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Nintendo patents a way to make game play itself.

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ArcAirbender:
http://kotaku.com/5127816/developers-respond-to-nintendos-hint-system-patent

Today a Nintendo patent came to light for a hint system which would allow gamers to essentially let games play themselves.


While I agree that such an "automated" way of playing can bring new posibilities like gags, humor, drama and other deep, complex emotions, it is my opinion that videogame already has those in the shape of cutscenes, intelligent programing & level design; likewise, if you need a tutorial on how to do something or how to complete a level so you can achieve progress in the game, I would point, like Jonathan Blow did, that there is a deep flaw in the way the title was made.

Videogames, to me, represent an active way of interaction; to hinder such interaction (hinder at best, muder at worst) should be considered an act of involution.
From full duplex to half duplex. I want to comunicate back, I want my actions and opinions to have weight and consecuences in that world.

Interactivity is an integral element of what sets appart video games and films, for instance. And considering that the video game industry is giving the film industry a good run for its money, I would think twice to spend such a behemoth effort to make videogames play like movies.

I have considered the posibility that maybe this is the way for video games to, in a not so immediate future, consume the film industry. Maybe like cellphones did to PDA's, or how the internet is doing with every other mass media outlet. But to me, it keeps coming back to the uncanny valley. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_Valley )


What do you guys think about it?

JD:
Problem is, will the games still buy themselves. I should be noted that some games play a lot like movies. MGS 4, Mass Effect, and GOW2 are the ones that come to mind.

Jackie Blue:
I hear the sky is falling, too.

supersheep:

--- Quote from: Kotaku ---Imagine being able to play a game with all of the benefits of characters, story and goals, but without having to spend 10 to 20 hours of your life to enjoy doing so.
--- End quote ---
Imagine being able to get things without any of the effort! Imagine if you could skip to the final scene of the game and press a button to defeat the boss! Those 10 or 20 hours creating a shiny character and learning what's going on are fun. They are the meat of the game. I don't get the point of this.

On the other hand, hints systems built into games are probably a good idea. This isn't the way to do it, though. Something along the lines of Mirror's Edge, where important parts of the level get more coloured the longer yu're stuck? Moving the camera to focus on a key bit of the level if necessary? If I can come up with two ways off the top of my head that wouldn't hugely break the concept of a game, then surely developers can think of more and better ones.

Dimmukane:
Hell, just a simple arrow or bread crumb trail will get me out of almost every hole I dig myself into.  Sometimes a reminder of how to do a special move would be convenient, but you don't need a video for it, just a little prompt on screen.

I could see this as a way to get more people into playing 'core' games, because they'll have had that sort of introductory experience that gets them accustomed to how to play games without help.  Since I don't know what they're planning on doing with this, though, color me skeptical.

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