Here’s a fantastic game design lecture by Will Wright. Starting at the 12:50 mark he’s talking about feedback loops in much clearer language than that dense technical link I posted earlier:
http://youtu.be/CdgQyq3hEPo?t=12m54s
One thing he mentions is how the negative side of the feedback loop is usually the most interesting. People usually play games to achieve the success side of the loop, but it’s not very rewarding without having experienced the failure states. Imagine that like a slider, where some people want games with no failure feedback like that amazing mario game posted above, and some people want the slider cranked all the way in the other direction. And that’s what this emerging genre is. It’s an exploration of the furthest reaches of the aesthetic form of negative feedback loop. In that way it’s kind of like the Black Metal of games. Black Metal evolved as musicians were trying to find the most extreme ways to break the established rules of musical aesthetic. (though obviously there are the minimalists and modernists etc. who break them even more.) The point being that most people can’t listen to to more than 10 seconds of Black Metal. It makes them agitated, or so annoyed they get angry. (I know this because I’ve tested several people I know >;) Likewise, this platform hell, or whatever you want to call it kind of game makes some people annoyed and angry. Guild Wars 2 in general is like a beautiful sweeping orchestral movie score. It appeals to a much broader audience.
There is a well established three part structure to popular music, and 90% of the hits follow it to a T. and there’s an ancient 3-act-structure for story that 90% of books, movies, and plays follow to a T. But there are fantastic examples of media that purposefully subvert those structures and the fact that the rules are broken is part of what makes them great. There Will Be Blood has no hero who grows through a struggle, learns a lesson and wins at the end. It’s not so much a story as it is a character portrait on film. And there are entire genres of music that are defined by the ways they break the popular paradigm.
So when I hear folks saying “How are invisible instant death traps fun?” it sounds to me like asking “How can you enjoy Death Metal or 50s Jazz or movies where the hero dies at the end?” It’s simply a matter of taste.
Someone above described what “good design” is in a very textbook sort of way where there are balanced feedback loops with clearly delineated goals and telegraphed challenges. And that is a perfectly valid way to critique games. And most of the time when games break those rules it’s because of sloppy, ill-conceived design, technological hurdles, time constraints, etc. Most movies that break the 3 act structure do it because the writer, director, editor etc. just aren’t good at what they do. Pop music that lacks the Verse-Bridge-ChorusX3 is often because the artist doesn’t know any better.
But when an artist is experienced with their craft, knows the rules backward and forward, and has worked within that framework before, THEN with intent and forethought decides to make something that breaks those rules, pushes one element to its extreme, or some other innovation, THAT’S when “good” happens. Not for everyone, because most people dislike anything that deviates too far from the norm. But there is always a market of people who can recognize the point of the exercise and appreciate it.
Like before, I’ll throw out the caveat that I’m not claiming that the SAB team is that master craftsman pushing the medium forward in dramatic brilliant ways. Only that we are THINKING about the design choices we make, we recognize when we are breaking rules, and we have a reason for doing so. Because SAB exists within the ecosystem of Guild Wars 2 it’s not going to be an exact replica of IWTBTG. We’re a hybrid, and that brings lots of interesting challenges with it. I’m sure we’ll learn a lot from this first TM release, and incorporate those lessons into the next round.
Well, that’s enough prattling at 2:30 am! Good night/morning!
, I haven’t had any huge disappointments with the amazing content and all the devs and other people who make it so this game still thoroughly entertains me even after a year of playing.
