Yet, when it comes to the length of games, I’m never sure of how best to approach designing one. Sure, having a game that stands like a music album is gorgeous, and if players want to come back to it again and again, wonderful… but what about the difference between music albums and works of literature?

I know I read the Great Gatsby in far more than an hour. It might have taken me three, but it was still an immersive, enjoyable experience. And analyzing it afterwards took me a lot longer, as well. I’d say I put about 30 hours into the experience as a whole. Now, if I want to appeal to the casual reader who isn’t so much interested in literature, I’m sure making a music album would be much more approachable, but what if I want to make a game for a literary buff who doesn’t have that much taste for music?
Or what if I’d like to appeal to both?

A game that follows a literary path in its storytelling and composition is usually very long and requires a lot of elements to keep a player entranced and focused. Games like Half-Life, System Shock 2, and Silent Hill are like reading novels that spring to life and assault you.

I keep dwelling on that idea. Making short and sweet games is wonderful. But I don’t just want to entertain–I want to expand. It would be wonderful if your gameplay experience could make people think profoundly. And that can be done in a short and sweet experience, like we all saw in Passage, yes. But Passage was a beautiful poem. I’d love to write a beautiful book.