What are all the different ways in which we can appreciate games?
I know my question isn't worded great! If anyone has a better edit after reading all of this, let me know! I have a half-formed idea in my head and I want to brainstorm a bit. Here's the idea:...
I know my question isn't worded great! If anyone has a better edit after reading all of this, let me know!
I have a half-formed idea in my head and I want to brainstorm a bit.
Here's the idea: games as a whole have a ton of different aspects/lenses through which we can enjoy and appreciate them, and I want to know what they all are. Here are some examples to show what I mean:
| Aspect | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Narrative | We can appreciate a game with a good story | To the Moon, The Walking Dead |
| Exploration | We can appreciate a game that lets us explore a digital world | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Minecraft |
| Movement | We can appreciate a game that lets us move in compelling ways | Forza Horizon 3, Mirror's Edge |
I feel like there are dozens of these we could come up with if we get really specific. The diversity of gaming experiences and genres really lends itself to a broad swath of these aspects. After all, the appreciation someone gets from playing something like Katamari Damacy is very different from that which someone gets from, say, ARMA 2.
I think later it might be interesting to try to apply some sort of analysis or taxonomy to this, but right now I just want to brainstorm. What are all of the different reasons we can like games? Be as specific as you can, try to cover lots of different titles and genres so that all of gaming is represented, and feel free to critique or edit my examples as well (e.g. I think it might be worth breaking up "Narrative" into "Plot" and "Characters", for example).
Aggregated List So Far
I'll keep updating this as we go. For entries that didn't follow the table format (which I didn't intend to be prescriptive but it looks like it caught on!), I've tried to incorporate them as best as I can, but if you feel I've misrepresented something let me know! Again, I'm mostly just interested in brainstorming at the moment, and then I think we can have a secondary thread later for analysis/synthesis.
| Aspect | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Narrative | We can appreciate a game with a good story | To the Moon, The Walking Dead |
| Exploration | We can appreciate a game that lets us explore a digital world | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Minecraft |
| Movement | We can appreciate a game that lets us move in compelling ways | Forza Horizon 3, Mirror's Edge |
| Empathy | We can appreciate a game for who / what it positions us as, and the degree to which it gives insight into that position. Benefits for the player range from novel emotional experiences to genuine moments of learning. | Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor, The Beginner's Guide |
| Escapism | Sometimes you simply need a break from real life and to escape into a fantasy world for a bit. Videogames are a highly effective way to do this IMO, since you are actually granted agency as an actor in them, which you don't get in most traditional escapist mediums like novels, movies and shows. | Almost every game with a story, to varying degrees |
| Catharsis | When you manage to deeply emotionally connect with any story (regardless of medium) and it reaches its climax or denouement, it can often help you break through the emotional barriers you have set up over time, which then allows you to safely release your pent up emotions. Surprisingly, I find games to be somewhat less effective at this than novels, but it still happens with them often enough to be a major component of my enjoyment of them. | Gris |
| Emotional Challenge | Sometimes the opposite of catharsis is great too. Getting to experience emotionally challenging things, like a truly mind-bending or depressing story, in the relatively safe environment of a game can be incredibly fulfilling. Although, those sorts of games often require me to be in the right frame of mind to experience, so that I don't have a breakdown afterwards, and as a result I don't seek them out all that often... I can only handle so many existential crises per month. ;) | Disco Elysium |
| Intellectual Challenge | Whether it be from difficult puzzle elements or strategy mechanics, intellectual challenges presented in games can be incredibly gratifying to solve and overcome. | Europa Universalis, puzzle games by Zachtronics |
| Eureka Moments | This goes hand in hand with the above two, but also applies to most games. Those moments when you finally figure something out that you were struggling with beforehand, or a major plot twist is revealed, can be truly glorious in games, and IMO they tend to occur more often in them than most other entertainment mediums. | Portal, Portal 2, The Talos Principle, The Witness |
| System | We can appreciate a game that lets us explore a well crafted system of interacting logical parts. The player can learn the rules of the system by observation and experimentation, and apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to achieve goals. | Stephens Sausage Roll, Factorio, The Witness, Antichamber |
| Competition | We can appreciate a game for fostering a competitive spirit among peers, to test themselves against each other as teams or individuals | Dota 2, Rocket League |
| Cooperation | We can appreciate a game that allows and encourages two or more people to work together towards a common goal | A Way Out, ibb and obb, Portal 2 |
| Audio experience | We can appreciate games that use music or sound in interesting or resonant ways | Bastion,Metal Gear Solid III |
| Visual experience | We can appreciate games that use visuals in interesting or resonant ways | Tetris Effect,Super Hexagon |
| Effort | We can appreciate games that adequately convey the effort required for the task happening on-screen | Don't Look Back, The Witcher 3, Dishonored |