Having kids has opened up my eyes to many things
There I was cooking tea for the kids and my young daughter asked to borrow my Surface to play ‘Where’s my Water?‘. This game is pretty much regarded by almost everyone as a good game. I found it dull.
My daughter was completing the game much like the way I was peeling the potatoes. She was devoid of emotion. Each level rolled past with each potato. She got bored. Then I heard her load an Ultimate game, PSSST, the famous beeps giving her away. There was silence, followed by curses and then more curses. She was getting frustrated with it, but then it happened.
Yes!!!
She ran into the kitchen, Surface in hand. There it was, a pretty flower had grown and a tune was playing, very beautifully, I may add. The same experience I had thirty years ago with Jet Pac: Déjà vu
So one level of a 30 year old game had caused more emotion than 20 levels of one of today’s top games. Yes, Ultimate games were difficult, but the player was rewarded for their achievement, with a tune and a flower. Complete a level in ‘Where’s my Water?’ and what is your reward? Okay, so complete 20 levels, and what is your reward? Nothing.
Games should be about giving the player emotion. They shouldn’t be mindless and rewards should be sparse, so that they mean something…
