Advice
Toolbox
Atoms matter
I believe games reveal their
makers and players. This is
perceiving the whole from a
part. I also believe what I call
“The Holographic Model of the
Universe.” One distinguishing
characteristic of holograms
is if you break the glass upon
which they’re printed, every
piece will hold a view of the
entire image... which is pretty
cool. I believe the same is true
of the universe. Any piece of
it, any atom of matter, has all
the information you need to
understand the whole thing.
We just need to figure out how
to interpret it correctly.
“Do you like to compete
against other people,
yourself, or a computer?”
This is great validation for gamers. I play,
therefore I am! Just plug in your game Descartes
and away you go. This doesn’t make these
people anal-retentives, but it could reveal
their obsessive-compulsive tendencies.
Or perhaps it’s just
the immense joy of
immediate gratification.
How about pattern
games vs ‘read and
react’? Pac-Man is a
game where maxing it out means knowing all
the patterns and executing flawlessly for screen
after screen after screen. Robotron throws you
into a semi-randomly generated chaos and
expects you to fight your way out every time.
Are you Laurence Olivier, taking pride in
delivering a perfect reading of a script, or are
you James Bond, shooting from the hip and
dealing with whatever comes your way instantly
and responsively? Let me answer this question
with more questions: do you like to live by a
plan, or are you all about spontaneity? Do you
like knowing where things are going or do you
prefer to rely on your wits and your reflexes?
The answers to these questions are not
merely game preferences, they are Life Choices
we all make. Different perspectives and
preferences lead not only to different styles
of gaming entertainment, but they also lead
to different careers, different relationships,
different lives. Video games are like personality
tests. When you tell me what you like to play,
you’re telling me who you are.
How about competition? Most games
engender competition of some sort or another.
Do you like to compete against other people,
yourself, or an algorithmically-based computer
opponent? Do you like to compete as part of a
team or individually? Do you like one opponent
or multiple opponents? These are also different
choices which reflect personal styles. Some are
more socially interactive;
some are more
isolated. Some have
you anticipating your
opponent’s psychology
(social challenge), and
some have you trying to figure out the algorithm
with which the environment was programmed
(technical challenge). Are you a lone wolf?
Are you a team player? Or maybe you are team
captain! Who you are shapes what you enjoy.
CLEANING THE SLATE
At Atari, we used to talk about anal-retentive
games. Asteroids (no pun intended) is the all-time
classic. In the anal-retentive genre, the player
is confronted with a mess which they must
clean up. Upon successful completion of this
janitorial charge, the player is rewarded with a
new (usually bigger) mess. Asteroids is a perfect
example because, in the process of cleaning it
up, the player must first make a bigger mess
(splitting the asteroids into many smaller rocks)
before potentially removing them. And since
there is nothing else on the screen, a genuine
clean slate is achieved. Some people love anal-
retentive games because of the satisfying nature
of cleaning up the mess, and the gratification of
seeing your progress displayed so clearly.
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Space Invaders, meanwhile,
is ‘anal-retentive’.
Robotron: 2084 suits those
who like to read and react.
Lawrence Olivier