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Narrative, Plot And Aimlessness In Game Design
Logic Bomb writes: "Feed is running a very well-written essay by Steven Johnson on game design that includes an interview with the designer of Oni. Johnson has some thought-provoking comments on narrative, navigation, and cheat sheets. Lots of room for discussion here: what balance do you like best between plot and action (i.e. Metal Gear Solid versus Quake)? Are cheat sheets just part of the game, or does needing one show bad game design? Anyone have comments on the system used by Oni discussed in the article?"
Equally interesting to me is this other Feed interview with Warren Spector, designer of Deus Ex.
Just my $0.02 as a game programmer....
;-)
... realism and plot are tricks we can use to make the game more interesting. After all, the key issues in game design are FUN, and BALANCE.
;-) or I could wait 5 months, for my body to heal naturally. *boooooooring*
;-)
Realism and Plot are independent of a fun game...
You can have games with 100% realism, and 0% plot -- that are fun (flight sims or shooters, ala Rogue Spear or Counter-strike come to mind) Basically anything with mindless destruction
You also can have games that have 100% plot, 0% realism, and are fun -- Myst (as easy as it was) or adventure games, like Grim Fandago, Monkey Island (awesome memories plaything those with a friend)
And then we get odd ball games, that rock. Like "SOUL CALIBER" No blood, no cutting off of limbs or apendages, or guts. Just a nice background story, and a blast to play. Realism? Sort-of. Plot? Sort-of. Fun? Hell, yeah!
BUT
Game designers abstract the "tedious" stuff out, so as not to make the game boring.
e.g. I just use this health pack, from 20% health right back up to 100% health, *riiiiiiiight*
Lots of people complain about the "linearity" of single player games, but I treat it like a movie. I play it once, have a fun time, and enjoy the next game. Thief 1 & 2 were definately something I had a blast playing -- late at night, lights out, 3d sound on -- the physical environment set the perfect mood!
What some people find fun, may be boring to others.
e.g. some find chess/go to be be "lacking."
Others live for card games. Others want to frag their buddies 24x. Other's love the strategy of RTS's. I loved teamplay for ages. Some find virtual craftsman and selling to be fun.
Games are starting to do a good job on "representing realism" via 3D graphics, 3D sound, and force feedback.
But plot on a LARGE scale, is still a VERY hard problem to solve.
We see that stories and books have been around for thousands of years. The "general plot" is nothing new. So we see singler player action/adventure games, are like an "interactive" book. Drakken , Tomb Raider, Thief were cool - because the story didn't advance until I did.
There is a reason we haven't seen massive multiplayer games with a good plot. Because it's dam hard to have *everyone* be able to effect the outcome. It's WAY easier to "guide" someone thru a linear story.
Fun in games: Games have been fun from the start.
Realism in games: We arrived there when Mortal Combat had the "bloody" FINISH HIM.
Plot in games: We're only 25% way there...
Putting a "ban" on "familiar" game design elements, like orcs, character classes, etc, won't really "solve" the problem of having a game with more plot.
Ok, I'm going to get flamed here, But I don't care about plots in games. PONG had no plot, But i loved the game.
Pong: Don't let the ball go past you
Breakout: Hit the blocks, don't let the ball go past you
Pole Position: Don't drive your block (a.k.a car) out of the lines.
I had a great time with those games. Getting the magic diamond to kick the galactagoid's ass isn't entertaining to me. All that gets in the way of "hit the bad guy with your weapon"
One thing I've certainly noticed is that there is a lot more aimlessness in games nowadays. It goes under a lot of other names: interactivity or perhaps realistic action. However, what it really shows is one of the fundamental weaknesses of telling a story interactively. Anyone who have ever Game Mastered an RPG is aware of this problem. Most story telling is done in media like books, movie, or theater where the author has complete control over everything. Every thought of every character. Every action of every person. Once you distribute that control it becomes significantly harder to weave an interesting plot.
For instance, imagine you have a game world that is completely interactive. I mean, 100% immersive. Say it's a Blade Runner game. Remember the part where Harrison Ford just "happens" to find the snake scale? What are the chances of that actually happening if the author doesn't make the character notice that.
It's similar to the problem that a lot of sports and driving/flight simulators are having nowadays. They have become so realistic that they often become devoid any actual fun.
Now you have games like Baldur's Gate where you move your cursor over every square inch of the game screen hoping to find that elusive treasure hidden somewhere. Imagine a character in a book taking time from his quest to avenge his step-father's murder to comb every square inch of land for 40 miles looking for a magic ring that may or may not be there. Talk about tedium.
I dunno about most people but I find "open ended games" over-hyped. People often complain about "linear" plots but I think linearity has gotten a bad rap. The problem isn't linearity or non-linearity of plot. It's bad game design and weak story lines.
When was the last time you read a book and the main character picked up everything that wasn't nailed down "just in case" he needs it 60 days later to vanquish the evil demon hordes?