Defining Inclusion in Game Mechanics

The heart of video game design is in the video game mechanics; it’s what defines what we will be doing, how we will do it, what the fundamental interactions, tools, or commands are and how it will impact or increase gameplay satisfaction for the user. Since the beginning of Fall semester, I've been playing Never Alone with my sister; the short play session that make it easier to pace ourselves, the AI-assisted character interactions, and the ragdoll styling of movement are designed with digital inclusion in mind. Digital inclusion comes from a will to accommodate others, like my sister, even if it takes more work to achieve it. This reflection continues the thought process of inclusiveness in gaming, defining disability awareness, and how those thoughts translate to mechanics for games.

• Play two games from the unit: Never Alone or games from Games for Change..

• Compare and contrast at least three elements of each of the games.

• Reflect on how the games did or did not change the way you think about their subject matter
  

Featured Game(s): Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) Lost Words: Beyond the Page Lost Words: Beyond the Page - G4C

Three things to compare:  Narrative, Mechanics, Gender Narrative Both Never Alone and Lost Words share a narrative storytelling method of moving the story along. In Never Alone, we are guided by the Inuit elder as he shared campfire stories that are passed down through generations; storytelling is a big part of their culture, it’s used as a tool for teaching, a pastime for entertainment, and family bonding. The whole community comes together to share their story with culture insights featured in the gameplay. In contrast, Lost Words only shares it’s story through a single viewpoint, how the little girl conveys her thoughts through her writing and narration, rather than showing multiple members in her community. The Journey in Never Alone focuses on, resilience (never giving up), cultural survival, fostering family and cultural connection and collaborative gameplay. The journey in Lost Words explores emotional well-being, literacy, empathy, and personal reflection through a solo-game play. Mechanics In inclusive gaming there is special attention to how game dynamics can make users have an more inclusive experience, such as Never Alone being mostly a puzzle-based game designed for two players to overcome obstacles together, [1] versus Lost Words (which I determined was not an inclusive game, but it is a socially innovative one) where the mechanics were primarily a solo-play set up with an interesting twist of controlling the girl with the left analog stick while controlling the ‘firefly’ with the right analog stick to issue word-magic commands and overcome obstacles. [2] Both have the same goal, to progress forward, but take very different approaches because their mechanics offer differing functions. And yet, on the Switch it takes two JoyCon controllers in either situation in order to progress forward using tools and maneuvering. As an experiment, my sister and I tested the dynamics of splitting the tasks of Lost Words up like Never Alone: All movement (i.e. walking/running) is led by the (L) analog stick.

The function of opening the book is on the right controller (ZR),

but in order to use Word Magic, we have to use the Firefly/tool

to select the spell and move it around using (ZL), so we are literally

depending on each other to do any tasks, but it gets even better. The Firefly/tools element (R) can select spells, but it’s also the side with

the functions like jumping (B), selecting items (A) and making real

actions in-game. Coordination is absolutely vital or we can’t even

move let alone get through obstacles. In terms of game mechanics

this certainly makes the game more challenging! My sister joined me in this experiment. Then I had her play a couple rounds of Lost Words without the handicap of split controllers; after trying it both ways, my sister said that she enjoyed the split roles more. Though she had a sense of independence when moving alone, she missed the comradery that we shared while splitting control to complete challenges. Personally, I also felt a sense of fulfillment when we overcame our learning curve, and I was able to provide support for her as she made it through ordeals and sometimes, even literally, giving her trust falls within the gameplay to progress the story. Gameplay with Never Alone can be played solo alternating w/ the Y button on the switch and if YouTube videos are any indicator this is the preferred method of the every-day gamer. But for families, I still recommend two-player. Gender Both of these games feature little girls! With only 36% of games released containing child characters [4] that is something to celebrate. The main character from Never Alone is young but she is considered a functioning member of her society and has already joined the hunter/gatherer outings—she uses tools, wanders in the wild and survives one dangerous situation after another—she is also mature enough to know there are many things one cannot achieve alone and relies on her Fox companion. Alternatively, Izzy, the main character from Lost Words is a fairly spoiled child living in the UK who is also a bit of a recluse (albeit a creative one) she spends most of her time in her room either daydreaming, writing in her journal, or planning out her story she’s writing throughout gameplay. She has no official social obligations other than chores around the home, and when times are hard the first thing she does is throw blame first to others and then to herself. Both of these girls go through some very trying experiences but process them very differently. Never Alone is not made to linger on the hard times; yes they are difficult but once you are through them it’s over and you’ve moved on to the next challenge. Lost Words is designed to wallow in the issues at first, following the 5 stages of Grief, (Denial, Anger, Acceptance, Bargaining and Depression) the story progression solidifies the European mindset that grief is a personal journey, something you must face and overcome even if not every culture does so. The challenges are deliberately simple, in order to process the storytelling freely. While both games are equally enjoyable to play, Never Alone is more inclusive due to its representation for indigenous communities and preserving cultural identity while bridging the digital gap through storytelling. I have not changed my mind that Lost Words has a decidedly European bias in its game design, which contributes to more cultural exclusivity in gaming industry, however it's slightly less common for a genuine UK character/actress, to be featured in a natural UK setting, made by a game company based out of the UK. After some digging I learned that Creative England in partnership with Triodos Bank UK – launched a £24million fund to provide vital scale up finance to the UK’s most promising creative businesses; and video game companies like Lost Words' parent company Sketch Games were also included in that line up. [4] Creative England also holds a 6-month program to support game developers partnering industry leaders with gaming businesses looking to grow. Still not digitally inclusive but certainly an innovative movement I can respect. [1] Did you know in Never Alone.... [2] Lost Words Beyond the Page #Shorts [3] Game Studies - The Child in Games: Representations of Children in Video Games (2009 - 2019)

[4] Creative England launches landmark fund for the UK’s creative SMEs - Creative UK