Preserving a Sense of Discovery in the Age of Spoilers
April 11, 2014 5:40 AM   Subscribe

 
Go play Frog Fractions if you didn't already.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 6:12 AM on April 11, 2014 [5 favorites]


Putting content in your game that not everybody sees creates pockets of people who feel like an in-crowd, the seed of a community that feels closer to each other and to the work. And stumbling on an unexpected secret makes the world feel more like a real space and less like a crafted amusement park ride.

There are lots of unexpected secrets at Disneyland. You can look up "strategy guides" for finding all the hidden mouse-heads.

This does seem to provide Disneyland with a kind of appeal that Six Flags doesn't have, but I don't think it's anything to do with 'real place'-ness; although I suppose that creating a social context where you've got to work to be part of the in-crowd might in fact provide a sense of realism, for some people.
posted by LogicalDash at 6:14 AM on April 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


Also check out the (completed, funded) Frog Fractions 2 Kickstarter (but play FF1 first, because spoilers). Best, most bonkers game release plan ever.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 6:14 AM on April 11, 2014 [2 favorites]


I was actually a little worried about the Kickstarter not making it but it finally got there with a few days to spare. Sadly it didn't quite cover the highest stretch goal:
$2 Billion: Buy Oculus back from Facebook.
posted by kmz at 6:49 AM on April 11, 2014 [3 favorites]


Oh my goodness, Frog Fractions is literally one of my favorite video game experiences ever. It's like it was designed by someone who didn't realize that all of the stuff on the Progress Quest boards was just joking around, or alternately it's like it was designed to make you sound like you're completely full of shit when simply describing the game itself.

It also, more effectively than anything else I've ever seen, read, played, or otherwise experienced, accurately simulated the Insane Dream Logic that makes dreams otherwise so difficult to properly replicate in a way that feels correct.
posted by DoctorFedora at 7:10 AM on April 11, 2014 [3 favorites]


I used to hang out in IRC with Jim Crawford (pfister) way back in the day. He was IRL buds with my best friend at the time. We were going to collaborate on a demo together but I (for some insane reason) wanted to write the sound code from scratch instead of using Allegro. Jim wasn't impressed with my stubbornness or my lack of skill, so we parted ways. He's a way cool dude though. Check out his demos.
posted by kjh at 7:15 AM on April 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


It also, more effectively than anything else I've ever seen, read, played, or otherwise experienced, accurately simulated the Insane Dream Logic that makes dreams otherwise so difficult to properly replicate in a way that feels correct.

Also I totally know all about fractions now.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 7:25 AM on April 11, 2014 [2 favorites]


or alternately it's like it was designed to make you sound like you're completely full of shit when simply describing the game itself.

This is actually plausible considering the last few paragraphs of the talk.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 7:25 AM on April 11, 2014


What do you mean? It's just this game about a frog that teaches fractions.
posted by bonehead at 7:30 AM on April 11, 2014 [3 favorites]


I have no clue what just happened, but I can definitely do fractions now.
posted by Zalzidrax at 8:07 AM on April 11, 2014 [2 favorites]


But can you do Fractions 2?
posted by kmz at 9:16 AM on April 11, 2014


That was very excellent.
posted by hellojed at 9:50 AM on April 11, 2014


I'm thinking now about this in terms of the popularity of "Let's Play" videos.

In one sense, someone will show you everything without you actually playing it yourself, but in another sense, it's kind of vicarious discovery, or almost like you're discovering it together.

At least some subsection of the "Let's Plays" are people playing a game for the first time by the request of someone who has played before, so sometimes people are after seeing how other people react to discovering this stuff for the first time. Admittedly, a lot of that is horror games, which will become less scary the more familiar they are.
posted by RobotHero at 9:18 PM on April 13, 2014 [1 favorite]


« Older Oh Hamish, you wer wan in a million   |   The Ice Lady Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments