Mentally Challenged

I’m all for challenges. The satisfaction gained from solving a particularly challenging problem is a great feeling. But sometimes, the reward is not worth the challenge. Or rather, the reward is definitely worth the challenge, but the challenge itself is so tedious, and the reward so intangible, that it seems as if the reward is not worth the challenge. An example? Challenge: completing blog entries for ITB016. Reward: not failing…

Of course, this is not an atomic challenge. The challenge hierarchy could be represented as such

• Complete all remaining blogs for ITB016 (complete the game)
• Complete a blog relating to lecture on challenge and reward (complete the current mission)
• Think of something productive to talk about (sub-mission)
• Think of a game to realte it to (sub-mission)
• Don't sabotage myself with useless babble (enemy / obstacle immediately in front of me)
  

If we extrapolate out the failure that has already occurred at the atomic level of this challenge hierarchy, clearly we can predict that my chances of finishing this game are not very high. Bugger.

Challenge and reward and challenge hierarchies and such present themselves differently in different games. One interesting example that jumps to mind is Dead Rising. The reason I classify this as interesting is due to the differences in challenges present in the game and how these fit into a hierarchy. Although I don’t own the game and haven’t finished it and am not completely familiar with all challenges in the game, I do have a vague enough understanding to comment.

Despite the images conveyed by the trailers, you are not a trained zombie fighter or simple innocent bystander handy with a chainsaw (or any other weapon close at hand). You are instead a journalist, handy with a camera (and chainsaw, or any other weapon close at hand). The main challenge, or critical path of the game, from my understanding, is to wait out the time period to escape from the shopping centre. Other sub challenges include rescuing certain people from certain areas, taking out ‘bosses’ such as deranged shop owners with masochistic trolleys, and capturing photos of high journalistic quality of zombie activity. Despite this variety, the atomic challenge at almost any point of the game is the same: use whatever is close at hand to beat up masses of zombies.

As an example, to rescue a player you need to beat, chop and grind your way through zombies to find the person, and slash, burn and pummel your way back again with the newly acquired useless weight attached. For the vastly different photography challenge, the atomic task is essentially the same: disfigure, maim and dismember zombies in any manner necessary / possible, and then photograph them. Alternatively, let zombie disfigure, maim and dismember an innocent bystander, and photograph that.

Another game that jumps to mind has a beautifully simple challenge and reward system: Burnout Paradise. Challenge: Compete in a variety of forms of races. Reward: Get better cars to compete in races again.

This is a perfect example of a situation where the reward is perfectly suited to the challenge, and the challenge readies the player for the reward. The skills acquired completing the challenge allow the most benefit to be gained from the performance increases given by the reward.

Guitar Hero III on the other hand… Don’t get me wrong, the challenge / reward system in this game can’t really be faulted. It’s pretty simple, and pretty well suited to the style of game. But seriously, is “Through the Fire and the Flames” really a reward? For me it just serves to highlight “Congratulations, you finished the game…but you still suck”