First off, they’re pretty. I have yet to find a paper-centric game that isn’t gorgeous. Second, when done well, they’re marvels of sound engineering. Paper produces a surprising amount of noise. The flip of a book’s pages, parchment against a fingertip, ripping of construction paper; each one is unique, and an audio team that can convincingly recreate them all for a game setting should be getting paid double.
But the third reason is the most important. Paper is about making. A blank piece of paper isn’t really blank; it’s just waiting for an idea. When a game understands that paper is one of the ultimate creative tools, it unlocks the real magic. That’s how it turns from a cool sensory experience into a really amazing game.
Take Tearaway: Unfolded, one of my favorite paper games. It encapsulated that maker mindset and put it into the gameplay. You have to draw and fold. You design and think artistically as you progress through the different papercraft worlds. The game is tactile, not just from its innovative use the PS4 controller, but in how the cursors really felt like extensions of your hands. That’s why I stuck through the entire game, despite its flaws. Every time I picked up the controller, I was excited to how it would inspire me next. And when I put the controller down, I wanted to immediately run to my desk and doodle, to translate that in-game creativity to my actual life.
