Having recently acquired a new PC, I started playing some games I’d be meaning to. One of these was The Witcher. Now, it’s not a great game, I’ll admit (it's pretty good though); but something happened, which got me thinking.
I offended a dwarf.
Okay, I’ll explain. Put basically, The Witcher is an RPG set in a typical fantasy world (elves, dwarves, fairytale monsters. No orcs or goblins), except it’s more ‘mature’. What this generally means is it will explore more adult themes as regards to sex, violence and race. The finer details aren’t important but you get the sense that there are ‘shades of grey’ to a lot of the things you’ll see. Being a game made very much in the BioWare mould (it even uses the BioWare-developed Aurora Engine) you are presented with moral choices at certain points in the game. The difference here is that the consequences aren’t always so clear-cut and the repercussions may not be felt until later in the game (so you can’t always reload straight away and choose differently).
But that’s not what I’m really going to talk about (not yet anyway. This game inspired a few forthcoming articles) but it is related to RPGs.
Having done the opening section, I was put into the outskirts of a large city. Here’s where you get to put what you’ve learned into action. You start by an inn and nearby is a blacksmith. A dwarven blacksmith (shock horror!). He seems to serve a role as a shopkeeper, I presume, so I start talking to him and asking about the area. Geralt, the main character, while well-travelled, has plot-convenient amnesia. He starts mentioning a group called the Scoia'tael, an anti-human movement mostly made up of elves (they have dwarven members too), who hide out in the woods and attack travelers. Being curious, I ask him if he deals with them. Then he gets angry with me, tells me he’d never do such a thing (it's, understandably, illegal), ends the conversation and won’t speak to me again. He won’t even serve me. A goddamn shopkeeper in an RPG won’t serve me. It turns out I wouldn’t have needed his services, or have been able to afford them, right away but that’s beside the point.
What stood out was that through ignorance, or just the natural habit during RPGs of asking everyone their life story, I had ended my exchange through a poor choice of enquiry. But it didn't stop there.
I upset a barmaid.
Not quite the same, but still along similar lines. I spoke to her in the inn and there were a couple of flirtatious dialogue options. Having heard about the game and read the books translated into English (so, two), I presumed all the women were sluts (they pretty much are) and that Geralt was somehow an unstoppable chick magnet (he pretty much is). Still, a direct enquiry as to whether her claim that she was 'decent while at work' meant she was open to certain indecency outside was not the correct choice. After that, she would not speak to me. Reloading, I decided to try the alternative option to see the outcome: she did not tell me to get lost. I think from them on, it was easy to spot the correct response in these situations (the first option, I believe).
Which segues into my thoughts on the dialogue wheel used in Mass Effect. I'm not going to go into a whole thing about Mass Effect (love the series so far) because we could be here all day. But what the wheel does, once you're used to how it works, is remove any real ambiguity from a conversation. It is based around short-hand for the gist of what you want to say; facilitating quicker and easier communication. Want to know more about something? Pick stuff on the left side of the wheel. Want to be a bit of a dick? Go for options on the bottom part of the wheel, usually on the right.
I'm not saying this should change for Mass Effect. Although, it's amusing to think of a different game where the heroic Shepard, humanity's most prominent figure among the many alien races, is a bumbling diplomatic disaster. The game is designed around making you a hero/badass and the dialogue system is tailored so that you are always in control and never look a fool even when 'wrong'. You won't find characters chastising you for not knowing what's considered common knowledge, or asking them the same things again and again; they'll just repeat it (usually verbatim). Any important information received is automatically remembered/logged/marked on a map, people's names even show up before you meet/approach them. This goes for a lot of RPGs. It just makes things easier/simpler.
What I'd like to see is an RPG world with a bit more mystery. Maybe you have to watch what you say, where you go. But make it possible to learn about your surroundings or the people you meet.
A simple example would be here, with this writer's memory of Karateka and how, having fought through many hardships to rescue a princess, approaching her at the end in 'combat stance' meant she attacked you.
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/120198-love-is-a-backwards-kick-the-romance-of-karateka/
It's not an RPG, but the principle's the same (if perhaps less forgiving here). The game has its own internal logic. You are a stranger and approaching a woman looking aggressive; makes sense that she'd attack you. How many games allow you to wander round civilised towns, weapons drawn, with no one batting an eyelid?
Which is something that bugged me about the Assassin's Creed games. You're meant to be a sneaky guy but you walk around in plain sight, and in bright white (usually), carrying all manner of life-taking instruments; the enemies forget you in an instant and you don't even really need to put any preparation into a mission. Just turn up and climb on stuff, killing anyone standing in your way. It's a fun game but I almost wish some of these basic things, so integral to what the game is about, were given more attention.
Going back to The Witcher, what I like is that there is a Journal. Not your usual 'Do these quests/you've done these quests' one (although that is obviously part of it) but it also keeps a track of all the characters you've met, places you've been and the types of monsters you might encounter. It' s possible to wander off into the world and start twatting monsters with your sword but you can also learn which type of sword and fighting style works best. If married to a deeper more varied combat system it would be great fun. And as for the characters, their profiles not only tell you who they are as such but also offer Geralt's thoughts on them. Much like the Codex in Mass Effect, you can gradually gather information on nearly all aspects of their respective imaginary worlds. But while Mass Effect usually gives these away for looking at things or talking to certain people, The Witcher gives it a more organic slant.
In an RPG, you can usually just go around asking people things and they'll tell you, but in The Witcher you might see an old lady who claims she has stories to tell. By giving her a gift (food, drink, flowers etc.) she might then tell you a tale about a particular monster which will then be added to your glossary. But that isn't your only option. Alternatively, you can find this information from a book you buy (or pilfer)
I'm not done on this topic as such (it branches off into many areas) but for fear of rambling on too long I shall leave this as is for now.
Put simply, I would like to see, particularly in an RPG, a world where the way you interact with people is a little more versatile and impactful. Where maybe you can earn people's trust or even ire in surprisingly subtle ways, or you're rewarded for paying attention to the world around you, encouraged to immerse yourself into the fictional landscape rather than passing straight through it.
Gregg
fullydeconstructiblescenery@googlemail.com
Note: if anyone cares to enlighten me as to examples within other games, I'd love to hear it.
Monday, 15 February 2010
Friday, 15 January 2010
Parental Guidance
WARNING: This turned out to be quite a long post. I was just mainly writing in a sort stream of consciousness way with some minor editing. Hopefully, you'll find it an interesting story even if the conclusions aren't exactly mind-blowing.
A funny thing happened the other week: I got my dad playing Forza Motorsport 3.
He rarely touches videogames. The number of times he’s touched a controller, I could count on one hand. My first memory was some Olympics game we had on an old Amstrad computer and, later, I can remember him showing me how to play Super Mario Bros. 3 when we first got a NES (my sister and I were complete rubbish at it) and he enjoyed (and became quite skilled at) Tetris on the Game Boy. Since then he’d not touched a videogame, right up until a few years back.
It was Christmas 2007, and after having seen my sisters enjoying the game but leaving the room for a moment, he’d decided to sneakily give Guitar Hero II a go. I’d wandered into the room to find he’d failed after something like 4% of the song. For a beginner, I don’t think his choice of track (Bad Reputation by Thin Lizzy) was the greatest either (although, the same could not be said of his Forza 3 encounter) and I think it had been left on medium difficulty. No encouragement could get him to try it again though (I don‘t think he enjoyed having to stand to play a game either…). His other most recent encounter with videogames was Mario Kart Wii, which my sister had been borrowing from a friend. I wasn’t present for that particular occasion but I hear that was not successful either.
As for Forza Motorsport 3, his interest had first been caught when he could overhear me playing the game and came in to observe. He’s always loved sports cars, particularly Ferraris, so seeing me blast a Challenge Stradale (with go-faster stripes) around Silverstone was enough to make him want to see more. Soon he was asking what other cars the game had so I offered to show him in Free Play mode. He had me take the Bugatti Veyron round Laguna Seca and eagerly anticipated seeing me tackle the infamous Corkscrew section (in what was a tricky car to drive, the bastard). While playing, I encouraged him to have a go; talking up the ‘assists’ the game has and demonstrating first-hand the rewind feature (although, I‘ll admit I was ‘forced‘ into showing off that particular one. Thanks, ‘useless brakes’ Veyron!). You probably hear a lot of talk about games being ‘accessible’ but in this case I felt the game offered enough of a safety net for new gamers and the controls were simple enough. Combining that with my dad’s knowledge of race cars and 40+ years of driving, I didn’t think there would be too much of a problem. The following evening he was back to have a go…
Now I wasn’t going to throw my dad in the deep end, but I also know he can become easily frustrated with things so I made sure not to bombard him with information or try and get too involved. Controlling the menus for now, I took him into Free Play and to Hot Lap (no opponents) so he could adjust to the game. I tried to get him to start with a slower car or at least something four-wheel-drive but, no, he wanted to hear how a Ferrari sounded ingame. I’d recently downloaded the Holidays Car Pack and the brand new 458 Italia model had caught his eye. Next onto a choice of track and he went for the first one he felt he knew: Circuit de Catalunya. Having a look at the full layout I figured it was quite a good start; it had a variety of corners, and a few straights for getting speed up, without being too tricky. I had all the assists on except auto-brake (the computer attempts to slow you down if you’re approaching a corner too fast) because he insisted he wouldn’t need it and he had a braking line guide as opposed to a full racing line to show him how to approach corners at least.
So, off he goes, hurtling down the opening straight, approaching the first hairpin…and he skids widely off track. I tried to warn him that he needs to slow down to the appropriate speed before turning but he informed me that real racing drivers are on the throttle until the last second. (Take note, Turn 10 Studios, you’ve obviously made a huge mistake!).
Seeing him struggling with just about every corner was disheartening so I started trying to explain the subtleties involved without making it too complicated. If you sit down and actually try to illustrate the various elements of a game to a non-gamer it can actually be quite tricky. It felt odd having to tell him about being able to pull down on the acceleration and braking triggers to varying levels to set your speed; so on long corners he could apply enough power to keep the car’s speed up without sending himself wide, or avoid coming to a full stop on hairpins.
I can admit that, having tried the Ferrari myself, it wasn’t the greatest choice of car and did suffer from a bit of under steer. But even with all this advice, and some switching of cars (but never below A-Class), he seemed to be getting worse rather than better. So I took to quickly demonstrating these basic principles and showing my dad what I was doing on the controller. But even that did not seem to help.
I’d already noticed that he was struggling to get to grips with steering using an analogue stick but then again, so would anyone not used to a racing game or a controller, in general. Back in the days of Burnout 2, friends of mine could not understand how I could use one. Now it seems we’ve all since been forced to become accustomed to it, as developers moved away from the directional-pad for steering and face buttons for acceleration and braking.
Foolishly. I think I’d dismissed how something so simple as the basic controls was affecting my dad. Of course, he knew about racing lines and how to corner but he couldn’t put it into action if the controls weren’t effectively translating what he wanted to do. Unfortunately, Forza 3 does not allow you to steer using, what we have come to call, the d-pad (“What’s a d-pad?“ my dad asked).
I think being a little cowed by the experience, he did not come back to the game after that. (And I haven’t actually touched it since then due to other game commitments).
But, this story does not have an unhappy ending…
No, it seems that while my dad could not ‘get into’ Forza 3 he was bowled over by the sights and sounds and when he’d seen an advert for a bike-racing game on TV (he claims it was a super-bike or MotoGP one, but I couldn’t find anything about a newly-released one, just upcoming ones) he was determined to investigate. Recently, my dad has become pretty proficient at internet-shopping (perhaps a little too proficient) and so he’d been happy enough to try and find one of these games and then check with me. He found MotoGP ‘08 for pretty cheap so decided that was worth a go. I would’ve checked for a demo first but he’d been looking on his own initiative and only consulted me before placing an order.
Soon enough, the game arrived and I gave it a quick go. I did the ‘tutorial’ race, which was really a tester to see what settings it recommended for you. I had a rocky start but I managed to finish first and the game recommended simulation handling (it has arcade handling so I opted for that for my dad). I had noticed the bikes were much quicker at accelerating and braking, which I figured would work in my dad’s favour. He was on that evening and I accompanied him to make sure he knew what he was doing and to explain the controls.
