I drastically misunderstood what a system game was before this assignment. I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but I really thought that it just meant a game which has a lot of rules and structure. I was incorrect! Now that I understand the definition, I actually really love system games. I’m always interested in examining the real world from new perspectives, and games are such an awesome lens to do that through. System games leverage players’ innate interest to communicate messages about the systems in which we live. I think a lot of people don’t like to hear those messages directly, but games have the potential to teach people without their explicit knowledge! Personally, I think this is the best way to learn 🙂
One game I found during the course of P3 was Rain World, which is an incredibly complex system game about a dystopian ecosystem. All the enemy AI is intelligent and reactive to the player’s behavior, which makes for incredibly immersive (if challenging) gameplay. Part of the developers’ design philosophy is that the player is not important in their own right, but rather a tiny part of a much larger ecosystem… eco-system lol. I find that I really agree with that. If your game’s system is sound, then the mechanics will come naturally and the players will feel where they are supposed to fit. I will definitely be carrying this philosophy forward into other creative projects!
I also wanted to give a final shout out to Ca$h or Credit. I actually really enjoyed it, even if there are some elements that still need tinkering. I actually better understand the credit score system now, which is awesome!! Thanks Elliot, Elyse, Katherine, and Laura!
