If you like playing games as much as I do, there has definitely been a moment when you thought “I can make this game better!”. More often than not, this happens after having played a really great game, and being totally immersed in that game for a long time, when suddenly you are jerked out of the experience because of some problem with the game UI, or because the game logic behaves in a really stupid way, or simply because an action gets so repetitive that you start to loose interest.

Humans are clever. We might not all know how to fix a certain gameplay problem, but we definitely know when something is wrong with a game. If we could channel that frustration into creative thinking, instead of just picking up some food and moving to the TV, we will learn a lot, because the games that we choose to play, and the things we dislike about them are indicators of the mood we are in.

When I play a shooter, most often I am in a “Bring it on!” or “Gimme me some action!” mood. But then at some point, and this is where disgust sets in, I always wish my enemies would behave more intelligently, because it’s really no fun to blast away at a “weaker enemy”. For that same reason I really enjoy good boss fights, and I never give up, until I figure out the best way to beat that baddie. Unfortunately, after the boss-fight, the game pace slows down; you get a badly written and directed cut-scene and return to the real world of mediocrity!

The fact that every single game I have ever played has its disgusting moments makes me think a lot about the concept of a “perfect game”: a game in which you could be immersed indefinitely, where you learn valuable things about yourself, and where interest never wanes. The “perfect game”, by definition, cannot have a linear structure forced on all players. It must adapt to your behavior, just as you adapt to it. In a way it should be like an incubator universe: almost like the real world, but where you feel intensely and think intensely, and at a faster pace than in mundane life, and where you are protected from physical harm. I will share with you how I imagine this “perfect game” will be played, and I will do so in narrative form so that you can imagine it too.