Comment by gala8y
3 years ago
I hate almost all games for this need to advance, earn levels, die and start over, compete and score. One of very few games I played when I was young was Test Drive 4*, where I would simply drive around and play, switching wipers on and off. I liked sports cars games, but I would often go backwards or wonder off the track, if game permitted. Also.. Neverhood. And creative mode in Minecraft.
*) Test Drive 3
> hate almost all games for this need to advance, earn levels, die and start over, compete and score
One of the only games I've truly enjoyed for a long time is SimCity. I learned this genre is sometimes called "idle games".
> What differentiates idle games from other types of game systems is that they can progress without player input. When players do engage, they tinker with a system, rather than encountering a confrontation that they can win or lose.
> Idle games invites players to participate in the game world, but does not revolve around them. You are, essentially, not a center of the world but a spectator.
On the Design of Idle Games, Katta Spiel et al. https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3311350.3347180 (PDF)
---
Neverhood looks fun! Love the claymation art.
The Neverhood Trailer (1996) - https://youtu.be/OOcWNOxoG6E
> I learned this genre is sometimes called "idle games".
That is very interesting. With "idle games" idea of playing games may be stretched to all different spaces of interacting with the computer/program, touching on learning, relaxation, ideation. Well... food for thought.
> Neverhood looks fun! Love the claymation art.
Neverhood is unique with its aesthetics as it was created with real, huge set made of real clay and cameras recording character walking.
Behind the Scenes - Neverhood and Skullmonkeys [Making of] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrR3jbgocI4
Cool! I enjoyed watching the making of Neverhood. Fascinating how they created a world from literally a ton and a half of clay, then turned it into interactive entertainment. And how Steven Spielberg was involved, bringing together a team of artists, musicians, programmers, crafts people.
Love the physicality/materiality of clay, like one person said, how it has finger prints. Creatures and their environment all made by hand. I have a feeling, as society becomes more digitized and virtualized, people are missing the tactile sensation of touching real things. It might lead to a revival of interest in hand-made crafts, and material objects made of wood, ceramics, wool..
> With "idle games" idea of playing games may be stretched to all different spaces of interacting with the computer/program, touching on learning, relaxation, ideation.
The paper I linked above has made me curious about the concept of "idle games", and related topics like "gamification" of education, work, and life routines.
I realized, Stardew Valley is a famous example of an idle game without competition, winning or losing. I haven't played it, but I imagine it's a pleasant experience.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/413150/Stardew_Valley/
Found another one, World of Goo. https://store.steampowered.com/app/22000/World_of_Goo/
1 reply →
This is one of the allures of Forza Horizon for me. On the surface, it's an MMRPG, with social, collection, crafting, levels, puzzles, competition, et al, all of that can be turned off / ignored as desired.
With those items off, it's a great place to "drive" around, with different climates, seasons, amazing views, etc. Drive a classic convertible along a beachfront road. Explore dirt roads in an SUV during a snow storm.
It's no driving simulator, but it's a pleasant way to get away from the world for a while. If you've got the winter blahs and like driving / scenery, plug your PC or Xbox into the biggest display you have and get away for a while.
Not to mention kick ass tunes. I’m not sure if it’s a long standing collaboration, but Hospital Records use to curate the music
Judging from yt videos, amazing graphics and feel. Thx for suggestion.
I used to do this on Total Drivin’ on PS1. There were all sorts of ledges and off-track locations you could get yourself onto if you drove off track in the right way, sometimes even wall driving. Many, many hours.
For me was Midtown Madness 2, I used to climb the highest buildind in San Francisco with each vehicle and see how many fall it takes to wreck them.
It's zoning out, letting mind loose. Feels a bit like traveling, too.
I checked how Total Drivin' looked. Have a look at http://dos-scholar.blogspot.com/2011/04/test-drive-iii-passi..., if you want to see TD3.
Try out beam.ng and Microsoft flight simulator.
Have you tried Little Inferno?
Now, that is interesting concept. I will. :)
There's games where the goal is this wandering off. Outer Wilds does this quite well I think.
Ultima Online (unofficial servers)
Also a Neverhood fanboy. Respect.