Pixelate:Issue 11/Thinking Indie
From Allegro Wiki
| Thinking Indie | |
| Original author: | Jonas Kyratzes |
|---|---|
| Website: | http://jonas.gamedeveloper.net |
| zip: | |
As most of you probably know, I've always been a great supporter of taking game development in new directions, of exploring new ground in this young artform of ours. And as I wrote in the first Thinking Indie, I am convinced that originality and experimentation are the way that indie developers need to take if they're ever going to achieve something; futhermore, I believe that indie developers are the best people for doing this because they're not bound by the traditional rules of the system. In today's column, I wish to continue with that line of thought, and make a small suggestion.</font>
I believe that we need to free ourselves from convention. There are so many conventions, so many rules, in the world of game design; actually, in the world of art in general. We are so badly limited by what is considered 'correct form', by what are considered the standart mechanisms of gameplay, the standart ways of telling a story. There are specific concepts of what makes a game, and they've been hammered into our heads until we think that this is all there is. But it's not. Think about it. Why do most games have to have a chronologically linear storytelling structure? Movies don't. Books don't. Hell, even some TV series like Babylon 5 don't. Why shouldn't there be flashbacks, flash-forwards, etc? Why can't the story be broken up into a lot of pieces that appear in a non-linear way? In some games, it makes sense that the story should be told in a linear fashion. In others, it doesn't. There are many adventure games that could have profited greatly from a different approach.
Another thing is the relationship between the player and the player character. Why do we assume that they have to be the same, that the player has to identify with the character he's playing? Couldn't it be done in other ways? It could. In fact, it has been done. But more about that soon.
Now these are just examples. There are many conventions that we need to realize are just that: conventions. We can use them when we need to, but there are other ways of doing things that are not 'wrong'. It's only 'wrong' if it doesn't do what you want it to do.
I can't tell you what to do. I can't tell you where to go. Even if I could, I wouldn't do it. We don't need leaders, because following a single line of thought will again lead us to conventions; new ones, but conventions nevertheless. We need to work together, but each of us needs to follow his own set of ideas. That way, we can expand in all possible directions, explore as much ground as possible.
And now, finally, we come to my suggestion. As I've already said, I have no wish to lead anyone; but I can point out some interesting places that have already been explored. What I'm cryptically mumbling about is interactive ficiton - or, as some people like to call it, text adventures. In case you didn't know, they're still being made. In fact, I think a lot more text adventures are being made than independent graphical games. But that, again, is not the point. The point is that the writers of interactive fiction have done a lot of things that we, the writers of graphical games, haven't. They've gone to places some of us have only dreamed of. Sadly, for some reason, our two communities are very far apart. That's really a shame, because that way ideas are not exchanged, and we cannot learn from each other. And presently we have a lot to learn from interactive fiction. There are *so* many amazing concepts and ideas to be found in interactive fiction that have never even appeared in graphical games.
I do not suggest that we copy them, nor follow them. I suggest that we learn from them, that we expand our minds and rid ourselves of some of our self-imposed limits by learning from them, by understanding that some new territory has already been explored. This knowledge will allow us to reach new areas on our personal journey of exploration more easily.
Play some interactive fiction. See what you've been missing. And learn.
Note: Adam Cadre's games, located at www.adamcadre.ac, are a good example of why interactive fiction is so great. If you want to begin somewhere, begin there. I suggest Photopia, my favorite of all his games - very deep, very touching, and very groundbreaking. By the time you read this, I might have already published an interview with him on my homepage. If you like his games, you might find it interesting.
- Jonas
Jonas Kyratzes is an independent game developer. He currently lives in Thessaloniki, Greece, but will be leaving for Germany soon. Despite the fact that he's published nearly thirty articles, he's still amazed that people actually read his stuff.
