Crafting relationships in-game

The video game industry is at a point of creative growth. Games like Grand Theft Auto 4, Fallout 3 and Farcry 2 have pushed the barriers of what games can achieve as far as creating a living world and the people that inhabit it. But these games are really just the beginning, merely the foundation for the next big thing. It’s only a matter of time before a game is released that brings it all to the table, a game that immerses the player in the world, it’s characters and it’s narrative in an unprecedented way. 

There is no right way to reach this lofty goal, and each developer aspires to their own ideal on how this should be achieved. There are numerous hurdles to overcome, some of which will require a dramatic rethink of the core mechanics we take for granted.

We’re in the midst of a video game arms race as developers push forward to realise this vision.

One issue at the forefront of my mind that must be overcome is crafting and reinforcing meaningful relationships between the player and in-game characters.

Grand Theft Auto 4 introduces each character and we follow their interaction with Niko. Some of these relationships last forever, some end at point blank range. My point is, there isn’t a single throwaway character in the game. As for the ones that appear to be, well we’re simply seeing the bookend of their story. It’s obvious Rockstar have gone to effort to really introduce each character as a meaningful addition and allot the player the greatest opportunity to connect, no matter how brief a role the character may play. From a narrative standpoint Rockstar have achieved their goal, but believable characters alone are not enough to create a meaningful connection with the player.

So how do we create a meaningful connection between two people? Well, the best place to start looking for clues is our own world.

 In our daily lives, we surround ourselves with the people we care about, because the people we care about add something to our lives. But what exactly do they add? Friendship, company, love? What are these things and how do we define them; how do you translate love into 0s and 1s?

Follow along as I define some things I know about relationships.

• When you meet someone you begin a relationship.
• The more you interact with that person, the greater impact they have on your life.
• When you lose someone you care about, you feel loss.

Now obviously this is an incredible simplification. There are plenty of wildcards – sometimes that girl at the store counter you shared a brief conversation with manages to stick in your mind for days – and it will take a lot more than three assumptions to paint an accurate picture of the mechanics of relationships.

But hey, it’s a start.

Lets look at how we can implement emotion in our game, by attempting to emulate this ruleset in a purely logically way.

• By spending time with an entity, the player builds a relationship.
• A relationship acts as a stat buff/debuf to the player, and as the relationship grows so does the stat effect.
• The influenced stats are determined by the type of relationship (friendship, love etc).

By implementing stat effects, the player is given incentive to create and maintain positive relationships. It is up to the player to decide which relationships to pursue and how far, and the player is also free to direct the relationship (should they remain just friends, or become more intimate?), therefore direct the stat effects tied to the relationship.

Our player is given the motivation and freedom to invest time with the characters of their choice.

If the player puts the time and effort into cultivating a strong relationship and the relationship disintegrates, the player will feel genuine, personal loss as the stat boost disappears.

Looking at the flip side, a character who may become the enemy of the player will reduce the player’s stats in a relevant way, giving the player their own motivation to take care of the problem, rather than require the game designer to script the event or fabricate a motive.

By integrating the mechanic deeper, networks of relationships can be created. For example, my friend is my enemy’s acquaintance. Having this enemy is a bane on my stats, and having this friend is a boost to certain stats. By eliminating the enemy I’ll eliminate the stat debuf, but I’ll also upset my friend – damaging our relationship and reducing the effect of that stat boost.

I’ll take a moment to note that the explicate value of each stat boost should remain vague. The player must be aware of the effect, but it is important that (just like real life) no tangible value can be placed on these ‘emotional’ boosts. When making the decision to act, the player need not know the exact outcome (ie; gain 15 from eliminating the enemy, but lose 10 by upsetting the friend), there must be a grey area and the player must make the decision for themself. 

I’m not suggesting that this is the right or only way to motivate the player to interact with the world’s characters, but the added weight of stat boosts does create a strong motive that works within traditional game design theory,  is a feature easily understood by players, and giving the designer additional leverage over the player that can be used to increase the significance of narrative events.

The obvious risk is that the opportunity for the player to greatly affect their own stats will overpower other areas of the game design and will place greater focus on the relationship mechanic than initially envisioned.

But in our world, you can’t get by without a little help from your friends – should our protagonists’ have it any different?

Umm fuck yes.

When EA announced Battlefield 1943 I was pretty excited. A digitally distributed multiplayer remake of an existing property with a more casual friendly approach; sounds like something I’d suggest.

I have an unwarranted fondness for digital distribution, allow me to summarise.

I like to own things, and having disks and shit is nice – but having a hard drive packed with games is nicer – I prefer to navigate the XMB rather than the living room.

So how do I react when potentially given the opportunity to forgo a physical console? Sceptical, and a little scared.

I’m referring of course to OnLive, which might as well be called the future. This is cloud gaming  - no need for a console or gaming PC in front of you, simply log on to OnLive and their machines do all the work, and stream the audio/visual to you. Xbox, PS3, Mac, PC – doesn’t matter. Pick a game from whatever platform and play it on your low spec PC or television.

It sounds good if not a little fanciful, but I’ll reserve my judgement until I see it in action and see what they expect to charge for the service.

