Interactivity: U or You?

Blaine Arcade

I played a game over the Christmas season that immediately struck me as… progressive.  I’m sure you’re familiar with the sensation: an artist or inventor unveils something and your first reaction is to say, ‘How did we not have this before?’

That game is called Desperate Gods.  It’s a virtual board game put together by Wolfire Games during a week-long game jam.  And it’s free to download and play.  The initial description of the game doesn’t lend itself to the progressive language of mad scientists or entertainment phenomenons that sweep across the internet like typhoons.  It involves four players rolling dice, battling monsters artistically rendered on digital cards, and having their pieces trek across the board.  So where’s the progress?  The secret is in the interactivity.

When you think of an electronic board game you will most likely imagine Mario Party 22 and its stamp-licking mini-game or one of those cheesy DVD trivia packages with an announcer who sounds like a young male lifeguard.  Instead, Desperate Gods messes with that formula.  Where other entries would see you taking turns to move around the board, this game grants control to all players at all times.  Anyone can touch anything.  Someone could accidentally grab your piece, knock over the pile of gold, or make a complete mess of the cards.  You must actually shake your mouse and release the button to roll the dice.  The rules of the game are given to you as a simple numbered list instead of being built into the game’s code, essentially allowing you to change the rules at any time to suit the play style of your group of friends.

That is interactivity, something that I think is profoundly misunderstood by major video game companies, particularly Nintendo.  The Japanese gaming giant has struggled to become the interactive force in video games through, in my personal opinion, a misunderstanding of what video games are supposed to be.

Some players just want to watch the board burn.

The Wii, 3DS, and Wii U are all devices built around the idea of physical interactivity.  By engaging the player’s senses and body parts, these devices hope to absorb you into the experience.  To me this underestimates the power of the human imagination as the driving force behind entertainment.  We want games to feel more real, which doesn’t necessarily translate to them being more physically demanding.  We want games that are real to us, that respond to our input.

The Wii forced you to point in certain directions.  The 3DS, which has turned itself into an oxymoron by being a portable device that requires you to sit perfectly still to use its 3D, has you tapping away at a touch screen.  The Wii U has its Game Pad controller, which often literally requires you to look away from your video game to another part of your video game sitting in your lap.  These are not forms of interactivity with lasting impact.  They are the cheap plastic toys from cereal boxes that hold fascination for all of a day.

Changes color when dipped in milk!

That’s not to say there’s nothing in the way of interactivity going on.  Just take a look at LittleBigPlanet, Team Fortress 2, and Trials HD.  All of them allow the players to build worlds out of provided tools.  True interactivity comes from making the games seem more real and more responsive.  Arm waving adds more broken televisions than it does fun.

In short, I encourage you to give Desperate Gods a try and see what kind of experience you and your friends can build together.

[GOTY] Blaine Arcade’s Top Nine of 2012

Blaine Arcade
GOTY 2012

Folks, let me preface this list a little bit.  I’m all about the hook!  You know, that part of a game’s premise that is brand new.  So here’s my top nine for the year that I actually played (there were some other good-looking games this year, but I didn’t get to them.  Here’s looking at you Legend of Grimrock).

Warp

An overlooked, little action puzzler with fun level design that has an adorable alien (who appears to be made of some kind of Powerade squeeze pouch) teleporting in and out of objects.  A few frustrating moments here and there, but overall a delightful experience.

Journey

There’s too much to say in one little paragraph, but I’ll give it a shot.  Journey is my favorite game of all time and, after playing it, I briefly considered entering into an indentured servitude contract with thatgamecompany just so I could bask in their glory and gnaw on their half-eaten trash sandwiches.  Unparalleled richness in colour, Grammy-nominated music, and an out-of-this-world formula for multiplayer make this a game that will enter my mind at least once a day for the next forty-two years (give or take).

Fez

Fez can be summed up in pretty much one word: charming.  The adorable eight-bit graphics, interesting dimension flipping ‘trixel’ stages, and hugely expansive side-scrolling world gave me more entertainment than most Christmas presents I’ve received.  The ambient music is also wonderfully calming.

Team Fortress 2: Mann Vs. Machine

More of a game within a game, MVM makes this list for its unusual set-up.  A successful first-person shooter runs for many years and then decides to build an entirely new wave-defense mode featuring upgradeable weapons?  Count me in.

The Unfinished Swan

This game had my eye ever since I saw an alpha version of it a long time ago.  It touts a simple sketchbook art style and a fun mechanic that lets you reveal an invisible world with paint balls.  A fun cameo by Terry Gilliam rounds the whole experience out nicely.

Botanicula

A point-and-click game from the makers of Machinarium, it disarms players with its bright-colors and humorous, scurrying creatures of all shapes and sizes in a way not seen since Pikmin.

Primordia

Another entry in the point-and-click category, Primordia delves into darker depths than the rest of my choices this year.  I wholly encourage you to play it if you feel like wading through mud and shrapnel for pearls of wisdom.

Desperate Gods

Some people might call me too much of a game snob when I overlook all of this year’s triple AAA titles in favor of a virtual board game made by two guys during a week-long game jam.  Well, too bad!  Desperate Gods sets itself apart by giving you rules, but not forcing you to stick to them.  Instead of taking turns, every player can touch anything on the board at any time and you even have to ‘roll’ the dice by shaking the mouse.  It’s hours of fun for super-nerdy parties, and it’s free to download and play (don’t play with your troll friends).

Curiosity: What’s Inside the Cube?

More of an experiment than a game, this mobile, free gem allows players to tap away at a giant cube and reveal the prize inside.  Since everyone’s touching the same cube… only one will walk away with the mysterious prize! With Peter Molyneux’s plans already growing slightly more… boring, Curiosity looks to be the highlight of his latest venture.

Personally, I’m hoping the big developers decide to be more creative in 2013.  If they fail–which they most likely will–the Indies will no doubt pick up the slack.