Do games need Point A-B movement?

[Truly-A-Lie]

Every now and again I'll get a story in my head and before writing it down I like to think about what form it would be best in. So as I started planning out a story set entirely in one room I wondered if it would even be possible for a game like this to work.

Take for example the film Phonebooth, a film which I personally found to be a really enjoyable tense thriller (others may disagree). Would a game manage this type of tension if the player was limited to one location? Even when considering usual gaming mechanics, like the ever popular "shoot this guy in the face", it's hard to imagine a game managing to keep a player engaged if they can't go to new places.

What do you think? Would a game with limited movement, or none at all, that is also fun to play, be possible? What genre would it be? Or is moving through an environment an essential factor in keeping a game entertaining?

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Set in one room or a very small area?

Hell yes. That'd be possible. Assuming you have a good cast to back it up.

Hell...50% of the Phoenix Wright games take place in the courtroom, where arguably all of the games' best bits take place. It wouldn't be a stretch by any means to confine an entire AA game in the courtroom.

 

[RollForInitiative]

I'll also point out that people gave Dragon Age 2 all kinds of Hell for taking place in not enough unique locations. If you're going for anything large in scale, odds are that one place won't do. If you're doing Geometry Wars or a puzzler, sure.

 

[Zhukov]

Sure.

It could work for an arena-style action game or a game based on puzzles and dialogue.

 

[Lord Devius]

Every now and again I'll get a story in my head and before writing it down I like to think about what form it would be best in. So as I started planning out a story set entirely in one room I wondered if it would even be possible for a game like this to work.

Take for example the film Phonebooth, a film which I personally found to be a really enjoyable tense thriller (others may disagree). Would a game manage this type of tension if the player was limited to one location? Even when considering usual gaming mechanics, like the ever popular "shoot this guy in the face", it's hard to imagine a game managing to keep a player engaged if they can't go to new places.

What do you think? Would a game with limited movement, or none at all, that is also fun to play, be possible? What genre would it be? Or is moving through an environment an essential factor in keeping a game entertaining?

I don't know if this would qualify, as there is movement, but it's all very confined. 9 hours, 9 persons, 9 doors. Visual novel/puzzle game on the DS, where you wake up, and you're trapped in a ship that starts to sink. You escape from your individual room and meet 8 other people and find out that if you don't find the door marked with a 9 and get out in 9 hours, the ship will sink and you will die. That's the Nonary Game. Zero has a fetish for 9s, I swear.

It's pretty good. Puzzles make sense, and the characters are all related, but it takes multiple playthroughs to find all of this out. Confined enough for you, or are you thinking a very small building or a single room?

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

I guess it might work, but probably not as a popular Mainstream title. I can't see it being one, at least. It sounds more like a cool indie game. Not that being indie is derogatory in anyway. In fact it's becoming quite profitable nowadays.

The big hurdle in game making is that, unlike films and books, it still HAS to be "fun" at the end of the day. So even if you've got a fascinating concept, it won't explode on the net unless it is entertaining. So you would have to keep the player constantly engrossed in the story, as you can't really on locale, gameplay and graphics(unless it's a big ass room).

 

[thrillingsuspense]

http://www.addictinggames.com/crimsonroom.html

This game doesn't have much plot but I used to find it interesting.

As far as film goes, Twelve Angry Men is set in a single room at it was pretty fantastic, and Murder on the Orient Express all takes place within a couple of train cars.

 

[Truly-A-Lie]

I don't know if this would qualify, as there is movement, but it's all very confined. 9 hours, 9 persons, 9 doors. Visual novel/puzzle game on the DS, where you wake up, and you're trapped in a ship that starts to sink. You escape from your individual room and meet 8 other people and find out that if you don't find the door marked with a 9 and get out in 9 hours, the ship will sink and you will die. That's the Nonary Game. Zero has a fetish for 9s, I swear.

It's pretty good. Puzzles make sense, and the characters are all related, but it takes multiple playthroughs to find all of this out. Confined enough for you, or are you thinking a very small building or a single room?

That does sound really interesting, and is pretty close to the kind of thing I meant. The story that inspired this line of thought is about people in what is essentially a prison cell. Pace back and forth inducingly small, and if it was a game it would probably rely on story related dialogue choices to keep anyone involved.

 

[subtlefuge]

I think that one location is more than enough if you can make a compelling enough case for why I should want to stay there. If I'm getting stir crazy in the game, I'll likely just put it down.

 

[Queen Michael]

Tetris is set in one room, and I like it.

 

[funguy2121]

I'd file this under "a good idea on paper," which isn't to say it should be completely ignored. Many films (Limitless, Source Code, even Phone Booth) try too hard to be "high concept" and in doing so limit the narrative, sometimes to the detriment of the end product, and the same is true of games. For a writing/drumming/painting/etc. exercise, intentionally closing off areas of play will probably open up creative doors in other areas, so I would never discourage the idea AS AN EXERCISE, and you may well end up with some great epiphanies which may even end up as innovative ideas in a published/performed/released product. However, I don't think I would easily be convinced to play an entire game that takes place in a single room.

I should, however, mention Castaway. Except for the very beginning and end, Tom Hanks and a converted volleyball were the only castmembers in the film, and I found the entire movie very enjoyable. So, in theory, it can be pulled off.

 

[lemiel14n3]

There's absolutely no reason that this couldn't work. It's limiting is such a way though that this won't be a particularly lengthy game, probably taking place over an hour, maybe less.

The problem I can see with using this particular premise as a game is that by their very nature games tend to encourage and reward exploration. Whereas films can explore the concept apparant that would even find an advantage in an enclosed space.

Take the film Buried Whereas we can derive some entertainment from seeing Ryan Reynolds trapped in a box, someone playing Ryan Reynolds would quickly become bored after smacking the casket a few times.

That's not to say it's impossible, it would simply have to become different from games as we usually experience them. Maybe a series of dialogue trees in effort to convince your captor to release you. Or it would be a largely concept piece like The Graveyard by Tale of Tales.