The Growing Possible Worlds of Game

Asst. Prof. Dr. Yunus Luckinger

Faculty of Communication, Digital Game Design Head of Department

It is no secret that the idea of Worlds is a complex and at the same time a flexible concept in the realm of thought. A key component of these worlds is that they form an autonomous and specific system of representing a particular thought.

Simply trying to think of different outcomes of a situation is done in the realm of a possible world. What if I said this or done that kind of question leads us to imagine these possibilities, simulating a possible world in our minds.

This is a stepping stone for the experience we as humans rely on and want to share. Humans inher- ently want to share their experiences with others and in this pursuit created many tools to do so. Starting with the cave painting, stories, alphabet which laid the foundation for our current day tools we use. One tool that particularly stands out the most is video games.

Video-Games differ in that they can create experi- ences in the image of their creators’ representation or allow for multiple experiences that are driven by the decisions made by the players within this representation.

This does not mean there is no limit on these experi- ences you are still confined in a possible world envisioned by the creator. To give a good example for a game like this would be Rimworld. A strategy game where you control a group of people with different characteristics and build a colony. The possible world of the game is structured on the premise of what if you would crash your spaceship and had to survive. What paths would you take? The Developers of this game envisioned a planet filled with a harsh environ- ment that features familiar features as well as things that are not.

There are chickens, dogs, cats, etc as the familiar animals as animals called Boomalope or Thrumbo. Allowing the player to experience stories and oppor- tunities by facing these struggles in this world. Free from cultural pressure and expected behaviours it allows you to experience culturally unacceptable experiences as well. That said we all have a world view of our own we perceive and interact with everything through our thoughts which in turn create our own possible worlds.

How we shape these worlds affect our experiences and shape our path. Creating a game is more than just an idea and code it’s about the experience.

What would you want people to experience?