I should probably give you a little more background concerning my old man (don‘t worry, I‘ll try keep it short). He’s always been a fan of cars and bikes but he actually used to own a super-bike, which he gave up when starting a family (and financial reasons). He’s run his own company for decades now and works pretty much seven days a week, but he’s reached a point where he can comfortably afford a bike again. So he bought two…You could say it’s a mid-life crisis but he’s even beyond that…
Anyway, he follows MotoGP (among many other motor sports), so he delighted in telling me who was who and spotting the little details the riders have (even if the game was about a year old not much probably changes). Being a Ducati owner himself, he opted to race as Casey Stoner who, he informs me, had won the GP in 2007. He chose what looked like a suitable course (they all seemed pretty winding anyway) and the opponents were set to the lowest level.
I was unaware at the time that you could change the Quick Race class down to 250cc or even 125cc, which might have made his first go a little easier seeing as MotoGP, he later told me, is 500cc. But, since they were, in essence, like Formula Two and Three in comparison, he wouldn’t be seeing or racing as the ‘big’ names he’d recognise and that just wasn’t good enough…
As you might have guessed, he came last in his first race but he seemed to be handling things a little better and was getting a kick out of seeing the riders arms move for doing the throttle along with other little details. The game wasn’t the most impressive-looking (it wasn’t bad) but my dad was thrilled with the graphics. He was also laughing at the bikers cursing each other or shaking their first angrily if they were cut up or knocked during the starting grid rush. Somehow, my dad was managing to wheelie the bike as well…
Over the Christmas break he was playing the game a bit more, getting used to the subtleties, learning the tracks. He’d also switched the number of laps from 3 to 5, since it gave him more time to get the hang of things during a race. I’d started having a go at career mode (which puts you at 125cc to begin with) and my dad was watching me a bit and observing how I was racing. I advised that he try the mode himself or race the slower bikes and work his way up to GP level, because even the less powerful bikes still gave you a great sense of speed. He gave it a go a few times but wanted to race Ducatis and the other top-class bikes. He was improving and usually finishing 13th out of 18 but I could see he was still struggling a bit with the analogue stick.
Now, it’s pretty much common knowledge that the d-pad on the 360 leaves a lot to be desired. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. But MotoGP ‘08 lets you use it for steering. The position of the d-pad relative to the two triggers used for accelerating and braking is a bit odd, but my dad has big enough hands and was willing to give it a go. He’s only got to turn left and right so it can’t be too bad, can it?
Luckily enough, it wasn’t. He took to using the d-pad quite well. His only problem was sometimes holding down while steering, causing the bike’s front wheel to lift up, losing a lot of traction and stability; which, for a powerful bike like the Ducati, sometimes meant skidding off. Fortunately, that didn’t happen too often. Overall, my dad had been improving; regularly finishing up around 7th and 8th.
Then one day, when I arrived home from work on a Sunday, my dad excitedly related a tale to me: he had won a race. Turns out he’d managed to work the 360 on his own while I’d been out. I congratulated him as he explained how the controls had suddenly clicked for him and he was battling with ‘Rossi’ for first place. Rossi being Valentino Rossi, also known as ‘The Doctor’ (because he can apparently make any bike a winner), has a camera on the back of his bike and has been MotoGP World Champion seven times; all these obviously being details my dad had told me when playing the game before. Back to his victory, this is the funny part…
In telling me this story, he mentioned how he’d managed to nail the last corner and overtook Rossi on the straight and that, now these are his words, he had earned a: ‘one gigabyte photo finish thing’. From memory, I recalled there was an achievement called ‘Photo Finish’ and that he had obviously confused gigabytes with gamerscore (lolnoob!). So I checked my 360 and, yep, he had earned that achievement for finishing first by a second or less. He had won a race, barely, but a win is a win.
He has since been unable to replicate this victory but he’s usually finishing in the top five for every race. I can see his problem is just that he’s a speed-demon who takes too many risks, which sometimes pays off but most times do not.
Wishing to encourage him further I downloaded the demo of SBK ‘09 (super-bikes with racing improvements as opposed to exclusive MotoGP models) and he gave that a go. My first impressions are that the SBK games seem closer to Forza in terms of the adjustable options and the customisation of your vehicle; and the graphics and physics are a little more polished and realistic too. It is, unfortunately, a little bit harder than MotoGP ‘08 as well, but my dad has gone ahead and ordered a copy since it’s cheap. I’m sure he’ll still get some enjoyment out of it though.
Since then, he’s been telling a friend and fellow bike-fan about the game, quite excitedly too. In some ways my dad can still very much be a big kid (which probably explains a lot about myself too…) but it’s nice to see him happy about something so simple. And there’s this weird sort of reverse-parent pride thing to the whole story… Either way, it was a nice bonding experience considering I'd never really done much with my dad when I was a child.
(Please note that this last section is still in 'progress', I was just trying to get the thing 'out' and written)
Anyway, in conclusion, it’s clear that while Forza 3 can certainly claim to be accessible it’s not for everyone. Whether a racing wheel would help is not a cost I’m willing to incur in order to find out either…
It does show that even if a game claims to be accessible, there is still a certain minimum amount of experience required along with a lot of time and patience which a ‘casual gamer’ just does not have.
But this also goes to show that there can be games for everyone (except maybe my mum) to enjoy. Gaming encompasses such a wide range of areas that there has to be at least one release that someone (except my mum) likes.
Just please remember, if you’re going to let your parents play videogames: make sure to supervise them. You never know what bad language they can learn, or violence they can witness!
Gregg.
A funny thing happened the other week: I got my dad playing Forza Motorsport 3.
He rarely touches videogames. The number of times he’s touched a controller, I could count on one hand. My first memory was some Olympics game we had on an old Amstrad computer and, later, I can remember him showing me how to play Super Mario Bros. 3 when we first got a NES (my sister and I were complete rubbish at it) and he enjoyed (and became quite skilled at) Tetris on the Game Boy. Since then he’d not touched a videogame, right up until a few years back.
