My friend, Anthony recommended the game DeathSpank to Sam and me a while ago. But it was the beginning of the semester and the email entered the long list of "things to look into at some point in time."
Fortunately, I've been in quite the "investigating games" kind of mood lately.
1. Class last week was about students bringing in games they had made. I've had many thoughts on gameplay and the future of whatever the beast that is advertising. (I'll write about this soon, but my head is currently full of snot.)
2. In class, we watched the remarkable Jesse Schell Dice talk, which always gets me thinking about the even more impressive (but too long for class) Long Now lecture.
3. Then, I read this comprehensive article on "Everyone's a player" in Fast Company.
I decided it was time to play something new and think about it. The great thing about being a strategist/planner (my gosh when will we come up with something better to call ourselves?) is that as theoretical ideas swirl in your head you can jump in with hands, eyes and other human experience devices and start doing while thinking.
It was time to download this DeathSpank thing. When Sam came home yesterday, we first had to endure a couple hours of homework. Then we started off with a bit of Marvel vs. Capcom 2, which we haven't played in almost a year. This was fun, but it is old school gaming so it is one of the few video gaming things where I eat Sam's lunch.
After I had enough (4-0), I asked if he'd try out DeathSpank. I thought it was 1-player, but when we started it up we noticed there was a cooperative option. Now this is where it gets really cool. The 2nd player is a true side-kick. You are that lame wizard looking guy in the image above and your role is really two-fold: to help DeathSpank attack and to occasionally heal him. That's it.
It set's up this great dynamic rarely found in co-op games. DeathSpank's player controls the action and achievements; the wizard supports him. As a father-son situation, this rocks. I get to support Sam in his decisions and gameplay. He guides the character through the options. I can even very easily leave the game and come back in later while he plays. It's brilliant.
Too often co-op's have equal distribution of "game power" which leads to group decisions where influencers and leaders tend to dominate. Or a rational argument is made to do something. If things don't go well or break social structure, the whole group suffers. (Yes, we're talking Leeroy Jenkins here.) Obviously, there are many valuable lessons to learn in that situation, but it shouldn't be the only option. When you are in a parent-child situation, you want to play together but try to avoid decision arguments, we have enough of these in real life training: WAY too many in my opinion. (The reason you should go to bed, eat your vegetable, brush your teeth, do stupid homework, use your words, blah, blah, blah is...) This game gives a rare opportunity for a completely different dynamic. Sam makes the decisions and Sam's character deals with the consequence. I just help and participate.
Great game.
Other reasons to support this game:
1. It is hilarious and beautiful. These were the original reasons I wanted the game. Sam and I actually LOL'd several times and he was repeating lines this morning. (Why the fisherman and the Greems don't get along was worth the $15.)
2. Game creator, Ron Gilbert (aka Grumpy Gamer) has a thoughtful tirade on corporations (esp. a certain iron-handed, fruit-based one) crippling creativity and innovation. Why wouldn't you support this guy?
Next on the list: Costume Quest.
Slightly related photo of Sam getting to play games with Uncle John down in L.A.
