The place with which we identify, where we can relax, be ourselves. The place where we keep our most precious mementos. The place that accompanies us through the ups and downs of life. A feeling and place at the same time - sometimes firmly located in one place for the whole of our lives, sometimes traveling with us on our life's journey - home.
In times of the coronavirus it gained importance in two ways: For many it is both safe haven and prison for quarantine cases. I had planned to take the theme of home in games elsewhere, but the pandemic got me thinking: If we have such conflicted feelings about where we live, what experiences does home in games evoke? What aspects of it have been translated into mechanics? What aesthetics are created by mechanics in different genres, and how do they differ from each other?
Let's look at this topic from a UX and game design perspective!
Functions of 'home' in MMoRPGs
When you hear about home in the context of games, you might think of the actual virtual buildings and rooms that can be customized in some games. Home customization is, for example, an important game element in MMORPGs such as Aion [1] (but also in simulators such as SIMS, e.g. [2]) and often comes with options for in-game purchases. Customization can lead to a broad form of aesthetics from a game design perspective.
The space allows players the opportunity for self-expression through customization, in that objects such as furniture, decorations, and wallpaper can be matched to each other according to one's preferences. Depending on the game, it is possible to invite friends there (e.g. Gaia Online [3]) and chat with them there - like a virtual tea party. If the players project themselves a bit into their avatar and the virtual environment, a feeling of connectedness with online friends can be enabled, which probably would not have been possible via a pure chat interface (aesthetics community).
The virtual space can also go beyond the function of self-expression (for oneself) and communicate status (success, wealth, progress) to other players.
The things we cherish and that communicate self-esteem-supporting values vary on a subjective level (depending on what we value) and by groups of people, depending on the social 'bubble' we are in. Interestingly, in my view, these are often decorative items or objects that have a pragmatic purpose/meaning (designer couch) but are enriched by hedonic [4] aspects, such as 'visual aesthetics' (special, unique look, expensive materials).
I'm sure some of you remember display cabinets where your grandparents displayed the fine porcelain - for your grandparents, the value here probably goes beyond the mere functionality 'you can serve food on it'. What items do you own in the real world that communicate a part of yourself to the outside world, or that you have deliberately placed in a nice visible location? A big TV, an audio system, expensive carpets, a big book collection, paintings, expensive watches, big plants, a figurine collection, or maybe games posters?
In Final Fantasy XIV [5], residential properties themselves are expensive, with only a limited number of buildings available for each server. The housing market is hotly contested, with demand significantly higher than the number of offers. Just owning a house communicates progress, wealth and success in the game to other players. In terms of UX, receiving acknowledgement from fellow players can represent an ultimate 'be-goal' for players, i.e. an overarching goal from which the motivation for smaller actions then arises.
In Final Fantasy XIV, furnishings are generally crafted. Rare items are made from crafting materials obtained from challenges, such as raid bosses. The customization of the home fulfills a much more important purpose besides the expression through progress by owning living space and expensive furnishings: the expression of one's own taste (aesthetics self-expression, sensory pleasure). The virtual home can thus become a place of well-being and retreat, inviting people to linger and relax. Players can add sound to the atmosphere by choosing their favorite song from the original soundtrack and playing it with an orchestrion.
Screenshot of a house in Final Fantasy XIV, courtesy of Km3Xx#1303
Players can also place mementos (aesthetics 'meaning') there to remind them of certain game moments. It is even possible to set up an aquarium with your own caught fish: "Your prized fish will go unnoticed no longer with an aquarium in the house! They're available in four sizes to accommodate aquatic creatures of all kinds. The tank can also be dressed up with one of several designs to show off your latest catch in style [8]."
Screenshot of an Aquarium in Final Fantasy XIV, courtesy of Km3Xx#1303
There are elements in Final Fantasy XIV's housing that can serve practical (pragmatic) purposes, such as patches that offer the possibility to farm certain items, NPCs that provide time savings, storage options, etc. Nevertheless, the features of the housing mechanics in Final Fantasy XIV are largely aimed at hedonic experiences.
