The Language of Videogames: Part 4 The “Win-State”

Once a player has become fluent in the language of videogames there is one more step to increasing comprehension and understanding. Where other languages and artistic mediums stop at the point of creator/audience engagement, games take it one step further. Videogames are unique for the ability of the player to interact with their experience. The developer crafted it, yet it remains to the player to experience it; differing players with have differing experiences. A film or book is stagnant, it is as it will always be, the way the author or director intended it to be. There is nothing wrong with that, I love me some books, but they lack the interactivity that games have. It is that direct involvement with the game which sets videogames apart from other media. 

But what is the player involvement for? Why give away control of a finely crafted story or world to someone else? What makes games unique is also what makes them so risky from a narrative perceptive. A player could just as easily become absorbed in the story as they could by ignoring it all together, messing around with the environment and such. Developers combat this with what is called the “win-state”. Something that when achieved constitutes a “win” allowing for further progress. 

“Win-states” vary in size and grandeur according to what he game requires of it. Beating the game is a total “win-state” the player has completed the entire game. However, smaller “win-states” exist within the game. Jaime Griesemer, former game designer at Bungie on the Halo franchise and now of Sucker Punch, properly exemplifies a “win-state” in his most famous quote: “In Halo 1, there was maybe 30 seconds of fun that happened over and over and over again, so if you can get 30 seconds of fun, you can pretty much stretch that out to be an entire game. Encountering a bunch of guys, melee attacking one of them before they were aware, throwing a grenade into a group of other guys, and then cleaning up the stragglers before they could surround you. And so you can have all the great graphics, and all the different characters, and lots of different weapons with amazing effects, but if you don't nail that 30 seconds, you're not gonna have a great game.” The “Win-state” is that “30 seconds of fun”. The player’s rewarded for playing the game the way the developer intended. ‘Go here, shoot this, avoid this’. When the player does that, they have completed the requirement constituting in a “win-state”, the sense of enjoyment and fun. Play the game the way the developer intended for the player to play it and the player shall be rewarded with fun.

It is this feedback loop that makes games compelling. Involvement of the player to further the total “win-state”, completion of the game, is what most developers count on for impetus throughout their game. The player is never in any danger and more often than not the player character will have infinite revives to continue playing. Any sense of urgency or compulsion to the game is reliant on the “win-state” of the game. Players of online shooters chase the second to second high of a “win-state” achieved via completion, action, victory and defeat. Players of stealth games derive pleasure from the waiting, the stealthily hunting of enemies or the thrill of remaining undetected. These are the small “win-states” the amount to the moment to moment enjoyment of a game. Even horror games follow a “win-state” design. The only difference being that horror games use a sense of fear, isolation and suspense to generate an emotional response. Not all games seek to deliver fun in the same manner. Player enjoyment can be derived from a multitude of sources.

As a whole a videogame presents a challenge to the player. A larger “win-state” waits above the entire game for it to be completed. Recognizing these “win-states” becomes second nature to fluent game players. The language of videogames is one of conflict. Meant to engage and challenge the player. A goal is set, rules are laid out and tools are given, it then falls to the player to complete the game. Surprisingly the larger “win-state” of most games are not as complex as the story told around them tend to be. In the interview God of War: Game Directors Live, David Jaffe says the “win-state” of the original God of War simply to get Pandora’s Box. “A lot of times when we play videogames it may take you a day or a week or a month or longer to finish it … and so you tend to forget a lot of the details. And so it was important that the core through line was very simple… go get the box. Even if you spend six months away from God of War … that was a pretty simple thing to hang your brain on. Okay, I know what this is about.” (Full interview can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QEwdTVhTOE. The specific part mentioned is happens a 52:44 and on for the next few minutes.) As mentioned before the true beauty of a videogame comes from the nuances within the language. “Win-states” may be simple measures of enjoyment looped into a game; however without them all videogames would fall flat. Lacking any sense of motivation or drive would be an irredeemable flaw on the games part. There would be no reason to play it. 

Fluency in the language of videogames is beyond the requirements of fluency in another language. Engagement with the creator is just the beginning of comprehension through the language of videogames. Interactivity is a fundamental part of what makes a videogame a videogame and the language reflects that. Using simple to understand loops of challenge and reward a larger meaning can be built. The nuances of the language present themselves through the use of “win-states” compiling upon each other to create an immersive experience.  Videogames are constructs designed by people to tell stories, share thoughts and create experiences. The language of videogames is how those experiences are built and governed. When a player possesses a fluent understanding of the language, engagement with the developer can be forged along with engagement through the interactive mechanics of the game. “Win-states” are the developer’s way of guiding the player through the experience they have crafted. Without the use of “win-states” a videogame would be just another book or film.