Here is an adapted blog post from my blog. (The now DELETED blog GRRR)
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As I said in the earlier post a key aspect of StarLit is its attitude towards exploration. Since I have made that claim a few times now I thought it a good idea to expand on that and share a few thoughts on the subject. Many games claim to be about exploration after all, so what is it in
StarLit that makes this remarkable beyond some basic play mechanics? Well, hopefully this post will provide some answers. :-)
Some Thoughts On Game Exploration
One of my favourite in-game activities is exploration, yet I find that a lot of games that claim to be exploration games take a very narrow view of what exploration can mean, or worse, actively punish exploration. The latter being one of the worst frustrations for somebody who is looking for fun exploration in a game setting.
Why punish the player with unforgiving harsh and negative consequences for engaging in freeform game exploration? Binary skill gates, single solution unskippable boss fights, lack of save points, long and convoluted respawn processes... aren’t these kinds of things just going to discourage exploration gameplay?
So the issue I have with many exploration games is that they only allow limited exploration of the physical environment, and do not really embrace the full spectrum of gameplay and rewards systems that are on offer from within the genre.
StarLit will try to put forward an environment where the player will be fundamentally rewarded for engaging in all areas of exploration. This includes for example:
ExperimentationSome things in the game can only be discovered through playful experimentation. Ideally I would like the player to be rewarded with emergent gameplay by trying out new ways to interact with the world, but additionally there will be plenty of opportunity for just having fun by trying out ideas both logical and goal oriented as well as purely for self-indulgent reasons. Treat the world, or things in it, as a toy, or indeed as a sandbox.
Narrative DiscoveryThe player will be given a lot to discover in narrative terms. Like a slowly evolving detective case the player can uncover layers of narrative content. And by that I mean all kinds of content that adds to the narrative, not just endless text. The narrative exploration will be non-linear, so it will be up to the player to decide which narrative strands to follow or investigate.
Ambient EnjoymentThe world itself is to be enjoyed in its own right, rather than act as an excuse to place a series of skill challenges in various environments. Instead we are going to try to provide a setting where it is not necessary to just run through the world from one challenge to the next, but instead provide a world where it is ok to stop and soak up the atmosphere.
Indeed, it may provide the player with insights that are useful in gameplay terms, although this kind of thing should be enjoyable in its own right. I hope that the game will offer an experience where it is actually enjoyable to go on a stroll.
Why Science Fiction?Setting also matters, and StarLit is meant to celebrate classic science fiction. Partially because I love the genre, but also because a Sci-Fi setting gives us a number of advantages. Sci-Fi often deals with a “sense of wonder”; that feeling of marvel and joy at being shown highly imaginative and awe-inspiring vistas and concepts. In an exploration game this functions as an an actual reward for the player, for seeking out new things to enjoy. It is rewarding to explore such an environment.
Many good Sci-Fi creations have come to pass after a process of world building, and to a large degree that world will be an unknown to the player. This once again means that exploration mechanics are rewarded at a fundamental level. That is to say that they are part of the fabric of the game. In StarLit the world is something that not only gives you a reward in the enjoyment of ambient environments, although that is an important element to the game, it also gives you useful knowledge on how this unknown environment works. And that latter aspect gives the player a formal reward in so much that practical and useful knowledge feeds back into actual gameplay. Exploration is both fun and useful.
Scientific Exploration?In a similar vein, I find that the theme of scientific exploration is actually a great companion of science fiction and video games ideas. Not a surprise to those of you who have played my previous game “Eufloria” which was partially inspired by the ideas of theoretical physicists Freeman Dyson, as well as an exploration of procedural content generation in gameplay terms.
In StarLit we are adopting a number of influences from Scientific Exploration. There will be some representation of exciting scientific ideas, but more specifically, the process of scientific exploration is at the core of the game. The player will be put into a position where they will have to go on field trips to gather data on their environment, or try to apply scientific knowledge in order to solve certain gameplay challenges. The tools and equipment needed for this will reflect this, and will be presented in a form that allows for enjoyable gameplay. You have to kit out with the right tools for the job before you go out on a mission.
We are all working hard towards these lofty goals, code, art, design, and even audio all contribute to them. We will have to see how successful our efforts are by the time we release the game, but outlining these principles right from the beginning means that we work towards a set of goals within the spirit of exploration gameplay, which is one of our fundamental aspirations for this game.
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Righto, sorry about the didactic tone, as I said this is an adapted blog post. :-)
Next installment will be about some specific play mechanics I reckon.
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