“You
will always have partial points of view, and you’ll always have the
story behind the story that hasn't come out yet.”
— Margaret
Atwood
I’ve
written recently about immersing ourselves in films, books, and games
to help broaden our perception of a particular literary genre or
historical period. It’s a different way to expand our experiences
through diverse media; yet
games
put us in the moment in a deeper
way than films and books. Most
media
begins
and ends
at fixed points, providing
a step-by-step
narrative that
often helps
us identify with the experience of individuals
and
their perspectives as the plot unfolds. Games
start at a fixed point, too,
but where they end — and how they get there — often remains
uncertain until played out. As
we take turns, we assess the “game state” at that moment, plot
our moves, and ultimately see how they succeed. Games give
us first-hand experience at estimating a situation and forming a plan
of action in response to that situation in
a way that “fixed” media relying on plots do not.
They
can immerse us in an
event as
it evolves;
even though we might
know
how it turns out, the participants at that time and place did
not. Games
can offer us a taste of that experience as players try to comprehend
and react to a developing situation.
