@bgalex.bsky.social
Game developer, Dante enthusiast, & God's most mediocre renaissance man.
The fiction informs the states, helps us decide which ones we pursue. It's what separates the "game over" screen from the "you win" screen. It creates the emotional response that keeps us playing. And I think it often goes unspoken for or merely assumed.
January 5, 2026 at 6:51 AM
The fiction informs the states, helps us decide which ones we pursue. It's what separates the "game over" screen from the "you win" screen. It creates the emotional response that keeps us playing. And I think it often goes unspoken for or merely assumed.
The fiction may simply be a goal/value system (i.e. you want to maximize points, that is good/virtuous).
It might be a way of dressing up game actions (i.e. you are not merely moving your mouse and clicking on things, but aiming a gun to kill enemies).
It might be an entire world and story.
It might be a way of dressing up game actions (i.e. you are not merely moving your mouse and clicking on things, but aiming a gun to kill enemies).
It might be an entire world and story.
January 5, 2026 at 6:47 AM
The fiction may simply be a goal/value system (i.e. you want to maximize points, that is good/virtuous).
It might be a way of dressing up game actions (i.e. you are not merely moving your mouse and clicking on things, but aiming a gun to kill enemies).
It might be an entire world and story.
It might be a way of dressing up game actions (i.e. you are not merely moving your mouse and clicking on things, but aiming a gun to kill enemies).
It might be an entire world and story.
If I had to expand the original "games are a set of non-linear states" definition, I would say that games are these non-linear states, with a "fiction" attached.
January 5, 2026 at 6:44 AM
If I had to expand the original "games are a set of non-linear states" definition, I would say that games are these non-linear states, with a "fiction" attached.
Perhaps I'm misinterpreting what you mean by it, but I don't think players conceive of games as a series of states. They suspend disbelief and buy into games as a contained reality. The reality is facilitated by mechanics, by the states, but also incorporates other aspects to create something new.
January 5, 2026 at 6:43 AM
Perhaps I'm misinterpreting what you mean by it, but I don't think players conceive of games as a series of states. They suspend disbelief and buy into games as a contained reality. The reality is facilitated by mechanics, by the states, but also incorporates other aspects to create something new.
I think obviously the mechanics, states, goals are obviously important, but I think they almost crowd the room when it comes to discussion. Games are reduced to merely just their "states," which I think is both dry and can leave out the emotional aspects that actually engages players.
January 5, 2026 at 6:37 AM
I think obviously the mechanics, states, goals are obviously important, but I think they almost crowd the room when it comes to discussion. Games are reduced to merely just their "states," which I think is both dry and can leave out the emotional aspects that actually engages players.
I think a lot of games discussion center so much on mechanics, states, goals, progression, completion, engagement, chasing victory. Yet what captures me about games is immersion, imagination, and the sensation of how a game feels, looks, sounds, in dimensions more broad than mere "satisfaction."
January 3, 2026 at 11:43 PM
I think a lot of games discussion center so much on mechanics, states, goals, progression, completion, engagement, chasing victory. Yet what captures me about games is immersion, imagination, and the sensation of how a game feels, looks, sounds, in dimensions more broad than mere "satisfaction."
My relationship with (video) games have changed so much as I have gotten older, more tired, and interested in different things. Lots of games no longer appeal to me. New games appeal to me in ways they never have before. And in some old favorites, I have been taken in by totally different elements.
January 3, 2026 at 11:36 PM
My relationship with (video) games have changed so much as I have gotten older, more tired, and interested in different things. Lots of games no longer appeal to me. New games appeal to me in ways they never have before. And in some old favorites, I have been taken in by totally different elements.
This really resonates with me.
January 3, 2026 at 11:30 PM
This really resonates with me.
That's how it is to develop and refine any theory. Painful, but I don't know any alternatives so far!
January 2, 2026 at 5:39 PM
That's how it is to develop and refine any theory. Painful, but I don't know any alternatives so far!
I know that for myself I love video games, and have little interest in games more broadly. I don't tend to get hung up on these sorts of questions when I think about and develop video games, so it is worth asking if you need to as well.
