Story-focused video game for a complete non-gamer
March 11, 2016 10:42 PM Subscribe
My husband and I just managed to convince my parents that video games are a legitimate art form and that they can tell stories in unique ways. Now my mom wants to try an example of what we were talking about. She'll probably only try it once. What are some art games that have a great story/compelling message, low frustration, simple or no mechanics, and absolutely no twitch skills requirements?
My mom doesn't use computers much and has never played a video game except for Spider Solitaire, so she won't recognize any standard game mechanics or genre references. Any kind of dexterity challenge will turn her away. She reads a lot, both fiction and nonfiction.
Ideas so far:
Analogue: A Hate Story - this is the only one on our list so far that either of us has played.
Papers, Please
Dear Esther
Year Walk
That Dragon, Cancer
My mom doesn't use computers much and has never played a video game except for Spider Solitaire, so she won't recognize any standard game mechanics or genre references. Any kind of dexterity challenge will turn her away. She reads a lot, both fiction and nonfiction.
Ideas so far:
Analogue: A Hate Story - this is the only one on our list so far that either of us has played.
Papers, Please
Dear Esther
Year Walk
That Dragon, Cancer
Never Alone is an Alaska Native game with gorgeous art and a compelling story.
posted by charmcityblues at 11:13 PM on March 11, 2016
posted by charmcityblues at 11:13 PM on March 11, 2016
Stanley Parable
posted by humboldt32 at 11:23 PM on March 11, 2016
posted by humboldt32 at 11:23 PM on March 11, 2016
Best answer: Seconding Gone Home. Leisurely, story-based, non-twitch gameplay -- just lots of poking around rooms and drawers for physical clues and listening to automatically triggered audio diaries. Plus it's set in 1995 suburbia, so it would be an interesting retro experience for any older adults who remember that time and place more clearly.
posted by Rhaomi at 11:26 PM on March 11, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Rhaomi at 11:26 PM on March 11, 2016 [5 favorites]
Best answer: My parents, despite years of my brother trying to turn their heads, can't stand video games. Her Story on iOS plus a few years of loving mystery procedurals did the job. It might have only occupied them for a few hours, but oh boy were they on board with the concept.
posted by figurant at 11:30 PM on March 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by figurant at 11:30 PM on March 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
The Mystery Case Files series from Big Fish Games.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:58 PM on March 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:58 PM on March 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I would avoid Papers, Please - the gameplay is actually quite challenging and relies on timed puzzles, which is hard for beginning gamers. I would try one of the less combat focused Telltale Games.
posted by corb at 12:01 AM on March 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by corb at 12:01 AM on March 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Never Alone is an Alaska Native game with gorgeous art and a compelling story.
This is true, but it's also unplayable unless you are VERY good at jumping / platform games / have lightning fast reflexes.
It is NOT a game for people without games experience - if you watch the playthroughs on youtube by experienced gamers, they're all talking about how incredibly hard it gets.
posted by Year of meteors at 12:11 AM on March 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
This is true, but it's also unplayable unless you are VERY good at jumping / platform games / have lightning fast reflexes.
It is NOT a game for people without games experience - if you watch the playthroughs on youtube by experienced gamers, they're all talking about how incredibly hard it gets.
posted by Year of meteors at 12:11 AM on March 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Seconding Firewatch. Not super gamey, almost impossible to lose in any meaningful way, very contemplative for most of its duration.
My own very non-video-gaming mother also really liked The Witness, but that one doesn't really have a story per se, or at least not one that a non-gamer is going to unbury. It's also mostly just logic puzzles, which if you aren't the sort of person who enjoys trying to parse out unfamiliar syntax and/or doing Sudoku, then it won't be the game for you. Still, it's a very gentle video-game take that will appeal to a puzzler.
posted by Scattercat at 12:58 AM on March 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
My own very non-video-gaming mother also really liked The Witness, but that one doesn't really have a story per se, or at least not one that a non-gamer is going to unbury. It's also mostly just logic puzzles, which if you aren't the sort of person who enjoys trying to parse out unfamiliar syntax and/or doing Sudoku, then it won't be the game for you. Still, it's a very gentle video-game take that will appeal to a puzzler.
posted by Scattercat at 12:58 AM on March 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
How about Flower?
It's not a conventional story, but it does have a narrative-- and it's lovely, contemplative, low-friction, and very, very different from what most people expect video games to be.