Now for news that inspired this post’s title, I’m happy to say some of my dreams came true this morning.

It’s not official yet, but the original Call of Duty is coming to PSN and Xbox Live. Nostalgia ahoy, I’d had some amazing time with that game and I can’t wait for the excuse to jump back into some multiplayer action.

I’ll admit I am a little concerned how the game will fare without a keyboard and mouse, and considering the scoped Mosin Nagant was my weapon of choice and I rolled with the handle Vasily Zaitsev, I may have trouble returning to my prior awesomeness – sniping with an analogue stick is a skill I’m yet to master.

Resident Evil 5 taught me to share, and to care.

Narratively, Resident Evil 5 is no more than a fucking pikelet. There is preciously little to comprehend, but like the pikelet, it’s consumed fast and with ease. It’s easy to look at Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil comparatively, so I guess a food analogy is required for the former. The Metal Gear Solid storyline is a four course meal. It’s a fucking investment, and you’re not going to want to eat afterwards – although you could probably still fit in that pikelet.

Resident Evil began as a B Grade type horror story, and although the dialog has been smartened up a little, subsequent releases have still retained the simplism and slight absurdity the original title built it’s narrative around.

It’s a hallmark of the series, and it’s good to see it hasn’t been lost in the 5^th instalment.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not giving the game cookies for it’s basic storyline – it’s just incredible to see what happens when you make a triple A title and put gameplay above storytelling. Yes, Video Games can challenge books and movies as far as crafting a mature, thoughtful, immersive story; Resident Evil 5 just shows you don’t have to – you can have massive boss fights and crazy locations instead.

Don’t pay too much attention to the storyline’s details, it just hurts your head. Instead, take a drink every time you see something Capcom have hand altered to remove any ammunition racists (you know, those ones who hate whites, wont get off our back about it and almost come off as colour envious) might have over the game.

I don’t know why Chris looks so worried, having white skin is your ticket to survival in RE5. No black character would dare to attack a while character – every time someone white gets attacked or dragged off it’s a white or random Hispanic dude that is the aggressor.

But you do have to giggle at one of Shiva’s early dialog lines, as she explains to Chris she’s accompanying him just to appease the Africans. Personally I would have removed that one, and because I don’t have a segue lets talk about Wesker. 

I guess Wesker’s steroids don’t shrink his balls, but his brain.

I should have killed you years ago Chris! He yells out as the finale begins to play out.

Yeah Wesker, years ago.. or last chapter where you had us owned but decided to just run off instead.

I could poke holes in Resident Evil 5’s story for a thousand more words, but I think I should stop now. Stop now, and begin explaining why despite it’s absolute disregard for storytelling, Resident Evil 5 may find it’s way into my top 5 games list.

RE5 offers the definitive co-operative experience. Sure, Dead Space 2 will attempt to topple it, and with hindsight and a couple of years over RE5 it should succeed, but until then I have hopes RE5 will be the go to game. What makes it so great? Well obviously Capcom’s risky decision to include co-op from the ground up plays a big part. I say risky, not because adding co-op is a risk per se, but limiting their access to many of the series fundamentals (scripted scares, feelings of isolation etc) is a big call. This decision was spring cleaning in a way, anything that doesn’t work with co-op is out, ready to be replaced with something that does. What we are left with is more simulation than game – the simulation of surviving this fucking bizarre scenario.

When you’re playing with a friend sitting beside you, the game’s narrative dissolves. What is left is two friends trading ammo and items, looking for the smartest way out and the most efficient way to survive. The weapons you have determine your situational strengths and weaknesses – instead of feeling like two players in a single player game, you’re both given a role, and a chance to shine. I guess there is a lot to be said for ineqality between co-operative players.

some kind of palsy

I’m building a PC. That much is settled. I guess step two was supposed to be tracking down what specs I need. Well no battle plan outlasts first contact, so I guess fuck that – I’m going for the biggest, baddest machine that I can afford. And by can afford I of course mean can’t afford. I’d like to say I’ve nailed the big three, but it’s probably more accurate to say they’ve nailed me. You see, I’m confident in the components I’ve selected. And this is the crux of my concern.

I’ll go on record to say there is no best component – one might be a little faster, one might cost a little less – when computer components are in the same league, they are much and much. So if there is no best component, how can I be confident in my selection?

It’s obvious I’m acting under some outside influence, possibly fulfilling ancient prophecy. I guess there are other explanations, Charles Darwin wrote ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge, so what am I ignorant of? Am I ignorant of the fact that component selection for a new PC isn’t exactly a life or death situation, that in the grand scheme of things it really doesn’t matter what I select? Can I even be ignorant of a fact I’ve just stated?

Is it my knowledge of this fact that has me so confident?

That went somewhere unplanned, I guess that’s stream of consciousness for you. Either way, here are the components with that mystical allure.

 

Intel Core i7 920 Processor

Asus P6T Deluxe Motherboard

Zotac GTX280 1G AMP Graphics Card

 

I must also admit I am quiet smitten with the Thermaltake Soprano DX case, and for the price I don’t think I can go past this Kingston RAM.

I just hope these components like each other as much as I like them.

