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Immersion Analysis Most of today's game designers are on either side of a proverbial teeter-totter; ludology or narratology. To be put simply, should games 'provide' stories or 'tell' stories. Do we allow our games to be sandboxes where our players can craft their own tales, or do we have a linear progression which follows conventional narrative structure in an effort to bring creations made of polygons to life? It is an interesting question to ponder with merits on both sides of the argument, in my opinion. I think once more designers start figuring out which way they want, as opposed to trying to mix and match aspects of both methods, we will see more memorable, original, and enjoyable game stories on the whole. On top of that, designers still need to be wary of ludo-narrative dissonance, which is essentially the delta between the story projected by gameplay and the story authored by the designer intended to establish a narrative context for the game. It is counter intuitive to have the game function one way then insert a scenario that goes against it (Aerith permanently dying in FFVII being my favorite example). Renowned designer David Jaffe made a statement via his video blog that he doesn't believe that games can have the same narrative impact as films and plays because the brain is unable to be fully immersed in the tale being unwoven on the screen due to interactivity. Think about that for a moment, when one watches a T.V. Show they merely lay on the couch and let their eyes gaze upon the screen while their brain processes the dialogue spoken. In a game however, the player is typically thinking ahead rather than getting caught up in the moment. For example in Fallout 3, just after finishing the Operation: Anchorage quest, a subordinate rebels against his outcast superior right in front of the player. Instead of taking in the fiction via the well-written and voice-acted dialogue from Protector Mcgraw and Outcast Sibyl, it is easy to start thinking ahead to, what weapon should I equip? When the 'S' hits the fan, where would the most beneficial spot for me to get cover be? Which of these outcast clowns is going to mutiny with Sibyl? Should I just kill everyone with my new Gauss rifle? I wonder if they will initiate me into the outcasts if I help them? Maybe if I just hide they will all kill each other? Maybe I can get out before any blood is shed? Perhaps interactivity itself, more so than technology or creative storytelling, is the biggest reason immersion is hard to come by in games. Food for thought, to be sure. |
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