Saturday, July 11, 2015

A Brief Disclaimer to Be Read Alongside "Intro to Game Design and Drama"

I specify on newer “art games” that offer too little resistance to effectively convey drama, but suffice to say, this is absolutely also a problem in commercial games, including the older, experimental commercial games that I adore. 

It is just as problematic that at no point in Dark Souls fiction am I sufficiently convinced that the player character would ever be able to overcome these challenges as it is that the late game of Final Fantasy VII can have it's drama utterly nullified by a powerful combination of overpowered spells that I can repeat over and over again to end dramatically important battles in single turns. 

As well, there are at least a few “art games” whose interfaces are bizarrely resistant, resulting in less meaningful interaction with their fiction or aesthetics, which is something Zolani will tell us about with his upcoming episode on Naissance.

- Austin C. Howe, Olympia, WA, 2015