Mechanics as Metaphor - I: How Gameplay Itself Tells a Story - Extra Credits

Hey folks, Allison's still getting some much needed rest and settling in at the new job. So, please join me in welcoming back our pal Shannon Meissner. This week we're going to do something slightly different and ask you to play a game before you continue watching. It's just a flash game, it'll only take like 3 minutes tops, but I think you'll find those 3 minutes of play leave you with a lot to talk about after. Possibly more than most 20-hour game experiences do. The link should be below the video down there to the right, but in case you're watching this embedded somewhere, here you go. So, go give it a play. We'll see you back here in a few. Okay, so you may have loved that or hated it. Maybe you found it pretentious or thought it was spot on, but the main thing is either way we can talk about it. All the time I see people analyzing the writing in games by itself, talking about the written story and discussing its meaning in the way that you might a book, which I mean, hey, that's a good thing to do, but we so rarely hear

people talk about the meaning inherent in mechanics. So, today we're going to talk about mechanics as metaphor, mechanics with meaning. Because to me, if we ever want games to be truly powerful experiences, if we really want them to reach their full potential and be able to explore an enormous range of concepts, and if we want more experiences where you just put down the controller at the end and sit there stunned, then we have to start examining the meaning that inheres in the action within our games rather than just the words themselves. Not doing so would be like denying that films can convey meaning outside the script, like saying the entire narrative in a movie is told only through the words the characters say. So, let's look at loneliness. What's amazing about it is the fact that it undeniably has a narrative, even though it features no words save for a few sentences of the designer's thoughts at the end. But what's more incredible to me is how different that narrative can be for different people. Some of you probably tried to go to all of the groups. Some of you probably started avoiding the groups partway through. Some of you probably tried to double back and see if there was anything you missed. Some of you were probably hoping that last dot would finally be the one, while others of you probably walked straight on by it, not wanting to be denied one last time. Heck, some of you

probably just gave up and closed the game halfway through. And each of those possibilities is its own distinct narrative. Each of those responses tells us a little about ourselves. This game not only tries to put us in the emotional state of that crushing loneliness, that feeling of always being on the outside, but it lets us explore it. And this to me is the unique power games have. Those of you who went up to every group had a protagonist that was always trying to find some place where they fit in. Those of you who started avoiding everything played a loner who decided that he or she didn't need a world that didn't accept them. And most of you probably made this choice consciously while playing, even though you may not have registered it at the time. If you think back to your play experience, those of you who avoided groups probably had that thought flash through your mind, "I screw these guys. I don't need them." when you chose to start avoiding things. And those of you who went up to each group probably said to yourself at least once as a fleeting thought somewhere along the line, "I hope this group accepts me." Looking at and reflecting on this experience can tell us something about ourselves. By having the meaning embedded in the mechanics, it gives us a chance to truly make choices, to truly explore through play. Most of us have been trained to think of choice in games as something you do at binary moments, often as a

dialogue choice or a very clear action. Do I save this person? Do I not save this person? But here choice is analog, it's in every moment of your play. Perhaps you started by trying to find people to associate with, but then decided that you were fed up with the world and were better off alone. Until late in the game you decided to give it one last try and see if you could come back to the world and find someone who would accept you. Perhaps you just walked straight through it all, oblivious of the rest, concerned only with your own path. Or perhaps your story unfolded in some other way entirely. That is real choice right there. That's more choice than even these games will give you. Now, you might think that this is total crock, or you might have a completely different opinion about what's going on here and what its value is, but that's great. My favorite type of entertainment is the kind where afterwards you go out to an all-night diner with your buddies and debate what it really means or why it matters to the world you live in. That's what you can do here. There's a discussion to be had, even if you think the game itself is pretentious or terrible. So, join us next week when we talk about how the idea of mechanics as metaphor can be used in major release games. We'll be talking about both the benefits and the difficulties of using this concept and perhaps most importantly talk about some triple-A

games where it's already being used. And if you know of other games where the mechanics already embody meaning, share it in the forums or shoot us an email. I can't promise we'll be able to respond to all of you but it's something we love hearing about. Thanks again for coming back to help us Shannon. We'll see you guys next week.