Meaningful Mechanics - Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design - page 297

the user's expectations set by countless games to set them on the wrong foot. The
discovery that September 12 goes against their expectations creates a meaningful
turning point that drives home the argument September 12 makes: Indiscriminate
brute force is an ineffective way to deal with the problem of global terrorism.
September 12 is a good example of simplicity in design, which uses a contrast
between different layers of meaning to drive home the point it tries to make.
Because of its reference to shooter games, it has a lot of popular appeal, while the
hundreds of thousands of letters its designer received after its release indicates that,
though it did not please them all, many players caught the message.
A similar contrast between appearance and mechanics can be found in Brenda
Brathwaite's 2009 tabletop game Train ( Figure 12.7 ). In this case, the roles of
appearance and mechanics are the opposite of what they were in September 12 . The
rules are simple and rather vague, while a correct interpretation of the meaning of
the game's appearance creates a powerful contrast. The rules of the game require
you to race railroad cars to a destination and pick up as many yellow passengers as
possible. As you play, there are several hints that something is amiss. The passengers
are transported in freight cars, and the broken window that serves as the “board”
creates a disturbing ambiance. When the first train reaches its final destination, the
location is revealed to be a Nazi death camp. Just when you think you have won a
game, you've been made an accomplice in one of history's greatest atrocities. Even
claiming ignorance at this point (“I didn't know; I was just playing a game”) leaves
you to wonder whether or not you should have picked up on the hints. The bro-
ken glass is a reference to the Kristallnacht, the coordinated nationwide attack on
German and Austrian Jews in 1938 that left the streets littered with broken glass, and
the passengers are yellow because Jews were forced to wear yellow stars in occupied
Europe during World War II.
FIGURe 12.7
Train