S.T.A.L.K.E.R is a survival horror game that I finished. This makes is really stand out amongst most other horror games, because I’m too scared to play horror games. S.T.A.L.K.E.R was a different story however, as even in it’s most terrifying moments, the atmosphere made the game so compelling, and made it feel so real, that I just had to make it to the end. In S.T.A.L.K.E.R, you awake from unconsciousness in ‘The Zone’ with amnesia, unable to remember how or why you arrived in such a horrible place. An alternate reality, the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R takes place in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, after a second catastrophic nuclear reactor meltdown caused strange things to happen in the area. The game has a nonlinear storyline and has features such as trading and two-way interaction with NPCs. The world is typically very dark, dirty, abandoned and dilapidated in appearance. People sparsely populate the land, and the player spends long periods of time alone in the wilderness of irradiated northern Ukraine. There is hostile military presence, clans of bandits, hellish mutants and dangerously unpredictable radioactive anomalies that constantly threaten the player. There are warring factions that the player can join, a myriad of weapons and armours, and even strange artifacts that can improve the player's physical abilities. All of these things work in tandem to create a world that truly embodies a ‘dog eat dog’ world. The player is constantly searching for food, water, medical supplies and equipment to keep themselves alive, and this creates an atmosphere of survival, distrust and selfishness. Your terribly maintained weapons constantly jam and misfire. The way all of these systems communicate with one-another makes the gameworld really feel alive. Because of this, it’s really easy for you, as a player, to leave your real-world ethics and considerations behind, and put yourself in the body of this dispossessed stalker. As well as the other people, monsters and environmental hazards you’ll encounter in The Zone, there are unique environmental hazards as well. Emissions, or blowouts, occur when when sudden releases of excess noosphere energy is released from the center of the zone, and when this happens, the player has a time limit to reach safety. The sky darkens, the screen shakes, a loud rumbling is heard, and birds drop dead from the sky. I remember hiding from my first blowout, and seeing the crows dropping dead at the entrance of the train tunnel I was hiding in and thinking to myself, wow. They really didn’t need to do that, but they put that extra little bit of effort in, and boy does it make a difference. The game has received a lot of flack over the years for its glitchiness, it’s bad translation and it’s difficulty. But it’s the difficulty that makes it so effective, it’s the bad translation that adds an element of uncanniness and it’s the homemade game engine that allowed things like parallax occlusion back in 2009. I played through the game for the first time in 2015, and it blew my mind when I saw a brick texture with parallax occlusion. The X-ray graphics engine was used to develop the game, and alongside the parallax occlusion, things like HDR rendering, normal mapping, motion blur, multisample anti-aliasing and the fact that a million polygons could be rendered on-screen at any one time, meant that the world could really look and feel authentic. The game is really scary. It’s really hard, and it’s very vague. But for such a dead land, the world feels so full of life. The atmosphere of the game is very complex, one of constant survival, stress, strategy and prolonged feelings of fear and despair. But there are also subtle nuances, moments of fulfillment, fleeting moments of safety and warmth. NPC’s sitting around a campfire playing guitar, eating and drinking, in the middle of a rotten, mutant infested forest. Coming across this type of scene after an hour in a terrifying locale gives you such a feeling of relief. After talking to the NPCs, trading information, food and ammunition, after listening to the guitar, enjoying the glow of the campfire, it’s really hard to then tear yourself away from that, to trudge off back into the woods, alone, and immediately in survival mode again. The atmosphere of S.T.A.L.K.E.R is very complicated, as it’s a complicated game, and while it’s certainly not perfect, it’s a really powerful example of an atmosphere that feels authentic enough to pull me through a really scary game. During the early days of the PS3 era, world building and art direction started to come to life, as consoles were able to handle higher resolution textures and more objects on screen. As fair share of games that came out in this era were third person action combat, a lot of the focus in terms of production was leading to the gameplay aspects. A game that has stood out in the genre, in terms of environmental storytelling and world building, was Assassin’s Creed. This open world game still has properties of the third person combat but it took a slower approach to its gameplay and it allows for immersion into the games environment by having many of the missions based around stealth. Most of the stealth mechanics allow the player to hide in the world’s props and elements. Some include walking amongst a crowd of people, sitting on benches, hiding in wheelbarrows filled with hay whilst also using the rooftops of buildings to hide from pursuers. Navigating through this space, whilst knowing that you are able to interact with the environmental props expands the space around you especially when the game emphasises stealth over combat. Although the combat is very well rounded, being an assassin is the main selling point of how the player exists in the game. Usually when walking through corridors and narrow areas, the player is, usually has no safe areas and is quite claustrophobic, where Assassin’s creed flips this mentality by encouraging the player to go into these areas as the developers put more of these interactive props within these areas. In addition, these corridors have beams and boxes that lead up to them to allow the player to escape onto the rooftops.
The Assassin’s Creed series has a notable art style by having their game set in different periods in time by having to recreate buildings from this era and architectural style. Having a detailed world is very important when it comes to a slower pace game, as the player will have more time to absorb their surroundings and to observe the layout of the town. Some of the more important buildings in the game are out of scale to standout more for navigation. In this smaller scale version of these real cities, players are able to recognise certain buildings and remember basic structures surrounding them. The way the developers repurposed the areas surrounding allow for an interesting blend of modern game design and realistic architecture. Life is Strange is a highly interactive episodic game that plays on the ideas of time. It’s a choice-based story game that follows a main character - Max. Max is a high school photography student that discovers she can manipulate and rewind time in order to avoid tragic or dangerous events and solve strange things happening in Arcadia Bay. Released in 2015 by DONTNOD Entertainment, it has 5 episodes (or “chapters”) with the second installment and prequel “Before the Storm” (this time by Deck Nine) releasing in 2017 which follows Chloe instead.
Interactive storytelling is used which makes the narrative as a whole is directed by the player. Since the game is to be dictated by the players choices, the settings and architecture of the game not only have to be able to translate the foundations of the storyline - which without it, could be confusing and possibly neverending - but they would have to lend itself to the player by being as interactive as possible. Without such a level of interactivity the label ‘game’ would be debatable as some have labelled it as an “interactive movie”. A major feature of the game is in the way the developers approached the visuals. The stylistic choices make for a very aesthetically pleasing visual, making it more intriguing to explore. The atmosphere created makes for a very autumnal, tired and lived-in environment which is reflective of the mood and themes of the narrative. The settings have been designed to replicate a small town environment, with run down buildings, historical campuses, small homes, beat up cars, etc. which all work together and despite being a content-rich setting, each aspect has a purpose within the storyline which makes for effective environment storytelling. Players explore places such as the Blackwell campus and dorms, the junkyard and diner of Arcadia looking for clues, making connections, collecting photographs and putting pieces together as they gain more and more information that helps them determine their decisions. As the player progresses through the episodes, there are many subtle changes in the environment. For example buildings can look more run down, rooms can be more cluttered, the “weather” can be more grim making colours more muted and lighting more stark in contrast. All of this is changes depending on the reality created by the players choices and how often they make Max rewind and manipulate time which then contributes to the narrative. This pared with the interactiveness of the settings makes for a very interesting and varied gameplay. The environment not only tells a story but are made to be interacted with. Through the environment clues are picked up, objects can be used and puzzles can be solved to get out of sticky situations. As the player navigates Max through places, items or people are highlighted to show that they are able to be interacted with, picked-up or used. Max also has her notebook and camera which the player can often refer to for diary entries, text messages, character profiles and photographs. Overall, the thought and work put towards every detail in “set” design, colour and lighting of the environment is evident and greatly enhances the gameplay experience. Every aspect is intertwined, from the themes of time to the under-lining connection of photography, and makes for a very pleasing game not only to play but to create and experience. Open World Review: World of Warcraft
In my younger days, I played a lot of World of Warcraft. Ever since I watched the trailer for the game on the Warcraft III: Frozen Throne CD, I was obsessed. My parents wouldn’t let me get the game for a long time, as it had a monthly subscription, a whopping $20, not the kind of money a 11 year old has. It wasn’t just the orcs, dragons, dwarves, dungeons, swords and magic that fed my obsession, it was the sheer scale of the world itself. I had always loved playing videogames, but had never seen anything even remotely like World of Warcraft. I first played the game at a good friend of mines, and he showed me the starting area of one of the games various playable races. It was only once we left that area that I remarked ‘Oh, there’s more?’. This was when the map covered the screen. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I played that game for the following seven years after that moment. While I don’t play the game any more nowadays, I’ll never forget what that open world had to offer. I’ve still checked back every few years to see what’s different, but these days it’s very different to the game I played as a child. The easiest way to talk about World of Warcraft’s world design is to compare its earlier incarnations to the more relevant ones. When world of warcraft first came out, it was laid out in a way that really made you feel like you were a unique and important person in the world, and that you were making decisions for yourself. Quests in World of Warcraft were all essentially optional, and there was nothing stopping a Troll player from running all the way to the Orc’s starter zone, to complete the quests there and play through the game as if they were an orc themselves. Did this have a huge effect on the gameplay? No. But did that simple fact that you COULD do that make you feel like someone with agency in the world? Definitely. Now, thirteen years on, you can still do that. But there are a lot of things you have changed. Those quests I mentioned earlier? While most of them weren’t designed very well (essentially every quest was a kill/fetch quest: kill x amount of a monster, collect x amount of this thing a monster drops when killed), accepting them, going and doing them, and then handing them in required a bit of skill. Firstly, you’d have to find the area you wanted to quest in on the map, and make sure it was for the right level bracket you were in. If it was too low level, you’d get virtually no experience, and you’d receive outdated loot. If it was too high, you’d get your arse handed to you