Sharing Games with Non Gamers

[ariskany_evan]

Had a pizza, beer (Stillwater is such a good brewery!!), and video games party with my spouse last night.  Games and video games don't naturally appeal to her, but she's open-minded (and smart and beautiful and hilarious) and willing to try things out.

 

I loaded up a bunch of co-op games on steam and we ended up playing:

 

Spelunky:  She consistently hit me with her whip at every ledge, sending me plummeting.  I thought it was hilarious, but I think she was still getting the hang of the controls.  Speaking of the controls, they're actually a bit complicated for a new person.  Explaining how to pick up an object took a bit of time, as well as getting her to lay a bomb instead of throwing it.  I died at one point and the ghost came, and she made it all the way to the level exit.  The ghost is closing in, and the "RB" prompt shows up on screen.  She's totally flummoxed.  "RB"?  I'm shouting "Right Bumper!!"  We take so much for granted!

 

Her overall impression: "Seems like the kind of game that would appeal to people who grew up with this sort of game."  I also think the disparity of knowledge between the two of us makes the game not as fun.  I'm trying to explain what things instantly kill, etc. that we're not so much playing the game as I am explaining it, which takes away the fun sense of discovery.  But if I don't explain things, then she'll just die constantly while I'm happily making my way through the mines.  I don't know if I'd try playing this again with her.

 

Magicka:  I had never played this one, though I had an understanding of the mechanics.  She was a bit flummoxed by the controls at first, but actually picked them up pretty quickly.  She also immediately intuited the creativity involved in casting different kinds of spells.  I found the tutorial a bit clunky, and wasn't immediately won over, but we had fun!  This is definitely one I'm excited to play again with her.

 

State of Decay:  She has a bit of a survivalist imagination, so I picked this up yesterday for $10 on a steam sale.  I remember Gaynor tweeting about his love for this game, so I sold it as a "Zombie Survivalist Base-Building game that the guy who made Gone Home LOVES."  We both really enjoyed playing.  I found that I approached the game differently with her there.

 

I tend to be less creative when I play alone.  I boot up a game, internalize the systems as quickly as possible, and then start playing like I'm doing a series of chores.  I see through the vehicles of narrative and world-building and ferociously attack the systems.  Playing with my wife, though, I found myself much more relaxed and excited about experimenting and meandering.  SoD dumps a lot of systems on you right away (here's a base, here's a ton of stats about supplies and influence), which I'd normally dutifully unpack and internalize.  Instead I just took note that stuff existed and gracefully moved on to what seemed fun, rather than making sure I was playing the game the best way.  What a revelation!

 

I'm definitely going to more of these date nights with my spouse.  And considering how differently I experienced the games with her there, I'm curious to hear other stories about playing games with non gamers; what works what doesn't, and mostly what surprises you.

[Bjorn]

State of Decay:  She has a bit of a survivalist imagination, so I picked this up yesterday for $10 on a steam sale.  I remember Gaynor tweeting about his love for this game, so I sold it as a "Zombie Survivalist Base-Building game that the guy who made Gone Home LOVES."  We both really enjoyed playing.  I found that I approached the game differently with her there.

 

This doesn't have co-op, right?  So were you just trading off, or one of you watching?

 

Most everyone I know games to some extent, though there are some friends who only game a little bit (like one person who had only ever played Portal and Skyrim).  I find with those people, the best thing to get them to branch out was to find games that they thematically liked, as you did with State of Decay.  I found that it doesn't really matter how complex or simple the controls are if the person buys into wanting to experience more of the world.  We had a couple out for dinner a few weeks ago.  The husband games a fair amount, the wife very little.  Games came up, and I showed her Brutal Legend (she's an old school metal head).  She was enchanted instantly and wanted to borrow it.  Didn't care what the gameplay was, she'd figure it out, as it was basically the perfect game for her and she had no idea such a thing existed.

[ariskany_evan]

This doesn't have co-op, right?  So were you just trading off, or one of you watching?

 

Right, sorry!  State of Decay does not have co-op.  We just passed the controller back and forth.  Non-combat-heavy exploration-based single-player games seem to work well with a partner, as it's not as much about how it feels in the hands compared to what sort of things are happening on screen and the decision-making that comes with that.

 

And totally true about the context of the world the game inhabits.  I think we enthusiasts sometimes play games for the oddest reasons.  I played through Spec Ops: The Line even though so much on the surface was unappealing.  If someone asked me why I was playing it I'd say "Well I find the gameplay loop of shooting people dull.  The level design breaks the fourth wall with cover everywhere.  The narrative feels like something I've been through in other media.  BUT, there's a big discussion around the game on the internet and I want to have an opinion!"  Whereas for the non gamer it seems like there's a much simpler switch of "Yes this appeals to me" or "No this unappealing."  It's super refreshing!

[Ben X]

Limbo works well as a "hand over on death, figure out puzzles together" experience for a non-gamer - very few buttons and mechanics, all of which are slowly introduced, and it's aesthetically and narratively pared right down.

[cyrix]

Two words: Professor Layton.

Everyone loves it. After beating curious village the first time right after it launched I immediately pushed my DS into my (completely VG Illiterate) Mom's hands cause I knew it was special. She beat it in less than a week. I was super happy at first that she was having such a great time, then she asked for more and I had to break her heart. She was so sad.   

And there in lies the only problem with Layton, there is kinda nothing else quite like it. it's (especially curious village) such a perfect mix of charm, and sincerity. Wrapped in such a beautifully simple art, and game play (in terms of the interaction involved). It's a shame really.

 

I've been thinking about trying to get my dad to play some games as of late. He's a sports guy so that seemed an obvious starting point, but I'm really not a fan of simulation sports games (unless you count racing). Thought I would give Blood Bowl (PC) a shot, watched some videos of people playing and such and it seemed like enough of a link to football to catch him while being interestingly different as a game.

That game is fucking impenetrable. The tutorial is almost useless, it actually ends, without even close to explaining enough to set up or run a team, by referring you to the rule book for the tabletop game it's based on. I guess it is a niche title, but come on. Real glad I didn't try to figure that game out with him there, probably would have scared him away forever.

When you are talking about "true" non-gamers I think the biggest obstacle is the controller. I bet if you had started your wife on Spelunky with a USB SNES pad it would have been much less confusing/intimidating for her. Modern controllers are scary, complicated, specialized instruments to a layman. This is a big part of why the Wii found such a huge untapped market, in fact I bet there are some games there that would make good starters. Never owned one though so I can't really speak to it.