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Fourteen Forms of Fun Intellectual Problem Solving"Finding solutions to problematic situations that require thought." Problem solving has always been a part of videogames, and all games in general. Moreover, many consider solving difficult intellectual problems, even outside of games, fun. Many programmers choose their profession for the pleasure of resolving seemingly impossible challenges presented to them. All problems have a similar pattern: they consist of rules (the constraints of the computer and of the programming language for programming, for example), a setting (the current situation in a board game, the program in which the module must be integrated for programming) and of a goal (what it is that must be achieved). It is then left to the player to find the best way to reach the goal while adhering to the rules. Tetris is a great example of a simple game based on problem solving. The rules, setting, and goal are simple, yet many people lost many hours completing lines of square blocks. Problems can also be dynamic: the setting can evolve in response to the actions of the player. A good example of this is chess: it is basically a puzzle game where the setting evolves as each player acts. Of course, competition (see below) is also a part of the game, making it more interesting and introducing the dynamic aspect. These two examples involve gameplay that is close to solving a puzzle: the situation is abstract and the rules are obvious and strict. A game like Deus Ex exhibits another kind of problem solving: many of the problems in it have multiple solutions and are closer to problematic situations encountered in real life rather than abstract puzzles. This conscious choice by the designers made the game more interesting and also more immersive (see above). By creating problems consistent with the game world, the designers avoided breaking the illusion of the virtual world.
Puzzles have existed for centuries and, as such, creating a new one that would be fundamentally different from what has been done before would be nearly impossible, at least for non-dynamic puzzles. While there will always be a place for puzzle games, it seems that the future of problem solving lies in more open-ended situations. Like in Deus Ex, the most interesting problems are those that do not have a single solution but rather a multitude of solutions, allowing the player to feel smart about finding his own way to solve a problem rather than finding the single right way. While "finding the trick" is intellectually rewarding, it is not nearly as interesting as finding a personal solution that is different from the one found by other players. Competition "An activity where the goal is to show one's superiority." Competition has been, since the beginning of time, one of the primary motivators of mankind. The need to show one's superiority over another has always been a part of human nature. It is no wonder then that we find it so omnipresent in videogames: what drove the Greeks to participate in the first Olympic games is the same thing that drives players to participate in online deathmatches. Competition is not only against other players, but also against one's self, which is an important part of eastern mythology and can be a very interesting aspect of videogames. In this case, the player tries to beat himself, usually a personal high score. Multiplayer games are where competition is at its fiercest. Competing against other humans is much more interesting than competing against computers: the human presence adds fun to the victory, for reasons we will see below (see Social Interaction). Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament are prime examples of competition in videogames, both of them are centered obviously on competition as a means to have fun. The whole goal is to win by killing everybody else. Competition doesn't need to be as direct however. In Diablo II, competition is a large part of the online fun - the incredible number of hours some players have clocked so that they could be at the top of the international ladder is a proof of this. In this game, the drive for power (see below) also plays a large part of motivating the players. Racing games and pinball games are two genres where competition against yourself is very important. The enjoyment of finishing a lap in an always-shorter amount of time is an important aspect of racing games, while beating your high score is one of the main motivations of pinball players. A player can be his own fiercest opponent, particularly in these types of games. While competition is already used extensively in games, it could still be used more in some cases, notably to increase replayability. For example, simply timing how long it takes for a player to beat a game and posting this time in an internet ladder could drive some players to play the game again to improve their time. Other, similar statistics can be compiled (number of kills, number of time the game was saved, etc.) and compared. The cost of adding this in most games would be very small while potentially adding incentives to play through the entire game again. Another important aspect of competition is making sure that the game is not too hard or easy. Always winning or losing isn't interesting (especially the latter) and so games of the future (in single-player mode) should attempt to win a fraction of the time (but not always) to make the experience more interesting for the player. Another way of doing this would be to let the player win, but make him have a tough time doing so. This is a technique particularly useful in long games, where having to restart from the beginning could discourage some players. In multiplayer games, making sure that the current losers always have a chance to eventually win is of similar importance. To achieve this, "The rich gets richer" situations should be avoided and "The poor gets richer" situations should be used, to use Bryan Reynolds's terminology. That is to say, the game should be more generous toward losers than to the winners, to make catching up easier. Social Interaction "Doing things with other human beings." The simple presence of other human beings is a source of entertainment. The popularity of chat rooms and instant messaging programs (like ICQ, AIM, etc.) cannot be denied, and played a large part in popularizing the internet. Gathering with friends is fun, as much so in the real world as in the virtual world of games. With the popularity of the internet, the social aspect of videogaming has increased tremendously. Games like Everquest and Ultima Online use this form of entertainment, coupled with others, to create incredibly addictive gameplay. The numerous, massive, multiplayer, online games being developed today shows just how popular this type of entertainment is. Yet, social interaction isn't simply in chatting or doing things cooperatively; competing against other human beings is also much more interesting than competing against computer-controlled opponents. The joy of winning comes in part from the sorrow of the other's defeat. Since a computer is never annoyed at losing, winning against a computer isn't as fun as against other humans. Social interaction is getting used more and more in games. Many multiplayer games are being developed and many mostly single-player games now come with multiplayer modes. The large internet communities that gathered around popular games are also an aspect of social interaction associated with videogames. Allowing cooperative play to single-player games seems like an obvious step to add the fun of social interactions to a game. Future advancement in AI will also help single-player games have a better social aspect. Hopefully in the future there will be games with more non-player characters that will behave more realistically. Comedy "Things that make one want to laugh." Some say that laughing is what distinguishes humans from beasts - this goes to show just how important it is to us. Laughing is fun, there is no denying it. All forms of communications have used it as a way to entertain the public. There are stand-up comics, humorous books and films, caricatures, cartoons, etc. Yet, few videogames rely on humour as much as these other forms of entertainment. Indeed, very few modern games are funny and even less have comedy as their central theme. To find good examples of how comedy can be used to make a game fun, we must turn to the past, more specifically to the period when adventure games were more popular. Games like Sam and Max Hit the Road, Day of the Tentacle or the Leisure Suit Larry series are all good example of how being funny can make a game more entertaining. Sadly, it seems that this aspect of games has been mostly forgotten, with only a few exceptions, such as the latest Monkey Island titles or the occasional one-liner to cheer us up. This is truly a shame, given that comedy plays such an important in entertainment.
Obviously, an improvement to the use of comedy in videogames would be to have more of it. Comic relief is an important part of movies but is largely under-used in games. Some intelligent humor could lighten up some scenes in games and actually increase the dramatic impact of later scenes by providing contrast. Also, games based on comedy, where the whole goal of the game is to make the player laugh, have their place in the videogaming genres and should be made more often. ______________________________________________________ |
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