Quote:
Originally Posted by BreakABone
You see your definition is very loose and I don't believe befitting of the term.
The way I see most people define a non-game such as Brain Age or Wii Fit is there are no real goals. You just kind of play the game.
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Not really an accurate delineation; I use the term non-game to describe the new wave since it seems to be what everyone has adopted, but its a bit dumb.
Brain Age has a number activities that you must perform to unlock more activities. Each day, your goal is to test yourself and see if you have risen or lowered on the brain age scale. Something similar can be found in Wii Sports with charting your physical age. Unlocking things through play, time trials, a number of different activities; its very much a game. Its wrapped in this strange aesthetic thats foreign, so its given this non-game distinction to separate it, but looking at the actual mechanics of the game, its not a radical departure.
I haven't looked into Wii Fit, but I imagine it has similar modes to Wii Sports and Wii Play. The Yoga might be considered a non-game, but then, you're still interacting with on-screen prompts to progress, so is that really so far removed from the philosophy behind Guitar Hero, where, if I may parrot my favorite comparison ever, the gameplay consists of rapid Quick-time events.
As to "just playing," I think thats a flimsy differentiator when games exist with such radical differences in difficulty. If I pop into "very easy" mode in Metal Gear Solid, I "just play" and watch some movies. I think I actually am more engaged by Brain Age in that instance.
I consider non-games to be a lazy term that the enthusiast press picked up and ran with because it was easier than melding these games into the categories that already exist and which they only refine, not revolutionize. It would be harder and take longer to take a moment and analyze these games that seem different to see the underlying mechanics, and its very easy to say "oh, that doesn't look like anything I've ever done. No marines, no elves, no violence? Some mini-games? Non-game!"
Quote:
Originally Posted by BreakABone
How was NO More Heroes?
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Not as good as my other games and made me feel bad to have in my possession when other better games went unplayed. That has been seen to.