Blog Post 4: Video Game Lab
https://arkicade.itch.io/minimalist-mastery
https://jaredr122.itch.io/horai
https://celia14.itch.io/nothing-to-say
3 of the games I played were "Minimalist Mastery", "Horai", and "Nothing to Say". "Minimalist Mastery" is a puzzle game where the goal is to create abstract art. I found it fun and interesting, but the levels very quickly became trial and error based, and it started to feel like I was hopelessly guessing at the solutions. "Horai" is a beautiful simple game where all you do is change seasons. Each season has different effects, and its relaxing to watch the game as you change the seasons. "Nothing to Say" is a cute little dating sim where your dialogue options are limited by what letters you have available. I found it to be a very creative take on the visual novel style, and it was thoroughly enjoyable.
I find that there is a connection between "Horai" and "Nothing to Say". Mechanically, these games are very different, but also have a striking similarity in that they are both games meant to be replayed with slightly more information each time. Neither of the games have instructions, but after a round of each one, you likely learn something that can be applied to the next run. In "Horai", you might learn how to save your flower from one particular threat, and in "Nothing to Say" you may learn what letters you need to dive into a certain branch of the dialogue tree.
During the lab, it became clear that watching a game and playing a game are very different experiences. Many of the games we played were about figuring something out, like a puzzle, and playing such a game feels like you're discovering something. It feels like you have to figure out exactly how to play and how to understand something. While just watching, its hard to understand what kind of thought process goes into playing the game. Of course, you can try to solve puzzles while watching, but with the delay between having an idea and seeing it enacted, it can become quite unenjoyable to watch a game being played.