To summarize, we have learnt that housing mechanics in MMOs, using Final Fantasy XIV as an example, thus primarily provide space for the following aesthetics:
Community-through virtual space to meet with friends or the support of friends in the house project.
Meaningfulness through mementos of past experiences and reflection on the progress traveled
Self-expression, imagination through the opportunity for self-expression - for oneself and in front of others
Challenge, e.g. through pure ownership in the highly competitive housing market or the goal of creating a particularly beautiful interior compared to other players
In order to serve a wide range of players and thus many player types [7], the offer of many choices in terms of color combinations, styles for self-expression, the possibility to visit each other and through competition (rare items, getting possession of property) are necessary here.
Home in RPGs
Corvo Bianco in The Witcher 3
In RPGs, such as The Witcher [11] and Skyrim [12], housing rooms generally have MMO-like functions - of course without the mechanics that require interaction with other players.
Interactions with NPCs are possible here, supporting the role-playing aspect. In Skyrim, for example, children can be adopted, which can then be found in the player's own home. Huscarls (companions) also rest there if you don't take them with you on your journey.
The functionality of placing mementos and more generally items of emotional or economic value is commonly more foregrounded in RPGs than in MMOs. In The Witcher [11] and Skyrim [12], players can gradually attach the books, weapons & co they have found on adventures to walls, armor and sword racks.
Corvo Bianco in The Witcher 3
Due to their storage function, residences in RPGs are often part of the inventory management: Good items can be saved for later without burdening the baggage on further journeys.
Survival Games
Screenshot of a possible base in The Long Dark
Let's switch to one of my favorite genres: Survival games. Here, a single player usually fights against the odds of his environment - be it a jungle full of poisonous animals (Green Hell [13]), zombies/mutants (Mist Survival [14], The Forest [15]) or wind, weather and food shortage (The Long Dark [16]). In this race against time, players are in a constant state of internal tension. Depending on the difficulty level, every minute, every decision can make the difference between life and death. Shelters allow players to take a breather (important for comfortable pacing). To recollect, make plans, and prepare.
Screenshot of a possible base in The Long Dark
I would argue that a big part of the fun in survival games, besides exploration, is a sense of self-efficacy - by strategizing, opening up new areas, and upgrading as you go. Although the danger always remains imminent to some degree, over time you no longer feel like a pawn in adversity, but in control to some degree.
Shelters thus allow players to play proactively rather than reactively. Above all, they are functional - serving as preparation sites for further adventures and explorations. They provide space for equipment improvements via crafting, as a storage place for found resources.
Compared to customizable buildings in MMoRPGs, visual aesthetics is not the primary focus here. In some games, like in The Long Dark [16] for example, walls etc. in shelters can't even be customized. In The Forest [15], shelters can be built from scratch and decorated to some extent, but it isn’t in the game’s core focus.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the lack of floral wallpaper, I personally experience a sense of coziness when the winds howl and a blizzard breaks over the land in The Long Dark [16], while sitting next to my hoarded supplies in front of a warm fire. It is in these archaic moments that a sense of security sets in for me. And that's the moment when, in survival games, a shelter, a cave, or a hut you've taken over becomes a home. On an emotional level, shelters in survival games provide a sense of security.
Minecraft
Minecraft’s [17] survival mode makes the game a mixture of a sandbox-simulator and a survival game. Some even argue that it is the ancestor of our modern survival genre.
Bases/homes serve a similar function to shelters in the survival games listed above: They can, for instance, convey a sense of security to the player. However, here the player isn’t ultimately safe (who hasn’t experienced a creeper in one’s home yet?).
It is no surprise that the freedom of creativity in Minecraft [17] is reflected in the role of “home”. Be it building a mud hut or terrascaping an entire hill and creating your own little Rivendell, Minecraft [17] challenges your imagination and invites you to unleash your fantasy and express yourself. This can take place on an artistic level (colours, composition, materials), or on a technical level (creating complex redstone-mechanisms).
