Paper-based video games

"my son has limited screen time so he plays @PlantsvsZombies on paper" says Boian Tzonev in an insightful tweet.

"my son has limited screen time so he plays @PlantsvsZombies on paper" says Boian Tzonev in an insightful tweet.

At some point, I'll have to investigate this. A phenomenon that always fascinates me: how players use paper as a (brick-and-mortar?) substitute to video games when devices are not available, or as a complement (for taking notes, drawings maps, etc.).

Another example of paper video game found on boing boing

Another example of paper video game found on boing boing

Why do I blog this? This is definitely fascinating. Not just because you see kids' fantasies and ways to change mediums. It's intriguing because it reveals how a game mechanic, or a graphic pattern, circulates and mutates to create a curious experience. I've seen once kids playing together on paper and I enjoyed observing how they "filled the gap", how the absence of the mighty computer was turned into creative engine.

Plus, I find this interesting because it obviously leads to curious game design propositions, and bc it makes me think of how to take this into consideration in video game design itself: how would you enable the other persons around a player to use paper to improve the game? Can one create a game in which the person holding the controller needs a friend to use a hand-drawn map to help her?

Besides, no one here thought of booklets with video game grids, Zelda open world maps in B&W versions, Super Mario Sunshine levels... with weird paper game mechanics so that players can "interact" with them? I'm pretty sure this exist. The Star Wars starfighter battle book series is a good start but still...

Update: another curious example found here, it looks like UX prototyping.

Update: another curious example found here, it looks like UX prototyping.

“Hommage à New-York” by Florent Deloison: a game in…



“Hommage à New-York” by Florent Deloison: a game in which the player has to destroy the computer code creating the game:

Dans cette version, au lieu des casser des briques, le joueur doit détruire le code informatique à l’origine du jeu, qui finit immanquablement par s’arrêter de fonctionner lorsque des commandes essentielles au programme ont été supprimées. Un gros bouton rouge situé sur le pupitre de commande permet de rédémarrer le jeu.

Outrun, by Garnet Hertz: OutRun offers a unique mixed reality…



Outrun, by Garnet Hertz:

OutRun offers a unique mixed reality simulation as one physically drives through an 8-bit video game. The windshield of the system features custom software that transforms the real world into an 8-bit video game, enabling the user to have limitless gameplay opportunities while driving. Hertz has designed OutRun to de-simulate the driving component of a video game: where game simulations strive to be increasingly realistic (usually focused on graphics), this system pursues “real” driving through the game. Additionally, playing off the game-like experience one can have driving with an automobile navigation system, OutRun explores the consequences of using only a computer model of the world as a navigation tool for driving.