Unpredictable Predictability ...

#1 I kind of agree with that, With many of the games I enjoy playing, a good game should flow with the controls and give the player a chance to show some finesse if they have the skills.

One of the games I enjoyed years ago was Wipeout 2xxx, because when you got really good at it, it was kind of like surfing where intuition and instinct can take over and allow that ship to really glide over the undulating track surface. The nose pitching required some skill, but added that little something that made all the difference. When you got in the zone it all felt so natural, with the time trials there was a thin line between soso and perfection and you got a real buzz when you got it just right.

They ruined the series later by making it too easy, and removing the need for real skill and timing. Kind of a shame really, maybe they will go back to what was good on the PS3 version. Not that I'm likely to ever play it.

#2

Quote:A player must always be in control of their actions and their actions must have the ... effects ... their ... brain tells them they will.

I disagree with this only for the absolutist language used. Bad example, but for example, some games have a "confused" spell effect on the player (or "drunk" effect), and makes them move around in random uncontrolled ways. It's unexpected and fun. Or other times (can't think of an example) a game will delight the player in having an effect that is the exact OPPOSITE of what their brain is expecting, and the surprise is delightful. If not being too literal, I do see your point though. Rules can - and should - be broken though, once they are understood and mastered first of course.

Quote:but then several after effects occur which they did not forsee ... through their own inability to predict all the consequences of their actions.

I think this is best seen in puzzle games. You make some match, which you expect - and maybe even a combo, which you also expect - but then it cascades down and creates some other huge cool multiple chain reaction of matches which you didn't explicitly see. This is also very much the case in chess - where you make a move or a combination of moves the result of which you forsee as being in your favor, but then some other sweet position or opportunity is created as a result of that move which you didn't see, which is absolutely delightful - at least when it's in your favor :)

Does Noah have a rule similar to what you describe above as part of his game law documentaion project? It'd be interesting to research and compare.

#3 WipeoutXL was the best racing experience ever... i perfected that game with the AGsystems/Pirahna team... perfect times (full speed start to finish) on every track (phantom class)

PS: assuming Wipeout 2xxx is WipeoutXL (WipeoutXL was the second wipeout game -- first was good, third was a total bomb, second was perfection)

#4 Yeah it was the second one, man that was a long time ago. I havent really found anything that quite touched that game for racing. There are some goof car racers, but not many and once you play with real cars, a sim has no feeling. Wipeout 2 got controls and feel just about perfectly matched, with the nose tilt adding that little extra skill factor required to master it, was blazingly for the time too :)

#5 Josh,

I consider things like "confusion" etc... to fit into this little theory. You know when you've been hit with confusion and so you expect to not be in complete control. It sill makes you laugh at the after effects of not being in control ... which are actually the unpredictable part.