A series of themed music boxes, which present a series of abstract puzzles in order to be unlocked and activated. The player is given almost no clue and has no option but to play with everything and figure it out. These aren't hard games, but the challenge is about right for the reward on offer, as the story of the box completes and it bursts into life with a song and dance. The overall effect was quite like an old Lucasarts adventure game, with the intuitive, ingenius mechanics wrapped up in a colourful, characterful, tasteful and skillfully realised presentation that put even this old miserable player into a genuinely light hearted mood.
Most games play on our dopamine levels. The cycle of addiction is what matters. Your attention returns to an ever streamlined mental sequence you employ to recapture the win. You are locked ever deeper into the game.
GNOG is a serotonin wonderland. You enter facing a task that is not signposted, and leave stimulated and overwhelmed. You might feel better about things, or notice that you have carried over a little bit of extra sensitivity to the pleasure of your senses and the world around us.
I hope many more games are influenced by titles like this one. Play is a chance to therapise our inner child. It's a shame the industry thrives on games that teach us to be organised and streamlined in order for arbitrary status rewards, in essence, replicating the idea of work, but holding the player in a loop that does not result in creativity or the construction of something they can take beyond the game....or games that simply offer ever more ways to smash, destroy and vanquishing opponents.