Gameplay

UPDATE: Read this more recent post first.

UPDATE: After posting the about the Rohrer article I want to clarify my stance on gameplay mechanics.   Storyline and gameplay should meld.  There should be little or no distinction between the narrative elements and the elements of 'mechanics'; a game like Gears of War epitomizes the antithesis of this idea.  In GoW, the gameplay is 1-dimensional and only motivation, is to kill everything in sight; while the 'story' is told through interstitial cinematics.  There is virtually no interplay between narrative and gameplay.  Ideally the evocative elements of narrative are told through gameplay, like Rohrer's games.

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In the past couple of days I've realized that it can be difficult to visualize the potential gameplay has as an artistic medium.  This isn't a difficulty I've experienced myself, but one that other people have expressed to me.

Today more than ever, people are willing to admit that videogames can be art.  Games like Shadow of the Colossus, Okami, Katamari Damacy, and even Killer7 have cemented the fact that videogames can at least be artistic.

All of these games are visually arresting, and most of them are well-conceived.  As far as player input goes, however, not one of them breaks the mold (except perhaps Katamari).  evocative mechanics are virtually nonexistent.  Not surprisingly enough, people often have a hard time conceptualizing how gameplay mechanics can achieve a level of artistry.  

On the simplest level, I'd use the game Echochrome as an example.  This is a game clearly rooted in the conventions of the puzzle genre; however, the gameplay really centers around perspective and optical illusion.  Only by moving the camera angle can you complete each puzzle.  Imagine being able to manipulate one of Escher's drawings and you're as close to playing Echochrome as you can get.  This is a game that subtly brings into question the nature of perception, without the aid of a singe dialogue box or quicktime event.  The gameplay itself is thoughtful and provocative.   

Echochrome provides an apt example of artistic gameplay mechanics, but it barely scratches the surface of what player input can truly mean.

I have another example that exemplifies some of the potentials for player input.  Imagine one of the Ethicist's Moral Dilemas.  You stand on bridge above a railroad track.  A train is coming at a steady pace, and a family with their children stands almost directly beneath the bridge in the center of the track.  In front of you is a lever that will divert the track, sending the train off a cliff, a large man stands a few feet away, looking straight ahead down the long train track.  If you pull the lever, all of the passengers will surely die from the fall.  If you do nothing the family will be instantly crushed by the train.  yelling down to them would do no good, as the wind is howling and the distance from the bridge to the ground is so great.  The third option is to push the man off the edge of the bridge in the hopes that his body will either slow the train or alert the family.  Chances are both the family and the passengers would be unharmed, but the man would surely die.

This kind of dilemma doesn't make for an engaging game, and certainly not a very long one, but it does typify the powerful and thought provoking potential of gameplay mechanics.  Player input allows for choice.  

Games like Bioshock & the Oddworld series, provide a cursory example of the kind of decisions a videogame can offer.  Both games allow for a single variable (essentially, are you capable of murder - or not?), and then provide alternate endings as a 'consequence' of your actions.  It's a satisfying and intelligent gimmick, but it's far from revolutionizing the way that a player interacts with the art form.   

On the other hand we have titles like Oblivion, Fable, and other contemporary Role Playing Games, in which the variables are countless, but the consequences are essentially meaningless.  These games tout massive engines and groundbreaking AI, but fail to provide any kind of contextual weight. They ultimately lack the story and artistic direction that lends meaning and gravity to choice.

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Videogames are essentially a rudimentary form of virtual reality, and the gameplay mechanics of today are really actions that the player simulates using a controller.  As of now they remain repetitive and largely violent actions, but they are actions nonetheless.  Ultimately gameplay can be any action at all.  A conversation can be a 'gameplay mechanic', just as point-and-shoot is a gameplay mechanic.  

Today games are built around these mechanics and then marketed as linear narratives.  Gameplay is patterned and multiplied, ever so slightly varied, and voila.  Slap on a storyline, some two-bit voice acting, and you've got yourself a blockbuster product.  Games like Gears of War and Halo, are quintessential examples of the Interactive Entertainment Industry's attitude towards gameplay.

Ideally, gameplay and storyline should meld.  There should be no single gameplay 'mechanic' so to speak.  The player should control their avatar, and simulate the actions that he/she/it/they are capable of.  In this way, any 'mechanic' derives only from the context of the story.  The narrative should provide motivation for the characters actions, and those actions should catalyze the narrative progression.  

For instance:  you take on the role of a farmer.  You have abilities like picking up objects, interacting with objects (that you know how to use), walking, running, climbing etc, etc.  These abilities never change, but the storyline, the setting, and the objects around you do.  The mechanic is not the focus, only the way that your abilities adapt based on context and locale.  If your farmer finds himself in the underbelly of NYC, his skills might have totally different outcome: for example, his familiarity with farming implements back home might help him fend off muggers in the subway station. 

More importantly, your farmers abilities should reflect his motivations and progress the storyline.  For instance, you might get a manual labor job in the city in the hopes of earning enough to pay the way home.  Gameplay decisions might also elicit emotions normally absent from videogames: your farmer might be motivated to murder someone, for instance.  The ensuing guilt would provide an altogether different motivation and might ultimately bring the story to a close.

The game Stranger's Wrath, created by independent studio Oddworld Inhabitants, begins to explore narrative gameplay shifts like this.  Halfway through the game, your character is compelled to reveal his true identity, drastically altering his motivations, the story, and the underlying gameplay mechanics.  

Ultimately, gameplay should become more plastic.  Rather than focusing on mechanic, it should focus on motivation, context, and emotion.  

(On a side note, a character might learn new skills or abilities based on the progression of the story line, but this should not be the convention that it is today. it's only logical for a character to expand their abilities if the narrative necessitates it.)