Parts of the game are a little twitchy, but you have to go through levels and levels to get to them. IMO, if she gets far enough into the game for it to tax her dexterity, it'll be because she's become pretty darned invested in playing.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 1:07 AM on March 12, 2016 [5 favorites]
It's not a conventional story, but it does have a narrative-- and it's lovely, contemplative, low-friction, and very, very different from what most people expect video games to be.
Parts of the game are a little twitchy, but you have to go through levels and levels to get to them. IMO, if she gets far enough into the game for it to tax her dexterity, it'll be because she's become pretty darned invested in playing.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 1:07 AM on March 12, 2016 [5 favorites]
Seconding Flower which is very calming and also Journey, both for PS3 and PS4.
Monument Valley for iPad is much more of an artistic puzzle game.
posted by stackhaus23 at 1:13 AM on March 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
Monument Valley for iPad is much more of an artistic puzzle game.
posted by stackhaus23 at 1:13 AM on March 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
Could you tell us what platforms are available to them?
posted by Caravantea at 1:44 AM on March 12, 2016
posted by Caravantea at 1:44 AM on March 12, 2016
Interesting games that tell (sometimes small) stories apart from the ones already mentioned might include: Limbo, Life is Strange, Hatoful Boyfriend, Thomas Was Alone, Sunless Sea, Proteus, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
I’ll see if I can think of any others...
posted by pharm at 1:48 AM on March 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
I’ll see if I can think of any others...
posted by pharm at 1:48 AM on March 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Old school, but: Myst.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 1:57 AM on March 12, 2016 [14 favorites]
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 1:57 AM on March 12, 2016 [14 favorites]
If IPhone/ipad is an option, Monument Valley.
posted by nkknkk at 2:28 AM on March 12, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by nkknkk at 2:28 AM on March 12, 2016 [9 favorites]
Thirding Journey.
posted by susiswimmer at 3:44 AM on March 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by susiswimmer at 3:44 AM on March 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
Best answer: As much as I love Journey, I advise against it, because you have to be able to move and manipulate the camera at the same time, which is quite difficult to get used to.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 4:44 AM on March 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by J.K. Seazer at 4:44 AM on March 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: 'Everybody's Gone to the Rapture'! The story is compelling, the game mechanic couldn't be simpler, and it takes place in a gorgeous bucolic English village. Also, the soundtrack is *exquisite.* It's genuinely beautiful.
'Firewatch' is FANTASTIC, too, but it has a couple of very very mild puzzle elements that might be a bit confusing for a non-gamer. The intro sure is a punch in the gut, though, so it's worth a shot.
posted by nerdfish at 4:58 AM on March 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
'Firewatch' is FANTASTIC, too, but it has a couple of very very mild puzzle elements that might be a bit confusing for a non-gamer. The intro sure is a punch in the gut, though, so it's worth a shot.
posted by nerdfish at 4:58 AM on March 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist
free game from the Stanley Parable folks.
posted by bluecore at 5:38 AM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
free game from the Stanley Parable folks.
posted by bluecore at 5:38 AM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Botanicula! Or probably any of the games by Amanita Design, but Botanicula is particularly charming and "gamer-ness" free while still having some level of challenge - it isn't just an interactive novel.
Journey is incredible, but it is difficult for someone who has never used a controller to feel that same crazy seamless connection because the interface is so unfamiliar. People are logically suggesting flower, but in my experience the controls are much more finicky. But anyway, I think if your mom is willing to hang out and watch someone else play either game, that might be just as great an experience for her as it would be for the person playing it. Especially if she's invited to comment and make choices for the player like "oh look there's a scarf bit hiding in the seaweed go get it!"
Outside the box a little: The Yawhg, which is a local multiplayer text based adventure game. It is generated so each game is a different story but based around lots of fairy tale and adventure cliches. It's really funny and has charming hand-drawn art. It could be a fun way for your mom to spend time with you.
posted by Mizu at 6:12 AM on March 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
Journey is incredible, but it is difficult for someone who has never used a controller to feel that same crazy seamless connection because the interface is so unfamiliar. People are logically suggesting flower, but in my experience the controls are much more finicky. But anyway, I think if your mom is willing to hang out and watch someone else play either game, that might be just as great an experience for her as it would be for the person playing it. Especially if she's invited to comment and make choices for the player like "oh look there's a scarf bit hiding in the seaweed go get it!"
