6. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Reward Systems
Instilment of drive and the will to carry on is one of gamings most identifiable tropes, especially in the face of the previous point where a developer needs to engage a player enough to actually uncover the majority of their content. With games costing increasingly more and more to create, big developers are taking less risks with their content not being seen as worthwhile, therefore we see the likes of EAs Unlock All optional paid DLC, or Ubisofts UPlay reward schemes allowing access to components that make their games easier to get through. Whilst few games feature extrinsic reward systems i.e. there are no incentives outside of completing the game for either yourself or others, instead they center on intrinsic reward schemes such as the joy you get from playing. Small Klei Entertainment-developed indie-title Dont Starve places you in the shoes of Wilson, a scientist marooned on a desert island. With almost no exposition youre just left to your own devices, with the realisation that night will be coming soon and you need to find some shelter. The game was something of an experiment in intrinsic reward value, as there are no extrinsic rewards for getting anywhere in the game, instead the only pleasure you can garner from playing is to see how far you can get on the in-game calendar. With a plethora of creatures all baying for your blood, its an effort to get through the first few nights, until (for some players) they settled into a routine of hunter-gathering to conquer the next few weeks. If art in its highest sense is designed to make us think and ponder our own existence by way of projecting aspects of our personality into different visual systems, then games like Dont Starve provide immeasurable evidence that games stand for something more than the assumed its just for kids/teens mentality often levied our way.