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roofles · 07-28-2005, 02:12 PM

Indeed games are games, but thats where I think the difference in expectations comes from. I realize that I have always expected games to become another medium on par with books, theater, and movies. I don't believe there is any reason for games to remain simply games as we know them, off in a corner by themselves away from movies, books, and theater.

I have alot of respect for Will Wright. What he said regarding 80 20 I believe is entirely true. The old games had little else to offer besides an engaging mental side, so designers had to work with what they had.

In the fullness of things, I believe there needs to be balance. I dont mean 50 50 for all games but as was mentioned before sufficient story to serve and improve the game. After all, anything that detracts from the enjoyment is useless in the end right? The instant that whatever manner of story content (or gameplay gimmick) we are dealing with begins to interfere with the experience as a whole, it becomes as useless as the filler levels we've all dealt with. And again, as was said before, a game is a game. As such it shouldnt be filled with stupidly enormous dialogues because what sets games apart from the other mediums is that they are interactive and dynamic. I feel like if I wanted a book or book on tape, I would have bought one. So much cheaper too.

The point about long dialogue also brings up another interesting issue. How can the story be related to the player without disrupting the visceral experience that makes games what they are? Its tricky, I think. There are a number of mechanisms available and I believe a combination of these tools yield the best result as their effectiveness is highly contextual. Off the top of my head, these tools are:

Cutscene, in game
Cutscene, pre rendered
Narration (one of my favorite)
Textual dialogue
Inter-character dialogues and interactions

I tend to favor narration over the others as it is very rich and doesnt interrupt the gameplay experience at all. In a narrative, you have the voice actor with their hopefully great skill enriching your experience while the gameplay does the same. Its a double whammy for me. I dont feel the other methods are able to communicate and enrich to the same degree as narration on a consistent basis. But like I said before, they all have their place, together I might add. Think of your favorite game with a story and imagine that it had the story told with a well balanced sprinkling of the methods listed above and perhaps others I have failed to mention. How cool would that be?

07-28-2005, 02:12 PM	#8 (permalink)
roofles Upright Location: San Diego	Indeed games are games, but thats where I think the difference in expectations comes from. I realize that I have always expected games to become another medium on par with books, theater, and movies. I don't believe there is any reason for games to remain simply games as we know them, off in a corner by themselves away from movies, books, and theater. I have alot of respect for Will Wright. What he said regarding 80 20 I believe is entirely true. The old games had little else to offer besides an engaging mental side, so designers had to work with what they had. In the fullness of things, I believe there needs to be balance. I dont mean 50 50 for all games but as was mentioned before sufficient story to serve and improve the game. After all, anything that detracts from the enjoyment is useless in the end right? The instant that whatever manner of story content (or gameplay gimmick) we are dealing with begins to interfere with the experience as a whole, it becomes as useless as the filler levels we've all dealt with. And again, as was said before, a game is a game. As such it shouldnt be filled with stupidly enormous dialogues because what sets games apart from the other mediums is that they are interactive and dynamic. I feel like if I wanted a book or book on tape, I would have bought one. So much cheaper too. The point about long dialogue also brings up another interesting issue. How can the story be related to the player without disrupting the visceral experience that makes games what they are? Its tricky, I think. There are a number of mechanisms available and I believe a combination of these tools yield the best result as their effectiveness is highly contextual. Off the top of my head, these tools are: Cutscene, in game Cutscene, pre rendered Narration (one of my favorite) Textual dialogue Inter-character dialogues and interactions I tend to favor narration over the others as it is very rich and doesnt interrupt the gameplay experience at all. In a narrative, you have the voice actor with their hopefully great skill enriching your experience while the gameplay does the same. Its a double whammy for me. I dont feel the other methods are able to communicate and enrich to the same degree as narration on a consistent basis. But like I said before, they all have their place, together I might add. Think of your favorite game with a story and imagine that it had the story told with a well balanced sprinkling of the methods listed above and perhaps others I have failed to mention. How cool would that be?