Short Recap:
Initial Base. Players return here again and again, and the feelings the player associates with the place turn it into a home over time.
Closely linked to sense of security
Through visible progress in the form of collected supplies, players potentially experience Aesthetic Meaningfulness, the hardships feel potentially meaningful; also self-efficacy and Achievement
Pacing: by generally requiring players to return regularly, tension is taken out of the game, players can take a breath
Interim summary
Homes help to reflect a sense of progression
A feeling of meaningfulness of one’s actions/development within the game over time can arise - either by viewing one’s gathered items in survival games or mementos
Homes establish the feeling of a safe space, comfort
They potentially enable self-expression
They can enable a sense of connectedness to other players and help transport desirable aspects one might like to communicate to others
With this in mind, our first article comes to an end. In the next one we’ll have a look in what ways narratives and mechanics can make use of these feelings/aesthetics. Spoiler alert: We’ll go to the dark side.
Thanks for reading, take care!
Sources
[1] NCsoft, Aion. 2008.
[2] Maxis, The Sims Studio, The SIMS 4. Playstation 4, Xbox One, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, 2014.
[3] Gaia Interactive, Gaia Online. San José, 2003.
[4] M. Hassenzahl, „The hedonic/pragmatic model of user experience“, in Towards a UX Manifesto, Lancaster, Sep. 2007, S. 10–14. [Online]. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gavin_Macarthur/publication/257048076_Making_User_Experience_a_Business_Strategy/links/02e7e52441da6bbdcc000000.pdf#page=16
[5] Square Enix, Final Fantasy XIV. Microsoft Windows, 2010. [Online]. Available at: https://de.finalfantasyxiv.com/
[6] B. Dancer, YouTube. Pastel Haven - House Walkthrough FFXIV, (März 2021). [Online]. Verfügbar unter: https://youtu.be/zuHFAt75i0Y
[7] R. Bartle, „HEARTS, CLUBS, DIAMONDS, SPADES: PLAYERS WHO SUIT MUDS“, MUSE Ltd, Colchester, Essex, United Kingdom, Juni 1996. [Online]. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247190693_Hearts_clubs_diamonds_spades_Players_who_suit_MUDs
[8] Square Enix, „FFXIV Patch 3.4 SOUL SURRENDER“. https://eu.finalfantasyxiv.com/pr/special/3_4_Soul_Surrender/ (zugegriffen 21. Januar 2022).
[9] R. Hunicke, M. Leblanc, und R. Zubek, „MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research“. Januar 2004. [Online]. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228884866_MDA_A_Formal_Approach_to_Game_Design_and_Game_Research
[10] H. Wesseloh und M. Schumann, „Einsatz von Gamification zum Fördern intrinsischer Motivation - Aktueller Stand der Forschung und Herleitung eines Forschungsmodells“, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, 3/19, Okt. 2019. Accessed: 21. Januar 2022. [Online]. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336414357_Einsatz_von_Gamification_zum_Fordern_intrinsischer_Motivation_-_Aktueller_Stand_der_Forschung_und_Herleitung_eines_Forschungsmodells
[11] CD Projekt, CD Projekt RED, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, 2015.
[12] Bethesda Game Studios, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, 2011.
[13] Creepy Jar, Forever Entertainment, Incuvo SA, Green Hell. PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, 2018.
[14] Dimension 32 Entertainment, Rati Wattanakornprasit, Mist Survival. Microsoft Windows, 2018.
[15] Endnight Games, Endnight Games Ltd, The Forest. PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, 2014.
[16] Hinterland Studio, The Long Dark. PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS, 2014.
[17] Mojang Studios, Telltale Games, Xbox Game Studios, 4J Studios, Other Ocean Interactive, Double Eleven, Minecraft. 2009.
