[kirkjerk]

Hey, within the past couple weeks I've seen an article reference where researchers made a violent and "non-violent" version of a mod (like, one you kill the guys, the other you just tag them and they zoom away) and they concluded what makes video games satisfying is a sense of empowerment, not really the violence per se.

Does anyone remember the article I'm talking about?

Because i've been thinking that, yeah, that's a lot of what video games are about; being empowered to do neat stuff in a virtual world. That sweet spot of something where you feel bad ass and not too frustrated.
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[Gironika]

now that article is something I would love to read ... sounds interesting, to say the least!
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[Greng]

[kirkjerk]

Ah, thanks, that's it.

I was thinking about this playing GTA4. Riding motorcycles and playing a swaggering bad ass with a heart.
There really are two parts to games for me: feeling cool and empowered, and then "novel interactions"... but I guess this topic is about the former.

It's a fine line a lot of games have to walk. There's some self-deception on the part of players as well -- sometimes they have to be in denial about just how much handholding is going on in many games.

I came up with a similar idea in thinking about what I'm after in games, because on the one hand, I know i don't like challenge for its own sake, but I also wouldn't be content to just watch a movie of a game being played. That's when I came up with "well I want to interact with new and interesting systems" but also, there is that feeling of "man I'm powerful!", as fake-y as that is.
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[Tlon]

yeah... i don't like games that disempower you, though i guess they can be good for a change
i want to feel like a badass
i mean even when Viewtiful Joe or Devil May Cry is whooping my ass i'm still being stylish and killing dudes in slo-mo
or Ratchet & Clank i'm dying 50 tmes but its cool 'cause each time i respawn and kill a dozen robots with my laser chaingun
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Someday somethings coming
From way out beyond the stars
To kill us while we stand here
It will store our brains in mason jars

[Repomancer]

Power does not precisely equate to violence. There are plenty of nonviolent games where you become powerful by other means. Not every fun and successful game is a shoot-em-up. Yes, I could list examples. No, I'm not going to. Think about it.

That said, I like hand-delivering the message by driving a rocket up the other guy's ass as much as the next geek. Don't get me wrong.

One thing I particularly enjoy is a game that's sufficiently deep that you can choose your own path through it. It's usually more difficult to win without killing anybody than by wreaking massive carnage (and you'll pretty much always find me dealing the carnage, thanx), but a world with its own rules that dictates the goals but doesn't force you to interact with it in a particular way to achieve them is neat.

There is generally too much hand-holding going on IMO. I hate railshooters above all things (second only to "guess what I, the oh-so-clever designer, am thinking!" games). Empowerment comes from being powerful (duh), which shouldn't necessarily mean having the best weapon or the most ammo. If you can achieve the goals by being smart about it, you're equally powerful as someone who gets there another way. I love a game that gives you the option; sets you loose in the world and what you do is your problem.
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[Tlon]

railshooters can be empowering tho. LA Guns gives you a giant gun and a city to shoot it at
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Someday somethings coming
From way out beyond the stars
To kill us while we stand here
It will store our brains in mason jars

[shnozlak]

Thats a good article and I hope it encourages people to make different (not violence focused) game styles.

The empowerment thing is kind of interesting. I think games sort of necessarily empower you. Just playing a different role is a form of empowerment. If you perceive the role as being "you" as opposed to just being a character your playing.

...

More and more I like games that:

A. Start out as this frightening wall (that isn't actually so high) that gradually gives way as I (not my numbers) get better at it.

B. Offer me some for of creativity that influences my experiences on more than one level. (this includes multiplayer VS games)

C. Games the feature exploration and discovery of the unknown.

All of these things are very much empowering.
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Shnozlak, returns.

[km]

[Levi]

But you know, playing a different character can also be deflating, as the classic case of MGS2 v. Earth (2001) duly demonstrated.

Broadly embracing the topic, it seems like presenting the impression of empowerment as opposed to letting the player empower themselves has become a hallmark of modern, progressive design much the same way that presenting the illusion of challenge has supplanted challenge (and in turn been supplanted by the vacuum of challenge.) This isn't a veiled slur, though! This is probably a good idea!

[shnozlak]