Magenta
This past week I played Playdead’s Inside which is a puzzle-based side-scrolling platformer that conceptualizes mind control as its key mechanic. This complex feature allows the player to take control of other humans through mimicry to fit the game’s aesthetic narrative. However, I first noticed this narrative is presented to the player through a swarm-like mechanic involving baby chicks. This temporary mechanic allowed the chicks to briefly follow the me around, serving as a tutorial for the aforementioned “mimicry” feature. This “mimicry” feature functions remotely from a helmet that the protagonist wears in order to control other beings. These mechanics allowed me to progress through challenging puzzles that solely represent Inside’s story driven gameplay. This game’s core dynamics of player progression and completion also benefit its aesthetic narrative, as the player is more likely to finish a game when they are further along in its story. Although, Inside’s narrative is intentionally left ambiguous in order to diversify the players’ interpretations of the story and start a discussion.
I also studied the components of “MDA” which is a combination of aspects that creates the players experience. This tool can be used to separate parts of a successful game, such as Little Nightmares, and apply them to my own projects. Mechanics are the first component of this framework that comprises of basic features such as running, jumping, and shooting. Dynamics, the second component, results directly from mechanics to create the gameplay for the player. For example, Monopoly allows the player to save their money and sell or purchase tiles. These mechanics awards the players who properly manage their resources, which ultimately becomes a core dynamic of the game. In tandem, mechanics and dynamics create an aesthetic that elicits a sensation from the player or their experience.
Brycen Lawson’s Dev.log 