Purpose is a strange thing – it drives people in a desperate search to rise above their own definition. This quest to grow beyond one’s limits has influenced countless evolutions in art and entertainment. So, while it may seem unlikely, the term can be used in a similar context for video-games as a medium. Cubby-holed for long as an entertainment medium, games have provided its players a form of virtual escapism and entertainment without consequence which has made it stand out among the older, more established mediums like films and literature to those looking for a more interactive experience.
Entertainment was always at the core of any game’s design to achieve its primary purpose of entertaining its players. Be it through gameplay or its story, entertainment was quite literally the chief binding force between all its mechanics. Without it both developers and gamers couldn’t imagine a reason why anyone would continue playing a game for more than a few hours. For long, games couldn’t envision an alternate experience akin to arthouse cinema where entertainment is of lesser priority than whatever a game’s intended purpose might be .
A change began to take root when the gaming sphere burgeoned in recent years bringing along with it a breed of new gamers whose demands weren’t governed by the traditional outlook of games. This expanding diaspora of gamers brought forth a rising demand for experiences that extended beyond just entertainment. With the rise of indie development along with lowering of entry barrier with tools like Unity and GameMaker, experimentation became possible and such demands could be catered to.
In the past month, two games – Proteus and Depression Quest provide us with an excellent snapshot of where we stand today that shows us exactly how diverse games have become as a medium. Not only have they evolved well beyond entertainment in search for a more refined purpose but they are capable of offering two distinctly unique experiences in the same month.
Proteus, a meditative exploration of impermanence of both life and the world around you shown through the means of changing seasons explores the concept in vein to last year’s Dear Esther. A minimalist adventure centered on exploration sans interaction, it almost became a daily meditation routine for me. With its ambient soundtrack composed of sounds that dynamically played according to what I chose to explore, Proteus became my daily stress-reliever, a conduit to another world where I existed without a purpose or wasn’t burdened with objectives . Life burdens you with enough tasks and chores daily that one often wishes the games – often your sole escape to another world wouldn’t behave in a similar manner.
Proteus was the answer to my long-standing question.
I would spend its 45 minute duration doing absolutely nothing. Objectives defined by me, changing and evolving at the will of my fickle mind. For a game to accommodate nothingness might sound suicidal to many but for its target audience, Proteus is the answer to many of their silent pleas. An open-world free to explore without the distraction of quests. This removal of traditional layers of objectives to engage a player lends Proteus much of its’ charm as exploring its’ world without a specific purpose also gave me time to reflect on its concept of impermanence and mortality in a much more natural way. Something which wouldn’t be possible if it tried reinforcing the same through a traditional story just for the sake of entertainment.
On the other hand, Depression Quest is an interactive fiction which unlike many of its kind proceeds in a fairly linear manner. But what it lacks in terms of replayability, it makes up for it in relatability. By providing a deeply personalized experience of living through chronic depression, Depression Quest provides a significant insight to its players into the thoughts and moods of a person suffering from depression without the jargon of a psychologist . A condition that very much remains a taboo in our modern society where people tend to react (or rather overreact) in a predictably worried and sympathetic manner to the word “depression”, the game provides players who have undergone through a similar phase an emotional catharsis of sorts. The biggest issue which people going through depression often face is alienation and disconnect from the world outside. Counselors attempt to mend this disconnection but perhaps a medium as interactive as games is the perfect means to reach out behind the barrier of solitude to these people and tell them that they aren’t the only ones going through this phase. By often mirroring your own thoughts, Depression Quest understands and gets into your system better without the fear of being judged by another person – a common fear to have if you’re going through such a phase.
There were times during Depression Quest when I saw flashes from my own memory as I read certain sentences. Not only does it admirably capture the state of mind of a depressed individual but it also does not treat them condescendingly or provide any “solutions” to their problem. After all, there can be no single solution to depression – it is a phase and one must survive through it. Affection of loved ones, pets, internal motivation may ease the journey but they aren’t the ultimate solution to the condition. The simplicity of this game means it’s tailor-made to be used in educational and health forums as a means to spread awareness and reach out to depressed individuals and their loved ones to help understand each other better . The words are structured such that they can be related even by someone who has only watched. A mirror to your inner self, if you will.
What puzzles me is that instead of embracing such new experiences that have become a part of our medium, many are questioning their validity and whether they are truly “games”. The definition of “gameplay” has undergone some great scrutiny and discussion lately, and such experiences only reinforce that as the medium becomes more expansive, our definitions need to broaden in order to accommodate such new experiences. No longer can we equate “gameplay” with simple “action”. It has to evolve into something more meaningful which encapsulates all possible manner of interaction – active or passive . As a genre, interactive fiction has for long faced this issue of “not being game-enough” for most of the gaming community when a simple argument could be made for it: If we were given control of the player and asked to move and press a button for a choice, it would be called “gameplay” without a moment of hesitation. When the same is done through a text-format which still very much involves interaction from its reader, we relegate it often dismissingly so to “not a game” status.
The expansion of a medium giving way to new experiences is always an exciting thing. It is a sign that it is accommodating to the changing demands of its audience. It is exciting for the developers because these games help them realize that there is more potential in the medium than they previously had imagined. This is exciting for us because everytime we sit to play a new game – entertainment may not be its ultimate purpose. It may not intend to provide the obligatory “carrot on a stick”. There may be no carrot, there may not be any stick either. In its’ place there might be freedom without purpose as in Proteus or a mirror to gaze upon the internal turmoil of a person as in Depression Quest.
Games are no longer just a mere means to entertain. They are stress-relievers and tools for meditation. They are a means to spread awareness to help understand ourselves and the world around us better. I think somewhere in the recent years we have began a process to accommodate experiences of differing varieties in our medium. Somewhere we have unknowingly taken a step closer to the older mediums that many of us crave to imitate.
This can only be a good thing. All the conventional definitions be damned.
We reviewed Proteus and it can be bought for $9.99 from Steam.
Depression Quest is free (from the microtransaction evil) although it has an option to donate some amount to iFred, a charity that aims to fight back against depression and the social stigma associated with it. Earn good karma,folks!
