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All the Small Things

© Dan Caines

Due to an illness (ear. Don’t worry, Mum, I’m fine now) I have been confined to the house recently and playing games in a more concentrated way than almost ever before and have come to the conclusion that it is, to quote Blink 182, “all the small things” which make a game. The main premise can be deeply flawed and this will, of course, kill a game stone dead in the long run but when you really play a game in the first days and weeks after you have bought it this will not matter if there are brilliant details within. Even in a great game you will not remember the beautiful level four or the great lighting schemes but you will recall those cool tiny touches: for example, I have just been replaying Unreal Tournament. Amazing game, with quite possibly the best single level ever (Morpheus: if you haven’t played it, go and do so now. Yes, now.... Good) but the thing which I come back to most is the implementation of the sniper rifle. A tiny part of the game in reality but there is just something about it. It has the all-important “wow factor”.

In contrast think of a really poor or disappointing game; for me at least these are all lacking that single moment of pure, unadulterated “wow”. Take Tomb Raider 3: while this was a game that was competent in many areas it just lacked any single spark that truly excited me and got those juices flowing. In many ways it is like the hook in a catchy song: you are frequently willing to listen to two and half minutes of nothing just to hear the immense guitar solo or the intriguing vocal kick in. While some games (Black and White, Civilization) have so many that they merge into one seamless wave of delight – and these are the games which will go on to be known as truly great – all good or very good games will have one or two to hold the whole experience together and we are willing to forgive much just to get to these gems. And the thing is, developers really have no clue where the spark (or, worse, lack of it) in their game is. They know that personally they may like the bit at the end of level eight where the horned demon jumps out of the closet but they simply don’t know where and indeed if others will find their moment of joy. And that’s the thing: it is all individual. The phrase “something in it for everyone” is seldom used in game reviews for precisely this reason: witness the hoards of people who adore Quake but hate fishing simulators and vice-versa: some see in one what others cannot....

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