It’s not something I think I’ve mentioned here before, but Viva Pinata is one of my very favorite games. I pretty much entirely love my Xbox 360; there are so many games on the console that are in my personal AAA category, but the gameplay in VivaP is easily one of the most unique and enjoyable.

For me it comes down to a combination of elements: the zen focus you can gain from playing, and the collectible nature of the animals themselves. The imaginative, unique visuals help a lot too. :)

What does this have to do with Massive games? Well, we’re always talking about how we want something other than standard fantasy … Viva Pinata has several element that speak to the MMO player, but give them a twist we haven’t often seen in other online titles.

First and foremost, the game is fundamentally nonviolent. You can whack stuff with shovels and Pinatas can ‘die’, but it’s a far cry from the stabbery-pokery of most Massives. More importantly, the point of the game isn’t to inflict violence. Quite the opposite. If I had to come up with some verbs for the game, I’d use words like cultivate, attract, grow, console, build, arrange, and please.

Why have we seen so few Massive games that combine online interactivity with building/growing? A Tale in the Desert does this, of course, and I find their gameplay fascinating. In a more mainstream setting, this could be gangbusters popular. Think of a sort of 3D Neopets, where every player gets their own little plot of land on which to show off their critters. Or a common area where players can collaborate to attract and tend to large or rare animals. I really like Zoo Tycoon as well, and there are some similar elements there that could be pulled into such a title.

The zen-like state I’ve personally enjoyed while playing is something else I think is worth exploring. I know a lot of parents get frustrated with games because they think that their kids get ‘worked up’ as a result of playing them. Blood-pumping PvP or life-and-death Raiding is awesome … for some of us. There has to be something that’s ultimately relaxing out there that doesn’t delve into the boredom of the average game’s crafting system. EQ2’s system might come closest, but I find the ‘wait to push the button game’ actually more anxious than regular combat.

What I like about Viva Pinata, and I think helps me relax, is that you’re in managing the situation but not controlling it. All the little critters kind of do their thing, and you just do your best to make sure the garden functions the way you want it to. Sometimes it doesn’t, but it generally doesn’t take a lot of effort to make a fantastic garden. You also always have the option to do something else, to move from one project to the next based on your own pacing. Done breeding the Whirlim? You can build a house for any other Pinata in your garden and start in on them.

The other thing that speaks to me is the collectible element of the game. Not only do you ‘collect’ the animals themselves by enticing them into your garden, but you earn medals for breeding them, creating color variants, and so on. They’re goals outside of the game’s central play-style, totally optional, and lots of fun to accomplish because they carry rewards besides themselves. As an Xbox 360 game, Viva Pinata comes with Achievements, and some of these in-game medals are mirrored by the meta-medals we get via Xbox Live.

Both of these concepts definitely deserve more attention in Massive games. Warhammer Online’s Tome of Knowledge ties almost directly into this. It’s a beautiful concept, and is a big part of why I’m looking forward to the game so much. What I ultimately hope is that Tome unlocks will tie into their image personalization system; where you’ve been and what you’ve done will influence the kind of things you can put on your avatar. Or so I hope.

As a final thought, on this Christmas Eve, an element that I think bears examining is your role as gardener in Viva Pinata. It is, by its nature, a benevolent one. You can be an angry jerk to your little animals if you so choose, but in order to get animals to be a jerk to you’re still going to have to be nice. It’s rare nowadays that we see games where ‘nice’ is the default. Many MMOs purport to display our ‘heroic’ actions … but heroes rarely have to be nice.

Wouldn’t it be great if a game taught a few lessons about the benefits of respecting others? And not just as opponents or loot caches, but as people? SWG’s frequent use of gifts that can only be given away, not used by the player who receives them, is certainly a step in the right direction. Where would be a good place to tie that into gameplay?

Thanks for indulging my strange aside, and I hope you have a great Christmas evening.