It was Christmas 2007, and after having seen my sisters enjoying the game but leaving the room for a moment, he’d decided to sneakily give Guitar Hero II a go. I’d wandered into the room to find he’d failed after something like 4% of the song. For a beginner, I don’t think his choice of track (Bad Reputation by Thin Lizzy) was the greatest either (although, the same could not be said of his Forza 3 encounter) and I think it had been left on medium difficulty. No encouragement could get him to try it again though (I don‘t think he enjoyed having to stand to play a game either…). His other most recent encounter with videogames was Mario Kart Wii, which my sister had been borrowing from a friend. I wasn’t present for that particular occasion but I hear that was not successful either.
As for Forza Motorsport 3, his interest had first been caught when he could overhear me playing the game and came in to observe. He’s always loved sports cars, particularly Ferraris, so seeing me blast a Challenge Stradale (with go-faster stripes) around Silverstone was enough to make him want to see more. Soon he was asking what other cars the game had so I offered to show him in Free Play mode. He had me take the Bugatti Veyron round Laguna Seca and eagerly anticipated seeing me tackle the infamous Corkscrew section (in what was a tricky car to drive, the bastard). While playing, I encouraged him to have a go; talking up the ‘assists’ the game has and demonstrating first-hand the rewind feature (although, I‘ll admit I was ‘forced‘ into showing off that particular one. Thanks, ‘useless brakes’ Veyron!). You probably hear a lot of talk about games being ‘accessible’ but in this case I felt the game offered enough of a safety net for new gamers and the controls were simple enough. Combining that with my dad’s knowledge of race cars and 40+ years of driving, I didn’t think there would be too much of a problem. The following evening he was back to have a go…
Now I wasn’t going to throw my dad in the deep end, but I also know he can become easily frustrated with things so I made sure not to bombard him with information or try and get too involved. Controlling the menus for now, I took him into Free Play and to Hot Lap (no opponents) so he could adjust to the game. I tried to get him to start with a slower car or at least something four-wheel-drive but, no, he wanted to hear how a Ferrari sounded ingame. I’d recently downloaded the Holidays Car Pack and the brand new 458 Italia model had caught his eye. Next onto a choice of track and he went for the first one he felt he knew: Circuit de Catalunya. Having a look at the full layout I figured it was quite a good start; it had a variety of corners, and a few straights for getting speed up, without being too tricky. I had all the assists on except auto-brake (the computer attempts to slow you down if you’re approaching a corner too fast) because he insisted he wouldn’t need it and he had a braking line guide as opposed to a full racing line to show him how to approach corners at least.
So, off he goes, hurtling down the opening straight, approaching the first hairpin…and he skids widely off track. I tried to warn him that he needs to slow down to the appropriate speed before turning but he informed me that real racing drivers are on the throttle until the last second. (Take note, Turn 10 Studios, you’ve obviously made a huge mistake!).
Seeing him struggling with just about every corner was disheartening so I started trying to explain the subtleties involved without making it too complicated. If you sit down and actually try to illustrate the various elements of a game to a non-gamer it can actually be quite tricky. It felt odd having to tell him about being able to pull down on the acceleration and braking triggers to varying levels to set your speed; so on long corners he could apply enough power to keep the car’s speed up without sending himself wide, or avoid coming to a full stop on hairpins.
I can admit that, having tried the Ferrari myself, it wasn’t the greatest choice of car and did suffer from a bit of under steer. But even with all this advice, and some switching of cars (but never below A-Class), he seemed to be getting worse rather than better. So I took to quickly demonstrating these basic principles and showing my dad what I was doing on the controller. But even that did not seem to help.
I’d already noticed that he was struggling to get to grips with steering using an analogue stick but then again, so would anyone not used to a racing game or a controller, in general. Back in the days of Burnout 2, friends of mine could not understand how I could use one. Now it seems we’ve all since been forced to become accustomed to it, as developers moved away from the directional-pad for steering and face buttons for acceleration and braking.
Foolishly. I think I’d dismissed how something so simple as the basic controls was affecting my dad. Of course, he knew about racing lines and how to corner but he couldn’t put it into action if the controls weren’t effectively translating what he wanted to do. Unfortunately, Forza 3 does not allow you to steer using, what we have come to call, the d-pad (“What’s a d-pad?“ my dad asked).
I think being a little cowed by the experience, he did not come back to the game after that. (And I haven’t actually touched it since then due to other game commitments).
But, this story does not have an unhappy ending…
No, it seems that while my dad could not ‘get into’ Forza 3 he was bowled over by the sights and sounds and when he’d seen an advert for a bike-racing game on TV (he claims it was a super-bike or MotoGP one, but I couldn’t find anything about a newly-released one, just upcoming ones) he was determined to investigate. Recently, my dad has become pretty proficient at internet-shopping (perhaps a little too proficient) and so he’d been happy enough to try and find one of these games and then check with me. He found MotoGP ‘08 for pretty cheap so decided that was worth a go. I would’ve checked for a demo first but he’d been looking on his own initiative and only consulted me before placing an order.
Soon enough, the game arrived and I gave it a quick go. I did the ‘tutorial’ race, which was really a tester to see what settings it recommended for you. I had a rocky start but I managed to finish first and the game recommended simulation handling (it has arcade handling so I opted for that for my dad). I had noticed the bikes were much quicker at accelerating and braking, which I figured would work in my dad’s favour. He was on that evening and I accompanied him to make sure he knew what he was doing and to explain the controls.
I should probably give you a little more background concerning my old man (don‘t worry, I‘ll try keep it short). He’s always been a fan of cars and bikes but he actually used to own a super-bike, which he gave up when starting a family (and financial reasons). He’s run his own company for decades now and works pretty much seven days a week, but he’s reached a point where he can comfortably afford a bike again. So he bought two…You could say it’s a mid-life crisis but he’s even beyond that…
Anyway, he follows MotoGP (among many other motor sports), so he delighted in telling me who was who and spotting the little details the riders have (even if the game was about a year old not much probably changes). Being a Ducati owner himself, he opted to race as Casey Stoner who, he informs me, had won the GP in 2007. He chose what looked like a suitable course (they all seemed pretty winding anyway) and the opponents were set to the lowest level.
