I act grumpy at a lot of things: Software, games, movies, books - you name it. You might have even read about me trash talking certain games [0]. Lately, I have been thinking about stories and their relationships with the types of media they are presented in. And I think this, to some extent, covers the difference between experiences that I will continue to remember for years, and e.g. games that I, at most, will rant about. I've been strugging to verbalize these thoughts, so this will be a super schizo rambling. Ironically enough, this exact problem is caused by the thing which I think makes certain experiences unforgettable.

You might get something out of it, but probably not.

A lot of games feel like two distinct experiences: Gameplay & Story. To me, it feels like you often get games where the developers have two seperate ideas which they try to connect to another - after they came up with them. This kind of works sometimes, but often enough, it doesn't work at all.

The most interesting media to me is the type that offers me experiences that I wouldn't have otherwise. Video games for example have interactive experiences that you don't really get in other settings. For example, you get to explore worlds yourself, at your own pace, doing whatever you want to do. In e.g. Portal, you get to figure out interesting interactions and/or consequences of, well, Portals. I'll let you imagine similar arguments for experencies using books and movies.

But this is also where it gets complicated. What kind of experiences can you get "somewhere else"? If you have a story which you want to tell:

• When should you experience it in a book?
• When should you experience it in a movie?
• When should you experience it in a game?

The story of portal augments the gameplay, but there is nothing stopping me from reading the story online, or as a book. There is very little story required to make the gameplay experience work.

When we want to experience horror, what kind of medium is best? What are the tradeoffs? With books, your visualization can be gruesome and add to the experience, regardless of how detailed an author describes the horror. You can make similar arguments for and against movies in that regard. For games, you might get the additional aspect of "being in control", which might help with immersion.

There is this weird, abstract and difficult to verbalize thing. That "something", which is conveyed with an experience. And what I'm currently obsessed with is that "something", which is what games with stories often lack.

Let's go over a few games.

There is The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, where you explore and uncover the mysteries. The act of being in control and uncovering things is unique to games, sure. The story & facts behind a case could also be conveyed using a book or a movie though.

There is the 2D puzzle platformer FEZ, whose main mechanics entirely depend the quirks introduced by the most commonly used 2D representation for traditional platforming games. The story is not too relevant, but and the main mechanic is unique to video games as a whole.

LISA is a 2D RPG game. It's depressing, absurd and funny. You play a character in a world where porn magazines are the currency because there are no women left in the world. During the story progression, your character loses some limbs, which will permanently alter the types of moves you can do during combat. The story and world is a devastating, dystopian and unfair place. So unfair, that at one point of the game, you are forced to play russian roulette using your party members. The amount of characters you permanently lose is up to pure luck. A wonderful example of how story and gameplay augment another. The cruilty of the russian roulette cannot be replicated with other types of media.

Celeste is an amazing 2D platformer game. The story is about Madeline, a character which struggles with anxiety, self-esteem issues and depression, and the struggle to get to the top of the mountain. Interestingly, there are not a lot of abilities that your character "unlocks" during the gameplay. In a very late bonus chapter of the game, you actually get a tutorial for a technique, which is required to beat this chapter, but which was also available to you from the very start. I'm not talking about a secret button press or unlock; it's a combination of actions which you can use to your advantage (and which I totally missed myself up until that point).

These games range from classic video game experiences, to games where the story and gameplay augment another very well. In my opinion, there is another level above that though. I think one of the best games to demonstrate this is The Witness.

In The Witness, the gameplay and the "story aspects" are designed for a specific experience. This is a type of experience that you cannot get in any other medium.

I'm really not that into media analyses of any kind, but this games screams "purpose" to me. The longer I think and read about it, the more I recognize how basically every part of the game is designed to provide this unique experience to the player.

The whole game is about solving line puzzles. It plays on an island separated into several areas.

• There is no music, because it would distract from the experience [1].
• There is no tutorial, because that would lessen the experience.
• The game doesn't treat you like a baby and it also doesn't want to waste your time. Ironically enough, most of the criticism I read about this game stems from implicit conventions have been formed over time for the medium of video games, but which do not really apply to this game.
• The reward of solving line puzzles are more puzzles.
• You don't have to solve most of the areas because that's not what the game is about.
• You are free to leave and switch puzzles at any time.
• The game has this whole second part to it. Realizing that this part exists, and that is was with you at all times is one of the greatest moments I had in a video game. But in order for this experience to fully work, it has to be, and is, completely optional.
• The game is nudging and urging you to get this experience in so many different ways and situations. You are bound to miss, struggle with and dislike some.

It sounds absurd, but I cannot put this experience into words. That is not to say that this experience is intrinsically "good" or "bad". If I had to try, I'd say it's about experiencing these Eureka moments, being perceptive, switching perspectives, questioning the constraints you took as granted and so on.

I don't even like puzzle games that much, but this is the best puzzle game I have ever played. And this "focused purposed" of providing that experience is something I miss so dearly in most other games. That something which cannot be put into words. That something that you can only get using this type of medium.

If I had more time I would also talk about mediocrity, but this wall of text is already longer than I anticipated. Maybe these awesome experiences are to blame for my high standards for things; who knows. But it definitely made me think like no other game.