Determining what makes a video game fun is a difficult answer to pinpoint. Many players value engaging combat requiring calculated stratagems, others prize the ability to solve puzzles in unique ways through the provided mechanics, and some place emphasis on the ability to create unique stories through the game’s digital world. The unifying factor, I think, is the presence of a goal worth pursuing. This does not equate to a need for overtly challenging gameplay; rather, the player defines an accomplishment that can be achieved through time or trial. The presence of intent is what makes a good game great.
Of course, this is an oversimplification. There is a lot more that goes into making a game than setting up a finish line for the player. It is important to note that the player defines the accomplishment worth pursuing, not the developer. Sure, the game’s creators need to ensure their work is enticing, but ultimately it is up to the consumer to decide if something is worth their time. This distinction explains the dividing opinions sometimes seen over a single game (art is subjective, after all).
Pulling this down to the personal scale, I began to wonder why I enjoy my favourite video games the way I do. Some are so vastly different from others, that it cannot be as simple as saying I simply like this franchise and that genre. What is it precisely that makes me have fun in a game? Recently, one title has provided some clarity: Baldur’s Gate 3.
At first, I was not sold on Baldur’s Gate. I had never played Dungeons & Dragons – the universe that Baldur’s Gate is a part of – and I do not claim to be the biggest fan of turn-based games, at least outside of Pokémon. However, trusting public acclaim, I decided to purchase the game on a whim and dive into a new world in search of answers.
To save any readers’ precious time, I will limit my comments of the game itself to this: it is fantastic. I am not here to debate the 2023 Game of the Year’s astounding success, or divulge specific gameplay strategies I used. Instead, this is my takeaway from the game’s most treacherous difficulty setting, Honour Mode, and what it taught me about having fun in a video game.
For any who do not know, Honour Mode is a single-save variant of Baldur’s Gate 3. In other words, if your party of four dies, you are forced to forfeit the campaign and delete your save file (alternatively, you are given the option to continue the campaign on a lower difficulty, but who does that?). Accomplishing a successful Honour Mode campaign became my goal. I cannot lie and claim doing so was easy. Having virtually no prior knowledge on the systems that exist in Dungeons and Dragons did not do me any favours. But through determination, time, and a lot of luck, I was able to do it.
Here are two takeaways from my experience that turned this gruelling process into one of the most fun gaming adventures I’ve ever had:
1. The Ability to Drive Your Own Narrative
First things first: no, I did not beat Honour Mode on the first try. In fact, I did not make it half an hour into the campaign before horribly failing my first attempt. Eventually, I got better, still meeting failure, but overcoming the embarrassingly low level fights that were previously taking me out. On one occasion, I died in the final act of the game, moments away from completion. I was unbearably close to the end of the campaign with about 40 hours sunk into this particular playthrough, and lost it all.
Was that frustrating? Honestly, there was an initial wave of disappointment, but this was rapidly replaced with excitement. Why? Because it was a chance to create a new story with a new character. One thing no one can fault Baldur’s Gate for is a lack of character development, and I love creating characters.
Any amount of tediousness that was accompanied by having to start at square one was quickly overridden by the eagerness to develop a new character with their own history and specialties, every time. The in-game systems heavily enable this attitude, it is D&D, after all. Being able to tell my own stories allowed for multiple captivating experiences. Some of those stories ended in failure, but not every story has a happy ending, and that does not make them any less worth experiencing.
2. The Freedom of Choice
In Baldur’s Gate 3, there is always a choice to be made. Some of the deadliest encounters can be avoided – or started – depending on the actions your character has taken. As I have experienced first-hand, randomness and unpredictability are the greatest enemies of any Dungeons and Dragons player. However, possessing the means to satisfy the question of “what happens if I do this?” outweighed the potential dangers it often involved my party in. This led to the end of a campaign on occasion, so technically speaking, maybe that question’s answer was not always worth the risk. However, playing on my own terms had a way of making each interaction feel fresh, even though I had played it multiple times before.
Whether it is curiosity or plain old impulse, knowing that I am not being funnelled into playing a specific narrative is something I grew to truly value with each iterative playthrough. I am happy to comply with a game’s overarching story direction, but I want to get there how I please, even if it means playing unconventionally at times.
After I had beaten Honour Mode, one might assume I was fatigued of Baldur’s Gate. In all honesty, later that day I selected “New Game” once again, and started crafting a new tale. At this point, even I did not understand why I was not sick of the game. I had just committed an absurd amount of time to overcoming this ruthless goal, and yet I couldn’t wait to dive in again and start from scratch.
The best explanation I have come up with is for the two reasons outlined above, which seem to form the foundation of my common goal in playing video games. I have an affinity for creating stories and unique characters, and I do not want to be pigeon-holed in having them overly conform to a certain standard. The original objective I outlined in this piece was completing Honour Mode, but underneath that, I think the idea was always to make a story of my own. And one step further, have fun doing so.
Baldur’s Gate 3 helped me to identify that which I admire most in a video game, and has earned a place among my favourite games of all time. With that being said, I’ll be sticking to lower difficulty modes from now on.