+
+I've been reading a book called Personal, Portable, Pedestrian on how Japanese youth adopted the cellphone, or keitai as the book prefers to call it, since feature phones in Japan worked a bit differently there than other places (email instead of texting, use of internet through i-mode, which was like a better wap internet[1]).
+Even though the book is of course, in some ways, obsolete (it came out before smartphones were a thing), it's still really good at showing how cellphones created a new, or altered, technologically augmented social sphere. It's really interesting, and encouraging study into how technology has a different effect once it takes a place in the everydays, and how technology can be cozy. It's even a reminder to not get too scared of how much we might be using our smartphones and tablets, as intimacy is different, but still a real thing, when it happens in virtual space.
+Playfulness has changed with technology as well. The games I like, often aren't really meant to be social experiences, and yet shared experiences naturally become common ground and leads to friendship. Game technology in and of itself too, has changed how social space and friendship might be. TVs with video game consoles and controllers plugged in create the couch experience (The ultimate of which I've already discussed) and as far back as Phantasy Star Online, consoles have been an even easier way of staying connected and play with friends virtually.
+This last example seems to be the default way of playing socially for many people today. Built-in systems to easily connect, chat and play with friends. With the Switch, Nintendo of course wants to do things differently (as usual), but it will be interesting to see how it works out:
+The unpluggable controllers for to create an instant multiplayer device anywhere is a great idea. There's no discussion, it's just great.
Trailers suggest that Switch consoles can sense each other, so two switches means instant four-player multiplayer. Again, this is great.
Online chat is done on a separate smartphone app. What? This seems so counter-intuitive. Why, Nintendo? What's the point? Is the software a resource thief on the Switch?
The last item on that list made me go as far as to think Nintendo might be planning a full-on android phone. It seems weird to need a non-Nintendo device to get the full experience on a Nintendo console/tablet, and it seems weird that there are Nintendo games that can't be played on Nintendo devices. Finally, whether or not Nintendo will keep supporting the 3DS, eventually the 3DS will be over, and a 3DS-2 doesn't make sense when there is a Switch. Phones and tablets aren't the completely same market though, and if the famicom/nes were the Nintendo answer to the PC, and the Switch is first gaming tablet, why couldn't there be a Nintendo Phone as an answer to the smartphone?
+What I don't have an idea about, but am really curious to see, would be, what kind of social playful space, could a Nintendo Phone create? What feeling does a more playful device create in such a cozy and personal space?
+Which was shitty internet, if anyone doesn't know. ↩
+
+
+It doesn't take more than one or two strikes before the first enemies in most games disappear in an explosion of smoke or blood. Sometimes it's satisfying, other times its empty. Most often though, it's a simple task, and one we have to repeat many times over.
+The reason is probably as straightforward as we need to understand how to kill. Both the seasoned players and the green ones. This reason also explains why the first enemies don't have complex behaviour. That would make trouble for the new players. The simplicity is sometimes alleviated by good visual design (like the classic look of the Dragon Quest slime or the splicers of Bioshock).
+Another, probably more interesting thing to do, is to hide more interesting behaviour behind the player's increasing body of knowledge and skills.
+Take the replacable grunts in the classic Viewtiful Joe. Punch them a bit, they die, but the entire system of the game is built around juggling the deaths of these poor sods, so that that cause more havoc in their demise.
+Another interesting mechanic is, if simple enemies play the role of both chum and resource. Any game with a creature that is farmed for ingredients fullfil this role, but if the resource gathered is part of the overall gameplay loop, the harvesting makes the simple enemies feel like they are part of an eco-system.
+My favorite mechanic though, is it simply just feels gooooood to kill a weak (or any) enemy. It doesn't even have to be the final blow though: Good old Tales of Phantasia for the snes is a delight for all 60-70 hours of the game to hammer endless amounts of fantasy beasts to the ground. The best example, though, is Resident Evil 4, where even the easiest enemy, is a treasure trove of fun ways to die (including the superb headshot-pumpkin-explosion) while also being a system for survival, where enemies can be incapacitated, slowed down, disarmed or simply murdered.
+Not all these mechanics work in all games (and definitely not all at once), but the initial enemies could definitely be considered a chance to both let experienced players relax, provide immediate satisfaction in the battle system, and perhaps even be icebergs, eventually showing the full depth and breadth of the game.