Thoughts on mystery plot design

Y’know, I’ve been playing an awful lot of Half-Life 2 lately – a side-effect of purchasing the Orange Box - and it never ceases to drag my curiosity into a back-alley and beat it senseless; that is to say, Valve loves to leave out good chunks of the story, only to tease you with little scraps thrown at you in cryptic dialog and allusions. I know it’s simply a clever way of baiting an audience so that they anticipate and purchase the next installments in the series, but they put so much more love into it than that. Sadistic love. They torture the fans who just want to know who the hell that guy really is. If you’ve played Half-Life, you know who I’m talking about.

I find that I am a huge sucker for games that take place in dystopic times and societies. It makes amorality the norm, challenging the player’s sense of ethics in a world where authority doesn’t much care. Films like Planet of the Apes or BladeRunner always brought about a surrealistic wonder that was intoxicating. Mix-in conspiracy-like mysteries, and you’ve piqued my curiosity up to the level of obsession.

What makes plots and settings like this so compelling, though? The ‘mystery rationale’ formula worked for the X-Files for years, too, without having to rely on unclarified futuristic environments. I suppose it has to do with the human attraction to the unknown and unexplained; stories like these pose questions that are nothing short of maddening to answer, and it’s in our nature to want to try and rationalize everything that doesn’t make sense.

It’s genius, really; who would have thought that confusing and infuriating the mind of a player would endear them so much to a game?

-Mike Mann

Best Games Lists, meet your Master.

I love this about ‘best games of all time’ lists: grandiosity. It makes you wonder what makes a staff member at Gamespot or IGN say, “…Let’s chronicle the five– no, ten– no, fifty! Wait! Wait, wait… Let’s make a list of the one-hundred best games of all time!” – and, in the process, naming off every game ever made. One-hundred? Really?

I know that there are literally thousands of games, but I’d be damned if a single one of those reviewers is able to recall at least one moment of greatness from all their nominees. I submit this unto you; these lists are a group effort and, therefore, a scandalously sly ploy to please a little bit of everybody in their target audience. You’re being hoodwinked, really – especially if the ubiquitous Final Fantasy VII: Circle Jerk of the Fad-Guzzlers makes it anywhere into the top fifty. Fifty! Gah, that’s still too many. The true best games of all time should be numbered in the single digits as the original harbingers of all the recycled elements reaped from their legacies.

That being said, I’m going to embark on a list of my own – The Ten Greatest Games of All Time. I won’t be naming them for their popularity or their initial wow-factors, but for their staying power, overall refinement, and innovation. This list is bound to upset most younger gamers, but unlike those silly sites out for your subscriptions, I’m not in it for the farts and sunshine bestowed by your collective smiles.

I’ll be adding one game to the list weekly, beginning with…