For my critical play, I played the game Places. Places is a free, unguided environment game created by a Twitter user with the handle @ktch0 (further information could not be found), and can be downloaded or run in a browser. The game does not have a stated target audience but can likely be played by anyone age five or over due to the simplicity of the game and the lack of any potentially harmful content. The target audience is likely those who want a more serene escape on the internet rather than a more intense game.
Walking tells the story by allowing the user to experience more and more of a given place. Five place experiences are available on web browsers and I tried all five of these. Some were forests, others were more marsh-like, but all just featured nature and sound. Walking helps tell the story here by allowing me, the user, to experience more and more of the given world. When I first arrive I see just a plane of the world but after exploration, the “painting” (the creator of the game describes places as 3d interactive paintings) is more real to me. Different perspectives, such as those on top of a hill versus in a lake, or textures–running is much faster than swimming, or sounds like those of rustling leaves and splashes of water make the world that much more interactive.
Given that this game is meditative and lacks a real character arc or other elements common in walking games, walking is primarily used for exploration. I was able to understand the artist’s perspective through walking in this way. For example, initially, I was wondering if animals would be present in the landscape, but they were not. Perhaps this hints at a sense of loneliness the game designer wants the user to feel. I was only able to discover this through walking through the game.
I do not have many critiques of this game–one of my big issues with walking games, in general, is that they are very linear and not free-form. This game was the total opposite and almost sublime in nature. I would compare it more to a work of art than a video game, in the traditional sense. Versus games like Journey, Places is much more relaxing and closer to the true sense of a walking game, where a user can amble about and explore.
Regarding the MDA framework, aesthetics are certainly key here and make up the vast majority of the game experience. All the mechanisms of the game are quite delicate and non-overt and manifest themselves in a sublime aesthetic experience. Being able to wander through trees and lakes, all painted in an artfully designed style, certainly created a calm and serene aesthetic that I quite enjoyed. This is an indie/independent game in the truest sense of the word, and the aesthetics of the game truly made me feel as if this is the passion project of an artist compared to a more corporatized game. Overall, Places is a phenomenal experience and goes beyond the realm of a traditional walking game and into that of an almost artistic experience.
