The Games
The games listed here are a subset of the Critical Gameplay collection which is an evolving collection of game notions. The games are aesthetically designed to mimic characteristics of the game mechanics within their historical context (indicated by a []). Each is designed to critique a specific gameplay mechanic from that year’s standards. To better understand the games, please visit the exhbition page. To understand the theory behind the games please visit the research section for publications around Critical Gameplay design. Resources about the games: |
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Wait [2005], a game where the player is encouraged to refrain from acting on the world. As the player moves the world disappears, but when the player waits, the world becomes more rich. Players are awarded points when the little things in life reveal themselves (butterflies, animals, flowers, etc). |
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Match [2003], the 8th game made in the Critical Gameplay project, seeks to challenge the game design pattern of matching and categorizing. Players are tasked with matching objects with people, then people with people, and finally people with a single representative object. Each time the player successfully matches, the pair is removed from the screen. However, some items simple don't have matches. |
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Bang! [1998], a game that allows the player to kill other players , but by killing them the player must endure a long interruptive experience which forces the player to review the fictive history of their victim. See instructions for Bang! (visit an exhibition to play ) |
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Healer [1996],Healer is a Top Down "Saver." Instead of shooting players, characters must heal victims of historical massacres. The player can reverse death, by remove bullets from the victims. The soldiers that committed these massacres are still lurking, so the player must work to keep the victims alive. The player can put themselves between the bullet and the target to protect, time, distract, etc. |
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Levity [1994], a game in which the collection mechanic hinders the player. Unlike many games which encourage players to collect items, anything the player collects weighs them down. Levity is a platformer in which player jump and walk speed are decreased as the player collects items. Each level emphasizes a single concept as described in the segue screens – “Do not let the things you collect weigh heavy on you”, “If these things weigh you down, give them away”,” Practice the art of letting go, find lightness in giving “ etc. Players can convert what they have collected to charity, by giving their collected items, but the weight of having collected is never completely removed. The game is designed as an active revolt to collection values, emphasizing anti consumptive use. |
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Big Huggin' is an affection game. The world of human computer interaction is an impersonal one. It is one where touch is mediated through glass and plastic. Where multitouch means hands mediated through sleek materials without texture. Why isn't touch more personal? Why isn't touch more tactile? Big Huggin' is a game designed for use with a custom teddy bear controller. Players complete the game by providing several well-timed hugs to a 30 inch teddy bear. It is an experiment and gesture in alternative interface. Instead of firing toy guns at countless enemies or revving the engines of countless gas guzzling virtual cars, why not give a hug? A hug is simple gesture. It is one of the first physical expression of affections a child learns. It is a gesture for the familial through the romantic. It is a gesture of mutual benefit. Big Huggin' is a ready made game, using found art for both the teddy bear controller and the teddy bear sprite. |
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Black/White [1985], a game in which stereotype is challenged. Instead of being able to identify a threat by appearance, the player must examine the threat by another means, behavior. To survive the game, the player must react to NPCs based on how they move. Two characters that look exactly the same, may act very differently. The games is built with in 2 levels, with two types of characters, animated in two frames with a series of other binary constructs (2 actions, 2 colors, etc). See instructions for Black/White or see screenshots (visit an exhibition to play). |
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Simultaneity [1985], Since much of the virtual world of computer games is based on the physical world and its rules, it seemed necessary to build a game that exploited the potential in solely computer-based play. The game is an action-puzzler, where the player must navigate multiple robots to various exits on the game screen. Each robot is controlled by the same set of arrow keys, so a movement left moves all robots left. The robots being in synch, but any physical contact throws the robot out of synch and damages it. |
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Charity [1978] , a two-player cooperative game. The player must "give" the ball to the other player to continue play. Every time the player receives the ball, the paddle grows. When a player gives the ball, the ball grows, increasing play time. Play ends when either player’s paddle shrinks to nothing. Play charity online . . . |
| Student Games | |
| The following games were created by students interested in Critical Gameplay design: | |
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Dark/White (2010): A game that reminds you to consider what NPC's say, instead of judging them by appearance.
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Mechine (2011): A game about the challenge of game design from the computer's perspective. Help the game become a better game. "Do you know how hard it is to be a game? I do. I am this game"
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Each of the following games was developed under rapid prototyping constraints, by a single developer, designer and artist for the Critical Gameplay exhibition. Each game was developed in a weekend (art, code, and design) and then tweaked over a week. As such the games are developed under a more