Game Design: On Realism vs Fun, and Sim vs Play
I loved the *idea* of The Sims.
In theory. On paper.
And admired the work of Will Wright and his Maxis team on it. And its technical implementation. High quality work and a worthy addition to our world. Another toy in our toybox. Another tool in our collective toolbox, perhaps. A tool to let us explore what we want as humans (however insane or impractical, sometimes) -- versus what we Need, deep down (also, however insane or hard, or messy.)
But... the actual *playing* of it? That *frustrated* me to death when it didn't *bore* me to tears. Kinda like my take on Dwarf Fortress! :-) heh. Another *masterpiece* game I've long had a love/hate relationship with, as a player.
Why?
Good question!
So I'll try to answer that here.
Wearing the Game Designer's hat I've always thought the best way to improve on any sim-which-is-too-sim or grinding/crafting/farming game is to give players *more* ways to take *direct* action within the world, via their Avatar. Via the so-called PC, or player character. More freedom of action.
Freedom to do what, exactly? I'll give the easiest examples that come to mind.
First (and perhaps foremost) is to be able to just "Shoot Stuff & Blow Things Up!" (TM).
Like how Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is a great pure-driving sim. But you can ALSO just Make Mischief (TM) at will. Hijack cars! Whack NPCs at random, with a bat! Tap the back bumper of a police car in front of you at a stop light (something NO good or *sane* citizen/soul would ever consider doing in their real lives!) Or perhaps... picking up A Lady of The Evening, and going for A Ride, to share some time having Intimate Talk (TM)?
Just talk, course.
I have made soooo much mischief in GTA. Oh and thats in addition to just driving around at high speeds. And all the while was in Utter Bliss, the entire time. In my opinion, its a sign of a game designer who wants to provide the *best* time for their players. Let them have the *most* fun. Like the ideal party host.
Anyway, its what I strive to do with my own Slartboz game design. We'll see...
Slartboz on GitHub: