I love vibe checks in video games, and to be clear, when I say vibe check, I mean it
in the purest sense of the phrase—that being taking a second to measure where a person
is at emotionally, and not, ya know, something like this.
I find a lot of value in those small moments where a game asks me to stop what I’m doing
and just reflect, breathe, and consider why I am doing the things I’m doing.
While these types of breaks may seem inconsequential, they help give me the space to recognize what
I am enjoying about a game instead of just grinding through it without appreciating the
ways it’s pulling me in.
Progression is a major motivator for most players, and it comes in all sorts of forms.
Like, the progression of a character’s skills and abilities or the progression of a story
or simply, the progression of a completion percentage.
Accomplishing these things gives players that nice sense of satisfaction for hitting a new
benchmark which then motivates them to move on to the next goal to get a little more of
that dopamine-fueled satisfaction.
That’s how gameplay loops typically work, but, for me at least, it is really easy to
get so caught up in those loops that before I’m even halfway through a game, I’m already
thinking about how good it will feel to be at the end of the game, regardless of how
much I’m enjoying it.
And, that leads to me rushing through experiences I don’t actually want to rush through.
The pacing of video games is different than any other medium because so much of it is
dependent on how the player engages with the world around them.
If left unchecked, some players will approach games with the mindset of consuming them instead
of experiencing them.
Especially over the past few years where I have been trying to play more games so that
I have more things to pull from when making videos, I find myself slipping into that consumption
headspace a lot, which is why those simple moments where a game practically forces me
to stop and reflect on what I’m doing are so important to me because they get me to
remember that I’m playing a game to enjoy the experience, not just finish it.
Vibe checks come in all sorts of forms, but one of the most common are save-points.
They are literally a way to mark progression, and the best of them create space for players
to mentally mark that progress as well.
Bonfires in Dark Souls are one of the most famous and well done examples of this.
As the series has a steep learning curve due to its unforgiving difficulty and sprawling
map, there is nothing quite like the relief that comes from finding a bonfire after a
long, fraught journey.
It’s a checkpoint that releases the tension that comes from the threat of losing progress.
And while all checkpoints do this to a degree, not all of them are made with this kind of
intention; plenty are just meant to be run through as the player continues along in the
level.
But Dark Souls wants players to soak in that relief.
Lighting a bonfire and then sitting at it causes smoke to wash across the screen accompanied
by the soothing sound of a fire being lit, ensuring players that, while dangers are still
out there, as long as they stay at the fire, they’re safe.
It gives them the chance to catalogue the challenges they’ve overcome before rushing
off to the next thing that will almost certainly kill them.
Another famous example of this comes from the Resident Evil series in the form of save
rooms.
Many entries in the franchise use these to provide a respite for players where they can
escape the relentless threats pursuing them and vibe out to some haunting yet relaxing
music.
It helps punctuate the thrill of the action and horror scenes by giving players a sense
of safety so that they don’t grow numb to the tension of being chased down by Mr. X
or toyed with by the Baker family.
Without these moments of safety and reflection, the scary and exciting stuff wouldn’t land
in the same way because there would be too much of it.
Of course, my favorite instance of this kind of vibe check comes from Hollow Knight with
the benches.
Much like Dark Souls, the combination of Hollow Knight’s difficult encounters and massive
world to get lost in makes coming across a bench feel like a godsend.
They act as a checkpoint, update the map, and give players the chance to consider how
best to move forward.
Anytime I enter a bench room, I feel like I can breath again, and a large part of that
comes from how much I love the track that plays in these rooms, aptly titled Reflection.
With most games, I take breaks by turning them off and doing something else, but with
Hollow Knight, especially on my first playthrough, I would take breaks by just sitting on these
benches and listening to the song play over and over again.
It was a video game space that I just liked being in.
It helped me relax, both in and out of the game.
I’d take the time I needed to recharge before setting out to get my ass kicked again by
whatever threat waited for me in Hallownest, and when that ass-kicking inevitably came,
I was greeted by that peaceful bench, like an old friend, helping to ease the sheer anger
I felt from dying to the Watcher Knights again.
Oh my...WHY?!?
Vibe checks are also often tied to beautiful views, where the main purpose is to just stare
in awe at the picturesque environments crafted by the game designers.
This can happen organically by the player seeing something cool and stopping to look
at it, but a lot of games opt to add a button prompt to engage with a view.
And as small and unimportant as having it be a prompt may seem, it signals to players
that this would be a good spot to stop and relax for a bit.
While there is a lot of value in people recognizing beautiful moments and stopping for them on
their own, a lot of folks won’t because it’s easier to get caught up in a task than
a sunset.
Like, I record every game I play in case I need something for a video, and there have
been so many instances while editing where I notice a gorgeous view in the background
that past-me just completely ignores and runs past.
Sure, I shouldn’t need a game to tell me to stop and look at something, but the reality
is that I do.
