(Phase 3 Development)
On Monday, Jordan showed us some of his Game poems from The Gametrekking Omnibus, a collection of Game Poems inspired by his travels in Asia. As he describes them:
‘They have few clear rules or objectives, and seldom include elements that align with traditional notions of “fun.” Rather, they are games about slowing down and paying attention, being open to unusual experience, encountering the other, and processing response. I often refer to them as “notgames” or “game poems.”‘
These are ways to explore serious topics through simplistic graphics. These games ranged from lighthearted, sweet experiences to historic horrors and dark pasts of a country, like the two games that my classmates played below.
- The Killer – A walking simulator about Cambodia with a choice at the end.
- Grandmother – A point-and-click game about cleaning your grandma’s grave.
What do people think makes a good Video Game?
- Narrative: Telling good stories.
- Gameplay: Crafting fun, balancing stories.
What is a Game poem?
Much like a normal poem, Game poems have all of the same aspects that
- Game poems are short.
- Game poems juxtapose signified meaning with material meaning
- Game poems are bound to metaphor and ambiguous imagery
- Game poems are hyperbolic
- Game Poems are subjective
- They make use of poetic expression
Jordan opened up the idea of a game poem being an accessible and inviting way of game creation. Ways to document experiences that are not well explored in the games industry. He also mentioned Bitsy games, which we created in Year 1, like the Crying Game, a game based on the experience of crying and lying in bed. I definitely do want to make more expressive games, whether tiny or large, about unique experiences that people usually find difficult to “gameify”, like one of my topics, Hair Braiding. As someone who has a lot of marginalised identities, expressing them through games is a must for my future as a game designer. I think creatives need to be the change they want to see.
Why care about Game poems?
- Maybe you want to be a poet whose medium is video games. Poetry is personal, and so can games.
- Making games from a poetry lens can help you to be a better game designer.
Poetry can be:
- Intimate and personal
- Subtle and complex emotions
- Beauty in moments
- Slowing down
Lessons to take away from Game Poems
- Strip away the inessential
- Some games have too much “bloat” in them; taking that away gives us a better idea of what we want to do.
- Leverage poetic devices
- Rhythm, Rhyme, Line breaks, Symbolism
- We can use these techniques to draw attention to certain moments and reflect on them
- Breath of the Wild Case study: beautiful scenery creates a “line break” where you can stop and breathe, and eventually move on, like a poem.
- Gris Case study: symbolism around colour, the colour changes reflect the change in emotion of the character.
- Embrace Ambiguity
- “A true haiku is a pebble thrown into the pool of the listener’s mind.” – Alan Watts
- The players don’t need to have a conclusive ending – the meaning of the game can be up for interpretation
- Reimagine “fun gameplay”
- Poetry is very playful, but not in a traditionally “video game” sense.
- It’s finding the cheekiness in the rhythm, ambiguity, and the mundane.
- Balanced fun is the assumed design goal, but not all games are like this.
- Monopoly Case Study: Monopoly was originally called “The Landlord’s Game”, and it was meant to critique Capitalism, but it turned into the opposite of that. The game is severely unbalanced: the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
- Respect the Poetic Process
- Takeaway: making a good game might be heard in ways that you don’t expect
- Incorporate what you learn on the journey
- Making tiny games can be connected to bigger game practices – many big producers and writers for AAA have made tiny games in their spare time
- Making a 5-minute experience that impacts someone can still be good for your portfolio.
Critique and Discussions about my Game Ideas
I talked about one of my game ideas, putting together the idea of BJDs and Hair Braiding with Amy, Jordan, Adam and my two classmates: Indi and Parker.
- I wanted to do a game about Idle Clickers, but with an extended narrative
- Braided hair contrasted with natural afro hair
- Idle clicker element as a distraction instead?
- The doll as a distraction, like when hairdressers give a child a doll to calm them down
- Maybe the doll is something the MC has kept with them all this time?
- My father’s long, long legs as a reference.
- Parker’s idea: Hair braiding simplified as the hair mechanic, more abstract, the game is braiding with some text prompts.
- Toca Boca Hair Salon 4
- George Bachelor – Far from noise, Bird Alone; simple and small games