Modeling Reality...............................
The desire to model reality in computer games is one that has driven game develop-
ment for a number of years. The more real we make the games, proponents say, the
more compelling and immersive gamers will find them. But is this always the case?
What would a greater degree of reality add to a game likeTetrisorCentipede? Surely
they could not be much more immersive than they already are. Consider a game such as
Age of Empires, which is already modeled on reality. Would adding more reality to it
make it any more fun? Actually, quite the opposite is true: adding a more realistic eco-
nomic model or combat system would detract from the game’s strengths as a
macro-strategy game and quite possibly make the game more annoying than fun.
The trouble with modeling reality in games comes when titles get mired in reality
to the point where they come to resemble real life a little more than players actually
want. Alfred Hitchcock described films as “Life with the dull bits cut out.” Indeed,
games can be seen as modeling life or some aspect of life while leaving out the tedious
and boring parts. If the designer, in an attempt to achieve a greater degree of reality,
decides to include too many unnecessary and dull details, the game will likely become
tedious to play. My favorite example of this is the use of food in RPGs. Many RPGs of
the ’80s were perpetually on a quest to make themselves more real than other RPGs, to
up the ante with each new game that was released. One way designers attempted to do
this was to add a basic hunger simulation, and to require players to remember to feed
their party members periodically, lest they starve to death. Here was a “dull bit” that
did not need inclusion, especially as eating regularly scheduled meals is not the first
thing that jumps to people’s minds when they think of adventuring in fantastic worlds.
Using reality as a basis for your game has its advantages, however. First and fore-
most, it provides players with a world they are instantly familiar with, a world in which
they have some idea of what actions are reasonable and which are out of the question.
Whether inCivilization,SimCity,Deadline,orGrand Theft Auto, a properly executed
realistic setting gives players an instant “in” to your game-world. They understand or
at least think they understand how it works and what they can do to be successful in it.
Players can start playing the game and instantly have some idea of what they are sup-
posed to accomplish. A more abstract game likeCentipedeorTetris, on the other hand,
has such abstract goals that players must be taught what it is they are supposed to do,
either through reading the directions or by experimenting with the game-world.
Beyond the gameplay advantages, in terms of story and setting, placing your game
in a real-world setting can be much more meaningful to players, allowing the actions
that take place in the game-world to resonate with them more deeply than if your game
were set in abstract worlds.The Simsworks in part because of its well-balanced
gameplay and simulation, but also because of its real-world setting that allows players
to feel that their actions have real meaning to the simulated people they are guiding. My
gameDamage Incorporated, though it admittedly had a somewhat implausible premise,
was set in the real-world and dealt with real-world issues that made the missions and
their outcomes more relevant to players than if the game had been set in outer space.
Similarly,The Suffering, despite having supernatural creatures spawning out of every
nook and cranny, was set in a believable prison environment populated by recognizable
Chapter 7: The Elements of Gameplay 125