1. Characters that are actually interesting and you care about
2. Immersive storyline that allows for personalization and engagement
3. Established theme and message
4. Clear causes for character development and improvement.
Above are four elements of the “perfect literary video game” that my class generated last week. I would agree with all of these; they are necessary for an excellent gaming experience. I need to have characters that grow with me and a story to entice and invest me in both the world of the game and the people I am with. I want to learn what the game is attempting to teach me, whether it be about morals or a specific message. But is the list above conclusive or are there more things that makes a game perfect for me? I would argue that the two points below should be included on leader board:
5. The ability to make me care
6. Proper immersion in the world building
Let me explain. I want a game that makes me feel. Not just feel, but I want a game that makes me feel the emotions that it sets out to make the player feel. I don’t want to be dry-eyed during the death scene that is so obviously supposed to send me into hysterics and I don’t want to absolutely despise the one character that is supposed to be the most loveable. A game needs to be gradual, even a little bit sly, in how it quietly lures me in. I was just watching a cartoon this weekend as a little stress reliever and found myself ten episodes in in just one night, texting my cousin frantically with a “I didn’t come here to feel things!” I didn’t realize that I was slowly falling in love with the characters until that one particular scene when I was bawling, just like the writers and animators intended. A perfect game for me needs to exactly that as well.
A game also needs to do some proper world building in order for me to believe in it. I know that people point to the J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series as the epitome of the perfect world building, but honestly, they aren’t wrong. Every little detail of the world she created was thought of and explained. I want a game that doesn’t just throw me into a new world. I need to believe that it is real. I don’t want to be distracted by a random detail that doesn’t add up or be using a weapon like gun in a world where swords are the height of technology. My experience needs to fit into the world that was made for me.
These are my perfect literary game elements, but that’s me. What are yours?
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