Normal

Normal. That's a difficult word to define. What, exactly, is normal? Since perceptions of viewing reality alternate between people, normal cannot be defined. However, you will discover that people love to define things. "I'm nobody special. I'm just...normal." When it comes to video games, "normal" is often seen through the lens of an objective. "What do you do in that game, Bruce?" "Well, I'm killing these aliens, Mike." That simple explanation, that simple way of thinking has dominated gaming for years. It still does to this day. Video games are about completing objectives. That's the way it's always been. The objective of Pong? Keep hitting the ball. Don't miss. Sure, the objectives have progressed as the complexity of gaming has grown. In Pac-Man, you (the player) have evolved from hitting a ball back and forth to evading enemies in a maze. Fast-forward to the 1990's. A little game launches for the Nintendo 64 called Super Mario 64. Everyone loves it. Critics, the public, young, old. People fell in love with the game. The game's objective? Defeat Bowser and collect stars. Yes, it is an amazing open world experience and a first for the Super Mario franchise. But the game still has a tangible objective: defeat Bowser and collect stars. A hop, skip, and a jump later, we're in 2013. Now, gaming slowly begins to shift. Sometimes, the objective isn't always a necessary requirement. Take, for instance, the independent title Gone Home. What's the defined objective of this game? Absolutely nothing. There are no enemies to kill. No aliens to disintegrate. No side-scrolling action. No objective-ridden puzzles to solve. All the player does is explore a house. That's it. How can a game be successful (and fun) if that's all you do? Well, maybe we (as a people) are yearning for something more...simple. With all the technology, all the pressure, all the pain, and all the stress, maybe this concept simply lets us be free. Maybe it frees us from following the rules. After all, many rules exist in video games. "No, you can't shoot your teammate. You can only get to the next level after you've completed this one. You can't use that weapon here." Most of the time, these rules don't stick out to us. But, they’re there. We follow them. We just don't realize it. So, with video games, free exploring and the abandonment of objectives may become prevalent in more and more releases. Why? Why would game designers abandon this practice that makes games "have meaning"? Why would they create a game that's not "mainstream"? Why wouldn't they make it...normal? Perhaps it is because a different type of complexity can be achieved? While playing any type of game that involves exploring and having free reign over the gaming space, the player will gravitate towards what THEY WANT to do. Let me say that again. What THEY WANT to do. So many times, we are thrust into a specific role with defined characteristics. While playing Mario, we only have certain abilities to use with him. Granted, you can change his suits and with these suits come varying powers. However, can you choose which suit to wear when you uppercut a Question block? No. Rather, the game gives the player a chance to use the suit the designer has placed there. Ultimately, we are playing into the game designer's hands. With games such as Gone Home or Journey, the world is at your fingertips. Now, please do not twist my words. I am not saying games such as Super Mario Bros. 3 are not fun or don’t work well. They are absolutely brilliant. I am just trying to project my idea that games can go beyond objective-based gameplay and offer an alternate type of gameplay experience. But, what if that's not the reason these types of games are being made? Maybe the answer lies within the rapidly advancing technology of today's society. Devices such as the Oculus Rift are giving people the chance to EXPLORE whole new worlds. Sure, the FPS genre will be one of the most, if not the most, popular genre associated with the Rift and devices like it. But, concepts such as virtual reality are just brimming with possibilities of a different kind of interactivity. Virtual reality uses the environment to enfold you in the game. Instead of FPS's loaded with killing aliens, virtual reality can engross the player by different means. Something as simple as talking to someone or exploring a forest will provide an enthralling experience. Either way, games like this are here to stay. And they definitely aren't "normal"...or, are they?