Michaël, I just discovered The Endless Forest (where have I been these paset 5 years?) and this (not)game is astonishing! I wrote a review in french on it, maybe you are interested : http://oujevipo.fr/30-minutes-et/the-endless-forest

I'm sorry if this isn't really the subject of the topic, but i didn't want to create one for it, and this was the only one talking about endless forest.

Thanks.

http://oujevipo.over-blog.fr/article-four-minutes-and-thirty-three-seconds-of-uniqueness-43743922.html

Have you played this notgame? I guess you have, but i've seen no subject about it.

If you haven't, try it now. I'm sure 4'33'' of uniqueness is a notgame experience that you are looking for.
Nothing to do, nothing to watch during 4 minutes and 33 seconds (an explicit reference of John Cage's 4'33'').
You just have to feel.

Feeling your uniqueness if nothing happens during the 4'33'' because it means you're the only one in the world playing this game right now. For the first time of your life you'll be sure to do something really unique.
Feeling an intense communion with the world if the game breaks bedore the end, cause it means someone else, in the world, that you don't even know, is doing in the same time, exactly the same thing.

Isn't that great? A game dealing only with feelings?

I don't know where I can post that, so I create a topic. Sorry if it wasn't the thing to do.

I want to express a strengh that have video games for telling stories which novels and cinema haven't.
Of course, it is not very exploited yet, but it is the point of this forum right?

When you read a book, you know how far you are from the end, just by looking at the pages left.
Same thing in a movie : You generally know the lenght of a movie before watching it (between 1h30 and 3h00)

But in video games, you never know how far you are.
It's doesn't seem very important, but it's because noone never really used this trick, or only accidentally.

I don't know how to explain it but...for exemple, when you're reading and coming to the end you think "crap! it's almost done! I want more of it" or "Few...almost done, more would have been boring".
In video games you can't.

After a bit a reflection, I remember the trick was used in Monkey Island 2 "It's done, you can close the game now...(you wait for a while) no, it's was a joke, this is not still the end"
It was funny.
But i think we could use this in many different ways (and not always "funny")
What do you think about it? Have you got other exemples?

A man with a cowboy hat and a fine mustache had just squashed a butt at the end of the corridor.
He looked cold and severe.
-Congratulation Michaël, you just became level 2.
Michael stared at the bloody bat while Jason had a shiver.
The man added :
-Your strengh and abilities had increase. You'll be able to use more powerful items.
They didn't understood.
-What do you mean? This is not a game...is it?
The man lowered his hat and lit another cigarette.
-No, you're right. This is a notgame.

(Sorry again for my bad english, but I love these "exquisite corpes" and I really wanted to participate.)

I played it.
It's weird, without goal, and not very beautiful.
But like everything weird,without goal and not very beautiful, I liked it.
Not a revelation, though. I didn't even talk about it in my blog

maybe you shouldn't look for books about games (although you're trying to design notgames) but for notbooks.
I have in mind the Oulipian (litterature) or Oubapian (comics) productions. Wonderfull exemples of creation with constraints.

I don't know what exists in english, but you could find for instance
maybe 99 ways to tell a story, Matt Madden, for the comics
or Henri Mathews for the litterature.

If you like just walking around, you should try DarkFate http://kevinsoulas.fr/darkfate_page/telecharger.php
It is like a "Small Worlds" but with a great scenario.
The game was done by a 20 years old french game designer, and it's very impressive. There is an english version.

Of course, i'm pretty sure you won't admitt it into Notgames : There is an entertainement, there is a story. But, there is a very poor gameplay, so you might like it.

For french readers, there is a article about it on my blog.

Sounds great.
I'll definitly stay here for a while.

So it's not as random as writing without using the letter E. To the contrary in a way: it's writing with 150 letters instead of just 26.

I don't know what it means, but I love it.

If I understood well : you're thinking about create something between video games and interactive video...
To be honest, i think it is semanticly (if the word doesn't exist, look on a french dictionary) impossible.
(but as you say in your manifesto : "There is no notgame"

But that's why I already love this forum. You know, in France, we love to discuss/argue for nothing (some chinese friends make me notice it), and all your reflexions about notgames are just...wow...amazing...

In France, we call it "masturbation intellectuelle", intellectual wanking. And there is nothing better.

Sorry for my "franc-parler" (it means "being rude" and could be translated by "French speaking" which is funny), but i'm french, and, actually, i'm drunk.

[ps : writing without ther letter E isn't random at all...or I didn'y quite undestood the meaning of random]

(As you can undestand in the title, I'm french, and if I'm good at reading english [so i can understand you] I'm not good at writing...so, my apologies.)

I juste discovered this forum, and what i red amazed me. I love your way of thinking guys.
Although, i'm not sure to have really understood what is a "Notgame" even after reading your manifesto and some topics on the subject. (I'll be back ok that)

Just to present myself : I'm Pierre, i'm not a game designer like moste of you, but un web-journalist student interested in video games.
I have a blog, which is called Oujevipo. You can see it here : http://oujevipo.over-blog.fr/ , but it's all in french so i'm not sure you'll be interested.

Anyway : The title Oujevipo is an acronym for "Ouvroir de Jeux Video Potentiel" or something about exploring the potentiality of video game média. It was inspired by the Oulipo, a french litterature movement who explores the potentiality of litterature (writing a book without the letter E ect...), there were some english writers too (Harry Matheww for exemple)

If a Notgame is a "game" (sorry, my english is too bad to find another word) not answering to the game definitions (wins and losses, interactivity...) that's what i call an oujevipian game, and I love it.

So if you don't mind, i think i'll stay, maybe silently to not hurt your eyes, a bit in this forum to see what you think and what you do.
Maybe you'll find some interesting stuff on my blog. [Edit : I think there is some of yours productions in it)
I'm sure I'll find some interesting stuff in here.