A Viewpoint

      Even though all videogames share the same 3 core Design Elements (namely Gameplay , Level Design and Storytelling ), some turn out as classics while most others simply can’t come close. And this article will attempt to explore the reason behind this with just as much detail as to not hinder an enjoyable reading experience too much. And for full breakdown of the Design Elements along with how they work together to create the videogame experience we all know and love, you can read up on the Anatomy of Videogames trilogy of articles. Besides, it’ll also help you comprehend this article fully. The difference between truly great games and the not-so-great ones lies solely in how the 3 Design Elements are working in them. We know that these work together in tandem to create the experience the devs intend, but in most games these elements merely support each other whereas in case of any great game ever made, the elements or at least some of them, completely fuse ...

Videogames are infinitely more than just interactive-audio-visual trips and they have more than proved themselves as an equally capable medium with much meaning and impact as all the rest of the entertainment mediums out there. But there’s also another side to videogames that gets rarely highlighted and as gamers, we’ve somewhat grown to almost gloss over it completely. Yes we’re talking about the darker aspect of videogames, the part about it’s gratifying and unnecessarily-excessive mechanics of violence and over-indulgence in all kinds of moral deviations. Videogames, from the sole viewpoint of the player, are psychological experiences. Simply because in a videogame, we play with our minds . And even though they are interactive in nature and have a complex inner structure, but what videogames ultimately affect us on, is on a purely mental level, and from there, they also leave a deep footprint that stays with us long after we’re out of it. So yes, videogame...

In the 'Anatomy of Videogames' series of articles, we’ve seen how a videogame works on a skeletal level—from it’s interconnected design elements that form the ‘mechanics’ of a game and the underlying design philosophies that’s responsible for it’s thematic significance. So we’ve come to a point of understanding as to how the entire videogame experience is ‘built’, from the inside-out. And this article is about what makes a videogame truly great in the first place, what is it that lies in the DNA of games such as Half Life 2, Dragon Age Origins, Batman: Arkham City, Mass Effect 2, Bioshock that makes these games stand in the highest echelons of the videogame experience. What is the secret element that’s responsible for them being so endearing, rich and finally, what makes us still replay these games and want to get lost in their worlds. This article will explore the fundamental reason for the success of ANY videogame, why is it that a game sticks with us for ye...

In the previous two articles of the Anatomy of Videogames series, we’ve learned about the inner mechanisms of videogames in detail and how they work together to create the overall tapestry of audio-visual-interactive-experience that we know as Videogames. And in this article, we’ll go even beyond and take a good look at what directs that whole mechanism from within—I’d like to call them Design Philosophies. They form the ‘heart’ or the ‘main theme’ of a videogame and basically answer the question of what a game ‘means’ from a purely human perspective. To understand the role of design philosophies in a videogame, simply consider the reactions and emotions that a game invokes inside the player—what does the gameplay make them feel? Is it empowering and rewarding or does it feel monotonous and tiring? What does traversing the levels feel like? Does it feel like a thoroughly enjoyable journey or a lackluster trudge through some 3d environments? Does the story feel like you’d ...

In the previous article, we've learned about the main pillars or key mechanisms of videogames in detail. And in this one, we’ll explore all the different layers in them and how they work and interact with one another within a game. So this article would be about how those 4 key mechanisms ‘work’ from the inside.   Videogames are about interactive entertainment—they remove the line between the play and the player, so when you are playing a game, what’s also happening is that the game is also playing itself ‘through you’, and no it’s not as creepy as it sounds like. This is the main reason why different players, according to their preferences and perspectives, can experience the same videogame in different ways. Of course the game itself also provides the scope and the foundations for that kind of multi-faceted experience to take place. So what does that mean that the game is playing itself through You? It means, the necessary tools for the game to be ‘played out’, are n...

  Videogames are easily one of the most rapidly evolved mediums in existence—in the span of just a few decades, they have repeatedly raised and broke the bar of their own limits, in every single aspect. Innovative gameplay mechanics, engaging storylines, immersive level designs and above all, the fusion of all of these different elements into something exponentially more—an experience that moves the player from both inside and out—videogames have achieved this more than enough times already. It seems that this medium has literally become the most potent translator of human imagination, and yes, it’s more impressive than it sounds like. So I don’t think videogames have anything more to prove—they already outdid themselves way too many times and created a niche culture that’s as unique as itself. It may sound cliché but videogames are just made of win. But after all these decades of collective experience and gameplays, there are certain traits or cha...