What will help in creating a meditative game?
There are so-called meditation games on the market. Their task is to calm and relax. How to create such a game? The authors of Alto’s Adventure, abzÛ and Shape of the World answer.
ABZÛApp2Top offers a short version of the interview, which is the Gamesindustry portal.
biz took it from the developers.
They tell me:
- Ryan Cash — creator of Alto’s Adventure, founder and Creative Director of Snowman;
- Matt Nava — Developer of abzÛ, Creative Director of Giant Squid;
- Stu Maxwell is the lead developer of Shape of the World.
All of the above games help to relax. Each of them is based on a type of sport or physical activity: for Alto’s Adventure — snowboarding, for ABZÛ — diving, and for Shape of the World — walking. Another similarity: they are all based on the life experience of the developers themselves.
When you scuba dive, you leave your normal life behind. You become weightless. You swim calmly, you are surrounded by a beautiful underwater world. Focus on your breathing and the greatness of the ocean will fill you. We wanted abzÛ to reflect exactly this kind of diving experience, and not just imitate scuba diving techniques.
developer abzÛ
ABZÛ
According to Nava, in order to make the game meditative, the developer must first learn to relax himself at his favorite thing.
He will inevitably think about how to convey his feelings and experience to the players, and this will help him develop a suitable gameplay mechanics.
However, if the developers of abzÛ originally planned to make their project meditative, then in the case of Alto’s Adventure everything is different. The so-called “Zen” mode was added at the request of players after the release.
Thousands of people said they had serious anxiety and even depression or panic attacks, but the game helped them cope with it.
developer of Alto's Adventure
In the “Zen” mode of Alto’s Adventure, there are no elements inherent in action games: timers, points, achievements, collectibles. You can’t die in it either. All these aspects can disrupt the feeling of a single flow that should accompany the player in a meditative game.
Alto’s Adventure
Nevertheless, according to Nava and Maxwell, the very idea of relaxation in the game is relatively new and unusual for the industry.
Gamers expect that the world around them will explode, collapse and be in constant motion. And when they are offered a game in which they can just relax (walk around, stop anywhere, consider the surroundings, reflect), they may simply not understand why it is necessary.
For example, Maxwell wanted to impress the players by placing them at the beginning of Shape of the World in a gray void, which would then abruptly turn into an impressive colored location. But for this, the players had to go forward. Without a hint, they did not understand what the game wanted from them, and this caused them anxiety instead of reassurance.
In addition, sometimes the player may decide that meditation is needed to solve some puzzle or advance on a quest. But this does not happen, and he is lost. Because of this, immersion is disrupted.
Some people still say: if I can't figure out what to do, then it's not really zen.
lead developer of Shape of the World
Shape of the World
That’s why it’s important to immediately label the game as meditative.
And if there is a transition between action mode and Zen mode in it, then this transition should be presented as clearly as possible. It is necessary to make it clear to the players that in the meditative mode, you can not chase the goal, but just relax.
This is also true for the developers themselves. Cash advises you to listen to your feelings and understand your attitude to the game.
I've been doing Alto's Adventure for three years and never once did I feel like the game was stuck in my head, like an annoying song. Of course, there are always stages during development when it is difficult to relax, because there is no music in the game, or its artistic aspects are far from complete. But does the game create a sense of relaxation for you, the developer? If you are making a game and don't feel relaxed, ask yourself: will someone else be able to relax under it?.
developer of Alto's Adventure
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