Again, they didn't design the internet to convey it's message through the way you navigate and you're not meant to get anything particular out of the process of you navigating. There's nothing different between that and the scrolling example before. Now if how you were meant to traverse the internet were important to some theme or message and someone had designed a particular journey to be experienced, then that's in the case of soemthing like an ARG, which is a recognised form of game.DoPo said:In that case, I hope you have fun playing internet, for it is making sure you navigate the websites in some specific way.
And, just for the sake of it, let's say you went to a gallery. They give you a magnifying glass and lead you through a door - at first you see a painting, walking through the door you see it's a panorama. The layout forces you to walk around and the small details require a magnifying glass to see. Essentially, something like this comic but IRL. Would that also be considered a game? You are exploring a 2D landscape.
Wait, have you been to a website? I believe you have, after all you post here. They are built to allow exploring but also restrict and guide it. All of them. They are there to present the message in a specific way as well as just give you access to it. Examine the top menu. Look at the breadcrumbs under it. Hover over your avatar in the top right. Look at the bottom menu. Do you think they are laid out totally at random? Layout, buttons, links, colours - they are all meaningful. Even fonts, although not as much. It is all designed from the beginning to convey specific information in a specific way. And I assure you, most websites you visit do the same.BrotherRool said:Again, they didn't design the internet to convey it's message through the way you navigate and you're not meant to get anything particular out of the process of you navigating. There's nothing different between that and the scrolling example before. Now if how you were meant to traverse the internet were important to some theme or message and someone had designed a particular journey to be experienced, then that's in the case of soemthing like an ARG, which is a recognised form of game.
That is a bit harder. It will definitely be in the same boat as Dear Esther. But that's when "game" is starting to get muddy. For the record, I do consider Dear Esther to be part of the "video games" family, so yes.BrotherRool said:If there were an avatar though, a character in the centre of the screen who moved with it, and rather than clicking and dragging you moved around with the WASD keys, would you consider that a game?
Good point about the restrictions and guidelines. But what I meant is that the process of exploring conveys a message which is why you do it. So with the XKCD comic he designed it that by navigating the image, you experience it in a way which suggests distance travelled and size, but when you explore the Escapist, although as you rightly pointed out, it's been carefully designed, you're not meant to feel like your video watching experience has been particularly enhanced by the manner you got to click to it. If you've had to find hidden buttons scattered across pages, then the experience of navigating is part of the entertainment, it's a finding puzzle, but if we're just using the drop down menus, their design is to get you as quickly as possible to what you want, rather than give you a meaningful experience from clicking menusDoPo said:Wait, have you been to a website? I believe you have, after all you post here. They are built to allow exploring but also restrict and guide it. All of them. They are there to present the message in a specific way as well as just give you access to it. Examine the top menu. Look at the breadcrumbs under it. Hover over your avatar in the top right. Look at the bottom menu. Do you think they are laid out totally at random? Layout, buttons, links, colours - they are all meaningful. Even fonts, although not as much. It is all designed from the beginning to convey specific information in a specific way. And I assure you, most websites you visit do the same.BrotherRool said:Again, they didn't design the internet to convey it's message through the way you navigate and you're not meant to get anything particular out of the process of you navigating. There's nothing different between that and the scrolling example before. Now if how you were meant to traverse the internet were important to some theme or message and someone had designed a particular journey to be experienced, then that's in the case of soemthing like an ARG, which is a recognised form of game.
That is a bit harder. It will definitely be in the same boat as Dear Esther. But that's when "game" is starting to get muddy. For the record, I do consider Dear Esther to be part of the "video games" family, so yes.[/quote]BrotherRool said:If there were an avatar though, a character in the centre of the screen who moved with it, and rather than clicking and dragging you moved around with the WASD keys, would you consider that a game?
Same.Tippy said:Wish there was a link to the full image, I would've been a lot more impressed.