I was unaware at the time that you could change the Quick Race class down to 250cc or even 125cc, which might have made his first go a little easier seeing as MotoGP, he later told me, is 500cc. But, since they were, in essence, like Formula Two and Three in comparison, he wouldn’t be seeing or racing as the ‘big’ names he’d recognise and that just wasn’t good enough…
As you might have guessed, he came last in his first race but he seemed to be handling things a little better and was getting a kick out of seeing the riders arms move for doing the throttle along with other little details. The game wasn’t the most impressive-looking (it wasn’t bad) but my dad was thrilled with the graphics. He was also laughing at the bikers cursing each other or shaking their first angrily if they were cut up or knocked during the starting grid rush. Somehow, my dad was managing to wheelie the bike as well…
Over the Christmas break he was playing the game a bit more, getting used to the subtleties, learning the tracks. He’d also switched the number of laps from 3 to 5, since it gave him more time to get the hang of things during a race. I’d started having a go at career mode (which puts you at 125cc to begin with) and my dad was watching me a bit and observing how I was racing. I advised that he try the mode himself or race the slower bikes and work his way up to GP level, because even the less powerful bikes still gave you a great sense of speed. He gave it a go a few times but wanted to race Ducatis and the other top-class bikes. He was improving and usually finishing 13th out of 18 but I could see he was still struggling a bit with the analogue stick.
Now, it’s pretty much common knowledge that the d-pad on the 360 leaves a lot to be desired. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. But MotoGP ‘08 lets you use it for steering. The position of the d-pad relative to the two triggers used for accelerating and braking is a bit odd, but my dad has big enough hands and was willing to give it a go. He’s only got to turn left and right so it can’t be too bad, can it?
Luckily enough, it wasn’t. He took to using the d-pad quite well. His only problem was sometimes holding down while steering, causing the bike’s front wheel to lift up, losing a lot of traction and stability; which, for a powerful bike like the Ducati, sometimes meant skidding off. Fortunately, that didn’t happen too often. Overall, my dad had been improving; regularly finishing up around 7th and 8th.
Then one day, when I arrived home from work on a Sunday, my dad excitedly related a tale to me: he had won a race. Turns out he’d managed to work the 360 on his own while I’d been out. I congratulated him as he explained how the controls had suddenly clicked for him and he was battling with ‘Rossi’ for first place. Rossi being Valentino Rossi, also known as ‘The Doctor’ (because he can apparently make any bike a winner), has a camera on the back of his bike and has been MotoGP World Champion seven times; all these obviously being details my dad had told me when playing the game before. Back to his victory, this is the funny part…
In telling me this story, he mentioned how he’d managed to nail the last corner and overtook Rossi on the straight and that, now these are his words, he had earned a: ‘one gigabyte photo finish thing’. From memory, I recalled there was an achievement called ‘Photo Finish’ and that he had obviously confused gigabytes with gamerscore (lolnoob!). So I checked my 360 and, yep, he had earned that achievement for finishing first by a second or less. He had won a race, barely, but a win is a win.
He has since been unable to replicate this victory but he’s usually finishing in the top five for every race. I can see his problem is just that he’s a speed-demon who takes too many risks, which sometimes pays off but most times do not.
Wishing to encourage him further I downloaded the demo of SBK ‘09 (super-bikes with racing improvements as opposed to exclusive MotoGP models) and he gave that a go. My first impressions are that the SBK games seem closer to Forza in terms of the adjustable options and the customisation of your vehicle; and the graphics and physics are a little more polished and realistic too. It is, unfortunately, a little bit harder than MotoGP ‘08 as well, but my dad has gone ahead and ordered a copy since it’s cheap. I’m sure he’ll still get some enjoyment out of it though.
Since then, he’s been telling a friend and fellow bike-fan about the game, quite excitedly too. In some ways my dad can still very much be a big kid (which probably explains a lot about myself too…) but it’s nice to see him happy about something so simple. And there’s this weird sort of reverse-parent pride thing to the whole story… Either way, it was a nice bonding experience considering I'd never really done much with my dad when I was a child.
(Please note that this last section is still in 'progress', I was just trying to get the thing 'out' and written)
Anyway, in conclusion, it’s clear that while Forza 3 can certainly claim to be accessible it’s not for everyone. Whether a racing wheel would help is not a cost I’m willing to incur in order to find out either…
It does show that even if a game claims to be accessible, there is still a certain minimum amount of experience required along with a lot of time and patience which a ‘casual gamer’ just does not have.
But this also goes to show that there can be games for everyone (except maybe my mum) to enjoy. Gaming encompasses such a wide range of areas that there has to be at least one release that someone (except my mum) likes.
Just please remember, if you’re going to let your parents play videogames: make sure to supervise them. You never know what bad language they can learn, or violence they can witness!
Gregg.
Saturday, 10 October 2009
Writing For Games - Screen Yorkshire Event Write-Up
Foreword: Before we start I would like to point out that there will be some SPOILERS discussed later in this piece. The games in question being Fable II and Final Fantasy VII. While they’re clearly marked so certain people reading will be able to skip them, they may be missing out on some insightful discussion. Also, you haven’t played Fable II or even heard about Final Fantasy VII's most talked about moment? COME ON!
I was recently fortunate enough to attend a ‘Writing for Games’ event organised by Screen Yorkshire and Game Republic in association with BAFTA. Here is a rough write-up of everything discussed; while I have tried to attribute what was said to who said it there may be inaccuracies. More importantly, however, was what was discussed, as each speaker offered valuable insight from their own perspectives.
Leading the talk was Jamie Sefton from Game Republic and the panel speakers were as follows:
John Dennis, Design Manager at Team 17. The guys behind Worms and Alien Breed and upcoming Alien Breed Evolution.
Charles Cecil, Founder of Revolution. The company responsible for the Broken Sword games and Beneath a Steel Sky.
Marek Bolton, Director at The Mustard Corporation. A company that works with a variety of big name developers to deliver all manner of writing needs; from basic instruction-writing to dialogue right through to script-polishing and full narratives.
Andy Walsh, a freelance writer (as well as director) who has worked on Prince of Persia (2008), Heavenly Sword and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as well as new release Risen.
Writing for games - what is it?
To get things started Jamie Sefton asked the panel to voice what they felt is expected of writers working in the game industry.