Outside the box a little: The Yawhg, which is a local multiplayer text based adventure game. It is generated so each game is a different story but based around lots of fairy tale and adventure cliches. It's really funny and has charming hand-drawn art. It could be a fun way for your mom to spend time with you.
posted by Mizu at 6:12 AM on March 12, 2016 [3 favorites]
Lil Inferno
posted by crush-onastick at 6:35 AM on March 12, 2016
posted by crush-onastick at 6:35 AM on March 12, 2016
Best answer: Why not one of the Telltale games? I'm as bad as any parent when it comes to twitchiness and being easily confused in general, and I can play them no problem. I was blown away by the story in the first Walking Dead, but if your parents are fans of any particular TV show that Telltale does a game for (say Game of Thrones) the familiarity of the basic structure might get them over the initial unfamiliarity with the form.
posted by pretentious illiterate at 6:59 AM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by pretentious illiterate at 6:59 AM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
Worth pointing out that if people would consider Journey, Flower etc are going to be difficult due to the controls – that pretty much rules out Firewatch and generally anything with a First Person perspective.
Also, Minecraft? Not a story based game at all, but my god so addictive when played in survival mode. Available on pretty much every platform.
posted by stackhaus23 at 7:11 AM on March 12, 2016
Also, Minecraft? Not a story based game at all, but my god so addictive when played in survival mode. Available on pretty much every platform.
posted by stackhaus23 at 7:11 AM on March 12, 2016
Best answer: Classic aventure games, maybe? LucasArts stuff. Just avoid Sierra games (dying is half the fun; not sure your parents will appreciate seeing Roger Wilco die for the hilarious nth time) and some other titles like KGB/Conspiracy (the game is great, but the mechanics are mostly being at the right place and the right time), same with The Last Express.
Off the bat, I'd probably go with Grim Fandango. It's still perhaps the greatest feat in storytelling as far as games go.
Knowing more about their tastes (setting, genres, etc) could help finding other titles, too.
posted by lmfsilva at 7:33 AM on March 12, 2016
Off the bat, I'd probably go with Grim Fandango. It's still perhaps the greatest feat in storytelling as far as games go.
Knowing more about their tastes (setting, genres, etc) could help finding other titles, too.
posted by lmfsilva at 7:33 AM on March 12, 2016
Oops, I thought I had linked to the Kotaku review of Lil Inferno. Here it is with a quote:
The test I want a good game to pass is simple: I want it to stick with me. I want it to seep into my thoughts days after I played it. Little Inferno is simple. It's somehow both quaint and bold. It lingers. It burns brightly. It burns well.
posted by crush-onastick at 7:41 AM on March 12, 2016
The test I want a good game to pass is simple: I want it to stick with me. I want it to seep into my thoughts days after I played it. Little Inferno is simple. It's somehow both quaint and bold. It lingers. It burns brightly. It burns well.
posted by crush-onastick at 7:41 AM on March 12, 2016
I really liked Oxenfree -- very much story-based, but your choices do affect the outcome to some extent. The controls are easy (arrow keys, mostly, with some mouse or touch-pad -- it's probably easier with a mouse) and I like the art a lot. There are some "difficult" parts but I didn't feel like anything would really "kill" you or ruin your progress. It definitely felt like an interactive story more than anything else (I've played through it twice & may do it a third time).
And note: While it's sort of spooky and has a nice creeping dread thing, I really wouldn't call it a horror game or even scary. I also found the overall story very touching and powerful.
Bonus -- it's currently 25% off on Steam.
posted by darksong at 8:23 AM on March 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
And note: While it's sort of spooky and has a nice creeping dread thing, I really wouldn't call it a horror game or even scary. I also found the overall story very touching and powerful.
Bonus -- it's currently 25% off on Steam.
posted by darksong at 8:23 AM on March 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Undertale.
I would strongly recommend against this. Undertale's design and writing are excellent, but in a way that heavily relies on having prior experience with video games in general, and RPGs in particular. And it has quite a few of the "dexterity challenges" that the OP was looking to avoid.
posted by teraflop at 9:44 AM on March 12, 2016 [4 favorites]
I would strongly recommend against this. Undertale's design and writing are excellent, but in a way that heavily relies on having prior experience with video games in general, and RPGs in particular. And it has quite a few of the "dexterity challenges" that the OP was looking to avoid.
posted by teraflop at 9:44 AM on March 12, 2016 [4 favorites]
Photopia.
posted by trunk muffins at 9:48 AM on March 12, 2016
posted by trunk muffins at 9:48 AM on March 12, 2016
Best answer: Also, Tale of Tales Sunset (previously on Metafilter: Tale of Tales Releases Sunset & Closes Up Shop, Tale of Tales Releases The Path, The Graveyard) might be a good choice. A lot of people really hated it, but I think they hated it because it's more interactive fiction than a game and there is no instruction other than "be in the space". Theoretically, there's an objective (to finish the to do list before sunset each day) but your choices (do you click on each task or do you sit in the chair and read a book) change the story. I feel like that was a very steep learning curve/this is really alien barrier for gamers but not for nongamers.
