How much do we need to know about the setting/ history/ social and cultural context of a game in order to attain the maximum playing experience? For example, will I engage more with the repetitive gameplay of a game like Assassin's Creed if I know a little (or a lot) about the Knight's Templar and the histories/ myths regarding the crusades?
As game designers, how important is contextual research as part of the design process?
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As a lover of narrative structure, I would like to say that context adds considerable value to game play. Sadly, I don't think it does -- yet! I run this course to produce the students who will write those games!
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ReplyDeleteI believe context to some degree is helpful to the overall experience of a game when playing. However I feel that it is very much up to the individual who is playing the game to decide if context is adding to the experience of a game. When playing Assassins Creed for example, I found myself learning while playing but do not feel that had any impact on the actually game experience as I was playing simply because it was fun from start to finish. I however do not deny that I am slightly more enlightened to events and historical facts surrounding the scenario of the game. I can understand that there will be some people who would have not played Assassins Creed because there are some historical facts that have been bent or are just plain fiction. I will admit though that there are certain game titles I have stopped playing half way simply because I know the facts differ to those used in the game. With that in mind I think contextual research is very important to game design but again its up to the individual to decide how important.
ReplyDeleteTheres an interesting article Page 18 of this months PC Gamer, it talks about story-lines in games and how old games like Pac man / space invaders didn't have a story as such. Do games need storys? Most games end really badly in my opinion, Assassins creed is a great example of that!
ReplyDeleteChris, that's something I've been thinking about quite a lot lately (and I think I mentioned it briefly in the seminar). Many of the games I come back to again and again are almost purely ludic - like Pac-man, Space Invaders, but also games with minimal narrative such as Head Over Heels, Wizball and Bubble Bobble on the C64.
ReplyDeleteWhat concerns me in the current climate of game design is that the ludic element of design is being overridden by narrative which means that games are in danger of becoming interactive movies pure and simple, rather than a medium with its own unique properties.
What is needed is a balance, and I would not suggest for an instant that context and narrative are everything. However, they can make a game more interesting and, perhaps, longer lasting.
But surely putting too much narrative into a game can cut the lifespan of it, don't get me wrong i love a game with a complex story but it does need more than just a great narrative, possibly other social constructs like multiplayer where users can play together.......bring out 4 player pac-man deathmatch!!
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