What We’re Playing is a twice-a-month series from the Center for Games & Impact Innovation Lab highlighting some of the interesting games we have played, whether work-related or not. Please join in and comment with your takes on the games mentioned, or to share what you’ve recently played that has left an impression on you. Check out our last post on Destiny here.
This week members of our team experimented with music and rhythm, had a hand at keeping up with changing policies and managing immigration documentation, and one of us lead his sons through a journey controlling two brothers… Click on the game image to jump right to its write up, or just scroll down.
Moving to the pulse
Adam Ingram-Goble, Director of Innovations
Pulse is a music and rhythm game available on iPad and Android tablets that I find I just have to keep playing. It is a mechanically simple music game, based on tapping nodes orbiting a central “speaker” as pulses of sound radiate out to the edges of the screen. The combination of music with pacing of pulses and the distribution of orbiting nodes creates an experience that engages my whole body as I play. I find myself grooving in my chair, or getting up and dancing with the rhythm to keep my hands moving to the music…which feels a bit amazing given that I’m playing on an iPad.
Pulse is one of my favorite games to introduce non-gamers to gaming because it simple to learn, and has a well-designed challenge ramp that keeps players engaged. One of the most fascinating aspects to the game is how strongly embodied gameplay is, given it is a tablet game. The musical experience is stronger than I’ve experience with Kinect-based dance games, which is really saying something.
More papers, please
Victoria Janacek, Innovation Lab Intern
When I heard of Papers, Please I assumed I would be playing either as some office worker (do not ask me about that logic) or a as an American police officer forced to stop anyone who was not white. Instead I found myself in the midst of the communist country of Artstotzka who had just ended a war and was intent on creating a border patrol area. And I got picked in their October Labor Lottery. Well lucky me! I would sure love to become the border control for a country due to my name being picked from a jar.
Nevertheless, Papers, Please is a game that should be boring. It should be, but it is not. I am not sure how creator Lucas Pope knew how to make checking passports interesting, but he did so with perfection. As the game progresses, nothing really becomes monotonous. In the first level only passports are required to pass the border checkpoint, however only Artstotzkans can be let in. But then in the second stage foreigners are allowed in provided they have the right information. As each level progresses a new mechanic is added to the mix. If the picture does not match the person you can get their fingerprints. If their documents are forged, you can detain them. In the case of terrorists… well I do not want to spoil too much of it now do I?
Brothers playing Brothers
Lee McIlroy, Researcher Specialist
My two boys and I recently played through Brothers, a unique puzzle game where a single player controls both brothers simultaneously. The story is rich with compelling narrative and beautiful artwork that carries the player through an epic journey.
The game’s narrative positions the two brothers as entirely dependent on each other in order to succeed. As a father, our collaboration on the game offered a meaningful opportunity – a teachable moment if you will – to my boys about the value of family, the importance that brothers have in each other’s life and how the choices they make together impact the world they engage with.
Each of us took turns trying to solve the various problems we encountered in the game. What was powerful was my boys’ ability to take turns, learn in the moment, and listen to each other to problem-solve together, which, as any parent knows well, isn’t always easy for siblings to do. As a father, I noticed my own inclination to step in and offer help too quickly. But, the game afforded me a lesson about the value of patience allowing my children to fail safely. For us, Brothers became a shared family activity rather than simply a game that we played.
What did you play this week? Let us know your thoughts on these games or share your different plays with us in the comments.