Game Analysis Assignment

            A work of literature that I find really rewarding is Paolo Coehlo’s The Alchemist, which charts the journey of a young sheep herder in his quest for hidden treasure. The young boy is faced with the quest of fulfilling his dream, one that involves traveling for years, meeting a colorful array of people, and dealing with a series of trials. Along the way, he is guided by signs in the desert around him, some pulling him away from his life’s goal, and others which pull him towards it. Coehlo’s work centers itself on the importance of following your dream, and the insistence that even a poor sheep herder boy can find his way to that dream, and the wealth we all should strive for in life: the wealth of persistence, the wealth of the struggle – the journey itself.

The game I would design in the spirit of one of my favorite novels would be a sort of virtual/spiritual/adventure game, in which the player would pose as the young sheep herder. The game begins in his home town, where his dreams are first challenged by his parents, who insist that there is not much out in the greater world that is worth the boys’ time. Perhaps the boy is met with physical representations of the signs and crossroads that challenge him, for example a giant boulder stands in the way of his herd. The boulder represents stagnation, an inability to move forward, and he has to find a way to move it, or opt to leave his herd in pursuit of a different calling. The objective of the game is to fulfill the boy’s dream of finding the hidden treasure. The boy is armed with two things: his dream, and a book with which to take valuable “notes” on his journey. This is where the player must keep a journal that documents important advice, contacts, and the struggles and triumphs of his journey. There will be an option, whenever someone is talking to you, to right click and put something that person is telling you into your journal or library.  The player must utilize his earthly surroundings, and resources from the towns and people that he encounters along the way. The people he meets will constantly offer him tokens or clues as to where the treasure is located, some, once again, which weigh him down and others which propel him forward. In the player journal, you also have the option of sketching items that have symbolic meaning, which you can then take appropriate notes next to.

Getting the answers the boy needs demands that the right questions are asked of the appropriate people and that attention to the details are paid. After all, like the book, the game will celebrate the journey more so than the destination. Decoding the player’s surroundings in a significant way is also key. Sometimes getting to a destination involves expensive travel, and working hard at a particular job. In the novel, for instance, the boy works for years at a small shop; these jobs can be distracting, and although they are sometimes necessary to fulfilling the ultimate goal, they can stop the boy in his tracks. The player must be wary of signs that tell him he is losing sight of his dream. The option to give up and start all over is available and should be emphasized as an option, but the game should be programmed to discourage this. Even if a player is not making a lot of progress toward his goal when he opts to quit, the game itself (a very interactive role-playing game) should offer more signs, opportunities, and characters to discourage giving up. The game ends when the boy gets to his final destination, and claims his treasure.