, London: Routledge.