Games as Compositions / Games as Interface
It’s very easy to see games as compositions. Whether its linear or non-linear.
But it also acts as the instrument. playback of recorded sound.
Like pressing play on Spotify. Does Spotify become an instrument? or is it the phone? It’s a very passive interaction.
I mused a while ago on DAWs and how they act as the notation of the composition and the instrument themselves.
I was initially undecided about how to approach making a software musical instrument to go alongside my essay, especially as I have mixed feelings about obscurantism in their design. However, as I began to focus on the idea of play, I thought it would be interesting to try to frame it in the context of games themselves and as tools.
I was reading through Greg Costikyans ‘Uncertainty in Games’ and was thinking about the interesting link between randomness/chance in games and in music. I’ve previously covered this in blog posts from previous work, in relation to generative and aleatoric music, John Cage, Mark Fell, etc.
I think an interesting ‘compositional’ thematic juxtaposition and connections in this current project, and my focus on the labyrinth and using it as a generative instrument is:
- The determinism of a single-path labyrinth. The tall walls, the dark corridors.
- The random element of the player’s movement, and decisions when inside the game.
but the topic of will and free will is a heavy one.
In Kristine Jorgensen’s Gameworld Interfaces, she talks about visible (symbolic) and invisible ( naturalistic) interfaces, ones built into the gameworld experience.
In keeping with the ‘obscure’ theme of my essay, I’m more focused on the ‘naturalistic’ approach and will hope to implement features that the player can discover themselves through experimentation rather than direct instruction (though for the handin I will include instructions)
I recently played the game In Other Waters. It is described as:
“A non-violent sci-fi story, enter a world of wonder, fear and vulnerability, unraveling the history and ecology of an impossible planet.”
the gameplay itself is viewed from a nautical topographical perspective, and you control the interface of a suit used for navigation.
The sound in the game is very good. There is a large focus on the water effects and general ambience of the location, but interacting with elements is often musical and to a rhythm ingame.