Flower - Game Analysis
Studio: ThatGameCompany Genre: Adventure/Art Game Platform: iOS, PS3, PS Vita, PS4 Year of Release: 2009
Flower is the second game from ThatGameCompany and provides players with an interesting and different take on storytelling within video games. Rather than controlling a player, or a character within a story you play as the wind blowing flower petals around the world/levels. Primarily, the biggest focus of the game was to invoke emotions within the player. Taking conventional gameplay and game design up to this point and only using what could benefit their emotional storytelling.
(Spoiler Warning)
Core Mechanics:
Movement - The movement in this game is using the wind to control the horizontal and vertical movement of flower petals.
Obstacles - Moving around and dodging obstacles so that the flower petals don’t get damaged and/or can continue through the end of the level.
Flowers - In what could be described as pollinating/enlightening other flowers and ‘dead’ nature surrounding them. Moving close to other flowers makes them bloom, causing a chime complementary to the BGM and when a group of flowers are in bloom an entire area will burst with life and mark itself as complete to the player so they can move to the next ‘dead’ area.
Music - The music is not only pleasing to the player but is directly tied to the gameplay. It changes as the player hits different sections of the level. It tells the story, heightening the desired emotion and making gameplay slow down or speed up. Provides meaning to the movement mechanic. It is pleasing to bring to life all the nature not just visually but audibly as well.
MDA:
Movement - Flowers: Moving the wind towards the other flowers throughout the level is the Core Mechanic and Main Loop of the game. It is what makes Flower what it is. Controlling the wind with the accelerometer feels odd to someone who rarely uses motion controls but it didn’t feel at odds with the gameplay and after a few levels getting used to it, it was fun. Each time you hit one of the flowers it is pleasing to the player. This mechanic is peaceful and rewarding.
Movement - Obstacles: Navigating through the level, dodging the easier obstacles at the start when the player is getting used to the controls and the more difficult ones later in the game that will hurt the player makes up the challenge of the game. You don’t have to hit all the flowers through the game, but get hurt by the obstacles and you’ll feel it. The player’s desire to get through without getting hit and then accomplishment of such is where the main section of the reward comes from.
Movement - Music: As you move through the level, the music directly links into your movement. It makes you feel calm and peaceful. You are the wind, gathering petals, bringing life as you move through the level but those moments where you’re moving incredibly fast and the music reflects that; this is where the juice of the game lies. You feel almost empowered.
Flowers - Music: Bringing life to each of the flowers is aesthetically pleasing, they come into bloom and if they’re the last one then the camera zooms out and the whole area comes to life. But what makes them most rewarding is the little chimes you get as you move past each one. Get a succession of them the way it’s designed and it creates a harmony to the BGM. This feels good. It’s reward to the player is primarily through the music and sound. They feel like they’ve just accomplished something and it feels good. A massive sense of positivity.
Game Loops:
Session Loop: A session would typically be a single level. However the game itself is usually finished in 2-2.5 hours.
Innovation and Narrative Design:
Flower takes everything conventional about games and storytelling and throws it out the window. The mechanics are something not often explored, moving through accelerometer and the player is the Wind not the Petals. There is no pinpoint character to grab onto and say; “It’s their story”. There’s a story in there with a beginning, a middle, and an end but it’s not told through conventional storytelling methods. There’s no dialogue, but there’s character conflict and story progression.
Flower’s approach to Narrative Design is it’s most innovative and influential aspect.
Level Design:
The levels are designed in such a way that the player can always see where they have to go, they can see the paths designed for them to take but they don’t have to. They can go whichever way they want. There are boundaries to the levels to stop them going outside the designated playspace. But there are no limits on how they play the open sections of the game. Some parts of the levels are there to tunnel the player in and move them to the next section but even then, the verticality in the game is intense. It’s filled to the brim with illusion of player choice, and quite often, the player is moving so fast through these sections that they won’t pick up on it unless they’re looking specifically for it.
What Have I Learnt?
Not all games have to follow a 3-Act structure to tell a story. Not all games need violence and fighting. Not all games need to have online multiplayer. Some games thrive in those areas but games like Flower (and all of ThatGameCompany’s games for that matter) explore what could be different about games. How can they still be a game and look/feel/play like no other game. Flower could, at it’s core, be called a “Wind Simulator” but then you factor in the narrative through that mechanic, the meaning and the underlying tone of the game and it’s definitely an adventure game just not like we’ve seen before.
