The title is misleading. This topic is about games that are not intended to be "entertaining" with flashy visuals, explosions, creativity or most things you will describe as core elements of games.
I'm talking about games that are "interesting" and "involving" or "thought provoking". One example of such game I know of is called "The Path". The game is fairly simple, there are some loose objectives. You can find POIs out in the forest. On your way to your grandmother's house. You aren't required to complete the objectives in order to reach the end. If you wish you can head straight along the path and reach your grandmother's house.
There was one interesting theory I heard about the game. Bearing in mind it is loosely based of little red riding hood and the wolf. Since you control the girl on her way to her grandmother's house. And the game specifically tells you not to venture off the path. Naturally, your inclined to do so, often doing so leads you to bizarre and dangerous situations. Ergo, you are the "wolf" and you are "preying" on these young girls, putting them in dangerous situations.
***SPOILER***
When I was playing this game, I was just getting to grips with what my objectives were. I ventured around and I found a park, the sort with climbing frames and slides and the likes. There was a bench with a man sat on it. I ventured over to the bench and the sequence began. The girl I was controlling sat on the bench and the man offered her a cigarette. She accepted it, it was hinted at that she never smoked before as she coughed. If I remember correctly the man put his arm around the girl and the sequence faded out. When the images returned, the girl was lay in the path presumably unconscious. She soon regained conciousness, the first things you could notice about her attitude was that she was slumped over and was practically dragging herself along. I also couldn't return into the woods, the girl would simply walk away from them any time I went close. Other details confirmed my suspicions. Her tights were ripped, it was practically obvious that she had been raped. I presume the cigarette was drugged though this is uncertain.
It was the first time I felt physically disgusted about events that had unfolded within the game. I think, in this light, the game succeeded to do what it had planned to. It invoked an emotion, and it wasn't joy.
***SPOILER***
Say what you will about that story, I think it's a great example of what games as a medium could do. Films and books cover a variety of topics. Ranging from horror, romance, action, mystery. Games, don't really cover a wide spectrum of genres like that.
We're limited to action adventure, sport, racing, action. Gems like Minecraft are rare to come by. Think about all the games you've played and classify them into three groups:
- Story driven (This game intends to draw you in with it's story. There may be killing involved but it certainly isn't the primary focus, The Path)
- Blood-lust driven (The main aspect of the game is you versus armies of enemies and you're a badass, GoW)
- Child's play (This game is intended for PG audiences, there isn't killing as such. But there isn't much in the way of story either. Pikmin)
Pretty much everything I've ever played is in the Child's Play or Blood-lust Driven categories. I'm sure I've played some Story Driven games though, too. I have a shitty memory unfortunately, so it'll take me a while to come up with one.
Also, shouldn't Puzzle/Skill Games be a category?
Edit: Portal, how the hell did I miss that. It's both a puzzle game and it has one damn good story.
Nightcaster: Defeat the Darkness. This is a story-driven game, with a creepy as **** twist.
SPOILER
It starts out with your character as a child, playing hide and seek with his friends in the scottish highlands. (or someplace similiar) While trying to find a hiding spot, you notice a hole in a large tree. This hole is eminating light. As curious as you are, you crawl in the hole. When you're completely in, the ground lights up, revealing a large clock carved in to the stone underneath you. The light engulfs you, as you hear your two friends screaming.
You wake up, twenty years later, to a floating, Navi-esque orb of light. She informs you that she has teleported you twenty years into the future, a time when a sorceror has taken power forcfully. The orb teaches you magics, so you can attempt to reclaim the kingdom. However, your character makes it clear that all he wants is to find his friends.
Anyway, throughout your quest, you catch glimpses of your friends, who have become warriors, and at one point, you are on a lare ship with them, unknowingly. Only after getting the ship, do you find out that they were on it. After this point, your character takes on a noticably darker personality. These glimpses of friends continues throughout the game.
You can also find one of your friends's childhood diaries, revealing how she always adored you, and how this adorment become fascination, and how this fascination became love.
Finally, a very disturbing point is that your character ages throughout the game. From a young 26 yearold, all the way up to a 70 yearold grand wizard. You control him through all of this, meaning that he never gets to do anything else for 50 years. He is completely commited to his friends, and to a lesser extent, his quest.
Sorry that was so long, it had to be for an interesting game like this.
Oh, I think I know what you are talking about. Pretty much any of the artsy flash games would work.
Go to Newgrounds.com for more of that kinda stuff. You just have to look around a bit.
- Story driven (This game intends to draw you in with it's story. There may be killing involved but it certainly isn't the primary focus, The Path)
- Blood-lust driven (The main aspect of the game is you versus armies of enemies and you're a badass, GoW)
- Child's play (This game is intended for PG audiences, there isn't killing as such. But there isn't much in the way of story either. Pikmin)
Where the hell would strategy games fit into all of this?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
The inquisitors were torturing Harry.
First, Ignatius used the rock.
Then Billy asked Harry if he wanted to read his BDSM blog. Harry was so surprised that his pants flew right off. He was wearing women's underpants. The inquisitors were wearing them, too.
- Story driven (This game intends to draw you in with it's story. There may be killing involved but it certainly isn't the primary focus, The Path)
- Blood-lust driven (The main aspect of the game is you versus armies of enemies and you're a badass, GoW)
- Child's play (This game is intended for PG audiences, there isn't killing as such. But there isn't much in the way of story either. Pikmin)
Where the hell would strategy games fit into all of this?
Strategy games don't really fit into these type of games. It's more artsy stuff, not much about gameplay.
Any game that isn't meant to be fun should not be a game. It should be a movie, a book, or something else, just absolutely not a game. Games can be thought-provoking or emotion-provoking, but to get someone to actually play it, it has to be fun. Without fun, a game isn't a game; it's a chore.
Take "The Graveyard" on Steam as an example. You play an old woman walking through a graveyard. When you find a bench, you sit down, see some pointless ********, and walk to the entrance; game then ends. All you do is walk. There's no music, the black-and-white graphics aren't very good, the controls are terrible, and the game is generally not fun. While that may fulfill the requirement for this topic, that doesn't mean that it is a good game. Did I mention that it's free? Why is it on Steam for money, you ask? If you pay, you get a super-secret extra in the game? What is it? There's a chance the old woman dies during the game. That's it. That's all you get for paying for the game.
Here's the quote from the website: "The Graveyard is a very short computer game designed by Auriea Harvey and Michaël Samyn. You play an old woman who visits a graveyard. You walk around, sit on a bench and listen to a song. It's more like an explorable painting than an actual game. An experiment with realtime poetry, with storytelling without words."
Well, if it's not really an actual game, don't ****ing market it as one! Market it as an explorable painting or a short computer program instead of a "game".
Age of Pirates. A storydriven game, as far as I can tell. I never got to the second island, I wasn't able to play for hours just watching my ship sailing... and sailing... and sailing... OH YEA I SEE SOMETHING! Aw, a ship passeing by :sad.gif:
Instant-delete anybody?
I've heard stories of how slow that game plays.
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Runescape -click- -click-
Well, seeing as if you ignore the terrible community and numb yourself to the grinding, it's actually pretty goddamn fun. The fact that the music is absolutely amazing at some points helps too. But yeah, not quite what Zuriki was asking.
... every other aspect of it sucks as well, don't play it because it's not fun, entertaining or thought provoking.
Just kidding, I've never played it. But you should finish your
Strategy games (Total War, Command and Conquer) are fun. It might take some planning, but its pretty fun because it requires some brain power.
I forget the title of it.. there was this game, took five minutes to play to the end, no matter what. All that happened was you walk, and time passes and your character gets older.
I thought it was neat, but pointless, for a while, until I got to the end, and realized I couldn't go back, and sortof said "oh." and spent the next little while being thoughtfully sad.
I'll try to remember the title.