just simply trying to get there. Once you found the place, you had to find the hub, usually a town or outpost of some form. Once there, you’d run around the town collecting all the quests from prospective quest-givers. You’d have to read each quest, absorbing the hand-written information like a sponge as you stared at the map and tried to figure out where everything was in the zone. You would then plot a mental path in your mind, a path that would take you around the zone in a logical fashion, so that you could complete multiple quests in one journey, and hand them all in back in town at the same time for massive experience. You’d stock up on health and mana potions, reagents you needed to make certain objects to help keep you safe in the wilderness for longer. You’d send messages to all of your friends, to see if they were around and if they wanted to tag along to help you out. Sometimes you’d bump into random players while out on a quest, and you’d team up with them. It felt really organic. There was strategy, there was planning, and there was a huge sense of exploration. The friends you made on the road could become some of your best friends, and could even invite you to join their guild. Once in a guild, the world grew even bigger again, as access to the games darkest, scariest, meanest content was only possibly with very organised teamwork. Nowadays, while the core things are the same, there are some huge differences that really make the game a lot more autonomous, streamlined, and monotonous. Questing is essentially the same: You look at the map, you find the zone, you get the quests, etc. Only now, your map highlights everything you’re supposed to do, where it is, and in what order you should do them. Each zone on the map has it’s level bracket displayed, and once in a zone, little highlighted areas show you exactly where the monsters are, how many of them /10 you’ve killed, and there’s a handy little arrow on your minimap showing you exactly where to go. The game plays itself. You don't really need to think all that much, you just have to press the buttons. Need a party to team up with? No need to travel into town and talk to anyone, just click the ‘party finder’ button, and join the que. Need to beat a dungeon? Join the ‘Dungeon finder’ que. Need a guild? Same deal. Health and mana replenish themselves quickly outside of combat, so don’t bother buying/making potions and food anymore. No one ever needs to read another quest, just instantly smash the ‘accept’ button, and follow the arrow. While the game is far more accessible now, the magic has been lost in that quest for accessibility. No longer can you get lost in a poisonous swamp. No longer will you run out stuff and have to claw your way back to town. If you do get in a pickle, don’t rely on that stranger to help you, they won’t notice you, they’re just staring at their minimap. The world is longer designed to amaze you, to crush you, to confuse you, to reward you. It’s designed to get you through it as quickly as possible, so you can get to that precious end-game content. Breath of the wild is one of the best games of 2017 with reviews that exceed almost all the versions before it. The reason for this is its seamless open world and an area that seems to keep growing every time you pick up the controller when you leave that area. This effect starts on the first area the game introduces you too. The game gives you all the tools/mechanics to go through the world with in this area and some basic combinations between the two. The player will often go around and test what they can and cannot do in regards with these mechanics throughout the game, but the game teaches you just the right amount to continue to create their own combinations. This leaves the player with the realisation that the game has limitless combinations. This illusion adds to that open world feel as open world games try to emulate as many possibilities as real life.
When leaving the introduction plateau the world starts to open up, as well as the mechanics. Leaving the main plateau teaches you one of the more interesting mechanics, that being movement around the open world. Many open world games often need to have this mechanic as traveling around these open areas can become boring and monotonous, as you will usually come across these areas again. The game designers for Breath of the Wild wanted to emphasise the climbing mechanic. Whether it was a tree or a mountain, jumping off the things you climbed was arguably the most exciting part of the challenge. They wanted to emphasise these moments, and the way they did it was by adding a glider that allows the player to travel long distances when they have spotted something off a mountaintop. Another mechanic based on movement was jumping on your shield and surf your way down to the bottom. Both of these options are equally fun but unfortunately, if you used your shield to get down, the shield would lose durability and could potentially break while doing so. Also added to that, when it broke the player would usually die, as the mountaintop would usually be excessively steep. I personally used the glider most of the time as this you would: cover more ground, avoid combat and the sense of flight while also looking at the beautifully crafted landscape beneath you was remarkable. The climbing mechanic and the combination of shield surfing and gliding, really hit their audience where that little kid lived climbing up their trees in the backyard. How did the game developers get the player to climb these mountains? Often the player would look at mountains and would not bother to climb them as it would usually take time and become quite boring. To drill in the fact that climbing led to the most advantageous part of the games design by having watchtowers that would reveal the area surrounding it on the mini-map; the game would also place a Kurok seed or shrine. Both of these things included a wide range of small puzzles, mini-games or challenges that the player could that would add to their completion stats. For this blog post, I wanted to see if I could rapidly create a cityscape using LeoCad. I looked for objects that looked like streetlights, vehicles, towers, power poles and other mechanical or urban forms. I used simple boxes to create the illusion of depth in the city, with the main focus being on a small set of objects in the forefront. I created a strange little street in what could be a more run-down industrial section of a city. I tried to interlock pieces in a logical manner, and tried to let the scene build itself in this regard. The layout was decided by the way parts locked together, and I chose the most interesting shot from this.