Charles Cecil, coming from an adventure game background, said he felt that good stories succeeded by creating empathy, by forming a bond with the audience and taking them on a journey. It was at this point Marek Bolton joined in, agreeing that as well as that a videogame story had to motivate the player. The story is a vehicle. Games, by nature of design, can get repetitive so a story lends logic and progression to your actions.
Andy Walsh stressed that you’re not just writing your dream game, a lot of the time you might not even be writing a full game. As with most other writing jobs you’re delivering a product. Marek mentioned that his company weren’t always there from the start; they could be brought in, like some Hollywood writers, to do rewrites or helping with dialogue.
The games industry
Since games are such a young medium in comparison to others the panel felt that a lot of design and writing comes from pure gut instinct. There is a certain pioneering spirit to game development that still exists today and there is perhaps more freedom than other industries (not necessarily for writers, but games companies or directors). But, inversely, this isn’t always a good thing since the craft is less refined. Marek felt some writers can be too drawn to melodrama; where they’re setting up situations without any emotional investment such as writing in characters two minutes before they die (or characters we don't care about).
The games market, like most other industries now, has become very competitive. Writers really have to want this job. Going back to the ‘not writing your dream game’: it’s not a hobby. Andy Walsh, having worked on Emmerdale Farm, has an idea of the ‘jobbing writer’. Having spoken to Emmerdale (and other television) scriptwriters myself I know that they are given the basic plot points for a given episode (as decided by a separate team of plot writers) and then write within those boundaries. The same goes for any soap or long-running series. There is not always such room for freedom with many creative elements coming together, on any piece of entertainment.
So, while there is still the opportunity to ‘make it big’ and create your own dream games a lot of people will find themselves a little more restricted. For every Tim Schafer, Quentin Tarantino or J.J. Abrams there are plenty of writers plugging away on more run-of-the-mill fare. That’s not to say it’s not fun! Just don’t get your hopes up too much, budding writers…
Writing for games - things to keep in mind
Although writers might not always have complete autonomy on any given project, that’s not to say that they don’t get to write full narratives. The panel had some words of wisdom regarding their approach and experience.
Charles feels first and foremost that gameplay is key. Games are not like film or television and that the key difference is interactivity. As already stated, story is a vehicle to keep the player going. Some games don’t even require complex characterisation or plots. John Dennis brought up examples like Worms or Lemmings; Worms may have the most basic of story but it gives a context to your actions while Lemmings has no real story whatsoever. Marek felt it important to point out that both games have a lot of ‘character’ though. As for classic games like Tetris, Pong or Breakout; they are instantly recognisable and very popular games yet contain no driving plot or discernable personality.
It’s clear that the type of game and its audience are very important things to consider when it comes to writing. Andy wanted to point out that there is a definite distinction between player experience and player story. What he meant was that while you can lead the player on a journey they will still come away with their own experiences as well. The latter coming from player freedom. In Grand Theft Auto IV you’re given a city to roam around in; you could, theoretically, spend hours playing around without doing any of the narrative missions. The Sims is very open-ended and, while there can be set goals, the player is free to ‘progress’ as they wish. The most notable example however is the MMORPG, with World of Warcraft being the panel’s example. Here the player is given quests but beyond defeating Onyxia or rescuing whoever, what they get is the experience of playing with a group of people, serving their role within a group; be it, ‘tanking’ and taking the damage in place of weaker players, healing the ‘tanks’ or being the massive damage-dealer. Any one of these elements on their own in a single-player game would be mind-numbingly boring but the social aspect lends them a purpose.
Another important thing that needs considering is weaving gameplay and story together. Many writers may look to Hollywood methods, perhaps taking note of Christopher Vogler’s update of Joseph Campbell’s 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' whereby many tales fit a set narrative structure that audiences have come to know (or not) and appreciate. The panel don’t feel this is the best approach. Games are generally designed with a difficulty curve in place and trying to set it to the ‘hero’s journey’ could upset the balance. Although, speaking personally, I’ve noticed that Gears of War 2 almost ‘rewards’ the player in a way during the last section. Instead of the toughest boss being last, as tradition dictates, you are given a relatively simple mission which involves blasting through hundreds of enemies with ease (I’m trying to avoid spoilers here). This seems like the gameplay equivalent to a narrative winding down after the final hardship has been faced even if the game’s actual story has become what would be a films’ hectic climactic action sequence (which it actually is as well). All this serves to emphasise that there is certainly a disconnect between the narrative and the player’s experience.
This is not to say films can’t teach writers valuable lessons, as Charles already stated: a story needs empathy; and the ‘hero’s journey’ is easily identifiable for audiences. It’s just that Andy and Marek agree there is a tendency to go towards what they term ‘Hollywood moments’, whereas writers could be learning from everywhere rather than just imitating blockbuster films. This harks back to the idea of melodrama. In this department, Marek has a few key (and possibly controversial) examples of this. Firstly, there is Hideo Kojima and Metal Gear Solid 4 (his distaste is actually shared strongly by Charles and perhaps the rest of the panel, bar Andy, 'it's for its audience', he says). This is a game he feels has too many cutscenes and too much clumsy unnatural exposition; it is trying too hard to be a Western game (actually a design decision with regards to gameplay and control too) and conform to a Hollywood blockbuster mould, much to its detriment. Second to face his well-reasoned wrath was Fable II. A game that, being designed around folklore, pretty much treats the hero’s journey as gospel; the game calls you a ‘Hero’ at nearly every turn and tasks you with finding other ‘Heroes’. Marek’s big gripe was the moment where SPOILER! SPOILER! HUGE SPOILER ALERT! your dog and, if you have one, family (who you probably aren't that attached to) are killed. At this point he felt the game was just trying too hard. He knew, as probably everyone following the game before release did, that Peter Molyneux had stated how he wanted players to cry but it just felt too forced. And seriously, has anyone actually cried because of a videogame story? Actually, save that thought for the next spoiler section... HUGE SPOILER END.