I don't understand the purpose of this thread.
you say it's about games that aren't entertaining, yet games are a form of entertainment. if you aren't entertained, what's the purpose of the game?
Excitement =/= entertainment.
I find interesting/thought provoking games fun and entertaining. I just don't understand this whole thread.
It means games that focus on story instead of gameplay. Games that aren't fun to play, games that are fun to watch, if you understand what I mean.
That's the problem, though, and I pointed this out earlier in the thread.
If games aren't fun, then nobody's gonna bother playing them except perhaps out of curiosity. Like that game, The Graveyard, that I posted, it wasn't fun, and as such, I found it a bore and a chore to play.
If it's more fun to watch than to play, then it shouldn't be marketed as a game, period.
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Curse PremiumI'm talking about games that are "interesting" and "involving" or "thought provoking". One example of such game I know of is called "The Path". The game is fairly simple, there are some loose objectives. You can find POIs out in the forest. On your way to your grandmother's house. You aren't required to complete the objectives in order to reach the end. If you wish you can head straight along the path and reach your grandmother's house.
There was one interesting theory I heard about the game. Bearing in mind it is loosely based of little red riding hood and the wolf. Since you control the girl on her way to her grandmother's house. And the game specifically tells you not to venture off the path. Naturally, your inclined to do so, often doing so leads you to bizarre and dangerous situations. Ergo, you are the "wolf" and you are "preying" on these young girls, putting them in dangerous situations.
***SPOILER***
When I was playing this game, I was just getting to grips with what my objectives were. I ventured around and I found a park, the sort with climbing frames and slides and the likes. There was a bench with a man sat on it. I ventured over to the bench and the sequence began. The girl I was controlling sat on the bench and the man offered her a cigarette. She accepted it, it was hinted at that she never smoked before as she coughed. If I remember correctly the man put his arm around the girl and the sequence faded out. When the images returned, the girl was lay in the path presumably unconscious. She soon regained conciousness, the first things you could notice about her attitude was that she was slumped over and was practically dragging herself along. I also couldn't return into the woods, the girl would simply walk away from them any time I went close. Other details confirmed my suspicions. Her tights were ripped, it was practically obvious that she had been raped. I presume the cigarette was drugged though this is uncertain.
It was the first time I felt physically disgusted about events that had unfolded within the game. I think, in this light, the game succeeded to do what it had planned to. It invoked an emotion, and it wasn't joy.
***SPOILER***
Say what you will about that story, I think it's a great example of what games as a medium could do. Films and books cover a variety of topics. Ranging from horror, romance, action, mystery. Games, don't really cover a wide spectrum of genres like that.
We're limited to action adventure, sport, racing, action. Gems like Minecraft are rare to come by. Think about all the games you've played and classify them into three groups:
- Story driven (This game intends to draw you in with it's story. There may be killing involved but it certainly isn't the primary focus, The Path)
- Blood-lust driven (The main aspect of the game is you versus armies of enemies and you're a badass, GoW)
- Child's play (This game is intended for PG audiences, there isn't killing as such. But there isn't much in the way of story either. Pikmin)
Also, shouldn't Puzzle/Skill Games be a category?
Edit: Portal, how the hell did I miss that. It's both a puzzle game and it has one damn good story.
SPOILER
It starts out with your character as a child, playing hide and seek with his friends in the scottish highlands. (or someplace similiar) While trying to find a hiding spot, you notice a hole in a large tree. This hole is eminating light. As curious as you are, you crawl in the hole. When you're completely in, the ground lights up, revealing a large clock carved in to the stone underneath you. The light engulfs you, as you hear your two friends screaming.
You wake up, twenty years later, to a floating, Navi-esque orb of light. She informs you that she has teleported you twenty years into the future, a time when a sorceror has taken power forcfully. The orb teaches you magics, so you can attempt to reclaim the kingdom. However, your character makes it clear that all he wants is to find his friends.
Anyway, throughout your quest, you catch glimpses of your friends, who have become warriors, and at one point, you are on a lare ship with them, unknowingly. Only after getting the ship, do you find out that they were on it. After this point, your character takes on a noticably darker personality. These glimpses of friends continues throughout the game.