Open world games gives players freedom to move through a virtual world. There’s a lot more
freedom for players around how they approach the objective of the game. These games usually have large settings with different areas and structures to explore as well as a non-linear game play. This kind of freedom and space tend to make players feel a lot more “in control” compared to many games that have linear structures and story lines to follow. ‘Astroneer’ is an open world game that was released as an early access pre-alpha game in December 2016. It’s described as a “game of aerospace and interplanetary exploration” and set in the 25th century. The aim of the game is to explore a new planet in outer space and survive by collecting resources (oxygen/power, resin, compound, laterite, etc) using a terrain tool, which they can use to create tools and expand bases for different modules (printer, storage, research, smelter, vehicle bay, etc.). A game begins by being launched into outer space in a habitat pod - which is used as the first base that can be expanded from.The player lands onto a planet which has randomly generated terrain for every game and from there they can explore the planet as they please. They begin tethered to the habitat which gives them oxygen and power to use the terrain tool (E). If they venture too far they run on their own stored oxygen and power, so to explore further they have to find and collect oxygen and power to stay alive when not attached to a base or tether that feeds it to them. The game play in Astroneer is unique in the sense that the player may do as they please, you can collect resources and roam to a new starting area, create your own houses and many more things. Players can also be accompanied by three other players making for a multiplayer free roam game, although if you chose so another player may live on another planet while two others are on another. In addition to the free roaming aspects Astroneer is in early access so what you can do in this multiverse is somewhat limited to those mechanics. I would compare Astroneer to games such as MineCraft for their building system. Like MineCraft, Astroneer uses real time geometry manipulation tools similar to 3d sculpting softwares like Sculptris where the geometry can be explored more. With these tools players, in any case create structures or cities, villages and have a sort of role play aspect within the game. Using the given mechanics players can build their own ecosystem or play families by having roles of only have one driver, one builder, one collector and maybe one surveying. I Think the point to open world games is to enable players to explore their creativity, their imagination should be built upon and grow as more tools/mechanics become available and the open space of which you can explore be opened up by a multitude of possibilities. This blog post is about pacing within the beginning 3 stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 as these were the 3 stages everyone remembers. The first stage was a good introduction with a good pace and it never felt too difficult as well as the beginning the too stage 2. Half way through stage 2 is where the developers introduced the water mechanic. This stage was definitely the most stressful part of the game as you were forced to climb up a series of moving platforms whilst being introduced to the movement of Sonic under the water. If you struggled for too long, terrifying music would play in count down to your death. The third world of the game should have really been swapped around with the second world as it introduces the player to the water mechanic in a more suitable way. As you figure out in the first level of this world, you will understand that you would preferably avoid the water as it slows down your completion of the game as well as added stress to drowning. I really believe that this teaches the player about the different routes you can take within the levels after.
world design theory - BLOG POST #10 - Klepto first five levels - pacing - JUANE GRAY-HIGGINS1/10/2017 This week’s blog is about the difficulty curve experienced through playing the KLEPTO Beta build. You can see from the evident curve where players would expect to encounter challenging tasks, which they should learn how to do by the next level. I think that the curve is representative of accurate play testing done throughout testing phases. Players would often die multiple times in the second level creating repetition, this means that games would be prolonged, as well as the greatly increased level size, players would spend anywhere between 3-30 minutes trying to complete the level based off their skill level. In saying that this difficulty curve is more accurate to new players.
For this weeks blog, I've analysed that pacing of the third level in my team Contrary Scholar's current production, KLEPTO - Space Thief.
For the most part, I think that the pacing of the level is pretty good. It does gradually increase in difficulty, there are sections of increased excitement, and there are rest periods where the player pauses to take in the scenery. There's also rest periods where the player collects pickups. It's perhaps not as steady as it could be, but it does have a sense of increasing difficulty. The nice long rest section leading up to the final grappling section is quite effective. After solving the second box puzzle, the player stands on a platform that zooms up to the final challenge, starting off slowly and gradually speeding up. This gives the player a quick rest before attempting the final challenge, but also amps them up as it increases in speed towards the top. Players tend to be 'in the zone' most of the time, and are only pulled out of flow when they fall during grappling sections, so these are possibly too hard too soon. |
World design theory (WDT)DevelopersThe goal of this blog is to relate current and past attempts at world design to further improve our understanding. Archives
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