January 2, 2026 at 1:39 AM
I know that for myself I love video games, and have little interest in games more broadly. I don't tend to get hung up on these sorts of questions when I think about and develop video games, so it is worth asking if you need to as well.
I think video games (or computer games) are a class of "thing" distinct from merely games. They share a name and lots of attributes, but some things are unique to each class. So are you asking this question as somebody interested in critiquing and making games, video games, or both?
January 2, 2026 at 1:38 AM
I think video games (or computer games) are a class of "thing" distinct from merely games. They share a name and lots of attributes, but some things are unique to each class. So are you asking this question as somebody interested in critiquing and making games, video games, or both?
Same energy as "great acting appreciation" is used more often for loud scenes, like character meltdowns and other sorts of screaming, and less often for subtle and silent facial and body acting that communicates volumes.
December 28, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Same energy as "great acting appreciation" is used more often for loud scenes, like character meltdowns and other sorts of screaming, and less often for subtle and silent facial and body acting that communicates volumes.
We can tell you have talent. We want to encourage you!
December 19, 2025 at 6:51 PM
We can tell you have talent. We want to encourage you!
I have to wonder if it's a generational issue — most cameras in third-person games these days are highly manual. Also it's surprising to me that people might try to move the camera in ICO. You don't need to! In my head, that game is fixed camera a la Resident Evil and Silent Hill.
December 8, 2025 at 6:51 PM
I have to wonder if it's a generational issue — most cameras in third-person games these days are highly manual. Also it's surprising to me that people might try to move the camera in ICO. You don't need to! In my head, that game is fixed camera a la Resident Evil and Silent Hill.
I think a lot of the complaints about it are from people fighting it way too hard. If you never touch the right stick, the camera will almost always default to a useful position. But you can still master it and use it with intent. And it will not only feel good, but it will look *great!*
December 8, 2025 at 4:03 PM
I think a lot of the complaints about it are from people fighting it way too hard. If you never touch the right stick, the camera will almost always default to a useful position. But you can still master it and use it with intent. And it will not only feel good, but it will look *great!*
If we think of games as art, what preconceived notions of game design are challenged? What new possibilities are unlocked if we begin designing games first as means of artistic expression, as opposed to as corporate products or dopamine skinner boxes?
December 5, 2025 at 5:17 PM
If we think of games as art, what preconceived notions of game design are challenged? What new possibilities are unlocked if we begin designing games first as means of artistic expression, as opposed to as corporate products or dopamine skinner boxes?
I don't like dwelling on the question now. For one, I think a lot of it is very pedantic. It's an argument over defintions of words. But furthermore, it seems safe to say these days that games have, at the very least, the *potential* to be art. That shifts the priority to the follow-up questions.
December 5, 2025 at 5:16 PM
I don't like dwelling on the question now. For one, I think a lot of it is very pedantic. It's an argument over defintions of words. But furthermore, it seems safe to say these days that games have, at the very least, the *potential* to be art. That shifts the priority to the follow-up questions.
Yeah I can definitely relate. For almost years, I was utterly obsessed with that infamous pair of Roger Ebert blog posts. I knew intuitively it was wrong, but it took me a while to be able to articulate a rebuttal to some of his better arguments.
December 5, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Yeah I can definitely relate. For almost years, I was utterly obsessed with that infamous pair of Roger Ebert blog posts. I knew intuitively it was wrong, but it took me a while to be able to articulate a rebuttal to some of his better arguments.
"Are games art?" is one of the dumbest persistent discourses in gaming. Many people want games to have the cultural cache of Art™, but have zero interest in actually treating games as art. What is revealing is that few of those people have any serious interest in other art forms.
December 3, 2025 at 5:32 AM
"Are games art?" is one of the dumbest persistent discourses in gaming. Many people want games to have the cultural cache of Art™, but have zero interest in actually treating games as art. What is revealing is that few of those people have any serious interest in other art forms.
I think you'd just need like 6 different balloons but that sounds rad.
November 28, 2025 at 10:28 PM
I think you'd just need like 6 different balloons but that sounds rad.
I have no clue what "Swaggy Jason" is and I am wise enough to know that I should treasure that ignorance.
November 26, 2025 at 8:11 PM
I have no clue what "Swaggy Jason" is and I am wise enough to know that I should treasure that ignorance.