Similar to save points, they help the pacing of a game’s action by not letting things
be intense all the time, but they feel a little less formulaic because they often aren’t
mandatory and they come with unique vistas to look at.
Maybe the most common type of vibe checks comes from cut scenes.
Any shot that features a swell in music and a lookout at a grand landscape will elicit
a reflective sense of calm that asks players to consider what they’re experiencing.
I find that moments like this are most effective when the line between cutscene and gameplay
is blurred—typically by giving the player control over how long they engage with a moment.
For instance, Life is Strange is filled with cutscenes that typically start with Max monologuing
for a bit but continue long after she’s done, cycling through various creative shots,
all with golden hour lighting and accompanied by some indie song playing in the background.
Many of these moments come after intense scenes, allowing time to process what has happened
and release some of the tension that has been building.
What I think works so well about these is that they let players dictate how long the
vibe check lasts.
Given that the game is all about weighing the morality of various decisions, it’s
great that it gives players the time to do that.
My favorite vibe check that falls in this same vein comes near the end of The Last of
Us.
After trekking across the country and barely escaping the most dangerous threat they’ve
run into so far—that being David and the other actual cannibals in his group—we get
a subdued scene with Joel and Ellie in spring that culminates with the two finding a herd
of giraffes roaming around the remains of Salt Lake City.
It is an occurrence unique to the setting of The Last of us, and while the focus of
this story is often on how much worse the world is than it once was, rare moments like
these that would never happen without the world having had come to an end are impossible
not to admire.
Even on a first playthrough, there is a distinct sense that whatever is ahead can’t be better
than this moment.
Players have experienced enough of how the game works to assume that everything is not
going to be okay.
And playing it on a second playthrough comes with the knowledge that, in fact, everything
won’t be okay.
The two characters do come out of things alive, but something will always be fundamentally
broken between them.
So, every time I go back the game and find myself staring out at the giraffes ambling
through the city, I don’t want to leave.
I want to stay in that perfect moment because I know what comes next won’t be.
What makes it land for me is that I have to be the one to interrupt it; the scene doesn’t
end until I choose for it to end, making things all that much more bittersweet.
I understand that this sort of interactivity is tiny and for a lot of players, it may not
make a difference, but for me having a choice made me feel the weight of the scene far more
than it would without it.
Ultimately, what I love about vibe checks in video games is how obvious and intentional
they are.
They’re crafted by actual people who want players to have a specific experience.
When done well, they act as a much-needed breath between tense moments, reminding players
that it isn’t just about getting to the end.
And...I wish that the real world was like that too, but unfortunately, there isn’t
someone making sure that we stop at all the right moments to appreciate things in just
the right way.
Honestly, there are far more people in our lives that do the opposite.
Many of us are conditioned from a young age to always look towards the next thing.
The countdown towards next summer starts ticking on the first day of school, and it only gets
worse as the years go on.
In middle school, I distinctly remember thinking, “well, I’ve just got to get to the end
of this, and then I will be in high school, which will be so much better.”
So, I put my head down, hoped the days would go by quickly, and eventually, middle school
was over.
I was in high school, and yeah, it was better, but it didn’t take long until I started
thinking, “well, I’ve just got to get to the end of this, and then I will be in
college, which will be so much better,” and again I put my head down, hoped the days
would go by quickly and, boom, college, which I loved but after a couple years, I started
thinking, “well, I’ve just got to get to the end of this, and then I can actually
start my life, which will be so much better,” and now I’m in my actual life, and I’ve
realized that every step of growing up has been centered around getting to the end of
whatever part of it I’m in, and terrifyingly enough, I sometimes catch myself thinking,
well, I’ve just gotta get to the end of this and then I can retire, and holy shit
I may be internet old, but I’m not that old, and if I keep putting my head down and
hoping the days will go by quickly I’m gonna look up and realize there aren’t many days
left.
Life isn’t designed for us, at least not like how a game is.
We aren’t guaranteed once-in-a-lifetime experiences right before going through a big
change or beautiful view at the end of a taxing day, or a bench to sit where the perfect song
to calm you down is playing.
No one can really design your life to be filled with these things except for you.
And, to be honest, that kind of sucks as it takes a lot of work and intention to pull
off, but it’s really important to do.
I don’t want to sound as if vibe checks in video games have fully taught me how to
live in the moment because they haven’t, but they have helped me realize that if I
don’t try to, no one else will do it for me.
So, I have to find those moments; I have to be thoughtful with how I engage with the world.
I have to dictate the pacing of my own life because no designer is going to do it for
me.
I’m learning to check the vibe.
And now for the awkward task of transitioning from a mild existential crisis to this video’s
sponsor Dr. Squatch.
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Thanks again to Dr. Squatch for sponsoring this video.
For all of you still watching.
Hey.
I wanna give a shoutout to all my patrons for giving their generous support and a special
callout to The Meaning of Nerd for being an honorary Bagbuten.
With that, I hope you have a great day and/or night, and I will see you in the next one.