Hello! Back with another round of musings.

Exoprimal has been my not-Diablo game the last few days and I have to say, I am impressed. It has my attention despite being a flagrant GAAS-model/wanting me to open my wallet so badly.

The game is a little thin at times and running around in your exosuit doesn't "feel" quite as amazing as flying in Anthem or piloting your titan in Titanfall, but the wide range of exosuits + customization definitely shores up some of that.

What I want to focus on however is the PvPvE format they've decided to go with. For those who don't know, Exoprimal is not just about beating up dinosaurs. You are actually racing as a team of 5 against another team of 5 doing the exact same missions. You progress through different challenges and each time you complete one, you see the silhouettes of the enemy team as they do their missions and the game notifies you if you are completing your objective faster or slower than they are. This constant update - both from the game's AI character Leviathan and from the silhouettes - creates a constant energy of go go go! that really enhances the game's tension. You can't just beat up dinosaurs, you need to work together to do it efficiently.

The game also randomly inserts story bits for everyone that will change up the level and challenges, keeping it incredibly fresh. One instance that really caught my attention (and drove me to make this post) happened to me last night. We were about 1/4th of the way through our encounters when suddenly some dialogue began and all of us were warped into one arena and a cutscene began. At the end, one gigantic dinosaur warped in and suddenly our enemies were our friends. We all had to work together as a 10-unit team to take this thing down. It was such an awesome way to be shaken out of "just doing missions." What's amazing is so far these major shakeups have happened once every 5-10 matches for me. While I'm sure I will soon encounter repeated events, I'm about 15hrs into the game and I haven't yet.

If they keep adding special missions/events/curveballs like this, especially tinkering with the PvPvE format, I don't see myself putting this game down for quite some time.

I’ve been going out of my way lately to find unique mechanics, UI’s, etc. that fundamentally alter and improve a game, to the extent that their removal would severely hurt the game and make it less effective/impactful/etc. To be clear this is less “unplayable,” so not something silly like “removing the right thumb stick from Halo.”

Instead, I think of how Immortality essentially “gamified” and simplified a movieola (35mm film editing hardware) to be the player’s interface with the game. The process of scrubbing through footage, marking favorite clips, cropping in on items of interest, “match cutting” (sort of), made for an incredibly immersive experience. Honorable mention goes to the music raising and lowering or shifting as I sped through or slowed down on footage - it created such a unique gaming experience.

What are some examples for y’all?

Before I start let me be clear that I am NOT talking about Zuckerberg’s “Metaverse” with a capital “M.” I am speaking of the concept writ large - aka a 3D/AR/VR/etc. "virtual world" akin to Oasis in the world of Ready Player One. This is incredibly boilerplate so if you are unfamiliar with the concept or want to know more I'd recommend reading more about it!

Arcade Paradise is a game where you slowly (and secretly) turn your dad's laundromat into a fully-fledged late 80's/early 90's-style arcade. It has a fun little story going as you move forward and a fantastic mix of short, medium, and longterm goals, all punctuated by a fun little sense of humor. It's a nostalgia trip for sure for anyone who lived through the arcade-era, complete with 35 arcade games you can play.

So to the actual point here: this game made me operate like I was playing Stardew Valley and Civilization again ("Just one...more...turn...") without the assistance of the actual arcade games. I really enjoyed a lot of the "cabinets" the devs put together but frankly it wasn't the games that kept me coming back. It was the laying out of my arcade, the little tasks to get the money I need for the next upgrade, the optimization of my pricing to get every possible penny I could to expand my floor and add more cabinets. Even seeing the completely non-interactive NPC's playing contributes, which is what made me also constantly go, "Man I wish my friends and I could chill here."

Prior to this game I never really experienced that sensation, but I then thought about my friend who designed all these social spaces on her island on Animal Crossing: New Horizons. She had this outdoor café she was so proud of in particular, and she always was inviting friends to join and run around there. I didn't really get it until I played Arcade Paradise.

I'm not really entirely sure what my question or "prompt" is for folks here, I just found myself musing on this subject and wanted to write up something about it.