Freedom is one of the defining features of games. Nearly all games impose on the freedom of the player using gameplay and story, but a well-designed game will make players forget that other options exist.

• When do my players have freedom of action? Do they feel free at these times?
• When are players constrained? Do they feel constrained at these times?
• Are there any places I can let players feel more free than they do now?
• Are there any places where players are overwhelmed by too much freedom?

• Lens Of Action
• Lens of Side Quests

Unlike any other medium, the “narrative” of a game is informed from two unique directions: the story, which is what characters say and how things are justified, and the gameplay, which is what you actually do when controlling the actions of the player character. The thematic conflict that can occur between these two aspects is what game designer Clint Hocking called ludonarrative dissonance.

The lens is industry standard.

Goal-setting

• Sargent, J. (2012, November 1). Videogame Bigotry and the Illusion of Freedom. FAIR. Retrieved May 11, 2014, from http://fair.org/extra-online-articles/videogame-bigotry-and-the-illusion-of-freedom/

Daniel Jost