Sometimes the best way to tackle this is just to sit down and start writing, so while this series on video games may not be as eloquent as time and more thought to sentence structure might permit, it will no longer be put off.
My first real experience with a fairly sophisticated game such as "Silent Hill" was one of hysterical laughter. It shouldn’t have been–it’s a mystery and matter of detecting clues and following them around via an "entity" as are the majority of these adventure games. My clumsy manipulation of the keyboard commands, both mentally in learning and trying to remember them and in their execution was the main reason for jerking my poor "other self" around like a puppet. My other problem was that I am directionally dysfunctional, and unless the sun is shining, I don’t know east from west from north from south from left from right.
But it did add an element of fun to the game that would otherwise have manifested itself as frustration had I not had a small audience of our writers group watching along and "playing" with me. (Might have flung the damn thing across the room had the mood and environment been different, being a flinger of things myself.) But there is fun of a quieter sort once the game progresses, or rather once the user progresses through it. The excitement level increases as little things begin happening–clues such as written notes, a conversation with another character, items that were listed in the manual as important to "take", show up, and the mind starts gearing itself towards remembering what the goal is and what to look for within the virtual environment of the story.
I found myself totally immersed in the story (to be covered in another entry) and anxious to move through the dense fog and woods, past dead vans and pickup trucks, to follow a road into a town where some great secret was waiting to be revealed, questions answered–the usual goal or mission-oriented purpose of "my" journey. The element too of point of view, and user involvement to the point of becoming the character will also be covered later.
Just for the sheer joy of control–and this is what appeals to me most, and why I should never, ever, ever have gotten my little fingers on the keyboard in the first place–and the wonder of what will happen next, as indicated by a fadeout to transition in a new scene, was more that most–but not all–books can provide with the turning of pages. The heart-stopping excitement of having a creature suddenly pop up in your "visual space" and threaten your protagonist would be hard to emulate by words alone (again, it’s been done by Poe and many others) and there’s only the pause button to relate to the closing of the book and if you can manage to think of it in time to save your ass.
The gaming aspect of these stories makes them a combination book, tv program or movie, and board game simultaneously. All in all, a truly fun experience that I totally plan to invest more “research” time into before making any further decisions.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology