Big Game Hunting - Game Invaders: The Theory and Understanding of Computer Games - page 185

HOW DO YOU GET OUT OF HERE?
The theories in this topic can be seen as a journey, an invasion that takes us from
some strange abstract point in an imagined space looking down on the world of
games seen as genres and activity profi les down through the compulsive acts of
gameplay and what they mean, and deeper still until we reach another even stranger
abstract space, the space of CBS, which characterizes all games in such an elegant
and simple way and yet tell us nothing about any one in particular. Our journey, our
invasion, will go no further, at least for the time being. It is time to extricate ourselves
from this strange, secret heart of the video game and as we do so refl ect on what
we have learned and what use it could be to us. We ended up deep in the heart of a
compulsive, repetitive, abstract space. There's a whole world out there we need to
get back to.
The salutary lesson we learned from CBSs is that the interactive sign, the play-
able character, whatever you wish to call it, however minimal and simplistic and
dumb or however grandiose and complex and sentient it might be, can be either of
these or anything in between; or indeed it can be even simpler than the former or
far more complex than the latter. Our point of presence in the game need be nothing
more than a simple point, a single pixel. The game starts when we begin to imagine
what that point of presence can do, what effects it can have on whatever else is going
to be in this new game world.
In fact, if you really want to get back to basics, this is the place to start. Imagine
the simplest possible interactive sign and nothing else; just a blank screen and a
single contrasting pixel. Imagine what happens when you try and do something with
this single pixel? Does it move, grow, vibrate, spit out other pixels? Does it make a
noise, disappear only to reappear somewhere else? It can do anything you want it
to do. You can get it to create anything you like, anything at all. That's how powerful
your imaginary game engine is. What wonders can you imagine your simple interac-
tive sign to get up to? It's a game you can play.
And playing this game helps you design more games. Substitute in: a person,
afi re alarm, a tennis racket, a fried egg, some garden weeds, a brick, random words
cut from a newspaper, a sticky piece of gum on the pavement, the pavement; put
that in, put anything in at all, and start to play with it. Start to create things with it.
What things? Move these objects, break them up, build them up, destroy them; make
them able to do things for themselves. Keep going, keep playing, keep creating your
game.
When you are ready, try and pin it down a bit. Try thinking of some GISs so
you can begin to structure the game a bit more. If it is a simple, casual game, you
only need one GIS. If it is a complex roleplaying or action adventure game, you
might need a lot of GISs. And what needs to come into play so your GIS(s) make
sense? Are there textual codes and/or social codes that the player needs to use? How
does the inside-out code work for the player? You might not need any semiotic codes
beyond the media-specifi c ones.
What are the signs of intervention and what effects do they have? Does the door
open automatically as you approach; do you have to use the door handle and open