What do video games actually need? Take a look at some games with almost nothing in the way of plot, and how you can learn from these bare-essential approaches to game design.

As much as I love a game with a good story, some of my favorite gaming moments have come with little or no pretext. With the impending release of Child of Eden for PS3, there’s been more talk about what a game actually ‘needs’. Video game design online continues to expand in new and more experimental ways, while schools and game design courses teach a myriad of new techniques a year. To certain degrees, the rules of gaming are being rewritten as the means of production fall into more hands. Is it enough to simply immerse yourself in a game world, with no particular motive? History would say yes. Below are three games that sucked players in, even if they weren’t one hundred percent sure what they were doing.

1. Katamari Damacy
In this charming, artsy series, you command the Prince of Cosmos, tasked with replacing the stars in the sky that your decidedly vacant father has knocked down on accident. To accomplish this, you must roll up household objects to a sticky ball, to a certain size requirement. You start with small things like thumbtacks and work your way up until you're rolling up entire cities. In any medium except for game, this concept would be a bust, but for whatever reason the result on screen is amazing. I've had more in-depth conversations about katamari rolling techniques than I’ve had regarding almost anything real, and the game remains addicting despite any real sense of structure or endpoint.

2. ICO
People will be quick to correct you in saying that ICO didn’t have a plot, but it’s important to remember that regardless of what you ‘felt’ was happening, fewer than eight lines of dialogue were offered to assist you. Exiled from your village for being born with horns, you find yourself in a giant, abandoned castle - save for a lone princess. No one asks you to protect the princess - the entire plot, down to the last scene, relies entirely on your instincts as a human being. Pulling this off is no small feat, and has earned ICO a place in cult status, and more importantly, a place in schools of people's hearts.

3. Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan
Alright, so this one has a plot - but it’s in Japanese. A game based on musical timing with the DS stylus, citizens cry out for your help as you cheer them through various life activities. With no English translation available, you’re forced to rely on cartoon panels that advance as certain goals are met, and piece together what you’re helping your fellow characters accomplish. Some become obvious after a couple panes, others leave you scratching your head long after the game is over. Either way, the language barrier and lack of understand fails to affect your desire to help the characters and finish the game.