Nintendo’s Endless Ocean
Endless Ocean for the Nintendo Wii is not a game. Not by far. There are no goals set for you to achieve, there is no way of losing or winning, no way of getting lost, confused or even mildly annoyed. There is no challenge. No bloody stress or horror. No blood. No puzzles to be solved. No naked mermaids. Nothing. Still, Endless Ocean is immensely enjoyable in a properly interactive way. And it’s fun playing with the thing too. You could call it an interactive toy, I guess, or, better yet, a relaxing, educating, beautiful, interesting, interactive toy that’s heavy on underwater exploration.
Said, uhm, interactive toy is all about simulating the beauty of diving into (mostly) tropical waters, exploring reefs, petting sharks, gawking at multi-colored fish and generally discovering the beauties of tranquil aquatic ecosystems. And all this from the comfort of your couch, without getting wet or in close contact with any creature that weighs almost a ton and sports a few dozen sharp teeth. Besides, I think that avoiding SCUBA diving is rather good for my health and I’m pretty sure I’d get tired just by hauling all the necessary gear to the boat. Oh, and I wouldn’t get to find any treasure lying around in real life either.
Posted on March 27th, 2008 by konstantinos
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While I find Endless Ocean relaxing, it’s not a passive relaxation. I still find myself imposing goals on the game, like “I want to explore this area today” and “I want to find all the different species that I can.” I do find that I wish the game had implemented boundaries differently: I don’t feel that I’m really diving all that far.
So, we have a theme among these exploratory non-game games: Endless Ocean and Endless Forest.
Endless Desert? Endless Arctic shelf?
March 27th, 2008 at 10:32 amYes, yes! Self-imposed goals are exactly what turn E.O. into a toy and not a game! Oh, and gotta give this Endless Forest a try, though its imagery doesn’t quite appeal to me that much…
Anyway. Endless Cigar?
March 27th, 2008 at 11:11 amThe family was out of town for a few days, so I took the opportunity to smoke a couple of cigars. My kids scold me when I smoke . . . and rightfully so. But it’s a once-a-year indulgence.
March 27th, 2008 at 9:00 pmOnce a year is fine. Really. It’s as if no smoking has occurred, and frankly I wish I could it too. Stephen Fry has a fantastic piece on smoking somewhere in the first parts of his glorious blog you know.
March 28th, 2008 at 2:14 amseconds before steve irwin dies
April 1st, 2008 at 12:09 pmHow lovably macabre a remark dear samantha…
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:43 amEndless Pint (ooo yes!)
I remember the (sort-of) precursor, Echo the Dolphin and always thought it would be good to have a game of this type. No goals, just wandering in the ocean. I think I’ll have to get it.
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:28 amAnd then replay the Dreamcast version of Ecco I’d add…
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:25 am