Posts Tagged narrative
Mass Effect 2: a Few Steps Forward, and a Few Steps Back
Posted by The Management in games on February 19, 2010
Mass Effect 2 has been out for a few weeks now, and everyone seems to be raving about its improvements over the original. The framerate is smoother, the graphics have received an overall upgrade, loading times have been reduced, dialogues can be interrupted with paragon/renegade actions, the combat is better, etc. Most of these claims are undeniably true, although some are a bit subjective.
At least one of the female characters got a hair-upgrade.
For example, I enjoyed the first game’s combat quite a bit. Its weapons contained unlimited ammo but were always in danger of overheating, giving the action a certain sense of rhythm. The characters’ powers/abilities such as Lift and Stasis also provided tactical options and visual “oomph” that’s a bit lacking in the sequel. Of course they’ve been offset by other additions to the gameplay, so it’s not a simple downgrade.
The game actually feels closer to Gears of War now — not as many variables to juggle, manual cover, more visceral feedback, etc. Both systems are good, though, just different, so arguing about them is a bit of a moot point.
The creepy husks are back! I always thought that they were underused in the original, both gameplay and story-wise.
There are other, smaller changes that didn’t sit well with me (such as controlling the dinky spaceship model on the otherwise impressive galaxy map), but what I see as ME2′s major failings — especially when compared to its predecessor — are its story and narrative, and the overall homogenization of its gameplay.
The actual story of ME2 is composed of three main points: bad aliens show up, a MacGuffin is retrieved to combat the aliens, the aliens get blown up. That’s it. There’s very few revelations, very little progression, and the aliens’ motives — and the end battle — are pretty ludicrous. There’s just not enough meat on the bones here, especially for a game that’s 20+ hours long.
The main reason for this is that ME2 is structured around a “suicide mission” akin to that of The Dirty Dozen. This premise works well for the movie as a concrete plan is hatched and the recruits have a clear motive for signing up: they’re all convicts fighting for their freedom. ME2 follows a similar structure, but only one of the characters — a scientist who can research the aliens’ technology — has a logical connection to the story. The other 10 (or 11, depending on how you look at it) are mostly badasses who sort of tag along.
Maybe it’s because they somehow know that the player will spend the majority of the game running around solving their personal problems (usually with guns) while awaiting the go-ahead to save the galaxy?
Of course there's still sex in the game, but now with even more clothes on.
Either way, the mission itself is vague, revolving around a harebrained scheme to somehow strike at the enemy’s homeworld. There’s quite a few logical plot-holes here, and the whole thing comes across a little forced.
ME2 also lacks the interesting NPCs of the original. The Council and Captain Anderson don’t seem too concerned that their privileged commando is not dead and has actually joined a terrorist group, and there’s no equivalent to Saren and his villainous cronies. Instead, the galaxy turns out to be a very small place where numerous characters from ME1 make perfunctory appearances. It’s neat at first, but eventually wears thin as the player wades through a perpetual stream of serendipitous run-ins.
Commander Shepard's return to the Citadel proves very anti-climactic.
The gameplay changes fare better for the most part.
A large portion of ME1 has been been cut down and streamlined, and there are plenty of general improvements (although the UI is still pretty bad). The new approach to missions and progression is so consistently predictable, though, that it gives off a vibe of exploring a game rather than a world.
Each major location has a safe, single-map hub from which the combat missions are accessed. The player is never in any danger while exploring these areas, and the missions themselves are generally shorter and even more linear than in the original. For the most part they also revolve around recruiting new characters and gaining their loyalty, but lack the gameplay and aesthetic variety found in the story-centric quests.
Mass Effect 2 focuses more on the legally dubious areas of the galaxy. They look pretty enough, but generally lack the aesthetic variety of the original.
The completely optional side-quests have replaced the Mako-exploration, and are even shorter. They usually involve some rudimentary puzzle-solving and provide extra variety, but are very hit and miss. The bigger problem is that they’re all the same length and don’t offer anything special. The Mako-exploration from the first game was flawed, but at least it created a great sense of scope and exploration that’s missing in the sequel.
