Reflection

Ludic Experience self_reflexive · both

Reflection captures being moved, thoughtfulness and moral friction – the experience that a game touches on something concerning oneself or the world: melancholy, guilt, unease, meaningfulness. Not always pleasant, but intended.

Design question – Do you want your game to move people or make them think – and do players experience such moments while playing?

Reference example – Papers, Please: the woman’s papers are not in order, but her story is – and the stamp lies in your own hand. Spiritfarer: you take a friend to the gate from which there is no return. Train (Brenda Romero): only late in the game do you learn where the trains you have loaded so efficiently are going.