23rd March 2005, 11:59 PM
Bah... lost a great start of a post... :(
Anyway, I've been playing KotOR more (I'm on the Star Forge Planet now), and my opinions on the game are pretty definitive. It's a great game. Lots of fun. It's just got annoying problems I can't quite ignore...
First, though, this article. Well worth reading, definitely. It's about what some game designers behind some of the greatest game stories think of games and stories. (read it, everyone!)
Here's the quote I wanted to use, though.
http://www.gamespot.com/features/6120427/index.html
They say these things better than I could... but Avellone, Schaefer, and Tornquist make very good points. They have conflicted answers, just like mine is...
... really, I should post that whole article in a new thread, it's DEFINITELY worth reading, and not many people will here...
... I meant to talk more about other things, but I don't know how much good going over the annoyances in KotOR would do... let's just say that KotOR tries the more technological (3d, etc) route in its gameplay and storytelling but doesn't do as well as it could because of it's mediocre engine (yes, when it's done well 3d these days can do better than 2d. But good, well-done 2d is preferable in a lot of ways to mediocre 3d... (I'm not saying KotOR should be 2d (with the kinds of compensation techniques they (esp. Tornquist) talk about in that question), it seems like a game better done in 3d... really, it should have a great 3d engine and really good graphics. It doesn't have quite either one of those possibilities... but what it does it does well enough that I forget that sometimes, and that's a mark of a great game. Really, my biggest irritation is probably the combat... I want to control all of them effectively (you can't, really), and I want the game to REMEMBER repeating commands -- I shouldn't have to re-tell the character to use the power attack every time I want them to use it! It should be like BGII or IWDII and have an option to repeat that action until you choose a different one!). The flaws of the graphics engine are secondary because they are just good enough, and the writing is good enough, for me to mostly ignore it.
Anyway, I've been playing KotOR more (I'm on the Star Forge Planet now), and my opinions on the game are pretty definitive. It's a great game. Lots of fun. It's just got annoying problems I can't quite ignore...
First, though, this article. Well worth reading, definitely. It's about what some game designers behind some of the greatest game stories think of games and stories. (read it, everyone!)
Here's the quote I wanted to use, though.
http://www.gamespot.com/features/6120427/index.html
Quote:Q: How do you think technology facilitates storytelling in games? How do you think technology gets in the way of the storytelling?
Chris Avellone: Absolutely technology facilitates storytelling. It adds the wonder and the action to the story, and it's the means by which the player perceives and controls his in-game personality. There are all sorts of events and wonders you can describe solely with a text story, but without the technology, animation, and a powerfully presented world, it's just going to be a bunch of text. You can only describe your encounter with a giant dragon, flying across the world in a giant airship, or using a gravity gun to fire saw blades at your enemies in so many words without the technology to back it up.
I don't think technology has ever gotten in the way of storytelling, and I think Infocom games are the proof of that. Even as simple as they seemed to be, as long as text could be presented on the screen, you could bring across a powerful story experience even without graphics or a 3D engine. I guess in the end, I think technology can only enhance the story experience (facial animations, voice acting, animations, fully realized world, scripted reactive elements, physics-based engines, etc.).
Hideo Kojima: I don't think storytelling and technology are related in any way. Detailed expressions (including facial expressions) and gestures make it easier to show subtle emotions, but this has nothing to do with storytelling.
"Technology can get in the way of storytelling by giving us really cool digital actors to work with, and suddenly (and I'm guilty of this) we think we're Spielberg."
Ken Levine: More technology equals more simulation. More simulation equals more emergence. Emergent experiences are the key to gameplay storytelling. Check out Grand Theft Auto III. What's great about that game? The cutscenes? Sure, they're well written, but is that what you remember? Or are they really the context for the unique action that each player experiences? Like the time you were being pursued by the Haitian gang and took your motorcycle off a ramp, crossing the river and watching the other bangers crash into the river behind you? That moment was never specifically scripted, but it was enabled by the story, which set it up and gave it context.
Technology can get in the way of storytelling by giving us really cool digital actors to work with, and suddenly (and I'm guilty of this) we think we're Spielberg. Face it, no game developer has the chops of a great film director, and no game character is going to emote like Brando. We've got different strengths and weaknesses.
Tim Schafer: Well, technology helps make the experience more and more immersive to more people. Previously you would have to have quite a good imagination to turn, say, the words of Zork into a real world in your head. But now people who don't have that much imagination can still fall into fantasy worlds because of the increased "realism" of the presentation. But as that gets closer and closer to real, the parts where it's missing (facial expressions, etc) become more and more glaring.
Ragnar Tørnquist: Technology needn't get in the way of storytelling unless we focus too much on showing off our cool new shaders and particle effects and not enough on establishing an emotional connection with the player. Technology can definitely facilitate for better storytelling. The best visual stories are just that--visual. There's that whole "show, don't tell" rule which has often fallen by the wayside because of technology; The Longest Journey, which I wrote, was definitely an example of that. Mostly everything had to be communicated through dialogues. The more we can show, and thus allow players to figure out for themselves, the better. And nowhere is that more apparent than with human characters. Things like facial expressions and body language enable us to communicate the story in a massively different fashion, making it much more immediate and personal than what's been possible before.
It needs to be more than a gimmick, however. We need technology that fuels the narrative and the gameplay, and not the other way around. Just because we can do something doesn't mean we should do it. We're still at a gee-whiz stage where every new technological innovation is tossed in there, because gamers will love it. And they do! Hell, I love big explosions as much as the next guy. But we have to look at the technology as a tool, as a means to an end, and not an end in itself.
They say these things better than I could... but Avellone, Schaefer, and Tornquist make very good points. They have conflicted answers, just like mine is...
... really, I should post that whole article in a new thread, it's DEFINITELY worth reading, and not many people will here...
... I meant to talk more about other things, but I don't know how much good going over the annoyances in KotOR would do... let's just say that KotOR tries the more technological (3d, etc) route in its gameplay and storytelling but doesn't do as well as it could because of it's mediocre engine (yes, when it's done well 3d these days can do better than 2d. But good, well-done 2d is preferable in a lot of ways to mediocre 3d... (I'm not saying KotOR should be 2d (with the kinds of compensation techniques they (esp. Tornquist) talk about in that question), it seems like a game better done in 3d... really, it should have a great 3d engine and really good graphics. It doesn't have quite either one of those possibilities... but what it does it does well enough that I forget that sometimes, and that's a mark of a great game. Really, my biggest irritation is probably the combat... I want to control all of them effectively (you can't, really), and I want the game to REMEMBER repeating commands -- I shouldn't have to re-tell the character to use the power attack every time I want them to use it! It should be like BGII or IWDII and have an option to repeat that action until you choose a different one!). The flaws of the graphics engine are secondary because they are just good enough, and the writing is good enough, for me to mostly ignore it.