Re: soundStrider: Exploration game and relaxation tool
@Dark: Thanks for checking out my blog. I've been meaning to dive into your response. Your background (and analogy of being a bull seeing red ) is fascinating to me. Could you please PM or link me to where I can learn more about your dissertation and your findings about disability? Perhaps there's a thread in your post history I could dive into?
I agree that the definition of a game extends beyond interactivity and that impactful change is an excellent litmus test. I had a chance to play a few games since your reply and it certainly made me think. Two observations:
Devil Daggers is an arcade shooter (with binaural audio so it might be possible to play in the dark if the menus had screen reader support or VO). It has only one level that spawns baddies in waves that you need to shoot and avoid, a leaderboard that ranks players by how long they survive, and only one achievement earnable after 500 seconds. For me it was way too difficult but playing felt like a thrill ride or rollercoaster.
Here I'd argue that most arcade games like Devil Daggers don't satisfy that criteria (unless your name in the high scores is sufficient change) yet they are still operationally "games" because the neurochemical response is similar to eating a bowl of candy. It feels good just to eat and that feeling in itself is escapist.
Lately I've also been diving into the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality which had over a thousand games for $5. Lots of rare gems in there that I absolutely loved. One that I'm been trying to get into is Overland, in which you lead some folks on a roadtrip across a post-apocalyptic US. Each playthrough you'll meet new characters and get into a variety of situations that usually lead to disaster. There are permanent consequences to every action that affect the rest of the game. It's like a modern Oregon Trail.
Games like Overland definitely satisfy that criteria because player actions feed back into the world. But something else I love about emergent game experiences is how they can permanently change ourselves. We form unique memories and take away lessons like reading a book, hearing a song, or going to therapy. They exist outside the game space through the stories we tell.
I can find these aspects in my game but it's certainly closer to candy and therapy than challenge and emergent stories. I'm glad to provide a weird and joyful world you can see and escape into. And I'll take everyone's suggestions to heart for wherever we go next.
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