I think the story is more interesting than Gone Home (sorry, I found the story in Gone Home really terrible and the setting was pretty stock) and the interiors are gorgeous. As for mechanics, it's mouse and click on things and you either interact with them or they turn out to be non-interactive. Then the text/narration tells you the next bit of the story.
posted by crush-onastick at 10:13 AM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
I think the story is more interesting than Gone Home (sorry, I found the story in Gone Home really terrible and the setting was pretty stock) and the interiors are gorgeous. As for mechanics, it's mouse and click on things and you either interact with them or they turn out to be non-interactive. Then the text/narration tells you the next bit of the story.
posted by crush-onastick at 10:13 AM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
Monkey Island?
posted by MsMolly at 10:36 AM on March 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by MsMolly at 10:36 AM on March 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer:
posted by xyzzy at 11:03 AM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
Why not one of the Telltale games?Yeah. I didn't even play The Walking Dead and I was a quivering blob of sadness when watching it LP'ed on YouTube. I had a similar reaction to Minecraft: Story Mode of all things. The ending of that game had grown men LP'ing it on YouTube reduced to helpless whimpering or shocked silence.
posted by xyzzy at 11:03 AM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Oops, the available hardware is important information! My parents have Windows laptops and an iPad. They don't have game consoles, and mine are on the other side of the country.
I know Mom likes all kinds of SFF and historical fiction/nonfiction. I'm sure she reads other genres, too. She doesn't read romance, mystery, or horror.
Thanks for all the suggestions and opinions so far!
posted by henuani at 12:51 PM on March 12, 2016
I know Mom likes all kinds of SFF and historical fiction/nonfiction. I'm sure she reads other genres, too. She doesn't read romance, mystery, or horror.
Thanks for all the suggestions and opinions so far!
posted by henuani at 12:51 PM on March 12, 2016
Best answer: Dear Esther sounds like a good choice for Mom. Also, The Stanley Parable might be interesting...or it could frustrate her to no end.
posted by Miss T.Horn at 1:04 PM on March 12, 2016
posted by Miss T.Horn at 1:04 PM on March 12, 2016
Best answer: Consider Galatea, by Emily Short, a text-based piece of interactive fiction that puts you in conversation with an animate statue. It's quick (but replayable) and essentially frustration-free (although some of its numerous end-states are more win-like than others), and its conversation-tracking mechanic is a pretty cool showcase of the value of adding interactivity to media.
posted by Zeinab Badawi's Twenty Hotels at 2:05 PM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Zeinab Badawi's Twenty Hotels at 2:05 PM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Gotta echo Mystery Case Files from Big Fish. They started linking their games together with Return to Ravenhearst. My mom is 68, not a gamer and generally loves them :) You can get a one hour trial before you buy IIRC. Awakening is a good multi part story about a princess trying to find her parents - Big Fish is basically a clearinghouse for story based puzzle games :)
I bought Papers Please and played it only once - for four hours. It's a good game but really mentally exhausting and I am not sure how much of a story it really tells.
posted by Calzephyr at 9:29 PM on March 12, 2016
I bought Papers Please and played it only once - for four hours. It's a good game but really mentally exhausting and I am not sure how much of a story it really tells.
posted by Calzephyr at 9:29 PM on March 12, 2016
Best answer: ditto her story. gone home and firewatch are good picks but simply navigating a 3d space might be challenging for some..?
posted by juv3nal at 9:35 PM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by juv3nal at 9:35 PM on March 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: If she doesn't like horror then you might want to stay away from The Walking Dead, it is very dark. As in, two dark for me.
If she likes Science Fiction, there is a great 1986 interactive novel called Portal she might like. My first brush with Transumanism, back in the 90s. However, it isn't very 'game' like.
Never Alone, while good, is a traditional platformer, right? Easier then navigating a 2D space, but might be hard.
