Emergence & Progression

Jesper Juul distinguishes between games of emergence, where a game is specified as a small number of rules that combine and yield a large number of game variations, and games of progression, where a game presents the player with a series of puzzles or challenges which must be accomplished in a certain order. Discuss whether games of
progression, which often attempt to combine a narrative structure with gameplay, are
unique to computer-based game

I think that games of progression are, more often than not, unique to computer-based game.

The nature of such games is that once the player figures out how to win such games, he is unlikely to want to play is again since the uniqueness of these games diminishes with each run. For instance, I derived great fun solving all the intellectual puzzles in the Usborne Puzzle Adventure Series as a kid, a non computer-based game of progression (book). The detective adventure narrative unfolds with every unlocking of a (kernel) puzzle. Yet, upon finishing the game, I found basically no incentive to re-read the book, save the cool illustrations. Hence, the economic value of such non computer-based games of progression is not very high.

I guess you can also say that games of progression as a computer-based game has more re-playable value, because the restrictions on what computers allow are less. There are added functions and hence possibilities, creating more incentives to re-play. Like when I tried The Neverhood, an award-winning claymation adventure game, I found myself constantly re-playing, ‘cos of the wacky clay animations, the silly clay characters (plus the hilariously stupid things it can do) and the quaint accompanying music by Terry Scott Taylor.

If you look at the history of games of progression, it is not very long. In fact, by Juul, they are “historically newer structure that entered the computer game through the adventure game.” But successful transition of these to non computer-based game takes time. Thus most of which which we can pin-point are actually in the form of computer-based ones.

But games of progression are not always unique to computer-based games though. There’s this reality favorite TV gameshow I caught on Mobile TV where family teams pit against each other through many different stations of mazes, roadblocks etc. There was even a part where members of the same family were fired by water guns from another family as they traversed through a shaky bridge. (Sorry- couldn’t find the name of this show!) Also, The Amazing Race reality TV series is a successful example, although it is not a pure game of progression, as some of the roadblocks involved are more rule-based and strategic.

In conclusion, I will say games of progression are largely yet not wholly unique to computer-based games, at the present. Perhaps in time to come, we will see more popular or successful non computer-based ones.



http://www.usbornebooks.memoriesofus.com/adventure.htm