Power Fantasy - Revision history

Checker at 10:11, 2 January 2008

2008-01-02T10:11:35Z

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	Power fantasy is the thing we do best in games. We excel at giving players a feeling of power over their surroundings, at letting them feel the satisfaction of starting out weak and becoming invincible<ref>Nicole Lazzaro writes about [http://xeodesign.com/xeodesign_whyweplaygames.pdf this stuff] a lot. She uses the term Fiero in this context.</ref>, until they are the kings of the world, the rulers the universe, they have vanquished evil, saved the girl, and finally gotten to that really high ledge by exploding a rocket at their feet.		Power fantasy is the thing we do best in games. We excel at giving players a feeling of power over their surroundings, at letting them feel the satisfaction of starting out weak and becoming invincible<ref>Nicole Lazzaro writes about [http://xeodesign.com/xeodesign_whyweplaygames.pdf this stuff] a lot. She uses the term Fiero in this context.</ref>, until they are the kings of the world, the rulers the universe, they have vanquished evil, saved the girl, and finally gotten to that really high ledge by exploding a rocket at their feet.

	However, I think power fantasy is pretty cheap, and we need to eschew it and find better, deeper, more meaningful ways to entertain and compel players.		However, I think power fantasy is pretty cheap, and we need to eschew it<ref>Let me be more clear: I think power fantasy is a useful tool as a designer, and I enjoy experiencing it as a player, and I don't think it's going away. However, I think we already do it pretty damned well. We need to work on the other stuff, and some short-term overcorrection would not hurt...less power fantasy for a while, more exploration of other emotional tools. Let's call it ''Affirmative Action for Interactive Emotional Tools''.</ref> and find better, deeper, more meaningful ways to entertain and compel players.

	The New Yorker<ref>I think it was the October, 2003 issue.</ref> had a David Denby review of the film, ''Seabiscuit''. As usual, Denby writes a pretty good review. But one sentence stuck with me:		The New Yorker<ref>I think it was the October, 2003 issue.</ref> had a David Denby review of the film, ''Seabiscuit''. As usual, Denby writes a pretty good review. But one sentence stuck with me:
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	I think he's totally right about pathos, and it's also exactly how I feel about power fantasy in games. Every time we use it, we fail a test of honor and miss a chance to explore new emotional territory.		I think he's totally right about pathos, and it's also exactly how I feel about power fantasy in games. Every time we use it, we fail a test of honor and miss a chance to explore new emotional territory.

	<center>[[Image:powerfantasy.png]]</center>		<center>[[Image:powerfantasy.png\|400px]]</center>

	<references/>		<references/>

Checker at 11:24, 12 June 2007

2007-06-12T11:24:08Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:24, 12 June 2007
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	I think he's totally right about pathos, and it's also exactly how I feel about power fantasy in games. Every time we use it, we fail a test of honor and miss a chance to explore new emotional territory.		I think he's totally right about pathos, and it's also exactly how I feel about power fantasy in games. Every time we use it, we fail a test of honor and miss a chance to explore new emotional territory.

			<center>[[Image:powerfantasy.png]]</center>

	<references/>		<references/>

Checker at 07:02, 2 June 2007

2007-06-02T07:02:20Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:02, 2 June 2007
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	Power fantasy is the thing we do best in games. We excel at giving ~~the player~~ a feeling of power over their surroundings, at letting them feel the satisfaction of starting out weak and becoming invincible<ref>Nicole Lazzaro writes about [http://xeodesign.com/xeodesign_whyweplaygames.pdf this stuff] a lot. She uses the term Fiero in this context.</ref>, until they are the ~~king~~ of the world, the ~~ruler~~ the universe, they have vanquished evil, saved the girl, and finally gotten to that really high ledge by exploding a rocket at their feet.		Power fantasy is the thing we do best in games. We excel at giving players a feeling of power over their surroundings, at letting them feel the satisfaction of starting out weak and becoming invincible<ref>Nicole Lazzaro writes about [http://xeodesign.com/xeodesign_whyweplaygames.pdf this stuff] a lot. She uses the term Fiero in this context.</ref>, until they are the kings of the world, the rulers the universe, they have vanquished evil, saved the girl, and finally gotten to that really high ledge by exploding a rocket at their feet.

