Games Without Goals: The Endless Forest

In the Gainesville Sun insert section, Scene, an article in the January 24, 2008 edition by Laurie Taylor describes a new MMPOG, The Endless Forest. According to her description, players take on the avatar of a deer and set off “frolicking in a magical wonderland.” Taylor also states that the game “has no rules and no required goals”. This may be in part due to being a social screensaver application. There are also cultural institutions like art museums supporting the project.

Still, I’m left wondering, do games need to have goals to be successful? I realize the term successful is rather subjective, but for argument sake, let’s discuss in terms of longevity in the gaming world. I am making the assumption that a direct correlation exists between longevity and the number of subscribers. Currently, there are just over 23,000 named deer in The Endless Forest according the games website, http://www.tale-of-tales.com/TheEndlessForest/.

The skeptic in me wonders why bother with the game if I’m not working towards an end? My involvement in MMPOG is limited to say the least but I’ve enjoyed console based games where you did have clear objectives if you wanted to win or be successful. Are there other games without goals and do players enjoy them enough to have longevity?

I also wonder how The Endless Forest will evolve if there are no rules. Will players eventually create both rules and goals even if they are not explicitly set at the outset of the game? How long will it be before someone arrives in the “harmonious” VE set in “magical landscapes” with a hunting rifle and takes down some of deer? The Tale of Tales FAQ suggests that in the future, the game will add more content that is “simply pretty or poetic”.

The game appears insistent on all avatars being gender neutral and experience the world as just deer. Not a male deer. Not a female deer. There is an explanation in the FAQ, but of course, all of the gender-free deer have antlers that are typical of a stag.

On another note, the article also mentions the Independent Games Festival coming up in San Francisco. Check it out at http://www.igf.com.