for a magazine article on video game design i'm writing about, i've been rethinking principles ever since i started making games proper. titles like *He Fucked the Girl Out of Me* changed how i see video games forever.
and i think if i ever had to write a Manifesto, it would be about making "sick games". there aren't that many games about people who are ill or sick. instead, we get games that hide the pain and trauma for happy times.
i once saw a defender of the Wholesome Game movements calling critics and detractors "sick people" and it really stuck with me since. because yeah, i am a sick person ever since i learned i was a minority in a racist country and contracted covid.
i enjoy games with friction because it reminded me of how uncertain life was. to use a crude analogy, a healthy person can suddenly be ill the same way i get ambushed in *Nioh 1*. overcoming this stress is rewarding to me.
there are too many games about healthy people who lead happy lives and this is, i think, the main issue of movements like cottagecore and wholesome games.
end of the day: no one cares about some leftist tripe about capitalism and colonialism. however, it is this avoidance of friction that means the engagement has to be vapid. ZUN (*Touhou*) joked about how gacha gameplay fazed him because all you do is roll to win. there's no skill involved.
this sucks and it isn't my life anyway.
i find myself drawn to abrasive games because i find life stressful and there's catharsis in the power fantasy on overcoming stress or at least being able to meet it eye-to-eye.
what i find evocative about *He Fucked the Girl Out of Me* is that it presents an experience that not many people will ever face. however, this interaction is enough to make you understand the life of mccue without going into pity.
that's rewarding for everyone and will never be accepted in current trends.
so i think, in opposition to trends like the wholesome games movement, people should be making games about how we're sick and tired. that's where all the interesting game design is at:
what makes particular encounters stressful? what controls make it difficult to master? how do we show how we are sick and ill in video games?
i swear, making that sydney game rewired my brain or something. i just liked how personal and particular that experience was: what a SICK game that was.
@Domin0e sure, but consider that soulslike often requires mid-tier PCs (and games like *Nioh 1* runs like shit the more you play) and precision platformers with the exception of *Celeste* aren't popular and easy to find.
and i don't necessarily think people should be making games like them anyway. instead, it's more about exploring mechanics like resource management and pitting players into awkward situations. it's why i brought up *He Fucked the Girl Out of Me*: it does that in narrative.
Kastel
Domin0e