Metagaming is a broad term usually used to define any strategy, action or method used in a game which transcends a prescribed ruleset, uses external factors to affect the game, or goes beyond the supposed limits or environment set by the game. Another definition refers to the game universe outside of the game itself.
In simple terms, using out-of-game information, or resources, to affect one's in-game decisions.
-Wikipedia quote
There are two separate instances in which I’ve seen this term used. The first being when players use knowledge obtained outside a game’s narrative to gain an advantage in-game. For example, imagine an FPS that takes place in your hometown, you would have an advantage over other players, especially right after the game’s launch, because you already know the “maps”. In a less realistic scenario, Imagine a fantasy game based on a book in which those who have read the book may have an advantage. In role-playing games it is considered metagaming if a player says or does something their character should not know about, this is usually considered cheating.
The other instance would be a videogame that is extremely flexible in what the player can do to achieve a certain goal. The truth being this instance is the same as the former as the players’ knowledge gives them an edge when offered so many possibilities. It seems to me, though, that the word was assigned to this phenomenon as a need to name this trend which is a necessary step in the evolution of video games, another fad just like the term “sandbox”.
In Pac Man, you control the hero and are given a goal to devour all the pills in a maze without being caught. However you are limited to moving up, down, left or right at a steady pace. Stopping isn’t even an option, unless you keep walking against a wall. The only tools you have are power pills, which enable you to defeat the guardians of said pills. This is the base from which most games evolved from. You are given a character, a set of moves, enemies, a level and a goal to reach.
This impending evolution forced game designers to expand all of these options. More heroes to choose from including power-ups, more moves, more goals, more enemies with more ways to defeat you or to be defeated, greater goals and even optional achievements.
Now take a look at this here game called Scribblenauts. A game made popular by its claim of having limitless possibilities. You have the hero, Maxwell. The moves? Well you can walk and jump, initially then there are the power-ups… thousands of items and creatures you can summon as long as you can spell their name correctly. The goal? Find the Starite; some levels have sub-goals you need to accomplish before the Starite appears.
Put this way it sounds horribly simple, right? It is just another side-scrolling platformer, but with a whole lot more power-ups! Just like the (back then) groundbreaking Grand Theft Auto… why, just another top-down adventure game with many goals (missions), many power-ups (weapons, vehicles) and huge levels!
If you have not played this game I certainly recommend you try it. Scribblenauts developed a ridiculously large database of items and characters with such detailed descriptions that the game basically knows what everything is just like the player does, so when the player tries something, the output will be the very close to what the player expects. While solving the puzzles is lots of fun, the best feature is definitely the “sandbox” title screen. While on the title screen, you are allowed to summon stuff, but there is no real goal or time limit. You just put things together and see how they interact. This tickles your brain in a certain way that causes great satisfaction. Try digging up those really obscure words you think will not be there, and make them interact with something completely unexpected. The result will be just what you expected.
Summon a vampire and a priest. The priest will freak out and run away, unless the vampire catches him first and turns him into a ghoul… unless you summon a cross and hand it to the priest, who will proceed to righteously smite the vampire until it is turned into a pile of ashes.
The puzzles range from the obvious to the ridiculously impossible. I find myself putting the game away from time to time just to take a break either because the games the puzzles have gotten too easy and repetitive or because I just can’t figure out how to beat one (I could always resort to my list of fail-proof items, but the idea is to be creative). The sounds and music are just OK, and the controls… well the control sucks. Why didn’t they make the character controlled with the D-Pad so the touch screen could be used exclusively for scribbling and placing items? Having the two things controlled the same way will make your guy suddenly dash into a mine you just set and were trying to move. This happens a lot.
It is fascinating how the game knows what everything is. Imagine now if your favorite game “knew” all this about everything on it.
My point being that terms such as “sandbox” and “metagaming” should not be turned into “genres”, but they should be a model for all videogames to come. While I don’t expect every new videogame hero to be carrying a magical notebook that allows it to summon stuff, I certainly hope game developers learn from the way Scribblenauts manages each and every item, character and place. The task would be simpler to integrate into another game, as there is a set list of items, characters and places. Say there’s a FPS that has guard dogs, well if the player picks up a steak from the mess hall, he could use it to distract the dogs, but the same would happen with every other item that can be carried and happens to be of interest to a dog. What if I grab the dog and release it in the mess hall? What if I take some dog poo and…
Let the player experiment. Have them put the gun down and start looking for creative ways to get through. Let every character have a personality and a set of priorities, even that dumb grunt. What if I leave a dirty magazine here, will the guard stop to look at it? What if I cut down a tree and leave it there, oh, he would definitely freak out… but carrying that tree around is gonna be a pain… I need a plan! Let every item have physical properties. What if I set the enemy base on fire? What if I knock down this wall? What if I drive this tank into a swimming pool? Let every game have a realistic physics engine. What if I load this fridge into the catapult? What if I load myself into the catapult? What if I load the fridge then get inside?
Every game would be a “metagame”, every game would be a “sandbox” but they don’t all have to be Grand Theft Auto Meets Scribblenauts. You still get a character, a set of moves, a goal and a level, only that furniture would not be bolted to the ground, and a gun would not be glued to your hands.
No comments:
Post a Comment