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Author Topic: Notgames?  (Read 11575 times)
ghostwheel

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« on: August 20, 2010, 01:37:58 PM »

http://www.digifish.us/

Seeing this got me thinking, are screensavers notgames? I don't know about most people but I love wasting time playing with screensavers. These digital aquariums seem to be to be a form of notgame. Perhaps even the purest form?
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Kjell

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« Reply #1 on: August 20, 2010, 02:18:28 PM »

Personally I think / feel that notgames should still incorporate interaction, just not in the traditional gaming sense. Screensavers don't .. as soon as you move-your-mouse / press-any-key the application quits.
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Michaël Samyn

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« Reply #2 on: August 20, 2010, 03:41:21 PM »

Notgames don't exist.  Grin
Notgames is simply an invitation to design interactive or procedural content without game rules.

But I love screensavers!
Our first published game, The Endless Forest, was -and still is- a screensaver. And it's very interactive! Wink

I guess screensavers are designed without any attention to game conventions. So maybe they are a good example to guide us.
Some types of content simply don't require interaction. Though, in general, I'd think it's rather wasteful to create a real-time piece an not implement some interaction, given how powerful it can be towards expressing your content. A virtual aquarium becomes a lot more convincing when it allows you to tick on the glass to chase away or lure the fish.
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ghostwheel

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« Reply #3 on: August 20, 2010, 05:10:47 PM »

A virtual aquarium becomes a lot more convincing when it allows you to tick on the glass to chase away or lure the fish.

Well actually, a lot of them do allow you to do exactly that. Also many of them allow you to run them as a screensaver or a regular interactive aquarium. Dream Aquarium for example allows you to feed the fish. AncientOcean allows you to follow different aquatic animals and read descriptions about them. One I tried allowed you to "poke" the fish. The interaction is minimal but then, how much more interactive should such a thing be?
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Michaël Samyn

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« Reply #4 on: August 21, 2010, 12:52:42 PM »

The interaction is minimal but then, how much more interactive should such a thing be?

Indeed. Interaction is not an end onto itself, it is a means towards making the simulation more convincing, amusing, immersive, etc.
« Last Edit: August 21, 2010, 12:55:00 PM by Michaël Samyn » Logged
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