ME2′s side-quests contain no hidden characters, no special weapons, and no significant surprises of any kind. Just like with the game’s other missions, you soon learn exactly what to expect instead of being awed by the wonders of alien worlds.
Although Shepard now has many more customization options, the other characters' outfits no longer change based on their equipment.
Of course there are other things to harp on, but the overall game is quite good. It’s just a shame that during BioWare’s sprint to fix the complaints of the original game, the company forgot some of the things that made it notable in the first place.
About
Hi, my name’s Radek Koncewicz, and I'm the Creative Lead of Incubator Games, a small development studio I started with a few former coworkers.
I think a lot about videogames, and when I find the time, I post those thoughts here on this blog.
Narrative Through Commentaries
Posted by The Management in writing on September 28, 2009
James Parker has an interesting entry in his blog that centers on sports titles and their play-by-play commentaries. James argues that games like FIFA 09 contain responsive narratives that come much closer to player-generated stories than anything else in the medium.
Is this a story? Well, technically, but that doesn't mean it's a great one.
Although there have been much more ambitious attempts at such systems, I’d have to agree that none have pulled it off quite as well.
Chris Crawford’s Balance of Power: 21st Century, for example, has a much grander scope than a typical sports game. The freedom it provides, though, tends to create expectations of an infinitely open experience that the game can’t possibly match. As a result, the initial play can be exhilarating, but the sensation quickly wears off when the player runs into a situation where he cannot do what he desires.
Of course the more focused nature of sports games isn’t their only advantage when it comes to telling dynamic stories. The games’ audience often recognizes and empathizes with the game’s cast: the athletes. Furthermore, the purely voice-driven commentaries inherently convey emotion and are easier to digest than text.
The emoticon-like faces help to add personality to the game, but the Madlibs effect is hard to ignore.
As was pointed out on Gim Crack’d, the Madlibs approach of Balance of Power just doesn’t come off quite as organic. Its phrasal templates are powerful, but not subtle, and their patterns are relatively easy to spot. The end results are robotic strings of text that look like a programmer’s debug output, i.e.:
“The [a] successfully captured [b] in [c].”
“Production of [x] increased by [n] during [t].”
As I’ve stated before, I’m more a fan of the game telling a story rather than it becoming a storytelling tool for the player. Still, commentaries can be — and have been for a long time now — useful in more crafted experiences. Their obvious boon is that they serve as a reward and an acknowledgement of the player’s actions. Beyond that, they can also be used to point out gameplay elements and encourage the player to reflect on the story.
JRPGs are notorious for their rudimentary and often entirely artificial choices, e.g., “Do you want to save the princess?” Chances are that no matter how many times you pick no, the game will keep asking you the same question until you choose “yes.” However, despite being a very shallow interaction, these moments serve to pause the narrative and remind the player that there is a princess that needs saving. Commentaries on the player’s actions — or inaction, for that matter — can be used in much the same way.
The protagonist of Aquaria also serves as its narrator, describing the backstory and commenting on events as they transpire.
What’s more, these commentaries can inform the player of the consequences of his actions, or just general plot points that might’ve been missed. In a way, it’s almost like having a short conversation with a friend while watching a movie; it can serve to fill in the gaps and provide a new point of view.
Whether linear or open-ended, and whether on a sporadic or a constant basis, games that have used commentaries were largely better for it. Just think of Guybrush Threepwood’s quips in Monkey Island, uppity Baldur’s Gate characters, the prince’s narration in Sands of Time, Alyx Vance’s feedback in Half-Life, the “barks” of Call of Duty team members, etc., all these titles would’ve been a lot more silent, dull and lonely without their great use of commentaries.
balance of power, commentaries, commentary, fifa, madlibs, narrative, narrator, phresal templates, play, sports, voice overs
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