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sweep

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Edited By sweep Moderator

Let's take a stroll outside the box.

Videogames, interactive entertainment, is about consequence. What happens if I do this? For me, videogames are a place where i can flirt with reality. In a world which has been designed to be experienced by a player, every exploratory poke is a reward. I want to know what happens next. It's about asking questions and getting answers.

Mattbodega confused the hell out of me

by rambling about illusions of reality within videogames. I understood the point that was being made, I just didn't see why it was important. I came away with some conclusions that are probably completely unrelated: As long as the illusion of freedom is being maintained, players are free to continue with their linear adventure unconcerned. Whilst the potential for exploration exists, the player need not worry about physically experiencing it. It's almost like... peace of mind. It's not wanting to reveal how linear a game is because that would shatter the illusion of freedom when you find out that it is inevitably a lot smaller than the games designers would have you perceive. This is why modelers are employed to create entire cities that serve only as a backdrop to a disproportionate chunk of gameplay. The implications that a world exists are enough to convince a player that he or she does not need to explore it, though many would probably leap at the opportunity. This desire to explore is another driving force that spurs a player to... well... keep playing?

A while back my housemate bought Grand Theft Auto 4 on PC, played a few levels and then got distracted by something else. I don't think there was any particular reason why, or if there was then he didn't tell me. He's on the same university course as me, he seems more interested in technical prowess than a gripping storyline - he's also the kind of cynical bastard that, if handed a working PC game, will spend the next 3 hours trying to break it. I guess Liberty City didn't have apparent rewards that justified it's exploration. He saw me playing Ballad Of Gay Tony in the living room the other day and sat there watching for a few minutes. Totally unimpressed by the gimmicky dancing minigames and crappy sex animations. However after cruising through a typical run-drive-shoot mission I was dumped back onto the street with a complete lack of wanted level. It was one of those weird moments in GTA4 where you have just finished a mission and aren't sure what to do next, so you idly start picking of pedestrians with an AK just to pass the time. Anyways, I wandered over to an ATM to check my balance - my housemate freaked. He didn't know the game had working ATM's. The illusion of freedom had suddenly and randomly been reconstructed. He wanted to know what else was possible, and immediately rushed off to experiment. Last time I saw him he was skimming through the dozens of Krapea web-pages on the fake GTA internet.

When something does what it is supposed to in a videogame, it's comforting. When it goes beyond that, offering new and exciting results - in my opinion that's what makes a great game. It makes me want to explore and find out what else is possible. It gives a world depth. It doesn't even have to be complicated. It can be as simple as a few lines of dialogue or a scenic backdrop - a world crafted to give the illusion of being much bigger than the sum of it's parts. It can be as mundane as different death animations depending on where you shoot your enemy. Look at Street Fighter 4; The street fighter world has been expertly fleshed out, but you only ever get to experience a microscopic 2D chunk. Your impact on the world is seen by the reactions of the characters in the background, the effects of your attacks on the environments, and the bizarre cut-scenes that break up your arcade adventure. The importance here is that you still think of it as a world, not just a stage.

Thanks For Reading
Love Sweep

14 years ago

sweep

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#1 Edited By sweep Moderator

Let's take a stroll outside the box.

Videogames, interactive entertainment, is about consequence. What happens if I do this? For me, videogames are a place where i can flirt with reality. In a world which has been designed to be experienced by a player, every exploratory poke is a reward. I want to know what happens next. It's about asking questions and getting answers.

Mattbodega confused the hell out of me

by rambling about illusions of reality within videogames. I understood the point that was being made, I just didn't see why it was important. I came away with some conclusions that are probably completely unrelated: As long as the illusion of freedom is being maintained, players are free to continue with their linear adventure unconcerned. Whilst the potential for exploration exists, the player need not worry about physically experiencing it. It's almost like... peace of mind. It's not wanting to reveal how linear a game is because that would shatter the illusion of freedom when you find out that it is inevitably a lot smaller than the games designers would have you perceive. This is why modelers are employed to create entire cities that serve only as a backdrop to a disproportionate chunk of gameplay. The implications that a world exists are enough to convince a player that he or she does not need to explore it, though many would probably leap at the opportunity. This desire to explore is another driving force that spurs a player to... well... keep playing?

A while back my housemate bought Grand Theft Auto 4 on PC, played a few levels and then got distracted by something else. I don't think there was any particular reason why, or if there was then he didn't tell me. He's on the same university course as me, he seems more interested in technical prowess than a gripping storyline - he's also the kind of cynical bastard that, if handed a working PC game, will spend the next 3 hours trying to break it. I guess Liberty City didn't have apparent rewards that justified it's exploration. He saw me playing Ballad Of Gay Tony in the living room the other day and sat there watching for a few minutes. Totally unimpressed by the gimmicky dancing minigames and crappy sex animations. However after cruising through a typical run-drive-shoot mission I was dumped back onto the street with a complete lack of wanted level. It was one of those weird moments in GTA4 where you have just finished a mission and aren't sure what to do next, so you idly start picking of pedestrians with an AK just to pass the time. Anyways, I wandered over to an ATM to check my balance - my housemate freaked. He didn't know the game had working ATM's. The illusion of freedom had suddenly and randomly been reconstructed. He wanted to know what else was possible, and immediately rushed off to experiment. Last time I saw him he was skimming through the dozens of Krapea web-pages on the fake GTA internet.

When something does what it is supposed to in a videogame, it's comforting. When it goes beyond that, offering new and exciting results - in my opinion that's what makes a great game. It makes me want to explore and find out what else is possible. It gives a world depth. It doesn't even have to be complicated. It can be as simple as a few lines of dialogue or a scenic backdrop - a world crafted to give the illusion of being much bigger than the sum of it's parts. It can be as mundane as different death animations depending on where you shoot your enemy. Look at Street Fighter 4; The street fighter world has been expertly fleshed out, but you only ever get to experience a microscopic 2D chunk. Your impact on the world is seen by the reactions of the characters in the background, the effects of your attacks on the environments, and the bizarre cut-scenes that break up your arcade adventure. The importance here is that you still think of it as a world, not just a stage.

Thanks For Reading
Love Sweep

14 years ago

phlegms

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#2 Edited By phlegms

So basically, you want better boob physics in games?
I'm pretty sure thats the point you were getting at..

14 years ago

sweep

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#3 Edited By sweep Moderator

@phlegms said:

" So basically, you want better boob physics in games? I'm pretty sure thats the point you were getting at.. "

...I wouldn't say no?

14 years ago

Oni

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#4 Edited By Oni

Yeah, working ATM machines in GTA4?? WTF?!?! I played that game and all the DLC to completion and I did not know this. It's touches like this that make a game world a game world, not just a backdrop. Assassin's Creed 2 currently has me absolutely hooked because it creates the illusion that you are IN 15th century Italy, and it's an amazing place that I never want to leave when I'm playing it, because as Ezio, I am the fucking king and God of Life and Death of that world. I suppose it's silly boyish wish fulfilment, but goddamn if that game doesn't do it well.

Same thing with Left 4 Dead safe house scrawls: they give the illusion that it's a whole world plagued with zombies, not just the locations you happen to visit. Great blog as usual Sweep, and thanks for the comments on Crane Sim 2009 :D

14 years ago