Aesthetics of arousal

Last night I progressed through a couple of simple missions, and let Niko indulge in criminal behaviour, such as mugging people. He had run out of money, and couldn't pass the road toll - very frustrating. I have also let him - or, should I say, forced him - to steal cars, and watch a private lapdance performance.

The latter is interesting, when we think about the so-called 'eliciting conditions' that game designers create into games. In psychological emotion theory, eliciting conditions refer to the conditions under which a particular emotion, or an emotional sequence, is triggered. This opens up a perspective to an emotion-centred design approach; an approach that I have tried to formulate into a systematic method in my own work. Seen from a perspective of emotional and (play) experience design, a simulation of a strip joint is more than something that a simulation of a metropolis should include. It is also a design for feelings of titillation and sexual arousal, in the same manner as the emergence of police car sirens is a design for general alertness that elicits emotions of suspense and curiosity.

As the sun is shining outside, my thoughts are directed to whether I should enjoy the simulated, urban beauty of a sunrise in Liberty City, or the actual warmth of a spring day in Helsinki. Whatever my choice is, both options present fascinating eliciting conditions.