	However, I think power fantasy is pretty cheap, and we need to eschew it and find better, deeper, more meaningful ways to entertain and compel players.		However, I think power fantasy is pretty cheap, and we need to eschew it and find better, deeper, more meaningful ways to entertain and compel players.

Checker at 07:01, 2 June 2007

2007-06-02T07:01:40Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:01, 2 June 2007
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	Power fantasy is the thing we do best in games. We excel at giving the player a feeling of power over their surroundings, at letting them feel the satisfaction of starting out weak and becoming ~~powerful~~<ref>Nicole Lazzaro writes about [http://xeodesign.com/xeodesign_whyweplaygames.pdf this stuff] a lot. She uses the term Fiero in this context.</ref>, until they are the king of the world, the ruler the universe, they have vanquished evil, saved the girl, and finally gotten to that really high ledge by exploding a rocket at their feet.		Power fantasy is the thing we do best in games. We excel at giving the player a feeling of power over their surroundings, at letting them feel the satisfaction of starting out weak and becoming invincible<ref>Nicole Lazzaro writes about [http://xeodesign.com/xeodesign_whyweplaygames.pdf this stuff] a lot. She uses the term Fiero in this context.</ref>, until they are the king of the world, the ruler the universe, they have vanquished evil, saved the girl, and finally gotten to that really high ledge by exploding a rocket at their feet.

	However, I think power fantasy is pretty cheap, and we need to eschew it and find better, deeper, more meaningful ways to entertain and compel players.		However, I think power fantasy is pretty cheap, and we need to eschew it and find better, deeper, more meaningful ways to entertain and compel players.

Checker at 10:35, 18 May 2007

2007-05-18T10:35:39Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:35, 18 May 2007
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	</blockquote>		</blockquote>

	I think he's totally right about pathos, and it's also exactly how I feel about power fantasy in games. Every time we use it, we fail a test of honor.		I think he's totally right about pathos, and it's also exactly how I feel about power fantasy in games. Every time we use it, we fail a test of honor and miss a chance to explore new emotional territory.

	<references/>		<references/>

Checker at 10:33, 18 May 2007

2007-05-18T10:33:54Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:33, 18 May 2007
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	[[Category:Design]]		[[Category:Design]]
	[[Category:~~Opinion~~]]		[[Category:Opinions]]

Checker: New page: Power fantasy is the thing we do best in games. We excel at giving the player a feeling of power over their surroundings, at letting them feel the satisfaction of starting out weak and be...

2007-05-18T10:33:39Z

New page: Power fantasy is the thing we do best in games. We excel at giving the player a feeling of power over their surroundings, at letting them feel the satisfaction of starting out weak and be...

New page

Power fantasy is the thing we do best in games. We excel at giving the player a feeling of power over their surroundings, at letting them feel the satisfaction of starting out weak and becoming powerful<ref>Nicole Lazzaro writes about [http://xeodesign.com/xeodesign_whyweplaygames.pdf this stuff] a lot. She uses the term Fiero in this context.</ref>, until they are the king of the world, the ruler the universe, they have vanquished evil, saved the girl, and finally gotten to that really high ledge by exploding a rocket at their feet.

However, I think power fantasy is pretty cheap, and we need to eschew it and find better, deeper, more meaningful ways to entertain and compel players.

The New Yorker<ref>I think it was the October, 2003 issue.</ref> had a David Denby review of the film, ''Seabiscuit''. As usual, Denby writes a pretty good review. But one sentence stuck with me:

<blockquote>
''When a director exploits our hard-wired responses to pathos, he fails, so to speak, a test of honor.''
</blockquote>

I think he's totally right about pathos, and it's also exactly how I feel about power fantasy in games. Every time we use it, we fail a test of honor.

<references/>

[[Category:Design]]
[[Category:Opinion]]