Gameplay vs. Game World

Game Inspiration: Skyrim

As I traveled through Skyrim again, I was reminded just how much freedom it offers the player, both in gameplay and how you interact with its game world.  Though many games claim an emphasis on freedom, each game offers a differing degree of freedom in both gameplay and the game world.  So what do I mean by gameplay, game world, what freedom looks like in each of these areas?

Gameplay is the mechanics of the game.  It answers the question, “What can I do?”  Though Arkham City and Sleeping Dogs present different settings, they share a similar combat mechanic.  The Prince of Persia, Assassin’s Creed, and Darksiders series share a similar parkour mechanic. When a popular new mechanic is introduced (like counter-attacks in Batman) it almost always reiterated, sometimes improving it, sometimes presenting just a skeleton of the idea. Because video games are an interactive medium, fantastic gameplay can often stand on it's own even when other elements like plot, voice acting, or art direction are mediocre (like Vanquish, which is as fun as it is flawed).

Distinct from gameplay, the game world is where the gameplay takes place and who you are as a character within that place.  It is answers the questions, “Where am I” and “Who am I?” Each video game franchise presents its own world. Sometimes a game world has been given minimal thought. Left 4 Dead, Vanquish, and Xcom: Enemy Unknown are all great games, but their worlds are barely fleshed out. Others, like Elder Scrolls, Bioshock, and Mass Effect include their own histories, languages, art, etc. Unlike gameplay, a great game world cannot carry mediocre gameplay (looking at you Dragon Age 2).

In both the gameplay and the game world freedom is on a continuum.  A game like Portal gives you no choice in either gameplay or the game world.  You use the Portal gun in the manner prescribed to solve puzzles and progress with a predetermined character in an unchangeable world.   Though it does not change the fact that this is a challenging, funny, well-designed game. It does not concern itself with how to progress through it, but rather if you can solve its brilliant puzzles.

Borderlands 2 gives you limited choice in gameplay and game world.  Choose an enigmatic Sniper, an insane Shotgun surgeon, a cocky soldier who heavily relies on turrets for support, and others, but in the end you HAVE to kill these enemies with one of six pre-determined characters and the rare times you are presented with a choice it does little to affect the game (though that Mohawk does make Claptrap look pretty cool).

Games such as the Grand Theft Auto series include a lot of freedom in the game world pertaining to when or if you choose to do missions, but the character you play is already determined for you.  I often don’t like the way my character is forced to behave and some of choices he makes.  I find myself enjoying the gameplay, but whether it is CJ, John Marston, or Wei Shen, I find myself sometimes frustrated at the things I am forced to say and do.

A game like Dishonored lets you approach your objective from a number of different ways, and the way you play one mission does has some effect on subsequent missions, in the end you are the predefined character Corvo going on a predefined tale of revenge with a predefined outcome.

Games like The Walking Dead on the other hand give you a great deal of flexibility in what kind of a person you want to be and your decisions have permanent life and death consequences, but there is virtually no choice in where you go and what you do.

But Skyrim and games like it try to give the player the greatest amount of freedom in both gameplay and game world. Their success comes from three areas: varied ways to approach playing the game, a myriad of dialogue options, and evidence in the game world that the decisions you make matter.  Skyrim’s use of varied weapons, spells, and skillsets allows you approach mission objectives in virtually any way imaginable. New Vegas’ use of skill or stat specific dialogue options makes you feel like your character is able to uniquely interact with the game world.  The Mass Effect trilogy, controversial ending aside, makes you feel like your decisions have permanent consequences some highly personal, others galactic in scope.

The great thing is that the quality of a game does depend upon how much freedom it has.  Portal and Skyrim couldn’t be more different from each other, yet both received many game of the year nods.  But for games like Skyrim one of my delights is the time I spend thinking about how I will play and who I will be. Which games do you feel like give you the most freedom in gameplay, the game world, or both? Let me know in the comments if you have any good ideas.