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ADAM IVES - GAMES DESIGN
Existentialism
What is Existentialism?
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Existentialism is a philosophical way of life which promotes the existence of the individual as an agent responsible for their own development through the use of free will.
https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095804537
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This belief focusses on the individual and assesses that value can be found through existing, which is primarily centred around the individual. Existence is always going to be mine or yours, and unlike many other philosophical beliefs, the focus on living is subjective, the concerns of others and their development is not a concern to the individual. The only essential experience is your own existence.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/existentialism
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How does Existentialism differ from Existential Nihilism?
Existential nihilism promotes that life has no value, and nothing really matters. For a nihilistic, the concerns and stresses of every day, the pain which individuals experience, the joyous moments which are fleeting, all collectively are pointless. Nothing matters. This differs strongly from existentialism as a whole, which may not value other peoples existence and experiences, but does still provides value to the individual. My life has meaning because it is my existence. I may not be able to fully relate to other peoples existences, but I can relate to my own and find value through living. Existentialists believe that the individual has free will to act accordingly, but a nihilist believes that all our actions and feelings are caused by previous experiences and actions.
https://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/existential-nihilism-faq.htm
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Existential Crisis
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An existential crisis is a moment in which a person may begin to question if their life has meaning. It is the point in which a person reflects on their decisions, their actions and if they have lived a life with value. Obviously value is subjective, so the individual may have an existential crisis when comparing their achievements to others, or to what they expect of themselves. In regard to our game, we are not trying to give the player an existential crisis, we don't want them to play the game and question what they are doing with their time, instead, we are striving to make the player realise that the journey is what matters, not just the destination. We want the game to promote existentialism which would hopefully make the player realise that their actions change the experience along the way, their existence is what is important here, and the random encounters and hidden features of the game would work to create an individual experience which sets the players to experience aside from other peoples. We aim to create an existential experience, not an existential crisis.
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