THE TWO QUESTIONS: What do I want? & How can I get it?

[droqen]

• What do I want?
• How can I get it?

When I'm playing a game, these are the questions I end up asking myself -- the big, important questions about my experience. If the answer to either question is uninteresting, I don't continue play.

What do I want?

First of all, I must want something. Lately, I've found myself wanting knowledge. I want to know how to do this thing, I want to know what lies behind this door, I want to try something new so that I know what it feels like.

Linear games might expect me to want something, even impress upon me what it is that I ought to want. (I naturally rebel.)

Open-world games often drop the ball, leaving me to wonder what it is that I want and to answer "nothing." (I am nihilistic. RIP)

How can I get it?

Secondly, if I want something, I want to understand how I get there. In some cases the answer being not immediately apparent is interesting -- if the answer is "I don't know, but if I pursue some of my other interests I may find out," that's often compelling enough if I do in fact have other interests as a player.