How does walking tell the story in AER – Memories of Old?
Screenshot of my friend flying in the game.
I played AER – Memories of Old, which is both a walking and a flying simulator (more of the latter). It was the first game of this type that I’d played; I played for about an hour. It’s a visually stunning game in which competition is against the game itself, but is not a typical “quest” with battles and limited resources. Rather, players simply fly through the beautiful world, and try to piece together a simple overarching narrative (I learned vaguely about spirits, temples, and pilgrims) through puzzles and exploration. The gameplay mechanics consist of walking and flying, discovering places, talking to people occasionally, reading things in the world, and controlling the camera and motion of your avatar.
These very simple mechanics lead to the dynamics of exploration for exploration’s sake: since there are few people to talk to, and few obstacles to overcome, the main thing to do in the game is fly around. Additionally, the game never tells you outright what to do. You have to walk/fly around and piece it together yourself. This dynamic – exploration for exploration’s sake– via the mechanic of flying creates a calm and beautiful story, where the focus is on worldbuilding (specifically on the graphics and lighting).
Thus, for me, this type of game takes a unique approach to storytelling and game design: the lack of social dynamics and competition against other players is compensated by the challenge of piecing together the story through puzzles and exploration. Flying itself contributes to this narrative by being the calm, measured manner in which the story unfolds: the player determines the pace and urgency of play. I found that this can be more frustrating than a typical game! The game’s abstract design, which appeals primarily to the aesthetic of Discovery, rewards players in a different way than other games that appeal to the aesthetic of Challenge or Competition.
