Blog: "Finding videogame's true voice"

[Leu Radu]

Considering 3D first person games, where you play a certain character...

I think that video games are right know caught between "games" and all the other media in the way they are perceived, though they are truly unique and should not be like that. The video game experience gives us total control of a character (which will never be possible in film or literature) yet, unlike most non-video games, gives us a complex world, story, characters etc., that we experience directly (just like in other media).

It is my opinion that the player should completely interact with the whole game world: environment, characters, story. He should be and feel at it's core. He should feel as being part of the game world. The magic of video games is that it takes us to very special places. But, unlike literature, they are vivid worlds, very palpable, not just products of our imagination.

I believe that to become part of the game world, one must train himself to override the technical aspects (this is always easier for experienced gamers). Some games aid quite a lot in this matter. Amnesia is a good example: most actions that a player would naturally take (hide, open doors, drawers, picking up objects) are simple. Players do not need anything beyond what the game mechanics offer, and it has a natural feel. (Good work, FG!).


P.S. I would like to thank Frictional Games for running the development blog. It is beyond interesting, it opens our mind to many aspects of gaming that would otherwise be untouched by us, the casual gamers. Thank you!