Jonathan Blow on Game Design Assumptions
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Architecting vs. ExploringI feel he's dead on, making much the same argument on this point as I did in the GameBanshee review. The whole Little Sisters thing was just emotional manipulation, however effective, with no added depth in the game's structure.
So what does it mean to make meaningful gameplay? "Part of the problem is we have assumptions about what it means to design a game that are a little bit incorrect," noted Blow, discussing the architectural presumption of proposing a plan and working from the top down.
But Blow says exploratory concepts may start with a single idea that grows outward. "Through my past couple of projects, I've become acutely aware of 'exploring' -- start with an idea and adapt and accept it. Using games as a method of exploring the universe, you can develop a really good game by exploring the ramifications of a concept."
How Architecture Can Fail Us
Blow turned to BioShock as his example of flawed architecture. "What you're supposed to do is kill the Big Daddy and capture the Little Sister, and decide do you want to kill her or rescue her it's supposed to be a big ethical dilemma. As it turns out it doesn't matter whether you do either the game throttles the rewards either way. The very idea of this save or kill dilemma is an architected idea imposed from the top," he explained.
He continued, "The game rules determine the actual meaning of life in the game, and it says whatever you do to the Little Sisters doesn't matter, no matter how much the game tries to convince you that it does." The "Meta-message," according to Blow, is that "the designers of this game are trying to manipulate your emotions in a clumsy way."
Valve's Portal is a positive example, according to Blow. "It probably did well because it had exploration in design, augmented by architecture. The puzzles are all about showcasing the portal design." He argued that the point in the game that forces the player to incinerate the "weighted companion cube" "worked at least as well as BioShock.
