Exerimental Games Day One Speel

1.) I think when it comes to playing games, my big thing is probably the feeling of genuinely having fun. That sort of nebulous concept for everyone is different, but for me, it usually comes in the form of some kind of whimsy or fantastical elements inherent in the game. Dumping my psyche purely into the gameplay mechanics and story, as I escape from the harsh drudgery of real life. Fun is that liminal moment when my body and mind are vacated entirely into the heightened reality of the experience that I am currently having.

2.) In terms of games I wish existed, the big thing would probably be more TTRPG adaptations. I'm a huge fan of the World of Darkness gamelines, for example, so something like Orpheus or Changeling: The Dreaming would be a lot of fun. I think there's a lot of room for nWoD adaptations as well, but that's probably something that's less likely to occur. Other major TTRPG franchises that don't get enough love might be some more Shadowrun games, or something like Delta Green, Call of Cthulhu, etc.

3.) The weirdest game I've ever played was probably Disco Elysium. It's also one of my favorites, because playing it is like a psychoactive experience when it comes to the baffling nature of it. Your skills and stats are discrete units of sentience that are talking to you, and are not infallible either. So you have moments where your presumptions can be wrong, whether slightly or wildly so. It remains one of my best gaming experiences, when Volition stops the main character and tells you during one conversation with a certain character that the little bleeps and boops you've been trusting the entire game are compromised by this one person. So you have to use your best choices without listening to the voices in your head, like some kind of freak.

4.) Experimental to me is something that is pushing boundaries in truly new and innovative ways for the game industry. That doesn't mean it has to be good, mind you, but it does mean that the experimental product needs to do something that hasn't been done before. Or expanding on an existing game idea. The successive wave of friendslop games, everything that built off Vampire Survivors like Megabonk, each of them trying to do new things in their own ways.

5.) A game's components have to be an interactive experience in some way, though beyond that I think the actual content can vary wildly. Non-standard win/loss states aren't always standard, nor is linear progression, a cohesive plot, or even the most concrete mechanics. The only thing that I genuinely believe needs to be there for it to qualify, though, is interactivity.