I think Bogost’s article just summed up, in an academic nutshell, my issue with “serious” games. Serious games like Depression Quest, The Day the Laughter Stopped, or September Twelvth are the social justice equivalent of the cereal box game Bogost describes; they mimic procedures and procedural behavior, but the available choices are so limited that the player quickly “gets the point,” and no longer feels driven to play. This is because there really is only one point…the players were never meant to have any other possible interpretations.

It’s an interesting way of exploring concepts, but they are more like interactive articles than games. While it’s immensely difficult to really offer multiple endings to any game, when a game developer focuses so intensely on sending players a message, they eliminate the opportunity for the player to learn or create anything for themselves.

I think that’s why I love Simulators (Sims) so much. Games like Prison Architect are fascinating in that they explore the procedures of building and expanding prisons. Certain rooms or staff must be obtained before you can move on to more advanced levels (such as needing to get a Warden before you can modify the prison schedule or offer prisoners parole, since paroles only happen when the prisoner sits with the Warden for an exit interview). There are limits to your resources, and goals that you are urged (if not required) to obtain. But, unlike other more brute-force games, there are multiple ways to succeed. Hence why you can find any number of YouTube videos of various types of prisons…everything from minimal guards, to beautiful grounds, to most-likely-to-cause-massive-riots.

I know Bogost isn’t limiting his discussion to sims, and procedural rhetoric definitely exists in games of all complexities, but for classroom examples or useful learning tools (not to mention a personal addiction to playing them), my mind tends to go towards simulators. It’s also one of the only types of games I’ve tried to come up with scripts and ideas for….and one of the most impossible genres to work on, alone. The sheer volume of options needed to give players the freedom to explore is exhausting.

I can dream, though.