You can also find one of your friends's childhood diaries, revealing how she always adored you, and how this adorment become fascination, and how this fascination became love.
Finally, a very disturbing point is that your character ages throughout the game. From a young 26 yearold, all the way up to a 70 yearold grand wizard. You control him through all of this, meaning that he never gets to do anything else for 50 years. He is completely commited to his friends, and to a lesser extent, his quest.
Sorry that was so long, it had to be for an interesting game like this.
Go to Newgrounds.com for more of that kinda stuff. You just have to look around a bit.
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Curse PremiumWhere the hell would strategy games fit into all of this?
First, Ignatius used the rock.
Then Billy asked Harry if he wanted to read his BDSM blog. Harry was so surprised that his pants flew right off. He was wearing women's underpants. The inquisitors were wearing them, too.
They realized that they were all men of the lord.
- 30 Hs
Strategy games don't really fit into these type of games. It's more artsy stuff, not much about gameplay.
Oh, yeah. That is a great game. The best for Nintendo DS, for sure.
Take "The Graveyard" on Steam as an example. You play an old woman walking through a graveyard. When you find a bench, you sit down, see some pointless ********, and walk to the entrance; game then ends. All you do is walk. There's no music, the black-and-white graphics aren't very good, the controls are terrible, and the game is generally not fun. While that may fulfill the requirement for this topic, that doesn't mean that it is a good game. Did I mention that it's free? Why is it on Steam for money, you ask? If you pay, you get a super-secret extra in the game? What is it? There's a chance the old woman dies during the game. That's it. That's all you get for paying for the game.
Here's the quote from the website:
"The Graveyard is a very short computer game designed by Auriea Harvey and Michaël Samyn. You play an old woman who visits a graveyard. You walk around, sit on a bench and listen to a song. It's more like an explorable painting than an actual game. An experiment with realtime poetry, with storytelling without words."
Well, if it's not really an actual game, don't ****ing market it as one! Market it as an explorable painting or a short computer program instead of a "game".
Not what was in mind.
I've heard stories of how slow that game plays.
Well, seeing as if you ignore the terrible community and numb yourself to the grinding, it's actually pretty goddamn fun. The fact that the music is absolutely amazing at some points helps too. But yeah, not quite what Zuriki was asking.
Are you the bad guy?
Is Emon the bad guy?
is Dormin the bad guy?
Are the Colossi the bad guys?
Is Mono the bad guy?
I think everyone is bad except Mono, Wander and the Colossi. Emon is Chaotic Good, while Dormin is Lawful Evil.
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Curse PremiumMineScience - viewtopic.php?f=25&t=166560
Dragonator - viewtopic.php?f=25&t=141803
Sand Skiffs - viewtopic.php?f=25&t=233346
... every other aspect of it sucks as well, don't play it because it's not fun, entertaining or thought provoking.
Just kidding, I've never played it. But you should finish your
Isn't this the "Games that aren't fun" thread? xD
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Retired StaffI thought it was neat, but pointless, for a while, until I got to the end, and realized I couldn't go back, and sortof said "oh." and spent the next little while being thoughtfully sad.
I'll try to remember the title.
Well, it is fun...
BUT, the story is awesome.
SPOILER ALERT
You were Reven
NO SPOILERS
For an epic adventure, click here!
Why, thank you.
This sig is big...
What to do, what to do...
Hi
That's the problem, though, and I pointed this out earlier in the thread.
If games aren't fun, then nobody's gonna bother playing them except perhaps out of curiosity. Like that game, The Graveyard, that I posted, it wasn't fun, and as such, I found it a bore and a chore to play.
If it's more fun to watch than to play, then it shouldn't be marketed as a game, period.
Video Games, in modern terms, require at least some interaction with the game itself, and not on the level of making a character walk.
Games are NOT art, but CAN be art. It's still a game in the core, but if a developer pushes it into art (100%), it won't be a game anymore.