Endgames - Creating Goals in Sandboxes

It's a new year, and many of us resolve to accomplish some goals before it comes to a close. Me? I intend to blog more, among other things. Anyway, goals were sort of on my mind, and I was thinking about games that lacked a specific set of goals for the player.

Most games throughout history have a set of goals built into the rules. There are specific win conditions outlined when players start the game so they always know the goals they are pursuing. It could be argued these win conditions in the rules are a defining characteristic of "games" as opposed to "play." Rescue the princess, kill the boss, survive as long as possible to get a high score; these are all driving forces in games. They give the game purpose and encourage the player to continue. With the introduction of in-game achievements, there are also additional sub-goals that players can choose to pursue for additional challenge or bragging rights.

Are these win conditions or specific goals necessary for a successful game, though? The Sims is a game in which the player is never given any explicit goals, and yet it is the best selling PC game to date. Minecraft is another, more recent, example of a true "sandbox" type game that lacks any explicit goals for the player. It has sold over 900,000 copies despite just recently entering beta.

I've found it somewhat disturbing that some people don't "get" games like Minecraft. They don't see the point to it since there are no explicit goals. They call it a "toy" and not a "game." This seems to denote a lack of creativity on the part of the player.

I find games without set goals invigorating because they allow me to set my own goals and tell my own stories in them. In Minecraft, for example, I have enforced my own additional rules to set my own goals for the game. I play on Hard, in which dangerous monsters appear frequently at night, and I restart the game, deleting that particular world and all my progress there, if I happen to be killed. By adding these rules to those provided with the game, I have created a new game, one of survival. My first goal was to survive a night. With that accomplished, my new goal was to dig deep enough to mine diamond without dying. After the Halloween update, I gave myself the new goal of making it to the Nether world and back without dying. Once I met all these goals, I felt a sense of accomplishment even though the game gave me no recognition for them.

Construction in Minecraft has been compared to building with Lego blocks several times, and I think the analogy is apt on many levels. Lego blocks have very few inherent rules; in fact, the only real "rules" to Legos are the ways in which they can be physically attached. Most sets came with a booklet detailing steps to build the predefined structure (castle, pirate ship, etc.) in the set. I wonder now what the hell people did with their Legos once these structures were built? That set was "beaten," Achievement Unlocked. Were they simple placed on a shelf to be admired? I certainly hope not! What a waste that would be! Once the castle was built, the game began!

I often staged grand battles and told elaborate stories with my Legos. I made "games" with the "toys" provided to me with the Lego blocks by adding some rules, a bit of narrative. I worry sometimes that players have begun to see achievements and in-game goals as a crutch. These goals define the game experience, but they also limit it if the player is unwilling or, Heaven forbid, unable to explore beyond them.

Perhaps there is a happy medium. Perhaps the dedicated sandboxes of The Sims and Minecraft can woo some players with achievements. "Your Sim has advanced to the end of a career path! Congrats!" "You dug to the bottom of the map! Yippee!" It's not my cup of tea, but if it turns more players to sandbox games which still offer them the opportunity to create their own goals, it may be worth a shot.