The last story game I got intrigued by was Transistor, which is very science fiction. However, it is a turn based RPG, so that might be a bit complex for her.
What my ladylove and I do when there is a game she doesn't want to play (She didn't grow up with reflex based games, though she is getting into them, and can't play for long due to arthritis) is she watches me play while we talk and she knits.
posted by Canageek at 9:42 PM on March 12, 2016
If she likes Science Fiction, there is a great 1986 interactive novel called Portal she might like. My first brush with Transumanism, back in the 90s. However, it isn't very 'game' like.
Never Alone, while good, is a traditional platformer, right? Easier then navigating a 2D space, but might be hard.
The last story game I got intrigued by was Transistor, which is very science fiction. However, it is a turn based RPG, so that might be a bit complex for her.
What my ladylove and I do when there is a game she doesn't want to play (She didn't grow up with reflex based games, though she is getting into them, and can't play for long due to arthritis) is she watches me play while we talk and she knits.
posted by Canageek at 9:42 PM on March 12, 2016
Best answer: She doesn't read romance, mystery, or horror.
Gone Home is great - you're a college girl snooping around your parents' empty house for clues to your sister's disappearance - but as I recall it relies heavily on horror tropes for its mood (creepy thunder and lightning, lots of scary dark passageways) and the payoff is so marvelously poignant in part because of the way the game plays with those tropes. It's great, and very much about family, but you might want to check some runthroughs if mom doesn't like horror.
posted by mediareport at 3:56 AM on March 13, 2016
Gone Home is great - you're a college girl snooping around your parents' empty house for clues to your sister's disappearance - but as I recall it relies heavily on horror tropes for its mood (creepy thunder and lightning, lots of scary dark passageways) and the payoff is so marvelously poignant in part because of the way the game plays with those tropes. It's great, and very much about family, but you might want to check some runthroughs if mom doesn't like horror.
posted by mediareport at 3:56 AM on March 13, 2016
Maybe 80 days? To me it felt like a very nice take on the classic novel (with added steam-punk). While there is the "pressure" of winning the bet, I believe you can always finish your trip, and you can travel the route you fancy as well as take on assignments on the way. It's basically a choose-your-own-adventure game, but very well made. It's available both for Windows and iOS.
posted by bjrn at 1:04 PM on March 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by bjrn at 1:04 PM on March 13, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Her Story is the best suggestion so far. Super simple controls, compelling story.
I love Firewatch and Gone Home but the WASD-and-mouse movement that is second nature to gamers is pretty hard for new people to pick up. I learned with my sister and Portal. Maybe, in a similar vein only 2D, To the Moon?
posted by graventy at 1:27 PM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
I love Firewatch and Gone Home but the WASD-and-mouse movement that is second nature to gamers is pretty hard for new people to pick up. I learned with my sister and Portal. Maybe, in a similar vein only 2D, To the Moon?
posted by graventy at 1:27 PM on March 13, 2016 [1 favorite]
Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons is a pretty good story, not hard to play at all and relatively short (just a few hours) so you wouldn't have to worry about her spending 10-20 hours on something she ended up not liking.
posted by DynamiteToast at 7:52 AM on March 14, 2016
posted by DynamiteToast at 7:52 AM on March 14, 2016
Kentucky Route Zero is very gentle and very wonderful cowboy ghost story.
There's also the very short but brilliant Thirty Flights of Loving - this could be a nice little intro?
Point and click games #could# work, but be forewarned that games like Myst or Monkey Island do have more than a few obtuse puzzles in them. That said, Broken Sword is a lot of fun and if she's into sci-fi Beneath a Steel Sky or Gemini Rue could be good shouts.
posted by litleozy at 3:29 PM on March 16, 2016
There's also the very short but brilliant Thirty Flights of Loving - this could be a nice little intro?
Point and click games #could# work, but be forewarned that games like Myst or Monkey Island do have more than a few obtuse puzzles in them. That said, Broken Sword is a lot of fun and if she's into sci-fi Beneath a Steel Sky or Gemini Rue could be good shouts.
posted by litleozy at 3:29 PM on March 16, 2016
Her Story just today won a bunch of stuff at the IGF. Also while I love Kentucky Route Zero to bits, it is maybe a bit too arty for an "intro" piece. It's densely allusive, for instance (spoilers) [1][2][3], although not necessarily to things within games.
posted by juv3nal at 8:35 PM on March 16, 2016
posted by juv3nal at 8:35 PM on March 16, 2016
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