From the perspective of the INDENTRO framework - which among other aspects includes the practical application of the AQAL Model in relation to players' personality profiles in regards to quadrants, states of consciousness, personality types, lines and levels of development - an "Universal Game" would have to take into consideration all these interdependent variables (indeed a VERY CHALLENGING task) as a whole, and look for ways to tap into a basic range of "commonallity", "interest" and "engagement" related to all of these elements.
Perhaps integral-developmental assessments (as Trojan Horse mechanics) could act as initial and "on the go" filters, so although the game could offer several choices for many tastes and interests, the players would end up entering into specific grooves and game activities related to their own personality profiles...
Anyway, this is a quite interesting subject, which James fortunatelly has brought some of its "burning questions" iinto a broader public with his article.
Follow below the content of the Part 1 and Part 2 of James Portnow's article:
This Developer’s Life: The Universal Game
Part 1
Dear Reader:
This week I am going to call on you again to aid me. Over the next few weeks I plan to write about creating “The Universal Game”, a game that crosses demographics lines.
Run with me on this one. Ignore the fact that it’s probably impossible; imagine you’ve got a mandate to try. What do you do?
The Impetuous
I’ve started thinking more and more about the universality of gaming and, while I’m not sure we’ll ever achieve a game that appeals to the entire set of “people who play games”, considering things which are universal which are also well suited to being conveyed in this medium seems worth the time.
This got me thinking a lot about how so many of our games focus on what would, in pop psychology, be called “left brain challenges”, and how hard it is to create intuitive or emotive challenges for our games (does Insult Swordfighting count as an intuitive challenge?), which led me right back to the question of what it would take to make a “bilateral game”, which in turn made me ask the question “what would give a game universal appeal”.
Thoughts So Far
Those of you following me on twitter, already know this part, but I put out the call there too and got some interesting response. I’m going to list some of them below because I felt like they were particularly salient. I’m more in the dark on this one than anybody, so apologies in advance to anyone I throw up here to disagree with. I’m reposting you because I thought your comment was worthwhile!
(For those of you wondering I’m going to start #universalgame so that I can see the flow of the discussion)
The Comments
The idea of simply aiming for the lowest common denominator was raised by @manveerheir. While this might get you high sales, this tactic has never gotten the highest sales in any medium, which says to me that it’s (luckily) not really a path to universality.
@ Oizys brought up the thought of making an a la carte game where users can tailor their experiences. It’s a great thought and where I was headed for a while, but it sort of defeats the point of trying to make a universal game (as why not just make lots of games and let people make their a la carte choices when buying games rather than in the game itself…as we do now).
@ Larington raised the questions of aesthetics in a universal game. This one stumped me completely.
Moving On
I think that catches you up with the discussion thus far. I want your thoughts. What’s universal that is well suited to be conveyed through games?
This Developer’s Life: The Universal Game
Part 2
Dear Reader:
Last week we discussed the “Universal Game”, the game aimed at everyone. Many fascinating insights came out of this discussion. We talked about how such a game couldn’t just be a lowest common denominator game; how it would have to cross language barriers and cultural differences… in short we talked about how many different ways one could view the meaning of the words “Universal Game”.
What made this particularly interesting to me was that it made me realize that even in a hypothetical discussion, the universal game wasn’t the place to start…
The multi-layered game
One of the most interesting things that came up as the discussion about the universal game raged on was why we have so few games that work on multiple independent levels. Consider a movie like Wall-e, everyone from very young children to jaded adults can enjoy that film and get something from it.
Viewers often (I speak from experience, seeing that film with my youngest niece) walked away from that film with completely different but equally satisfying experiences. This rarely happens in games.
I’ve been speaking with other designers about this topic over the weekend and a few interesting points have come up. First was that the genre’s we address don’t lend themselves to this type of multi-level presentation; this I believe to be patently false as things like Star Wars, Dune and Lord of the Rings, all exist in that sci-fi/fantasy realm we so often occupy, and all of them feature multifaceted and interpretable tales.
The second, perhaps more profound question was, “What does it mean to work on multiple independent levels in an interactive medium?” Does Bioshock fit this criterion since it works for shooter fans as well as those looking for an engaging story?
This second question is actually too broad; it raises too many other questions, some of which have no good answer. One common point of contention was whether an interactive environment makes this sort of multi-level experience harder or easier to deliver.
On the one hand it makes it more difficult as the “author” has less direct control of the experience that their audience will have, but on the other hand this interactivity lets us literally tell multiple stories and explore multiple paths within a single title.
Conclusion
Again, I appeal to you for your thoughts.
In my opinion this is a problem worth solving, but it’s one we’ll only solve as a community, so feel free to post here or email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or hit me up on twitter (JamesPortnow) with your thoughts.
Also, if anyone can think of any games that really work well on multiple independent levels, send them my way: nothing’s better to learn from than examples!
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Great discussion, James!
Best wishes,
Moses
Moses Silbiger, M.A.
www.pressplaytogrow.com
www.integraleye.com
