id Software On Rage, Storytelling In Games

Tom Willits of id Software took some time recently to speak about storytelling as it relates to id's previous games, and how it will be a part of their upcoming shooter, Rage. He also dispelled rumors that Rage would suffer content cuts due to Xbox hardware limitations. Unfortunately, he called into question whether mods will be a possibility for the game, saying that the issue is still under consideration.

Comments

hmm

[nomadic]

As if reading the audience's minds, Willits began, "So id Software is actually giving a talk on storytelling -- that doesn't make much sense!" But Willits feels id's public perception is "sometimes a bit skewed."

No, our perception is spot on I think.

Re:hmm

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey! Some of the best stories ever made are just about a lone marine killing tons of aliens, Nazis, and hellspawn. It is just like Shakespeare. Only without the words and with more firearms.

Re:hmm

[NuclearError]

More people die in Shakespeare though.

Re:hmm

[Dutch Gun]

To help clarify, I'll translate some key excerpts:

FPS pioneer id Software doesn't exactly have a reputation rooted in strong game stories.

Here at id, we feel that any "story" beyond "here's a gun, shoot anything that moves" is for pansies.

Yes, in the past, we have developed games that have very limited narratives. But to say that a game with limited narrative has bad storytelling is really a narrow-minded approach to what storytelling is.

But it turns out that there are a lot of pansies out there, and it turns out they have money. So now I'm going to actually redefine what "storytelling" is in order to make it fit more nicely with what we've done in the past, and more importantly, what we'll be doing in the future.

Information, he maintains, is learned through experiences, and the experience of playing a game is what forms a narrative, by its nature.

See, here we go. "gameplay" ------>>> "storytelling"... Done!

The first and most important thing is start with a solid, straightforward plot.

*Really* straightforward. As in, get a gun, kill anything that moves. That counts, right?

Matt Castello, who penned the story for Doom 3...

I'll bet that napkin could be sold on eBay for a bundle!

If you've played Doom 3 you know that our pacing was pretty intense. It started up easy enough, but then we kicked up the intensity and kept it there for the whole game.

Non-stop hellspawn popping out of closets behind the player! It was insane, I tell you!

Broad stroke visuals really portray to the user about the wasteland, and what the authorities are trying to do to the wasteland. A character is not trying to tell you, 'Hey these guys are bad, look what they did to the wasteland.' You can see it for yourself."

You can tell this is going to be an innovative game, because we're going to be subtle. And also, we have a *wasteland*! How original is that? Seriously, it's not just dark dungeons and corridors - er, well, it's mostly that inside - but outside, it's a wasteland!

Willits says that Doom 3 players "zoomed right through" the game's highly handcrafted levels, so for Rage, "we have focused on reusability."

It takes an assload of time to hand-craft these levels. Appreciate them, damn you!

His bottom line for Rage? Delivering more choices and more variety for more people, while still delivering "classic id-style mayhem."

Don't worry, it will all come down to shooting everything that moves anyhow.

Re:hmm

[oracle128]

What you talkin' bout Willits?

New record?

[CaseyB]

The very first word in this post is wrong.

Nice work, Soulskill.

Re:FPS Storytelling?

[rhyder128k]

John Carmack: "Woah guys!"

Employee: "JC, what's up man?"

JC: "Oh baby, I just had a dream and it's INSPIRED me to take Id in a totally new direction story wise!"

E: "Story? You mean a new way of utilising pixel shaders for better lighting?"

JC: "No, an actual story, IN the game."

[silence]

E: "To be honest, we've already got a guy to write the bit on the back of the box."

JC: "Come on guys, the game could have a story to it this time rather than the best looking renderer in a shooting game. We could finally put all that red key/blue key shit behind us."

[silence]

JC: "Erm... I've though of a new way of drawing shadows. It means that everyone's going to have to upgrade their rig or play on minimal settings."

E: "Whoohoo, top notch man! The Carmackster does it again. Working here rocks!"

Re:Are There Still "id Fanboys"?

[BiggerBoat]

"Let's see... just our recent mobile games have sold over a million copies, and our last in-house PC title was our best-selling ever, but Anonymous Coward here says we should close up shop! Hmmm... what to do, what to do..."

Re:Gimped 360 Version Confirmed

[renegadesx]

Didn't you get the memo from Sony? The Wii doesn't really exist