Chris Hunt: Accessibility Might Be Synonymous with Boring in Games
Anyone has probably seen this lately in games, option-gameplay levels, easy modes, and fun modes exempt from the main core challenges – I mean, do these rings a bell. Chris Hunt, however, the very individual behind the survival RPG Kenshi, always puts this argument: accessibility might be synonymous with boring.
Knight mare Mode Epidemic in Gaming
According to Hunt, most of the games currently are designed to illuminate from the player's end just how well he (or she) is capable of being. You begin the game already being such an über-glorified hero; you are a supposed champion, giftingly clearing out every enemy that crosses your path. This is enjoyable only for a short while; Hunt argues the resultant boredom soon begins to set in.
"Too many games give gamers the right to succeed. These are fantasies about power. You just run, slash enemies, and win. And that's it, that's the whole game. It's too boring for me."
He draws a parallel to storytelling. Think about your favorite books or movies. Do things always go smoothly for the protagonist. Rarely. It's the unexpected twists, the moments where things go wrong, that grip us. Hunt believes this principle is just as vital in game design, with the player taking on the role of the main character who must be challenged.
"Characters wake up and set a goal and instantly succeed. No tales have been created on this-that a character would wake up to some goal of his, set it, and then instantaneously achieve it, therefore the screenwriter must make the person miserable. I have made up this idea for this game."
Pains on All Fronts Supported by Hunt
Now the Hunt dislikes any "chosen one" lore. These dramatic, early destinies the usual encounters for a gaming player induce a question of how relatable many of these experiences could be for the everyday. Rather, Hunt talks about the normal character out there facing rather ordinary struggles, challenges if you will, the ones that speak real excitement on almost any narrative scale.
"Oh, I hate stories about the chosen. How can this be close to the player. Who has ever been chosen. No one... I want a story about the trials of an ordinary man. Because trials are the basis of any good story."
His observation marks that the storytelling breaks away from the player when the character is given too much power. Real struggles; however, provide the heart of a game: once it is aimed at realistically seeking food, money, and, at times, staying away from hard confrontations.
Kenshi: A Testament to Hardship with Meaning
This one game, Kenshi being released in 2018, beautifully implements Hunt's philosophy. Basically an open-world RPG that sets you against a mean postapocalyptic future with absolutely nothing – zero skills and zilch in the magic way. You tread your journey in this world, trying to survive the many hurdles, either on your own or in tandem with a squad or attempting to form a settlement. On the way, health is a luxury that is difficult to encounter, and the injuries one sustains write the course of the tale.
This, of course, Coulie argues, is why Kenshi has caught on; a generation later, he realized it: Gaming is for the hardships, good or bad, laid on down the road. The process of fulfillment was no easy task. And, verily, were the words of Chris Hunt wise. Perhaps only the most poignant gaming experiences are those wrought in a furnace of challenge instead of presented to us on a silver serving tray.
