| | == Production 7: Design, Interaction, and Narrative in Player Experience of the game ''Gorogoa''== | | == Production 7: Design, Interaction, and Narrative in Player Experience of the game ''Gorogoa''== |
| | The gestures and interactions of ''Gorogoa'' are designed to intertwine seamlessly with the mechanics, narrative, and visuals. The simple movements of the tiles mimics the physical movements of cards or tiles. The interactions within the puzzles, such as a rotating gear in a tile that must match up with the next tile, are also very instinctual and natural. There is no gap between what the player is thinking, and the way they manipulate the elements, as well as the resulting actions in the game. There are also several moments of imitation that create a more immersive story — such as flipping through a book, using a compass to find direction, heating up a stove to create steam that enters another panel — handling objects in the scenes to solve the puzzle using their characteristics. The most interesting aspect of this type of interaction is that the player does not control the character, but rather the arrangement of panels, which then dictates how the boy is able to move from one scene to the next. This “experience of movement” is the founding element of the gameplay in ''Gorogoa'', both in the sense of the player’s interaction and manipulation through gesture, and in the sense of the character’s and the game elements’ movements which further the narrative (Bogost 15). Being highly authorial, it is definitely an art game that is a “game for game’s sake,” in many cases breaking the flow by being “simultaneously too hard and too easy” (Schrank, 40). | | The gestures and interactions of ''Gorogoa'' are designed to intertwine seamlessly with the mechanics, narrative, and visuals. The simple movements of the tiles mimics the physical movements of cards or tiles. The interactions within the puzzles, such as a rotating gear in a tile that must match up with the next tile, are also very instinctual and natural. There is no gap between what the player is thinking, and the way they manipulate the elements, as well as the resulting actions in the game. There are also several moments of imitation that create a more immersive story — such as flipping through a book, using a compass to find direction, heating up a stove to create steam that enters another panel — handling objects in the scenes to solve the puzzle using their characteristics. The most interesting aspect of this type of interaction is that the player does not control the character, but rather the arrangement of panels, which then dictates how the boy is able to move from one scene to the next. This “experience of movement” is the founding element of the gameplay in ''Gorogoa'', both in the sense of the player’s interaction and manipulation through gesture, and in the sense of the character’s and the game elements’ movements which further the narrative (Bogost 15). Being highly authorial, it is definitely an art game that is a “game for game’s sake,” in many cases breaking the flow by being “simultaneously too hard and too easy” (Schrank, 40). |
| | At its core, this game is about visual arrangement and composition. Scenes are composed and recomposed through the ways a player manipulates the panels. The puzzle piece mechanic works through the use of layered compositions, that line up in different ways depending on the scale, position, and arrangement. Some of these rearrangements break the scene, while others create new scenes. Once they are lined up correctly, the scene shuffles and changes to reveal a new visual puzzle to explore. The intriguing aspect of the game is the use of perspective and angles, which plays with the element of disorientation of ilinx, as the player has to let go of preconceived notions of how the world works, and instead focus on the visual elements and how they match up, even if that means putting together a closeup of a map with a far shot of a clock tower. The detailed illustrations are full of clues that can guide the player in finding hidden connections and arranging these intriguing compositions. | | At its core, this game is about visual arrangement and composition. Scenes are composed and recomposed through the ways a player manipulates the panels. The puzzle piece mechanic works through the use of layered compositions, that line up in different ways depending on the scale, position, and arrangement. Some of these rearrangements break the scene, while others create new scenes. Once they are lined up correctly, the scene shuffles and changes to reveal a new visual puzzle to explore. The intriguing aspect of the game is the use of perspective and angles, which plays with the element of disorientation of ilinx, as the player has to let go of preconceived notions of how the world works, and instead focus on the visual elements and how they match up, even if that means putting together a closeup of a map with a far shot of a clock tower. The detailed illustrations are full of clues that can guide the player in finding hidden connections and arranging these intriguing compositions. |