04-28-2009, 07:56 PM
This is something interesting I started thinking about. I thought about the endless, but well-justified hunger for good games, better games, ever better games, funner, more engaging, good to share with friends, good for core gamers and casual gamers. Good for people who have never played any games to have the best possible first experience with video games, games that capture the imagination, where innovation multiplies gameplay, games that are always new, and never stale. Games that we can come back to any time and have just as much fun as the first time we played it. Ones that transcend culture and age and race and time. And ultimately, the ultimate, coup-de-gras, cream of the crop, games to end all games.
So, I thought about those games. The ones we envision. The ones we see in the previews but are always disappointed to play. Satisfied, but still longing for more, for better, for the best.
So if one game would come along, and blow all of them away, from the legends that defined the industry to the cheapo little handheld/cellphone games we try on a whim, what would that game be?
What I'm building up to is the big question:
What does the greatest game ever look like?
Now I think we're on the precipice of a revolution that has never in history occured before. An art form that no other art could so physically draw the viewer in.
I didn't answer the question. But this is why the strive to attain the perfect game is so important, so much more vital to human society than any other art form.
My answer is purely by opinion, of course. But here I go:
The greatest game ever is simple. Simpler than you could ever imagine. At the same time, it is infinitely complicated. The perfect game is one where the player makes a game. A game so simply designed that it could be tinkered with by anyone, but can become complicated enough to become infinitely immersed into it. How odd. The ultimate game is a game maker. But not just any, you choose the genre, or make a new one, you design as much or as little as you want. You make the parts of the game you care about, and the game fills in the rest.
Think about it, you couldn't get better! People around the WORLD, sharing their one-level games, their 40 hour games, their life's work 300 hour games. You make the games YOU want, and you get good ones in turn, so many new games coming out so constantly that you won't be waiting for good games to come out. There won't be "seasons" for games, there won't be trends for games, 2D, 3D, Racing, Puzzle, RPG, Platformer, Brand-New Genre, ANY type you want. You give it story, you give it life. Everyone has imagination, everyone is capable of making the game THEY are happy with.
But wait? What if the game sucks? So what! The process of making the game itself, ANY way you wanted, was a good enough experience. Didn't like that game enough? Make a new one? Too tired or mentally-drained from life to think up innovative things, just go to the world database and find a new one!
Would ALL the games be fun for everyone? No! In fact, its very possible all of them would suck. But again, the process itself, and the social sharing aspect is the key to a strong bond or relationship with the perfect game.
What this really is is an idea catcher. If you make it, you upload it. If you capture the ideas of every single person who's made something, you're bound to get even more extremely-good, fun games than you get today.
You'd go to sleep, wake up in the morning, and find 12000 Would-Be-A-Bigger-Hit-Than-Super Mario Bros. made overnight. Just there, you have a lifetime of solid games. All in one day, and an endless stream just coming in constantly. There is no other way to satisfy the endless hunger of a gamer than an endless game.
This is a serious possibility. But you have to look at it from a serious manner. What, psychologically, would draw someone to a particular game. Well in all truth a game the emulates life but surpassed that by creating something new within that setting. Life itself is the most entertaining/engaging activity. But could it be put into a game? Yes! But, you have to keep the fundamentals of gaming there. You HAVE to acknowledge that you are creating a video game meant to be played for entertainment. It is not made to replace another artform, it is, in fact, its own unique art form. A real game, succesful through emulating life, does so by doing the fundamental rule of life: It is what it is. What you want to make, is what you get. What you think it is, is what it is. What you want to play, is what you play, If someone turns the mastery of these principles into a game creator, than you are not really creating a game, you are creating a blank canvas with all the tools life supplies and allows.
A good example is the internet! The internet can be considered a game. You control what is on it, but you in turn, have no control over what anyone else can put on it. The internet is so succesful because it emulates life. And it's those open options, the key to the perfect game, that make the internet so succesful.
All we need to do is envision it. It doesn't just take programmers or casual people, it takes ALL of them to acheive it.
A game that is simply what you want it to be. It's that simple.
So, I thought about those games. The ones we envision. The ones we see in the previews but are always disappointed to play. Satisfied, but still longing for more, for better, for the best.
So if one game would come along, and blow all of them away, from the legends that defined the industry to the cheapo little handheld/cellphone games we try on a whim, what would that game be?
What I'm building up to is the big question:
What does the greatest game ever look like?
Now I think we're on the precipice of a revolution that has never in history occured before. An art form that no other art could so physically draw the viewer in.
I didn't answer the question. But this is why the strive to attain the perfect game is so important, so much more vital to human society than any other art form.
My answer is purely by opinion, of course. But here I go:
The greatest game ever is simple. Simpler than you could ever imagine. At the same time, it is infinitely complicated. The perfect game is one where the player makes a game. A game so simply designed that it could be tinkered with by anyone, but can become complicated enough to become infinitely immersed into it. How odd. The ultimate game is a game maker. But not just any, you choose the genre, or make a new one, you design as much or as little as you want. You make the parts of the game you care about, and the game fills in the rest.
Think about it, you couldn't get better! People around the WORLD, sharing their one-level games, their 40 hour games, their life's work 300 hour games. You make the games YOU want, and you get good ones in turn, so many new games coming out so constantly that you won't be waiting for good games to come out. There won't be "seasons" for games, there won't be trends for games, 2D, 3D, Racing, Puzzle, RPG, Platformer, Brand-New Genre, ANY type you want. You give it story, you give it life. Everyone has imagination, everyone is capable of making the game THEY are happy with.
But wait? What if the game sucks? So what! The process of making the game itself, ANY way you wanted, was a good enough experience. Didn't like that game enough? Make a new one? Too tired or mentally-drained from life to think up innovative things, just go to the world database and find a new one!
Would ALL the games be fun for everyone? No! In fact, its very possible all of them would suck. But again, the process itself, and the social sharing aspect is the key to a strong bond or relationship with the perfect game.
What this really is is an idea catcher. If you make it, you upload it. If you capture the ideas of every single person who's made something, you're bound to get even more extremely-good, fun games than you get today.
You'd go to sleep, wake up in the morning, and find 12000 Would-Be-A-Bigger-Hit-Than-Super Mario Bros. made overnight. Just there, you have a lifetime of solid games. All in one day, and an endless stream just coming in constantly. There is no other way to satisfy the endless hunger of a gamer than an endless game.
This is a serious possibility. But you have to look at it from a serious manner. What, psychologically, would draw someone to a particular game. Well in all truth a game the emulates life but surpassed that by creating something new within that setting. Life itself is the most entertaining/engaging activity. But could it be put into a game? Yes! But, you have to keep the fundamentals of gaming there. You HAVE to acknowledge that you are creating a video game meant to be played for entertainment. It is not made to replace another artform, it is, in fact, its own unique art form. A real game, succesful through emulating life, does so by doing the fundamental rule of life: It is what it is. What you want to make, is what you get. What you think it is, is what it is. What you want to play, is what you play, If someone turns the mastery of these principles into a game creator, than you are not really creating a game, you are creating a blank canvas with all the tools life supplies and allows.
A good example is the internet! The internet can be considered a game. You control what is on it, but you in turn, have no control over what anyone else can put on it. The internet is so succesful because it emulates life. And it's those open options, the key to the perfect game, that make the internet so succesful.
All we need to do is envision it. It doesn't just take programmers or casual people, it takes ALL of them to acheive it.
A game that is simply what you want it to be. It's that simple.