Comments on: New Game Minus

By: Geek Studies » Encouraging Ourselves to Death

Geek Studies » Encouraging Ourselves to Death — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:34:08 +0000

[...] post continues a loosely-linked series of posts (including this, this, [...]

By: Geek Studies » A Game of “Find the Story”

Geek Studies » A Game of “Find the Story” — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:41:01 +0000

[...] I discussed in my previous post, games can be played with attention to appeals offered by immersion in story and appeals offered by [...]

By: Jason Tocci

Jason Tocci — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:29:42 +0000

Nice points, Pavitra and Jordan. Your comments remind me that to some extent, these sorts of meta-gaming are sometimes encouraged on consoles nowadays through “Achievements” and “Trophies” that give out-of-game rewards for optional behaviors, like beating a level of Mirror’s Edge without ever using a weapon. Anyway, I’ll have to look into Nethack more deeply to get a sense of how the voluntary conduct may differ from, say, the simple tally of lives you’ve taken in Fallout 3. (More on that in the next post.…)

By: Jordan

Jordan — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:47:24 +0000

I think a good way to do this is to add NEW narrative niches that were inaccessible the first time you played through.

As usual, I submit Chrono Trigger as an example to illustrate a point about your post.

Chrono Trigger has “New Game +” mode, where you start over with all your experience and weapons. There’s nothing in the narrative to justify starting over all beefy (although it seems like they could have come up with something to explain it since it’s a game about time travel…). However, the first time you play through there are a few times when you can accidentally do something that will make you fight the boss of the entire game way too early. You die almost immediately if you make these choices. However, if you play though with all your levels and weapons, it’s possible to actually defeat the boss WAY early in the game, revealing a new ending.

I think this approach has a lot of potential. Chrono Trigger had a relatively simple implementation, but there could be whole entire realms of narrative that are ONLY accessible the second time through. Imagine levels or worlds that are alluded to throughout the game, and only accessible your second time through.

By: Pavitra

Pavitra — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:59:56 +0000

I’m reminded of the “voluntary conduct” mechanic in Nethack, where the game will track whether or not you obey “extra” restrictions such as vegetarianism, atheism, pacifism, and illiteracy. You don’t have to toggle any switches in game options to decide to take on the extra challenges — they’re just there, and you can try to do them or not. They stay out of your way when you’re not interested in them, and they’re easy to find when you are. It’s a very elegant interface.

By: Jason Tocci

Jason Tocci — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:08:43 +0000

Changing the setting seems potentially problematic from a development point of view, but to the extent that some games already offer a degree of customization, we might say this already exists (or that we’re quite close to it). Each time you play a game that allows for some variation, you can do things a bit differently, take a slightly different approach, even if basic plot points are going to turn out (more or less) the same way. (I’ll get into this a bit further in my next post.) In Mass Effect, for instance, it doesn’t matter too much whether you’re a warm-hearted engineer or a tough-guy commando—many dialog choices point to the same result, and you still beat the bad guys to make way for the sequel.

By: Chris Collins

Chris Collins — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:21:56 +0000

I think it’s interesting to think about your scheme for changing games through the lens of Shakespeare. Reading, hell, watching a Shakespearean play requires the building of mastery of skills in understanding the language. If you have never watch anything by Shakespeare before, your first watch is going to require you to develop those skills. The play itself, both macro (the plot) and micro (the lovely little jokes, funny bits, historical references, etc), can’t be properly enjoyed until you have mastery of the Language he was writing in.

What does this have to do with games? Well, I’d say that the way that Shakespearean companies have varied them game play involves a couple of things 1. editing of the text to emphasize different things that are in script (also for timing) and 2. changing the setting of plays to add a second level of meaning to the work (ie, doing a noir version of Hamlet as something of a PI or something like that). I’d be interested if you think that your game minus idea could work that way. I’m imagining instead of just offering you a harder replay, what if they offered you half a dozen sequences from a game that you’ve already finished with different challenges/edits made to the story.

I don’t know if the changing the setting is a real option for game developers. At least not easily?

By: Jason Tocci

Jason Tocci — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:39:33 +0000

I still have to check out The Path. But yes, since every game (potentially) has its own interface, control scheme, and expectations of player behavior, so much of our first time playing is largely tied up in learning how to play at all. (I wonder if part of the reason that sequels of games are typically considered “better” than the original isn’t only because the graphics and hours of play get a boost, but also because there’s less “learning” to be done, and so a feeling of seamless interaction for more of the game..?)

By: Regan

Regan — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:20:13 +0000

I find this especially interesting re: The Path, which I’m playing now. I restarted last night because I kept getting bummed out when I’d see the overlay of the girl I’d killed accidentally by meeting her wolf early, but it’s a different experience knowing more about the interface and what’s expected of me as a player now.