Here, Andy chimed in with Final Fantasy VII as an example of how a hard-hitting emotional moment is done right. HUGE (UNNECESSARY?) SPOILER ALERT! When Aeris dies it leaves a much greater impact on the player simply because she was more present in the gameplay and story. She was very much a ‘gameplay tool’ as Andy put it; she served very distinct functions and became an almost necessary asset to your party. She was the one that would heal you (look after you, you could say, like Elika in Prince of Persia) which also fed into the idea of her as a romantic interest. Your dog in Fable II could be said to be a ‘tool’ as well but it doesn’t greatly assist you in combat nor take a big role in the story. ‘It doesn‘t do much beyond sniff out condoms buried in the ground’ as Andy puts it. HUGE SPOILERS END.
And finally, the worst thing a writer (or pretty much any creative professional) has to keep in mind: limitations (even if this can sometimes actually be a good creative force). As we already know, games are products. They have a lot of money put into them, they have deadlines, they have all sorts of creative elements coming together; this, of course, affects the writer too. First off, John told how publishers will sometimes go to a developer with the type of game (futuristic shooter, fantasy game, survival horror etc.) they want or even provide a narrative; Andy even mentioned how a publisher had told him to include multiple endings when drafting a story. Both him and Charles find it preposterous that a good cohesive story allows for such radically different endings; something a lot of professional writers will agree with.
But, along with what a publisher may request, other elements to the game can affect the story. John mentioned how with Alien Breed Evolution even the level design can take the story in a new direction (although he wasn’t specific, it looks like the game is a downloadable title and so memory constraints could've been a factor). While writing in, say, a billion explosions wouldn’t affect the budget the same way it would for a film (there are a distinct lack of games with a billion explosions though, especially simultaneously…) the writing can affect a lot down the pipeline. As the development cycle goes on, the game is acquiring more rigid assets; things that just can’t be changed. This is where the similarities to film production come in. During a film there are only certain locations or actors available at certain times; this may not cause problems at first, since a filming schedule is usually planned beforehand, but any delays can affect the production. And, worst comes to worst, there may be a need for reshoots (something any director or producer will try desperately to avoid) which will also eat into the original budget. A game’s production may not suffer from problems with locations but if it has voice talent (especially big name stars) that can be particularly costly, and these voice actors again may only be available at certain times. It’s also very costly for a team to completely scrap all their levels and artwork or even game engine and start over. Charles points out the obvious solution is to have someone oversee both elements, something a lot of developers do, but there are still situations where this is not happening. He feels this is because some game directors don’t actually understand all these fundamentals they’ve discussed.
I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank all involved in organising this free event and all the panel members for being both very entertaining and open on all matters regarding games writing. They have at least inspired this editor to write some more on the topic of story-telling in games (and look for a job writing for games).
Gregg.
I was recently fortunate enough to attend a ‘Writing for Games’ event organised by Screen Yorkshire and Game Republic in association with BAFTA. Here is a rough write-up of everything discussed; while I have tried to attribute what was said to who said it there may be inaccuracies. More importantly, however, was what was discussed, as each speaker offered valuable insight from their own perspectives.
Leading the talk was Jamie Sefton from Game Republic and the panel speakers were as follows:
John Dennis, Design Manager at Team 17. The guys behind Worms and Alien Breed and upcoming Alien Breed Evolution.
Charles Cecil, Founder of Revolution. The company responsible for the Broken Sword games and Beneath a Steel Sky.
Marek Bolton, Director at The Mustard Corporation. A company that works with a variety of big name developers to deliver all manner of writing needs; from basic instruction-writing to dialogue right through to script-polishing and full narratives.
Andy Walsh, a freelance writer (as well as director) who has worked on Prince of Persia (2008), Heavenly Sword and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as well as new release Risen.
Writing for games - what is it?
To get things started Jamie Sefton asked the panel to voice what they felt is expected of writers working in the game industry.
Charles Cecil, coming from an adventure game background, said he felt that good stories succeeded by creating empathy, by forming a bond with the audience and taking them on a journey. It was at this point Marek Bolton joined in, agreeing that as well as that a videogame story had to motivate the player. The story is a vehicle. Games, by nature of design, can get repetitive so a story lends logic and progression to your actions.
Andy Walsh stressed that you’re not just writing your dream game, a lot of the time you might not even be writing a full game. As with most other writing jobs you’re delivering a product. Marek mentioned that his company weren’t always there from the start; they could be brought in, like some Hollywood writers, to do rewrites or helping with dialogue.
The games industry
Since games are such a young medium in comparison to others the panel felt that a lot of design and writing comes from pure gut instinct. There is a certain pioneering spirit to game development that still exists today and there is perhaps more freedom than other industries (not necessarily for writers, but games companies or directors). But, inversely, this isn’t always a good thing since the craft is less refined. Marek felt some writers can be too drawn to melodrama; where they’re setting up situations without any emotional investment such as writing in characters two minutes before they die (or characters we don't care about).
The games market, like most other industries now, has become very competitive. Writers really have to want this job. Going back to the ‘not writing your dream game’: it’s not a hobby. Andy Walsh, having worked on Emmerdale Farm, has an idea of the ‘jobbing writer’. Having spoken to Emmerdale (and other television) scriptwriters myself I know that they are given the basic plot points for a given episode (as decided by a separate team of plot writers) and then write within those boundaries. The same goes for any soap or long-running series. There is not always such room for freedom with many creative elements coming together, on any piece of entertainment.
So, while there is still the opportunity to ‘make it big’ and create your own dream games a lot of people will find themselves a little more restricted. For every Tim Schafer, Quentin Tarantino or J.J. Abrams there are plenty of writers plugging away on more run-of-the-mill fare. That’s not to say it’s not fun! Just don’t get your hopes up too much, budding writers…
Writing for games - things to keep in mind
Although writers might not always have complete autonomy on any given project, that’s not to say that they don’t get to write full narratives. The panel had some words of wisdom regarding their approach and experience.
Charles feels first and foremost that gameplay is key. Games are not like film or television and that the key difference is interactivity. As already stated, story is a vehicle to keep the player going. Some games don’t even require complex characterisation or plots. John Dennis brought up examples like Worms or Lemmings; Worms may have the most basic of story but it gives a context to your actions while Lemmings has no real story whatsoever. Marek felt it important to point out that both games have a lot of ‘character’ though. As for classic games like Tetris, Pong or Breakout; they are instantly recognisable and very popular games yet contain no driving plot or discernable personality.
