So I ran across this comment made by Alex May, co creator of Euphloria, in an interview with gaming blog Pixels or Death.
"The focus on minimalism rang true with our shared love of sci-fi and the romantic notion of the vastness of space."
I know little to nothing of Sci Fi. Oh sure, I know enough to know Sci Fi exists. I know what it is. But a love of Sci Fi... No, I cannot compete with that.
My interest, by far, lies with the 'romantic notion of the vastness of space'. Why does May mean by this, exactly? That all minimalist games be a sandbox? That all minimalist games seem, that is to say look or behave, like a sandbox? That all games have, or at least portray, that a gamer, the romantic gamer, be or is liberated?
So many questions.
Ten years ago, I would have loved to have played something like Euphloria. Not much longer before that and I would have bought something like Euphloria, whether it was corporate or indie. Perhaps the game I bought closest to the minimalist Euphloria attempts to interpret was Sega's Rez, a much more fast paced, upbeat shooter, but minimalist in appearence no less.
What is the concious decision one must make for creators to have their game appear minimalist where others will strive for the opposite? Perhaps this is too black and white a question, but which level of presentation is easier to convey? When one speaks of minimalism, does one speak of less work? Some games will, even in game, actively argue an emphasis of gameplay over graphics. Perhaps it is true to say corporate games, and their fellow creators, designers and so on, are too terrified to proceed with anything minimalist. The audience is there, but it is too small, too selective and the turnover too little.
This will be a crude generalisation: Still, most corporate games, most of the big names, are all about fantastic visuals, up to the pixel on detail and really big explosions.
Consider the indie game that is created for a 48 hour game jam. Could all games, where graphics have perhaps been less of a priority, be considered minimalist without a conscious notion to be designed as so? After all, regardless of the outcome, gamers have to maintain a respect, acknowledge such designers have been toiling hour after hour, putting together pieces of code, a string of storyboard elements and so on.
'The romantic notion of the vastness of space.' Perhaps Sci Fi does come into it. May is talking about floating in space, right? I mean, maybe he wasn't consciously, but that is about the long and short of what he is referring to. And for freedom? I'm not sure. Games, all in all, are not very choice worthy. When there is talk of freedom, it is often an illusion. Deus Ex, for example. No matter which option you went for, it always, sooner or later, angled things toward the main narrative. Ultimately, there was no freedom, but only the choice to experience a virtual world.
