Violence Makes Games Fun … and Mindless

Killing enemies in games is a way of problem-solving; it’s most of where the fun of many games is found. The problem is that lazy game design can use it as a shortcut to give players something to do, without considering how to make a games actually become fun; that’s where you get your mindless clones of a popular genre. Challenging myself to create a game without killing 1) stops me from relying on unoriginal tropes of game design, and 2) helps me consider how players become engaged with games at a fundamental level.

I theorize that games at their core are this: an objective to be accomplished, and a challenge that prevents players from accomplishing that goal immediately. Overcoming the challenge to accomplish the objective is the core activity of the game. Rules, explicit and implicit, provide the structure for the problem-solving that occurs to overcome the challenge. The engagement comes in during the process of overcoming the challenge: through the activity of the game is where players play, where they have the freedom to express their skill and creativity within a structure. To make a game engaging and fun, the designer must make the activity of the game engaging.

In a typical ARPG, the player’s given objective is to get to an area or checkpoint, such as a new level. To create challenge and an activity for the player, the designer puts an obstacle in the way: an enemy. If the player fails this challenge, they die, which usually resets their location to a checkpoint. So, the activity that allows the player to reach the objective is killing enemies. A designer makes it fun to kill enemies with cool animations and effects, and a loot system so the player feels more powerful and kills enemies more easily. Therefore, beyond the explicit objective of reaching a location checkpoint, there is also a long-term progression objective common to the RPG genre of having a character who grows in power.

To challenge my design capabilities, I am creating a game that uses the mechanics of a game genre whose core activity is killing, and avoiding all implementing violence. The challenge is to create progression, interesting activities, and the mechanical engagement of an ARPG without using killing as the narrative explanation. Mechanics similar to those used in ARPG’s is fine, as long as they’re implemented in an original way. In this manner, I plan to unpack the essentials of what make a game engaging.

Some other aspects of ARPG’s I’d love to add to my game:

• Diablo 2

  • Atmosphere, discovery of setpieces that make it feel like a setting w/ history and narrative

  • Satisfying action through sound design, snappy controls

  • Distinct roles and flavors for characters

• Minor puzzling & analytical problem-solving

• Darkest Dungeon

  • Customization and specialization of character

  • Ability to improve the headquarters/base of operations