It’s clear that the type of game and its audience are very important things to consider when it comes to writing. Andy wanted to point out that there is a definite distinction between player experience and player story. What he meant was that while you can lead the player on a journey they will still come away with their own experiences as well. The latter coming from player freedom. In Grand Theft Auto IV you’re given a city to roam around in; you could, theoretically, spend hours playing around without doing any of the narrative missions. The Sims is very open-ended and, while there can be set goals, the player is free to ‘progress’ as they wish. The most notable example however is the MMORPG, with World of Warcraft being the panel’s example. Here the player is given quests but beyond defeating Onyxia or rescuing whoever, what they get is the experience of playing with a group of people, serving their role within a group; be it, ‘tanking’ and taking the damage in place of weaker players, healing the ‘tanks’ or being the massive damage-dealer. Any one of these elements on their own in a single-player game would be mind-numbingly boring but the social aspect lends them a purpose.
Another important thing that needs considering is weaving gameplay and story together. Many writers may look to Hollywood methods, perhaps taking note of Christopher Vogler’s update of Joseph Campbell’s 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' whereby many tales fit a set narrative structure that audiences have come to know (or not) and appreciate. The panel don’t feel this is the best approach. Games are generally designed with a difficulty curve in place and trying to set it to the ‘hero’s journey’ could upset the balance. Although, speaking personally, I’ve noticed that Gears of War 2 almost ‘rewards’ the player in a way during the last section. Instead of the toughest boss being last, as tradition dictates, you are given a relatively simple mission which involves blasting through hundreds of enemies with ease (I’m trying to avoid spoilers here). This seems like the gameplay equivalent to a narrative winding down after the final hardship has been faced even if the game’s actual story has become what would be a films’ hectic climactic action sequence (which it actually is as well). All this serves to emphasise that there is certainly a disconnect between the narrative and the player’s experience.
This is not to say films can’t teach writers valuable lessons, as Charles already stated: a story needs empathy; and the ‘hero’s journey’ is easily identifiable for audiences. It’s just that Andy and Marek agree there is a tendency to go towards what they term ‘Hollywood moments’, whereas writers could be learning from everywhere rather than just imitating blockbuster films. This harks back to the idea of melodrama. In this department, Marek has a few key (and possibly controversial) examples of this. Firstly, there is Hideo Kojima and Metal Gear Solid 4 (his distaste is actually shared strongly by Charles and perhaps the rest of the panel, bar Andy, 'it's for its audience', he says). This is a game he feels has too many cutscenes and too much clumsy unnatural exposition; it is trying too hard to be a Western game (actually a design decision with regards to gameplay and control too) and conform to a Hollywood blockbuster mould, much to its detriment. Second to face his well-reasoned wrath was Fable II. A game that, being designed around folklore, pretty much treats the hero’s journey as gospel; the game calls you a ‘Hero’ at nearly every turn and tasks you with finding other ‘Heroes’. Marek’s big gripe was the moment where SPOILER! SPOILER! HUGE SPOILER ALERT! your dog and, if you have one, family (who you probably aren't that attached to) are killed. At this point he felt the game was just trying too hard. He knew, as probably everyone following the game before release did, that Peter Molyneux had stated how he wanted players to cry but it just felt too forced. And seriously, has anyone actually cried because of a videogame story? Actually, save that thought for the next spoiler section... HUGE SPOILER END.
Here, Andy chimed in with Final Fantasy VII as an example of how a hard-hitting emotional moment is done right. HUGE (UNNECESSARY?) SPOILER ALERT! When Aeris dies it leaves a much greater impact on the player simply because she was more present in the gameplay and story. She was very much a ‘gameplay tool’ as Andy put it; she served very distinct functions and became an almost necessary asset to your party. She was the one that would heal you (look after you, you could say, like Elika in Prince of Persia) which also fed into the idea of her as a romantic interest. Your dog in Fable II could be said to be a ‘tool’ as well but it doesn’t greatly assist you in combat nor take a big role in the story. ‘It doesn‘t do much beyond sniff out condoms buried in the ground’ as Andy puts it. HUGE SPOILERS END.
And finally, the worst thing a writer (or pretty much any creative professional) has to keep in mind: limitations (even if this can sometimes actually be a good creative force). As we already know, games are products. They have a lot of money put into them, they have deadlines, they have all sorts of creative elements coming together; this, of course, affects the writer too. First off, John told how publishers will sometimes go to a developer with the type of game (futuristic shooter, fantasy game, survival horror etc.) they want or even provide a narrative; Andy even mentioned how a publisher had told him to include multiple endings when drafting a story. Both him and Charles find it preposterous that a good cohesive story allows for such radically different endings; something a lot of professional writers will agree with.
But, along with what a publisher may request, other elements to the game can affect the story. John mentioned how with Alien Breed Evolution even the level design can take the story in a new direction (although he wasn’t specific, it looks like the game is a downloadable title and so memory constraints could've been a factor). While writing in, say, a billion explosions wouldn’t affect the budget the same way it would for a film (there are a distinct lack of games with a billion explosions though, especially simultaneously…) the writing can affect a lot down the pipeline. As the development cycle goes on, the game is acquiring more rigid assets; things that just can’t be changed. This is where the similarities to film production come in. During a film there are only certain locations or actors available at certain times; this may not cause problems at first, since a filming schedule is usually planned beforehand, but any delays can affect the production. And, worst comes to worst, there may be a need for reshoots (something any director or producer will try desperately to avoid) which will also eat into the original budget. A game’s production may not suffer from problems with locations but if it has voice talent (especially big name stars) that can be particularly costly, and these voice actors again may only be available at certain times. It’s also very costly for a team to completely scrap all their levels and artwork or even game engine and start over. Charles points out the obvious solution is to have someone oversee both elements, something a lot of developers do, but there are still situations where this is not happening. He feels this is because some game directors don’t actually understand all these fundamentals they’ve discussed.
I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank all involved in organising this free event and all the panel members for being both very entertaining and open on all matters regarding games writing. They have at least inspired this editor to write some more on the topic of story-telling in games (and look for a job writing for games).
Gregg.
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