Epic Tale avoids the Epic Fail

It seems like an innate human desire to be thrust into some larger story, much larger than themselves. It probably is, in fact. Since video games are a source of fantasy fulfillment, no doubt game designers have created games with this in mind. One look at the top 30 games on GameRankings.com confirms this. Grand Theft Auto 4. Zelda: Ocarina Of Time. Metal Gear Solid. The Half-Life games. The list goes on.

What do all these games have in common? They are designed to be highly affecting pieces of software, stirring emotion and provoking thought in their players and surrounding cultures. And they have all succeeded brilliantly. HOW is it that these games have communicated such a sense of awe and wonder, stimulating a player even to their hearts. It sounds extreme, but the truth is that this is the level of affect these games have had on their audience.

I think if I can catch some of the common things from these titles, I'd be on the way to a successful idea. Just add some unique IP, and voila.

So the first thing I noticed was their epic musical score. It has been said that sound is the cheap-and-dirty to engage a player. I disagree wholeheartedly. The success of these games has largely been due to their powerful and well-selected music. Since I'm a Nintendrone, I'll use the examples of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess. These games have very little to no voice overs. The gameplay was excellent. The character design was flawless. And yet this was all delivered through a fantastical soundtrack, full of catchy Nintendo tunes and amazing pieces of music genius. The music in these games fully enhanced and conveyed the sense of emotion which the player instantly resonated with. An example of this is during the lead up to the final boss fight in Ocarina of Time. As you climb his tall tower, you are constantly bombarded with the sound of an ominous organ being played, conveying a sense of true climax and significance. Similarly, Metal Gear Solid had a soundtrack which perfectly complimented the finality of the last missions. Keys for success so far: great score.

Secondly their hierarchy of challenges are designed to immerse the player in the greater story, without sacrificing the fun of the micro-level actions. I think of Metroid Prime 3 for the Wii here. The narrative of the game was quite massive. From the offset you are told you are going to have to take out large Space Pirate bases on three planets by means of invasion, eventually destroying the source of the enemy completely. Quite an enormous scale is conveyed by the narrative early on, and confirmed by the intermediate level challenges; that is, the destruction of each pirate base. When you arrive on each planet, a similar sense of scale is shown: Here is the final target, called a Leviathan, but here are all the things you need to get there. These lower-level challenges are well varied and still carry this sense of scale. One I will always remember is the constructing of a thermonuclear bomb by collected 3 large pieces, then dropping it on enemy territory. This is all complemented by the atomic challenge of combat, which was really an excuse for Nintendo to show off how good the Wii is for FPS titles, ensuring the entire experience is constantly fun. But its this outlay of tasks while keeping the main goal in the back of the player's mind that creates a truly epic title in Metroid.

It could be debated that the previous two methods mean nothing if not for a powerful narrative. Metal Gear Solid is the ultimate game in this sense. An excellent plot of betrayal, love and triumph give context to these other elements. Without the quick wit of Solid Snake, would a player hear his theme music with the same sense of triumph? Without the insane introduction and description of boss characters, would the challenges they present actually be immersive? It would be like taking the Ring out of the Lord of the Rings.

After writing this and looking back on the lecture on designing games for affect... it seems like the listed design principles are indeed the strategies of developers. That's quite comforting and quite remarkable. And also quite humbling. Some of the greatest games I've ever played, the most affectual to me, were very carefully designed using these three factors. Sheer genius. Now I need to do the same.

(The anatomy of challenge taken from ITN016 Lecture 7 by Dr Penny Drennan)