Playing Games Wrong and Breaking the System

I’ve started playing games wrong, and I’ve got to say it’s feeling pretty right.

This won’t be a new idea to some people, especially those who’re deep into achievements. But it’s something I recommend for everybody, if only to shake things up at a time when games aren’t spending much time rewriting the rules.

The biggest games are so slick now. You barely have to play them. They put the maximum amount of energy into making everything look epic and big and pretty, and then make sure that all of that is only a button or two away. You can chase through imploding cities by only pushing forward on the analogue stick and hitting dodge occasionally. It feels good, but is it rewarding?

Well, they’re designed to make it feel rewarding too. RPG mechanics give you a sense of progress. Massive cutscenes reward your relative lack of interaction. You breeze your way through it, barely noticing that the game is playing you almost as much as you’re playing it.

I’ve been thinking about this because I recently finished a very slow two year run of Pokemon Red. It’s a game I haven’t played since the 90s, and the few minutes here and there that I’ve given to it in the last few years have been a joy. Random battles are the biggest and really only difficulty. Overcome that frustration and you can be a Pokemon Master in no time at all.

Then I played a fan remake of Yellow. Pokemon Recharged Yellow is a fantastic fan hack, and exactly the sort of thing Nintendo should be putting out. But it has Nuzlocke rules as an option when you start the game. It has a challenging mode.

Playing Wrong

Pokemon Yellow was never made for this. Yet the additional challenges are fantastic. For the first time, I’m having to actually consider what my choices are in battle. I’m having to do more than pick Pokemon that feel vaguely right.

The game was never designed with this in mind. But I’m gaining a new appreciation for the experience as a result.

Final Fantasy XVI is another example. The developers allow you to breeze through without even changing out your skills for the most part. You don’t have to experiment. You’ll develop a style early on – probably built around fire moves – and never move on. Hell, you could more or less get the plat this way.

The more you experiment, the more rewarding that fight system becomes. You can do incredible things, but the developers were so concerned with giant monsters and being slick that it never occurred to them to make you work for any of it.

And I haven’t played it, but Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is already creating a community of those who are playing wrong – experimenting and finding you can do incredible things. If only this level of “playing wrong” made it to some other big titles.

Retroachievements is a fantastic community that makes things like these more commonplace. Set developers want you to gain a deeper understanding of the systems at play in your favourite games. It might not be how the developers originally, but it shows what both you and the games are capable of. It’s super rewarding and, in an era of games that almost play themselves, good for the soul.