Exercise 8

Jesper Juul distinguishes between games of emergence, where a game is specified as a small number of rules that combine and yield a large number of game variations, and games of progression, where a game presents the player with a series of puzzles or challenges which must be accomplished in a certain order. Discuss whether games of progression, which often attempt to combine a narrative structure with gameplay, are unique to computer-based games.

I think it's definately not true to say that progressive gameplay is unique to computer-based games. Even Jesper Juul himself says that "Progression is the historically newer structure that entered the computer game through the adventure genre." So what are the examples of the adventure genre in a non computer-based game?

An example would be those choose your adventure series that was first started by Edward Packard. In this adventure book we have what is now very common in many interactive gamebooks, some choices for us to make after reading a passage.
For example,

If you decide to go home, turn to page 21.

If you decide to wait for Jerry, turn to page 17.

This choices that we made, will slowly lead us along a storyline that we choose, and finally end up at an ending which may or may not be the desired ending.
While this kind of adventure books might have a lot of endings, there is generally one ending that is a lot better than all the others, and most of the endings are undesirable as they probably end up in the main character, you, dying or going mad.

However why were games of progression not so popular before the advent of the computer? I believe that it is because with computer-based games, one can let the player experience things that he cannot by just reading a book. This is with the clever use of graphics and sound to let the player be immersed in the story of the game.

For example the game that is arguably the most popular RPG "Final Fantasy 7". At it's time, the graphics and sound of the game blew away all other games. It's groundbreaking graphics and music together with it's compelling story charmed the hearts of the public so much so that even today, people are still clamoring for Squaresoft to remake it for the PS3.

This is probably the main reason why games of progressions are more popular as a computer-based game, as it appeals to those who just want to immerse themselves into a story more than what a book can give them.