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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kenada" data-source="post: 9116779" data-attributes="member: 70468">When relating those events, does it have to be done in a particular medium or structure? Can the relationship between characters in a scene create a narrative (as used in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJfVUnFH6m4&t=776s" target="_blank">example at the start</a> of the segment on story machines)?Does it not? You have an initial condition and a goal. As you work towards that goal and compete with the other players, the tension in the game increases. Someone eventually reach that goal, and the tension abates. That seems to describe a structure that is approximately pyramidally shaped. The video also has examples of smaller “plots” that happen. You’re out in the field, and you get ambushed. The goal is to survive the ambush. The conflict is obvious, and the tension comes from whether you’ll win or not. The fun of Soulsborne games is predicated on this kind of loop.There are some parts that are about farming cutscenes or story bits (finding the Dragon’s Tears and Messages from an Ancient Era quest lines), but that’s not what the video shows. It shows four <a href="https://youtu.be/WJfVUnFH6m4?si=lVCc_r531tCeMY5-&t=165" target="_blank">scenes</a> from the game: Link in flight, Link manipulating a spiked ball with Rewind, Link traveling up through a ledge using Ascend, and shot of Hyrule Castle. At least three of these are happening outside of any particular story moment. The spiked ball in particular is a good example of a “story engine” because all it’s done is set up a dynamic situation, and it’s up to the player to respond how.In the context of games, I’m deploying “meaning” to refer to what I get out of it. When I play a game, I want to win, but I also want to make interesting moves or have a good time. Sometimes there’s a problem I need to optimize. I love those types of games. Even executing well in a game like bowling can be meaningful. I can remember growing up how my dad kept getting close to bowling a 300 but could never quite get there. Until he finally did like thirty years later.When I think about meaningless game experiences, I think of ones that make you step back and question what the hell I was doing with my time. For example, I started playing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Connect!_Re:Dive" target="_blank">Priconne</a> last year, but I stopped because there wasn’t really anything to play, and I wasn’t even doing the story missions. I was just fast-forwarding through the stages to farm items. That’s a big problem with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gacha_game" target="_blank">gacha games</a>, though they’re not all bad (especially if you can be prudent with spending).</blockquote>

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