I've just noticed that I never posted a link to my Gamasutra Article up here on the blog...
So a little late, here's a link...
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4024/examining_game_pace_how_.php
Sunday 11 April 2010
Can you do Tragedy in Games?
We had a rather protracted debate about whether you could do a proper tragedy in game stories - i.e. Romeo and Juliet.
My opinion is that you can do elements of tragedy, perhaps a bittersweet ending or tragedy that affects NPCs, but you just cannot do a tragic story for the main character successfully. Why?
It is my firm belief that you will set the player up for failure if you do this. They "win" the game, but the outcome is a negative one - effectively they lose. I've seen this in a couple of games - situations where you lose no matter what you do - the result is usually extreme player frustration and an overwhelming sense of having no real impact in the game world (and in turn pulling you out of any sense if immersion).
The response from nearly everyone I spoke to is that games have to overcome the childish notion of winning if narrative is to progress. I don't see any real logic in this. Tragedy does not instantly make narrative better than a story with a positive outcome. You can also still deal with tragic elements, loss of a loved one, pain & suffering, etc - just make sure that the player still feels like they have had an impact on the world and that it hasn't all been for nothing.
I think there is still plenty of scope for game narrative to satisfy more highbrow tastes, but we have to still serve the parts of a game that make it a game - the element of the player character making a difference is key to that.
My opinion is that you can do elements of tragedy, perhaps a bittersweet ending or tragedy that affects NPCs, but you just cannot do a tragic story for the main character successfully. Why?
It is my firm belief that you will set the player up for failure if you do this. They "win" the game, but the outcome is a negative one - effectively they lose. I've seen this in a couple of games - situations where you lose no matter what you do - the result is usually extreme player frustration and an overwhelming sense of having no real impact in the game world (and in turn pulling you out of any sense if immersion).
The response from nearly everyone I spoke to is that games have to overcome the childish notion of winning if narrative is to progress. I don't see any real logic in this. Tragedy does not instantly make narrative better than a story with a positive outcome. You can also still deal with tragic elements, loss of a loved one, pain & suffering, etc - just make sure that the player still feels like they have had an impact on the world and that it hasn't all been for nothing.
I think there is still plenty of scope for game narrative to satisfy more highbrow tastes, but we have to still serve the parts of a game that make it a game - the element of the player character making a difference is key to that.
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