A player’s attention isn’t a given but something to be earned.
Sometimes I struggle with new games, with new worlds, and I wonder if it’s just me.
I struggle in the sense that I can feel myself resisting them and refusing to accept them.
But we’ve only just met; I don’t care.
Just because I pressed “play” doesn’t mean I’m automatically invested in what’s going on.
And I wonder if some games lose sight of that.
Maybe it’s not me - maybe it’s games that struggle with introductions.
It’s like a montage of a journey.
In between these scenes are memories - memories of your life up to this point.
And at no point has the game stood you still to grandstand you about why you should care.
Instead it keeps you moving, keeps you playing, and drops in crucial details along the way.
By the time the introduction is over, you’re in.
It’s brilliantly judged.
The other game-opening that struck me wasOctopath Traveler’s (also on Game Pass).
But Octopath Traveler does something really neat in this regard.
You could be any one of several characters, so who will it be?
What this does is make you think about the world.
Before the story has even begun, then, you’re partway grounded in it - it’s clever!
It’s openings like these that excite me, that convince me to play on.
They seem to understand that a player’s attention isn’t a given but something to be earned.
They seem to understand that introductions matter too.
