(Chapter 4 - The Great Sandbox)
In a moment, the colorful sources of light disappeared and left both the square and GameDev imprisoned in utter darkness. After a few seconds, the whole scene rapidly transitioned into that of a desolate wasteland, resembling that of an interstate freeway in Nevada.
GameDev looked around, perplexed. They were no longer in the middle of the Amusement Park. Instead, they were both standing upon a vast desert plain of a flat and endless horizon, vividly lit by the yellow Sun.
"What is this place?" He asked.
"This is the Great Sandbox, the infinite playground in which you are free to do anything we want," answered the square in a jovial tone.
GameDev walked a few steps forward, and found out that the ground was a massive heap of fine sand. There was not even a single distinguishable object in the area.
The square continued. "This is the land of boundless opportunities, and you are playing the ultimate game of creation here. As the god of this world, you are free to build, manipulate, and destroy everything. Say any word, and it will come alive."
With a bit of doubt, GameDev whispered the word "castle". Suddenly, a huge sandstorm summoned itself out of nowhere, devoured a mound of sand nearby, and turned itself into a colossal castle which resembled that of the Disney Logo.
"What the-?" He stuttered.
"Yes, you have that power," responded the square proudly. "You are the king of infinite space, and the only bottleneck of your creativity is the limit of your own imagination."
GameDev, out of curiosity, uttered a few other words which happened to cross his mind. A forest of grotesque-looking rainbow trees populated the field of ghostly loneliness, and a fountain of a Greco-Roman motif brewed itself out of a dry hill. Angelic figures appeared out of the blue and began to partake in aerial movements, while large exotic animals crawled out of a boiling green river which crossed the castle in a rather sophisticated way.
"What is the point of all this?" Asked GameDev, profoundly puzzled.
"Why, you are the one who made these decisions," returned the square triumphantly. "Admire your own creations which filled up the vacuum of this deserted world, and enjoy your time observing their intriguing behaviors. The whole universe is yours."
GameDev approached the stone temple which was raised in front of him, and touched one of its porcelain ornaments.
Suddenly, every single creation, including the temple, the fountain, trees, angelic figures, animals, the castle, and countless others, collapsed into mere piles of colored sand. He couldn't do anything but simply stand where he was, tossing a somber glance upon the heartless destruction which embraced him.
"Not in this manner, no," he insisted. "Although I am free to interact in whichever way I desire, this place is utterly emotionless and there is nothing motivating me to exercise my freedom. This desert is hopelessly devoid of meaning, and my infinite power is of no use here."
"Isn't the goal of play fulfilled as long as there are choices given?" She asked.
GameDev replied. "Only meaningful choices count. They ought to push me to either success or failure depending on which one I pick, and whether I succeed or not should be of some value to me."
"What value?" She inquired, rather rhetorically.
"It must be a value which originates from some kind of secret," answered GameDev. "There must be some unknown treasure hidden behind the scene - something so precious, that I cannot help myself but strive to know more of it, despite myriads of painful yet courageous endeavors which must be undertaken. If I already know everything, no discovery will be meaningful."
"Why should there be a secret?" Questioned the square.
He thought for a second and resumed his argument. "It is because whenever there is something unknown, I gain an opportunity to suspect that it is a threat which may harm me if I do not take precautions against it. Not knowing everything means having something to fear. And as long as there is something to fear, I will stay motivated to take every necessary action to know more about it, so as to be able to learn how to protect myself from it."
The square followed the direction of the wind for a moment and stopped all of a sudden. She returned to her original spot and said, "So, your choice of action is meaningless unless it pertains to your survival instinct, huh? And the best way to guarantee it is to surround yourself with invisible hazards."
"Yes, exactly," he answered.
She pondered a bit and then continued to speak. "Very well. But it sounds to me that, if you were to design your own game, you would want your audience to worship your narratives based upon fear."
"No," interrupted GameDev. "Although fear may play a part, it is the sense of mystery itself which does the magic because it is where all sorts of wonderful imaginations come into being."
"It makes sense," murmured the square. "I will then show you the vision you just described."
She lifted herself a bit and made a rapid sequence of chirps.