The Fourth Disc

Thinking too much about games.

[thefourthdisc]

Evil and Allegory

How we represent evil in our allegories, shows us more than right and wrong. #LegendofZelda #gametheory #LoZ

As a concept, evil is a debated term to use among philosophers.  Those who are skeptical of the term feel as though it is too often not explanatory enough in its meaning so it can become harmful.  Evil has a negative connotation that suggests that there is a deficiency in the person who exhibits it and suggests that the moral deficiency will never change.  This can be harmful because it can be…

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[thefourthdisc]

New Game+ and Circular Storytelling

Circular stories traditionally put the audience right back at the beginning of a story when they reach the end in order to impart some new meaning on what they first came into contact with story-wise.  They show us a character’s growth or how our own perceptions of them have changed.  They can show this for a setting or scenario as well or can reinforce a thematic idea.  However, most mediums do…

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[thefourthdisc]

Transcending the Theatre of Situations

Games Transcend Sartre's Theatre of Situations #gametheory #philosophy

The most engaging and influential works of art focus on an undeniably universal human characteristic: freedom.  Freedom, as seen by Existentialists such as Jean-Paul Sartre, is our ability to choose how we act in the situations that we find ourselves in.  No matter our situation, we have the ability to choose how we respond to it.  Although our actions could worsen our situations, it is important…

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[thefourthdisc]

Rewarding Good Behavior - Ethical Egotism in Games

How do games condition us to behave? "Rewarding Good Behavior - Ethical Egotism in Games." #gametheory #philosophy

Games often reward us for abiding by their own system of rules.  By following along with what the games says is good or right, we receive rewards either through level, experience, arbitrary points, or some difference in story.  In fact, sometimes we find ourselves upset or cheated when the game doesn’t reward us for following along with it.  When we take the time to complete a specific mission…

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[thefourthdisc]

The Batter - Defining Dystopian Heroes

Games can tell dystopian stories better than any other medium. The indie RPG, Off is the perfect example of that. #gamedesign #indiegame

Dystopias are worlds in fiction that show a society worse off than where we currently are in real life.  They are often characterized by themes of oppression, loss of individuality, and economic abuse.  The society is either blatantly destructive to its citizens or is more subtle in its control.  Either way, we often see that the majority of citizens are content with the situation, some believing…

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[thefourthdisc]

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[thefourthdisc]

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[thefourthdisc]

Wanderlust in Games

Wanderlust in Games | Why do players adventure? #gamedev #gametheory

Survival games don’t emphasize reality as much as they gamify exploration.  When a game forces its players to eat, drink, sleep and perform basic human necessities in order to progress it would seem that the game is being realistic. Realism can be an essential trait in art but not at the expense of the overall theme of the work.  Games can lose their themes easily to realism because of their…

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[thefourthdisc]

"I Can't Hold Them with my Hands!" - Digital Cards in Hearthstone

“I Can’t Hold Them with my Hands!” – Digital Cards in Hearthstone

    When I first got into Hearthstone, one of my concerns was Blizzard getting people to pay for cards that didn’t actually exist.  How could they charge people for items that cost them essentially nothing to make?  I had this idea that digital card games were inherently inferior to analog card games.  Then Hearthstone came out on Android and I could both scratch my trading card game itch and…

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[thefourthdisc]

Creating Myths with Team Ico

Creating Myths with Team Ico

The myth has been a powerful tool used by civilizations in human history.  Traditional myths were used to demonstrate the rules of the society that made them.  What does it mean to be an adult? What is your place in the world? What even is the world?  They often assumed the role of science and were just as authoritative in what they deemed facts.  They give meaning to our surroundings.  Whether…

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[thefourthdisc]

Emergent AI as an Artform

Emergent AI as an Artform

Character is an important part of narrative artwork.  This is especially true in character-driven works that rely on the audience learning who a character is rather than engaging in some over-arching plot.  We don’t often see character-driven works in games though since there is a player to account for.  In books and films, we can have a main character who acts as an observer more than a…

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[thefourthdisc]

Programmer Art: Chance in Music and Games

Programmer Art: Chance in Music and Games

“Programmer art”.  Somehow the phrase has developed a negative connotation in the world of game development.  It’s easy to see how.  A true artist delves wholeheartedly into their work and leaves nothing to chance and they definitely wouldn’t create a system that does the work for them.  

Except, of course, when it happens in other mediums.  Aleatoric music became prominent in music composition…

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[thefourthdisc]

The Dragonborn is a Special Little Snowflake

The Dragonborn is a Special Little Snowflake

Players give a video game its purpose.  Unlike in some other mediums, a video game can not standalone without its audience. Players are the free agents of the game world, the only truly autonomous entities.  Everything else is just an interactive object, the player is the only form of chaos or indeterminacy within the game’s world.  As we play a game we transform the world and add our own sense…

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[thefourthdisc]

The Players Make the Game

  Video games rely on their audience more than most other artistic mediums.  A painting can hang on a wall and be at its more prime state, a concert can be played to an empty hall, and a film can be run in an empty theater.  If no one sees these works (as sad as that may be) all of them are still in their ideal state.  Video games rely on active audience participation to work.  Without the…

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[thefourthdisc]

Abstract Ritual and the Avant-Garde

Abstract Ritual and the Avant-Garde

The first time that I played Abstract Ritual by Strangethink it did not feel that revolutionary to me.  If anything, it felt derivative.  Its bold,contrasting color palette reminded me of ella guro’s most recent glitch artworkand its world was as empty and cynical as many modern text adventure and Twine games that I played recently.  It didn’t seem to be completely devoid of meaning nor was it…

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[thefourthdisc]

Negative Space in Games

Negative Space in Games

In visual arts, it’s the empty space.  In music, it’s the silence.  Not only do we use emptiness to signify the beginning and ending boundaries of artistic works but we also use them to highlight important moments or as a way to show emotional and physical emptiness.  So what functions as negative space in video games?

  There are two ways that video games can use negative space.  The first is…

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[thefourthdisc]

Not Just Raids - Story Structure in MMOs

Not Just Raids – Story Structure in MMOs

There are many ways to tell a story in a game but they all have to stem from a conflict of some sort. Whether that conflict puts the player up against the world, a society, or a single individual (that individual can even be the player itself but that is not always an easy task for a game). Some of these conflict types are better suited for different genres but in a single player setting they are…

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