Would AAMFP be better if it would NOT be considered a game, like Dear Esther?

[Kreekakon]

I don't think there's too much of a point debating whether AMFP is a game, or not. What's important I feel is if you enjoyed it, or not. If you did, or didn't who cares if it can be considered a game, or not? Would being considered one, not add to, or detract from your enjoyment of it?

To use a more practical example:

Guy 1: Yes I beat AMFP, and I enjoyed it a lot!! But...but...lack of interactivity...simple stuff...this is not a game! By principle I must now dislike this because it is not a game even though primitively I enjoy it!!

[GregorusPrime]

But people aren't saying it just to be arbitrary. They're saying it because their enjoyment of the experience is diminished by the lack of interactivity.

After playing a bit more I'm more convinced that this is the case than ever. The plot is more intriguing than I gave it credit for so far, but I can't help but think that yes, being able to throw books and such around would absolutely increase my enjoyment of the game. Can you honestly say that not being able to pick up and examine those weird pig masks doesn't disappoint you? Do you really think it's a good thing that significant objects in this game are differentiated by everything else by virtue of the fact that you can only do with them what you could do with EVERY object in TDD? Picking things up, opening drawers and cabinets, moving those damn brooms around and being able to attempt to open broken, impassable doors was important. It made the game world feel more real. It made it feel like you were really in a crumbling medieval castle rather than an amateurish haunted house where everything is nailed down so you don't mess it up.

[Diango12]

I don't think there's too much of a point debating whether AMFP is a game, or not. What's important I feel is if you enjoyed it, or not. If you did, or didn't who cares if it can be considered a game, or not? Would being considered one, not add to, or detract from your enjoyment of it?

To use a more practical example:

Guy 1: Yes I beat AMFP, and I enjoyed it a lot!! But...but...lack of interactivity...simple stuff...this is not a game! By principle I must now dislike this because it is not a game even though primitively I enjoy it!!

I enjoyed Dear Esther. It was a good game as far as interactive novels go. A:amfp is even better than Dear Esther. But the issue is expectation and hype. When you don't deliver on promised hype that stewed for a couple of years you end up with a bitter consumer base.

This is the critical point. I enjoy playing cup-and-ball. Its somewhat fun. But if for my tenth birthday I am promised a brand new 16 bit Sega Genesis and instead I get cup-and-ball, then it's not going to be an enjoyable experience. At least until the bitter resentment dies down.

I believe this game will receive a better outlook when the disappointment, that TCR created for themselves with the Amnesia marketing, eventually wears off. Rightfully so, I really hope this is a harmless ( its 50 / 50 mixed reception now ) marketing lesson that FG and TCR learn and apply to their future titles. You can't just conveniently ignore these things as game producers.

[cantremember]

Many people critisize a Machine for Pigs (including me) but I'm sure most will in the end learn to appreciate it over time.

[Istrebitel]

Well, thanks for the input. I guess it is clear that some people have an opinion that AAMFP is a game and some thing it isn't. However, that is not the point of this topic, kinda.

We can argue until the end of time, present arguments and proofs (and ridicule opponent's arguments like "if AAMFP is a game then windows and ebook is too"). What I was thinking is, maybe it would be better if AAMFP did not call itself a game. It doesn't mean it cannot be CONSIDERED to be a game by individuals (no matter how numbered they are). It means that it doesn't try to enforce this.

Look, if publisher says "this is a game", then if someone thinks it is NOT a game, he has a valid right to complain, right? Because he was sold something that he finds not being something it was advertised to be. However, if publisher says "this is a story told through interactive 3d environment", meaning not a game, and then someone thinks it IS a game, he has no right to complain, but quite the opposite - he thinks "oh this is all that publisher claimed, but it's also a game, great!"

Win-win situation, no?

[Patacorow]

Yes, probably, but I payed for a sequel to Amnesia, not Dear Esther ffs.

[Rya.Reisender]

It would have been good as a movie, as a game it's just linear, has lack of interactivity and in the end has just bad gameplay.