there are a lot of people around me who continue to enjoy and even love gameplay, and that's fine, we display a mutual respect for holding different positions and i really appreciate that :)
in a sense i am happy to play the jester, taking an extreme position so others can enjoy the new wiggle room
Hey, go play Crypt Custodian if you haven't yet. I just started it and I felt odd playing it for a few hours until I realized why: it's a game that completely lacks a gameplay loop. It puts absolutely nothing between the player and what it intends for the player to have fun doing.
i think i'm stuck on the gameplay being of a sort that i've historically found i don't enjoy, which is fine. i've tried so many games with this exact kind of combat and it n e v e r endears itself to me for whatever reason. HLD, Tunic, Death's Door. and i think that's okay?
i can only possibly speak from the perspective of a person who's been making games, or thought of themselves as a person who makes games, for nearly their entire life. i truly don't know either way. it is a decentering of gameplay in the context of the creative part of my life.
i still play games, but in an artistic context... i catch a whiff of gameplay and i'm out.
i still make things using the skills that i have developed in the course of making games, but likewise if i see some gameplay idea, i'm very suspicious of it and see what can be done to not go down that path.
I'm thinking of things like scoring points, leveling up, gaining achievements, that we generally use toshow progression, outside of, or adjacent to, the interactive world of the game.
Whereas a more direct, interactive experience without these units of measure, could be a game without "gameplay."
the other three games that i mentioned are not what i would describe as "games without gameplay" but they opened my eyes to ways in which i can enjoy games, which are not... hmm... clogged up by gameplay? reliant on gameplay? obscured by gameplay? "direct, interactive experience" is lacking for me-
-maybe you have a clearer idea of what that means, but i can't tell what it means. oh, but you did say 'without these units of measure' -- maybe! i'm not attached to interaction. i find the centering and prizing of 'interactivity' pretty suspect.
i think saying no to gameplay is a way for me to NOT categorically say no to games. i'm seeing where it goes. i don't think games has ever been a clear delineation for me, but "gameplay" is clear, at least in my mind.
before that, a friend of mine ran a tabletop roleplaying game in which there were essentially no game mechanics... primarily collaborative storytelling.
and, an old love, Rooftop Cop, has big 'kill gameplay' energy. i left a review on its Steam page.
Comments
can I recruit you in my lesser goal of killing inventory
are we talking inventory like in a video game (obviously gameplay) or inventory like in a store (less obviously gameplay, but possibly gameplay)
I am unfortunately a blackguard, a Judas, as I love gameplay
but I always appreciate orthogonal views that are honest, and yours clearly are
and giving it some cursory thought, gameplay does very little for certain experiences
in a sense i am happy to play the jester, taking an extreme position so others can enjoy the new wiggle room
I think my take on your extreme would be "kill needless gameplay"
I find enjoyment in raw systems that are elegantly constructed - they are, literally, toys
- Big Billy Shakes
i still make things using the skills that i have developed in the course of making games, but likewise if i see some gameplay idea, i'm very suspicious of it and see what can be done to not go down that path.
Whereas a more direct, interactive experience without these units of measure, could be a game without "gameplay."
i think saying no to gameplay is a way for me to NOT categorically say no to games. i'm seeing where it goes. i don't think games has ever been a clear delineation for me, but "gameplay" is clear, at least in my mind.
i'm enjoying my clear delineation for now.
before that, a friend of mine ran a tabletop roleplaying game in which there were essentially no game mechanics... primarily collaborative storytelling.
and, an old love, Rooftop Cop, has big 'kill gameplay' energy. i left a review on its Steam page.