Games can be thought of as a language of communication by which the player communicates their intent through the use of nouns (Objects) and adverb-verb pairs (Actions) and the game responds by changing the adjectives (Properties) describing the nouns. The grammar of the game defines the type of sentences that have meaning within the current context; […]
Warning: The following post contains plot spoilers for the final chapters of Mirror’s Edge. “Complete the game without shooting an enemy.” This is the description for the “Test of Faith” Achievement in Mirror’s Edge, and it highlights one of the more interesting ways to play the game. It is also a lie, in spirit if […]
I often wonder what games are trying to say. Playing Fallout 3 I’ve found myself receiving an explicit reward simply for finding a new location. The fact that there might be new items, characters and quests in that location, or that the act of exploration itself might be rewarding isn’t consider a strong enough incentive. The game decides […]
Games are about the exploration of space, both in the physical sense of exploring a virtual environment, and the abstract sense of exploring the possibility space provided by the game; the mechanics available and the dynamics that develop from them. In both cases there are two distinct types of explorable territory: functional and logical. The […]