PURPOSE
The Greatest Plateau Effect is the overwhelming, compelling, curious drive to explore.
First discovered in Breath of the Wild(BOTW), there is a place called the Great Plateau, which as you approach the camera reveals a vast world worth exploring. It instills a sense of exploration and tears down your notions of limitation. The developers boasted, “Anywhere you can see, you can go.” Again and again throughout the game when climbing another mountain or tower, the perspective revealed more to explore and stoked the fire of curiosity in us.
I’ve ran into invisible walls my whole life, I’ve been trained to play my part in the stage play written for me and trained to ignore the set dressing because the background and most the props are fake, I’ve been trapped in a small room surrounded in illusions so nothing mattered. Then I was let outside.
The great plateau’s liberating feeling in BOTW was great when compared with all the games that came before it, but it could be greater? I wondered what would it take to maximize this to it’s greatest effect? Breath of the wild wasn't just a game, it was precedence, a research project whose product contributes to all games, the everything game. It is more than an exploration mechanic, its about creating a new world worth living in.
Shigeru Miyamoto
I try to insure that nothing I make wastes the players' time by having them do things that aren't productive or creative.
Games allow the players to engage with a problem, conjure a solution, try out that solution, and then experience the results. Then they can go back to the thinking stage and start to plan out their next move. This process of trial and error builds the world in their minds. This is the true canvas on which we design—not the screen. I always keep this in mind when designing.
Without toys or tiktok, a young boy made his own toys from wood and string, performed with home made puppets, drew flipbook cartoons, and pretended his little house hid magical realms behind the sliding shoji screens as shadows danced behind them. His little house was in a river valley surrounded by overgrown mountains which he hiked to the top finding a big lake, and exploring a bamboo forest, searching beneath a rock and returning with a lantern to see down a hole which led to a cavern passages.
Take these things you've experienced in your life, sensations or feelings, and then try to conjure them. I wish to capture this sense of wonder, promise, and discovery.
PROMISE
The world is a promise, when you break that promise; lie, trick, steal... you break the player’s trust and so future promises will be ignored.
We have been trained by playing; what will be a wall; inconvenient, obstruction, or invisible.
We also know from experience that nothing exists beyond that except fake paper cutouts called imposters and a skybox prison that the sky is painted onto like The Truman Show.
We have been trained that these object break but those don’t, these are real, but those are background props for the play you’re in. We learn that you can’t trust the world and it's not even your play. We learn our part, what we are allowed to do, that nothing matters, the people are being forced to say that, and we begin to restrain ourselves to avoid falling off the stage, trying to use cognitive disonent blindness to try to avoid noticing its all a lie because it hurts to much.
Developers have to start rebuilding trust if we hope to accomplish the Greatest Plateau Effect.
►VALUE
A world without value is not worth exploring or collecting or protecting or promising.
But what is valuable?
I’ve identified the 3 Core Values of all humans; Life, Love, and Purpose..
Let’s explore examples of subcategories and fulfilling items.
►► 1. Life
Examples of Life
Survival (Competition, Strategy, Design, Safety, Haven),
Comfort (Relief, Ease,),
Collection (Ability, Skills, Power, Hoarding, Knowledge, Mapping)
Signs of Life:
Cities, Quests, Structures
Compelling
Variety
Atmosphere
Air, wind, particles
Steep cliffs and canyons vs hills
Bridges Ladders Trails
Mountains, Valleys, Cliffs,
Diversity, Horizon
Textures and details have a range of interest vs noise too. It needs to be balanced
Color, we associate blue and green with life, and pink and yellow with safety. Just be aware of the color language of people.
►► 2. Love
Examples of Love
Appreciation, (Evaluation, Achievement, Competition, Challenge)
Environment (Home, Belonging to a Group)
Community (Socializing, Following, Calibrating your Senses, Empathy, Humor)
Real Life Value
A life you can’t share is not worth living. This is because true value is a difficult equation, so its a group effort to evaluate it. Multiplayer, ARGs, and Social Media Integration takes advantage of the Value that the player already has in the real world and connects it to the game offering more compelling reasons to explore. Every game should include multiplayer because it is like a Greatest Plateau Effect Multiplier. The inverse is true too; go into Zelda Breath of the Wild without your loved ones is like moving away, and you will feel a sense of loss which reduces perceived net value.
►► 3. Purpose
Examples of Purpose
Test Alternative Lives
Fantasy
Story
New Ideas
Novelty
Challenge
Old Ideas
Rules
Ideals
Greater Purpose
Explorers
Search
Surprise
Excitement
Discovery
Novelty
Family
Signs of Purpose:
Real Life Value
Real World Purpose Driven Value Turned Quests
Imagine you travel to a village and the NPCs are working on RL paradise level projects but you can join them like a quest that actually matters.
Bonus Value Notes
I’ve identified some Universal Items that satisfy those values reliably.
Capability:
Parsed Knowledge:
Higher Purpose: Higher than your last awareness of your purpose. This indicates you are making progress.
For research I’ve collected several Player Identities to test this model.
Extrinsically Motivated Player Types,
Intrinsically Motivated Player Types
Bartel 4 and 8 Player Types
Quantic Player Types
When doing taxonomy about any topic, it is easy to go nuts as everything in the universe is connected and dynamic and few things are fundamental and universal, so I drew the line at defining humor for example, though I did research this too.
Defying Expectation
Modeling Embarrassment
Taboo Bravery
Superiority Deflection
Public Expression
Total Knowing
►TRUST
Your actions and experiences are real in your mind, but the world they happen in is a fiction of sorts, a trick, but fiction stories and magic tricks are enriching, unless you loose immersion or the trick is explained. We must set the bar to a standard that we never pull the explorer out of the world by showing our hand. Playing games are investing in a world, if you don’t value the world or if you think your investment will be wasted you won’t invest, So any game should be trusted to be worth living in.
►►Propless
The objects are real and can be used.
Let reason guide you to what can be climbed, moved, picked up, transformed, or broken.
A shelf full of props that are glued to the shelf will signal and train us to not trust that is any value here.
►►Permanence
If you drop something or if someone dies or if you carve your name in a tree or if you defeat a boss, or if you gathered what an NPC needed to make something, you shall not come back later to find all your progress was for nothing, that your items are missing, and carving disappeared, that the dead boss is back again and that NPC is recruiting others to do what you already did for them. You were here.
►►Endless
The world is not a stage it’s real.
The key may be that the furthest things on the horizon don’t seem like barriers and turning each corner should expose vast amounts of more space to explore.
This goes for endless mountains and content as far as you can see, but also look up into the vastness of space and see the endless galaxies to explore up there too.
►►►Invisible Walls
When you look at a game world, what do you assume about the cliffs along the horizon?
You know you will be blocked, launched back, teleported back, smited, or dragged back kicking and screaming.
Never add an impassible wall of any kind. There should always be a way to overcome or the player wills stop trying/playing. Another option is using the pacman effect to wrap the world like a sphere so as you travel the ocean or land it wraps seamlessly to the far side of the map.
Alternatives include forming the world into a planet, or wrapping the edges like pacman.
►►►Seamless Loading
In a stageplay between scenes you gotta take intermission and swap out the props, this can happen in virtual worlds too which just reminds the explorer that this is just a play. The solution has been streaming you levels of details and has been implemented but often inconsistently where even in open worlds you will suddenly be put on pause if you enter a building.
►►Immersion
Prevent them from questioning the promise by keeping them from questioning reality is essential to a life that feels like it matters. It is also the most challenging because it takes a lot of evidence to immerse, but only a single uncanny linch pin for it all to come crashing down.
►►►Life
In classical linear games you do what was written for you to do, like a play. You aren’t living the character’s life, you just doing what you’re told. But what if the world just is, us unknown, next to you, and you discover it, live there, and change it your way? There is no story, campaign, or winning, but instead there is life
►►►Grass
Grass can be an inviting element, good grass that you’d love to run through barefoot and roll around and take a nap in is inviting. Soft, thick, healthy, clean, not a mosquito in sight...
►►►Water
Nobody goes up to an ocean and looking across its same surface wishes they could walk on water curious to explore that surface because there is nothing interesting on it. Maybe under it if it’s crystal clear, but your curiosity isn’t stoked by a plane of mirror.
Large bodies of waters like lakes and oceans usually subtract from the effect as they are considered not worth exploring because they are barren where you can see all of what is on its surface and usually nothing of what is beneath, plus experience tells us its not fun to travel underwater normally, but there are exceptions such as with a rideable creature or an underwater city, though this is minimal compared to other elements. Another exception that would increase this elements effect is if the expectation was changed so underwater exploration was more accessible. Until then, avoid large bodies of water. It is common to use oceans to denote the end of your world, but you can maximize the greatest plateau effect even then by adding more islands out there worth exploring. Wide open fields can have this negative effect too if too unbroken ba value.
►►►Buildings
It is critical for a village or city to maximize its interest from afar, all the buildings must have interiors. Currently the expectation is all villages are hollywood ghost towns and their buildings ar just facades with nothing behind the street facing walls. To maximize the effect make buildings real places so the player does not resist the effect thinking they are being lied to.
►►►Biomes
You want to add a variety of biomes but minimal wastelands because they don’t invite exploration because who wants to search through rubble vs a wonderland? Think oasis and inviting and healthy.
►►►Fidelity / Style
Look at the ground to see if you are removed from the world. Can you see the pixels or polygons? This can be hidden by shadeless stylized effects, but texture can give away signal to the player this virtual life doesn't matter if its not real.
►CONFIDENCE
►►Perspective
This is a balancing between tease and reveal.
Can you see a lot of candidates of value? Show more if the world is not worth exploring.
Have you received the value already by just standing there? Then you are showing too much if the world is not worth exploring.
Show more by increasing the lens FOV, providing a higher perspective, providing a clearing.
Show less by using the environment to cover just enough to tease, or hide behind clues.
►►►Topology
Mountain Height : Realistically the earth is smoother than a pool ball. But if we are low enough to see the dramatic height of mountains we are most often obscured by trees and cliffs preventing perspective. But if we can find a higher perspective it all looks smooth and immodest.
The trick is the steepness, the mountain perimeter on earth is 13 miles but in BOTW it’s maybe 2. Earth is gradually changing, so wherever you are now its similar to where you just were. BOTW changes more drastically so you can look around and see a variety of places at once.
Hollow Crust Design:
In my greatest plateau research, before tears came out I designed a concept that could double the Greatest Plateau Effect. Imagine exploring inside a hollow planet’s crust, You can look up and see places you want to explore. Lighting towers could be analog, lighting your immediate surroundings, but also everything slightly. It also allows for flora to grow giving a flourishing reason to explore.
However this is not in stead of a seamless universe of outer space of endless planets.
►►►Intrigue
You need to see things that Promise Value.
Novel shapes that pique curiosity with possible value.
Recognized shapes that you remember include likely value.
►►►Obstruction
Can you see places worth exploring?
The more you see the more overwhelmingly rich the world seems.
The more you see the more chances you have of exposing something that the player wants.
But do you see everything from where you are? If so what’s the point of exploring?
Things that block your view amplifies the overwhelming definition of the world worth exploring. How can you tease that something is obscured worth exploring?
Field of View, Character scale, Plateau, Elevation, Horizon...
If your camera includes your body then you will more likely relate with it and value it and thus the world that provides it with style, sustenance and upgrades. Too much and you can’t see values out there worth exploring, too little and you can’t care. This is too much of me ↓
►►Power
To trust a promise you need to believe you have the ability to get what you value.
►►►Limitless
This is a balancing act because if you have too much power you feel nothing is real but if you have too little power you feel you can do little that matters. Error on the side of too much power and use the natural affects of power as the constraint, for example: moving too fast could mean its hard to see what is coming before its too late.
►►►Controls and Skills
Your move-set is like a game on it’s own that when practiced is becomes a super power overcoming nature with skill. Climb anything under the right conditions, parachute down and befriend the wind, roll to absorb, and parkour run over obstacles but pace yourself, jump, double jump, dodge... get this right and you have just empowered of those who look off to the horizon to do what they intend.
►►►Tools
Having a shuttle or a mech or super powers can make inhabitable places just as inviting as home.
►►►Knowledge
The more you know the more you know what you don’t know. Knowledge is like a key that unlocks your capability, making even more places accessible to explore.
►►►Inviting
Content and Theme can affect how the player sees the world. Is it inviting or foreboding? If the player feels inept to explore a place then it is the same as the place not existing except for a possible future level. Even if it is difficult though you should never put an invisible wall, just let the difficulty naturally resist unless you want the player to hate you.
STUDY
►COLLECTIONS
►►Game Finds
I’ve identified the effect in so many games since, even a smash brothers commercial.
►►Game Makes
I’ve recreated the effect in several game engines, N64, Teardown, Dreams, Recroom
►►Art Finds
I’ve collected 6500 worlds worth exploring from artists.
►►Art Makes
I’ve generated literally 53,000 examples of the Greatest Plateau Effect.
►PRACTICES
►►Heatmaps
I’ve applied heatmaps to landscapes highlighting the Greates Plateau qualities.
Color is Key
Red = Value Does it promise a prize or nothing?
Green = Trust Does it build rapport or jeopardize it?
Blue = Confidence
White = These colors add up to the Greatest Plateau Effect
Black = They subtract to the Worst
G8: The city has trust for being full of value you can’t see. And the Mcguffin has probable value. Plus I’m confident I can get to them.
D9: The lake is often an easy killer of the effect because you know there is nothing valuable on it because you can see it all clearly, it usually also means its hard to navigate. A trust of having value underwater can counteract this. But it’s also obscured and difficult to see either from reflections or blurry.
F3: Cliffs are notoriously difficult to navigate, and they block a lot of view, there is a possible view of value, but there is obviously no value on its face.
A14: The horizon could reveal a whole other view of value if it has the trust that you can get there and it’s real.
C5: These are obviously real mountains which increase the trust in the distant ones.
A3: Space here is mostly empty and void of value or confidence that I can get up there unless I have a ship, but there is a planet of value. If your ship is very fast that improves your confidence that you can traverse large distances.
►►Reviews
Let’s practice reviewing, sorting, and ranking worlds. Click to Watch Now
►RESOURCES
Law of Triangles; For directing and obscuring and providing multiple paths.
Heatmaps of Exploration
Infinite Play
Order of Visibility
Order of Importance
►DISCUSSIONS
Great Plateau Effect Explained
here are some potential principles for creating an environment or perspective that maximizes the qualities you described in your "Greatest Plateau Effect":
Create a sense of mystery and intrigue: This can be achieved through the use of an enigmatic setting or story, or by hinting at hidden secrets and hidden locations that the player can explore.
Provide a sense of progression and accomplishment: Players should feel a sense of accomplishment as they progress through the game, and this can be achieved by providing a clear sense of progression in terms of game mechanics, story, and character development.
Encourage exploration and experimentation: The game environment should be designed to be open-ended and non-linear, allowing players to explore and experiment with different approaches to solving problems and achieving goals.
Allow players to personalize their experience: Players should be able to customize their experience by making choices that affect the game's outcome and by being able to create their own playstyle.
Provide a sense of wonder and awe: The game world should be visually and thematically striking, providing players with a sense of wonder and awe as they explore and discover new areas.
Provide a sense of danger and challenge: The game should provide a sense of danger and challenge, whether through difficult enemies or environmental hazards, to keep players engaged and motivated to continue exploring.
Provide a sense of community: Players should feel that they are part of a larger community, whether through online interactions or by providing opportunities for players to share their experiences with others.
Provide a sense of purpose: Players should feel that they have a purpose in the game, and this can be achieved through providing a clear goal or objective for players to work towards.
These are just a few potential principles that could help to create an environment or perspective that maximizes the qualities you described in your "Greatest Plateau Effect." It's important to keep in mind that these principles are not mutually exclusive and they are not exhaustive and might not be suitable for every type of game or genre.
Dotails
A couple principles include promise"showing there are places out their WORTH exploring and promising they may be worth their time" and mystery" showing unidentified are partially obscured landmarks but teasing value in every kilometer." perspective;the shape of the world plays a large part of letting the player see what will create the effect exaggerated topologies, elevations, and even small elements like just enough fog to tease but not too little to spoil,"
Yes, those are some additional principles that could help to create an environment or perspective that maximizes the qualities you described in your "Greatest Plateau Effect."
Promise: Showing players that there are places out there worth exploring and promising that they may be worth their time, through the use of visually striking landscapes, intriguing stories and characters, and other elements that suggest that there is more to discover.
Mystery: Creating an environment that is partially obscured, with landmarks that are not fully identified, but that tease value in every kilometer. This can be achieved through the use of fog, mist, or other visual effects that obscure part of the environment, or by placing landmarks and other points of interest in locations that are not immediately obvious.
Perspective: The shape of the world plays a large part in creating the effect, and this can be achieved through the use of exaggerated topologies, elevations, and other elements that change the player's perspective on the world. This can be done through the use of fog, mist, or other visual effects that obscure part of the environment, or by placing landmarks and other points of interest in locations that are not immediately obvious.
All of these principles help to create an environment that is intriguing and mysterious, and that encourages players to explore and discover new areas. It's important to keep in mind that these principles are not mutually exclusive, and that they may not be suitable for every type of game or genre.
Dotails
I would like to see these principles considered for more games which is why I'm documenting this research to help others during their design process. I'm sure there are more and I've used ai to generate 15000 images of the plateau landscape perspectives to study this further as well as implimented this in several game engines and collected thousands more. The difficulty is consolidating these into sensible categories that feel true and like I didnt leave anything important out.
It sounds like you are conducting a thorough research on the "Greatest Plateau Effect" and its potential applications in game design. The principles that you have outlined so far, such as promise, mystery, and perspective, are certainly important elements that can help to create an environment that maximizes the qualities you described in your "Greatest Plateau Effect."
Consolidating your research into sensible categories can be a challenging task, but it will be beneficial in organizing your findings and making it easier for others to understand and apply your research. You may want to consider grouping your findings into categories such as visual design, game mechanics, and player experience. Additionally, you may want to consider creating a flowchart or a diagram that illustrates the relationship between the different elements of your research, such as how different visual elements, game mechanics, and player experiences are interconnected and contribute to the "Greatest Plateau Effect."
Dotails
I will try the flowchart I've already dumped thousands of the best images into a single 6GB file that will let me scan accross examples to derive patterns. any other ideas?
A flowchart is a great idea for organizing your research and illustrating the relationship between different elements. Another approach you may want to consider is creating a list of key takeaways or best practices that you have found to be effective in creating an environment that maximizes the "Greatest Plateau Effect." This can be a helpful way for others to quickly understand the most important insights from your research, and can also serve as a reference guide for game designers looking to apply your findings to their own work.
Another idea is to create a case study or a series of case studies that demonstrate how the principles and techniques you have identified can be applied in practice. This could include examples from games that have successfully implemented the "Greatest Plateau Effect" and an analysis of how the different elements of the game contributed to the overall player experience.
You could also use your image collection to train a machine learning model that can predict the appeal of a particular image or scene, you can use this tool to help you identify patterns and trends in your research and to help you quickly evaluate different design options.
Overall, it's important to remember that the key to creating an environment that maximizes the "Greatest Plateau Effect" is to strike a balance between providing players with enough information to be intrigued, and withholding enough information to maintain a sense of mystery and wonder.
Dotails
Can you think of some more principles that would maximize the effect
Here are a few more principles that might help maximize the "Great Plateau Effect" in world building:
Immersion: Creating a believable and immersive world that feels alive and interactive can help players feel more connected to the environment and more motivated to explore.
Progression: Giving players a sense of progression and accomplishment as they explore can help them feel more motivated to keep going. For example, this could include unlocking new abilities or items as they progress through the game.
Creating content that allows players to progress and improve their abilities can help make it more engaging. This could include upgrading equipment, unlocking new abilities, or leveling up characters.
Variety: Offering a variety of different environments, landscapes, and biomes can help keep players engaged and interested in exploring.
Offering a variety of different environments, landscapes, and biomes can help make the content more interesting and engaging.
Ambiguity: Creating a sense of ambiguity or uncertainty can help players feel more compelled to explore and discover what lies ahead. This could include fog, mist or other visual effects that obscure the player's view.
Diversity: Showing a wide range of cultures, creatures and fauna, and architecture can help make the world feel more alive and believable.
Storytelling: Integrating storytelling elements into the world can help players feel more connected to the environment and more motivated to explore. This could include questlines, NPC interactions, and other narrative elements.
Integrating storytelling elements into the content can help make it more interesting and engaging. This could include questlines, NPC interactions, and other narrative elements that help players feel more connected to the world and more motivated to explore.
Interactivity: Creating opportunities for players to interact with the environment in meaningful ways can help them feel more connected to the world and more motivated to explore. For example, this could include puzzles, obstacles, and challenges that require players to use their abilities and items to progress.
Attention to detail: Putting effort into creating a world that feels believable, consistent and polished will help players feel more invested in the environment and more motivated to explore.
Putting effort into creating detailed and polished content can help make it more interesting and engaging for players.
Scalability: Creating a world that feels vast and open, with many areas to explore, can help players feel more compelled to explore. Creating content that feels vast and open, with many areas to explore, can help make it more engaging.
Soundscape: A well-crafted soundscape can add a lot to an environment and help players feel more immersed and engaged.
It's important to note that these are just a few examples and other principles could be added to the list depending on the game and the specific goals of the developer.
Dotails
What about a deep dive on valuable content so once you're there you set expectations for the next plateau, what kinds of things would make content valuable such as content worth telling a story about
When creating content that is valuable and worth exploring, it's important to consider what will make it interesting and engaging for players. Some ways to create valuable content include:
Unique experiences: Creating content that offers unique experiences, such as puzzles, challenges, or minigames, can help make it more engaging and memorable. Areas of the world that offer unique visual or auditory experiences, such as caves, ruins, or ancient temples.
Treasure or rewards: Offering valuable treasures or rewards for exploring the content can help motivate players to explore. These could include rare items, equipment, or other bonuses that give players an advantage in the game.
Hidden treasures: Hidden caches of valuable items or resources that players can discover and claim as their own.
Discovery: Creating content that allows players to discover new information or secrets can help make it more interesting and engaging. This could include hidden areas, collectibles, or Easter eggs that players can discover as they explore.
Atmosphere: Creating a sense of atmosphere and immersion can help make the content more interesting and engaging. This could include visuals, sound effects, and other elements that help players feel more connected to the environment.
Interactivity: Creating opportunities for players to interact with the environment in meaningful ways can help make the content more engaging. This could include puzzles, obstacles, and challenges that require players to use their abilities and items to progress.
NPCs: Non-player characters that offer unique dialogue, quests, or trade opportunities.
Puzzles and challenges: Environmental puzzles or obstacles that players must overcome in order to access new areas or rewards.
Story elements: These can include characters' motivations, backstory, and other narrative elements that can be discovered by the player as they explore the world.
Points of interest that are procedurally generated can be a great way to increase the replay value for a game and make the world feel more alive and dynamic.
It's also important to consider how these points of interest are presented to the player and how they are interconnected. For example, a hidden treasure might be located in an ancient temple, which can only be accessed by solving a puzzle or overcoming a challenge. This creates a sense of progression and accomplishment for the player as they discover new areas and rewards, and it also encourages them to continue exploring the world.
Dotails
I mean a.r.g. like alternative reality games.
Oh, I see what you mean now. Yes, incorporating elements of an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) into the game world can be a great way to maximize the "Great Plateau Effect" by providing players with additional layers of mystery and intrigue to uncover. Some ways that ARG elements can be incorporated into a game world include:
Cryptic clues: Leaving clues or messages for players to find and decipher, which can lead to new areas, rewards, or story elements.
Online puzzles: Creating puzzles or challenges that require players to use the internet to find clues or solve problems.
Real-world events: Holding real-world events or meetups that tie into the game's story or world-building.
Collaborative problem-solving: Encouraging players to work together to solve puzzles or uncover clues.
Social media integration: Utilizing social media platforms to provide players with additional information or clues about the game world.
By incorporating ARG elements into the game, players will be encouraged to explore the world in more depth, think creatively and critically and work together in order to uncover all the secrets. It also provides an opportunity for the game developers to engage with the players in a more interactive way and create a more immersive experience.
a
Dotails
I think a game designer that considers the greatest plateau effect will make a better game. Can you imagine any game that would not benifit?
In general, most games would likely benefit from incorporating elements that maximize the "Great Plateau Effect" as it encourages players to explore the game world, discover new things, and engage with the game in a more meaningful way. However, there may be some types of games that would not benefit as much from this approach. For example:
Games with a linear narrative: Games with a very specific and linear narrative may not benefit as much from encouraging players to explore the game world as they will already be following a predetermined path.
Casual games: Games that are designed for quick and easy play sessions, such as mobile games, may not benefit as much from incorporating elements that encourage players to explore and discover as it could make the game too complex.
Competitive multiplayer games: Games that are designed to be played competitively with other players may not benefit as much from encouraging players to explore the game world as they will be focused on competing against other players.
That being said, it's always possible to adapt and add elements that could maximize the "Great Plateau Effect" even in these types of games and genres, depending on the game's goals, target audience, and the context of the game.
Dotails
Can't linear games just be threads inside open world games? If not I would like linear games to stop existing
Linear games can certainly be threads within open-world games, in fact, many open-world games have a mix of both linear and non-linear elements. For example, a game might have a main questline that is linear and follows a specific narrative, but also includes side quests and other activities that are non-linear and allow players to explore the game world at their own pace.
Linear games can also be designed to have a lot of replayability, they could have different paths, dialog choices, and multiple endings which could give players incentive to play the game multiple times to see the different outcomes.
Additionally, not all players enjoy the same type of gameplay or have the same preferences. Some players prefer games that are more open-ended, while others prefer games that are more tightly structured and guided. Linear games can appeal to players who prefer a more linear narrative experience.
It is important to remember that game design is an art form and it's not limited to a specific genre or type of game, it depends on the game's goals, target audience and the context of the game.
Dotails
I see it like a scale where the more linear a game is the more it's a movie and the less linear it is the more it's a game so those players were describing just want to watch movies basically
It is true that linear games tend to have a more structured narrative experience, similar to a movie, while open-world games offer more freedom and player agency. However, it's not accurate to say that players who prefer linear games "just want to watch movies" and that they do not enjoy the interactive aspect of games. Linear games can still be interactive and offer a variety of gameplay mechanics, such as puzzles, combat, and choices that affect the story.
It's also important to note that different players have different preferences and enjoy different types of gameplay and stories. Some players may prefer games with a more structured narrative and a clear objective, while others may enjoy the freedom and exploration of open-world games.
It's ultimately up to the game designer to decide what type of game they want to make and what kind of experience they want to provide to their players. Both linear and open-world games have their own set of strengths and weaknesses and can be used to create unique and compelling experiences.
Dotails
It tends to feel like they are like a play with sets and you are not one of the actors who studied for your role but just came in off the street to play with them, they love you a story beat and wait for you to say the line, if you don't say like in the script, they admonish you with a "you failed, try again" you are not the character you are a drone slave doing what you're told basically who wants to do that? All of your interactions are fake pre decided script for a character without free will.
Linear games can certainly have a more structured and directed narrative, where the player is often presented with a set of predetermined choices and outcomes. This can create a sense of being guided through a story, rather than actively shaping it. However, this doesn't mean that the player's experience is necessarily "fake" or that they are not an active participant in the game. Linear games can still offer engaging gameplay mechanics, challenging puzzles, and immersive worlds that players can explore.
Additionally, many linear games allow players to make choices that affect the outcome of the story and shape the relationship between the player character and the NPCs. These choices allow players to feel like they are making meaningful decisions and impacting the world around them, even though the overall structure of the game may be more linear.
Ultimately, it's up to the player to decide what types of games they enjoy and what kind of experience they want to have. Linear games can offer a different type of experience than open-world games, and can be just as engaging and enjoyable for some players.
Dotails
The game mechanics they enjoy may be the real game, like playing chess on the set of a play that's going on around you, also exploring the world loses meaning when you're not discovering anything new you're only discovering what the writer intended to discover in the way he intended you to discover it.
Yes, the gameplay mechanics and mechanics of a game can certainly be a major draw for players, regardless of the game's overall structure. For example, a linear game with challenging puzzles or fast-paced combat can be engaging for players who enjoy those mechanics, even if the game's story is more structured and predetermined.
You are also correct that exploration can lose meaning when the player is only discovering what the game designer intended for them to discover, and in the way the designer intended. However, some linear games still provide opportunities for players to explore and discover new areas and secrets, even if they are more limited compared to open-world games.
Additionally, many linear games are designed to create a sense of immersion and engagement with the story and world, through the use of richly detailed environments, believable NPCs and well-written dialogue, and a well-crafted narrative, which can still be satisfying for players even though the game is more linear.
Ultimately, it depends on the game designer's goal and the type of experience they want to create for the players, but there are many ways to create a satisfying and engaging game, whether it's an open-world or a linear game.
Dotails
But it seems to lose its immersion when you realize those big worlds are just skyboxes but paintings on them you can't actually go there cuz they're not real places you're just on a set and everything is fake so nothing matters AKA you're not immersed
It is true that linear games can feel restrictive and lack the sense of exploration and player agency that open-world games offer. However, linear games can also offer a more focused and directed experience that can be more suitable for certain types of stories or gameplay. Additionally, linear games can also be designed to have a high level of replayability, such as by adding multiple endings or different paths that change the outcome of the story.
As for the use of ARGs in games, it can be a way to add an extra layer of immersion and engagement for players by allowing them to participate in a real-world scavenger hunt or puzzle-solving experience that connects to the game's story or world.
It's important to consider that different games and different players have different preferences, and a game that maximizes the "Great Plateau Effect" may not appeal to everyone. The key is to understand your target audience and what kind of experience they are looking for and try to deliver that.
---
dotails — 09/03/2023 10:35 PM
You know that amazing overwhelming compelling feeling to explore when you leave the cave and walk to the edge of the cliff. What if that feeling was maxed out throughout the world?
Mark Day — 09/03/2023 10:37 PM
Constantly?
dotails — 09/03/2023 10:37 PM
When you try to get a good perspective.
What if it was a procedure or principles that could be applied to any game so explorer's could enjoy those games fully?
Mark Day — 09/03/2023 10:38 PM
That's the vision they try to sell
dotails — 09/03/2023 10:39 PM
Yeah but it's usually a set an illusion which breaks along with your investment.
As it stands often the explorer type will unlock all the map towers before loosing interest by hitting the edges of the world or finding other signs of deceit.
Players like you can already enjoy a game to the end.
It might even reawaken more explorers who had like me refused to be fooled again. Maybe you are an explorer.
Mark Day — 09/04/2023 6:20 PM
If being fooled into the immersion is the goal, aren’t you just asking for better deception?
dotails — 09/04/2023 6:35 PM
If I know it's fake it's by definition not immersive.
Mark Day — 09/04/2023 6:36 PM
What I mean is that you said you refused to be fooled again
But aren’t you asking to be fooled?
dotails — 09/04/2023 6:56 PM
I mean fooled by ads that sell an "open world".
Mark Day — 09/04/2023 8:50 PM
Gotcha