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Art vs. Game ?
Author
Is it possible to make simple (arcade?) games, but where the "tokens" ie. scientists, servants can provide a good amount of emotional attachment?
Ie. Say a game like Pacman, or (a slower) Defender, Diablo, or even turn based games. But where there are things in it, which are supposed to be humans, ie. can you make the player feel sad/ a sense of (temporary) loss (like some feel when they Blackjack guards in Thief ) that they have let these characters down / or a boost when they help them ?
Like the way that you can get "party" hip-hop track which would just be entertainment in an instrumental version, but the song writers can then add in melancholy sounds / emotionally affecting lyrics / angst or whatever to make it more than the sum of its parts !
Edited by - Ketchaval on 10/2/00 2:46:47 PM
I think so, but it''s a fine line. A lot will depend on the personality of the player and how you inject humanity into the "tokens."
Example: Crusader: No Remorse was a straight iso action shooter where you could sometimes set people on fire. They''d scream and yell and it was so disconcerting that I didn''t want to do it. However, a friend thought that that was one of the funniest parts to the game (he also liked Carmageddon and the pedestrian squishing).
The problem with these games, tho'', is that the goal (shoot anything that moves, except maybe for some civvies) is at odds with morality. I guess you can be a savior and a killer, but there''s a certain degree of cognitive dissonance you have to have in order to get around the "horror" of what you''re actually doing. Maybe this is one reason why aliens and robots get bashed so much in games... easier to do it to the "other" than one of your own kind.
The humanity, btw, was achieved thru life-like rendering and dialog. If you can minimize repetition of content (behavior, VO) then I think your "tokens" can become very human. Imagine a shooter with Sims-like victims... ugh!
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Just waiting for the mothership...
Example: Crusader: No Remorse was a straight iso action shooter where you could sometimes set people on fire. They''d scream and yell and it was so disconcerting that I didn''t want to do it. However, a friend thought that that was one of the funniest parts to the game (he also liked Carmageddon and the pedestrian squishing).
The problem with these games, tho'', is that the goal (shoot anything that moves, except maybe for some civvies) is at odds with morality. I guess you can be a savior and a killer, but there''s a certain degree of cognitive dissonance you have to have in order to get around the "horror" of what you''re actually doing. Maybe this is one reason why aliens and robots get bashed so much in games... easier to do it to the "other" than one of your own kind.
The humanity, btw, was achieved thru life-like rendering and dialog. If you can minimize repetition of content (behavior, VO) then I think your "tokens" can become very human. Imagine a shooter with Sims-like victims... ugh!
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Just waiting for the mothership...
A part of this can be achived by convincing AI. In Thief, I have read reviews that say they felt kind of bad about killing the guards, and I kind of do too. I think this is at least partly due to the detailed AI. Also the guards were given personality. They coughed and hummed to themselves. They talked to each other. They seemed more human.
Another way to achieve it is through the story (if there is one). The story could let the player know how his actions affect the world. When the player kills someone the story can reflect the families of the victim feeling his loss.
"'Nazrix is cool' -- Nazrix" --Darkmage --Godfree
Another way to achieve it is through the story (if there is one). The story could let the player know how his actions affect the world. When the player kills someone the story can reflect the families of the victim feeling his loss.
"'Nazrix is cool' -- Nazrix" --Darkmage --Godfree
Author
I think that the rule system would have to help protect and give GAME value to the "tokens" that you want the player to feel for.
Like a wargame, where you have to protect the civvys, but get power from them too.
Or like Thief where you aren''t supposed to kill the guards (on Expert difficulty), as you fail the mission. (But it gives you the tools you need to avoid / ko them instead.
Like a wargame, where you have to protect the civvys, but get power from them too.
Or like Thief where you aren''t supposed to kill the guards (on Expert difficulty), as you fail the mission. (But it gives you the tools you need to avoid / ko them instead.
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