The following is rated M, for mature. The
folks at Gamers with Jobs put together a tantalizing opinion
piece on what makes a good game. By making an analogy to the work of Howell Masters and Virginia Johnson, in
Human Sexual Reponse, its argued that great games, like great sex, carry certain attributes. Given that
the games we now play originated in a temptation-filled world of arcades, quarter dropping and joysticks, the value of
"one more time" takes on a whole new meaning. I think the metaphor might be a good one as we try to understand
just what makes a great game.
The great game slowly twists in its complexity and interaction, at times rewarding the player at their skill level, then challenging the player again with greater uncertainty and expectations. This back and forth cycle of reward and challenge builds over time.
The gamer doesn't get what they want, when they want it, in some selfish exercise of self-satisfaction, but instead must adapt to the urgings of the game, towards some shared understanding of fulfillment. Its this writhing, uncertain intercourse of desire that leads to moments of uncommon pleasure. Great games are sexy. Want more… read on.
Does all this naughty-talk seem a bit far fetched. Maybe not. Even the venerated Nolan from Atari fame would say that a great game involves controls that are easy to understand, gameplay that scales in complexity and an experience that invites you to play on, or play again. Difficult enough to let you know when you succeed or fail ? yet rewarding enough to bring you back regardless. Heavy on the tease.
In the present (and the past), we choose our level of play at the outset of the game, or the challenge increases linearly with each passing level. As a result, while adding slightly to the intrigue, the whole experience is not as interactive and involving as it could be - games and levels you have mastered are no longer a challenge when you return to them. The game gets too familiar and you move on.
In the future, great games might adjust to the apparent skill and maturity of the player, regardless of level within the game, wavering the challenge between something we can handle with ease and something just out of our reach. As we change over time, so will the game itself. Creative developers will recognize that it is this conversation of skill, experimentation, imagination and challenge that keeps and peaks our interest.
That?s why all the over-sized breasts, sexual innuendos, voyeur mods, and unlocked weapons of minor destruction- like a short skirt or big biceps- are never enough to make a lame game great. We get a market filled with also-ran titles, desperately clinging to film franchises, each only slightly differentiating the first-person experience. These little taunts only temporarily appeal to the lowest levels of our attention span, never really drawing us into a real, involved and expanding experience with a game.
Call it the Human Gamer Response, Maturity, Sexy Game Making or whatever you prefer. The games that will last are the ones that capture more than our attention, instead somehow interacting with, entertaining, challenging and even tempting our imagination.