Oh, and if you are looking to buy or build a pc online in Australia I suggest umart - I’ve done a few price comparisons and they are the cheapest (usually by a healthy margin) against all competition I could find.

wherefore art thou Windows 7?

Lets just say I’ve never added the cost of an OS into the equation when purchasing a pc. In the past, this hasn’t been a problem. But I’m growing more and more complacent with frequent updates and security patches, and it’s a nice feeling to not worry about that shit. In other words, I’m not paying for Windows – that can be found online – I’m paying for the piece of mind. Does this resolve the issue? Well no, in fact it creates more issues for me to contend with. Windows 7 will come sometime soon and I want it. The rumor mill suggests we’ll see her debut in October, but Microsoft have stated the release date will be determined by “product quality”; I guess they’ve learnt from Vista. Of course I could install the W7 beta that’s floating around, but I don’t want to run a beta OS on my brand new machine, so where does that leave me for the interim?

From my vantage point, my only recourse is to ‘borrow’ a copy of XP for use until W7 is released. Fuck it’s going to be strange asking for an operating system for Christmas. But that’s cool, and might actually get me into a routine of formatting annually or so, keeping my pc in tiptop, and by using external storage I avoid a majority of the data loss issues that make formatting such a kick in the nuts.

You’re a handsome devil. What’s your name?

So I guess I’m in the market for a new PC. Usually not a daunting task, but it’s been hella long since I’ve had even a passing interest in PC specs. What are we upto, 6GHz? Or do we just count the number of cells now.

I don’t really need a new PC, but I don’t really need clean water either. I haven’t purchase a PC since my AMD 2100+ was hot shit, and I guess it’s about time for a new one. I’ve got a lot to think about and weigh up, and as soon as I know enough to fill the Umart custom pc form, I’m sure I’ll fall off my chair at the price.

Maybe I shouldn’t go custom. Maybe I should stick with a prebuilt system, possibly paying more than what it’s worth, but saving myself from going overboard. If I’m going for a prebuilt system, why not a laptop? It would be useful ­- especially to keep me social and from locking myself in my dungeon every time I need to google something – but it could hardly be used for gaming, and I could get a fuckpile more bang for my buck if I stick to PC and avoid the portability tax.

Things used to be simple, but I feel like I’m on the bounds of being out of my depth. Yes, I can throw a pc together with no real trouble, but I’ve been out of the loop and don’t want to make any dumb choices; if you’re not informed your making uninformed decisions.

Take hard disk drives for instance. My initial reaction is to drop two WD 500GBs in the box. Fuck yea, a terrorbyte – I had a mate in the day who had spent a thousand bucks trying to get that kind of space, he built an array of ten 80GB drives (at about $120 a pop) and needed a server case to house them in. But is this a smart decision? Do I really want all that space locked away where only this single, selfish machine has access to it? Maybe I should go for a smaller internal drive, and rely on an external LAN accessible enclosure for the majority of my storage needs? Will my PS3 talk directly to this, or will I need to media share through the PC to access the content? Questions I don’t have the answers to. Yet.

So I guess I have a bit of homework, I need to catch up and know my shit, and for this expedition to be a success I’ll need a bit of motivation.

I’m going to need to save for this , as well as track down what specs I need/want and research the best way to achieve them.

To motivate myself, I’ll be posting my progress here. It wont stop me from failing miserably, but at least I can laugh at myself along with my sporadic cast of readers.

Until then, see you over at Tom’s Hardware.

My weekend in Burma

So I collected my copy of Killzone 2 from JB. My attempt at scoring the game early fell through when the Game Traders store manager I’d sweet talked into handing over a copy once stocked arrived took the day off, so I waited until Thursday like the rest of us. Hey, I saved $20 (apparently JB’s retail price is lower than GT’s cost price) and also picked up Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Awesome Collection. That was probably a mistake, as I had planned to use this space to give my impressions of Killzone. What happened next surprised us all.

I more or less shunted both games for a book.

The book in question is Shadow Warrior, the autobiographical tale of Dangerous Dave Everett. His story starts the same as a lot of people’s – leave school and join the Army as a trade, a mechanic in Dave’s case. Dave’s story steps up tempo when he is accepted into the SAS, but the real meat is in how he puts his newly acquired skills to use.

When I applied for SAS selection back in the early 1980s, I was a skinny young apprentice mechanic who nobody thought had a hope of getting through the gruelling course. Not only did I get through, I managed to achieve an above-average score to boot. Life in the Regiment was great for a young digger, but I quickly became frustrated with the lack of action. While on leave investigating an SAS mate’s suspicious death in Burma, I became caught up in the plight of the ethnic Karen of Burma, and joined their fight against a totalitarian military regime. In the unforgiving jungles of eastern Burma, I experienced the harsh realities and horror confronting the Karen people. On my return to Australia, I went outside of the law to raise money to help the Karen cause.

It’s really amazing stuff and I’m surprised how much it’s affected me. The book plays out similar to a gritty, realistic Burn Notice (without the beaches and bikini clad babes), and it’s exciting to have something real-world to contrast Hollywood’s interpretation of special forces and what happens in the shadows.

Shadow Warrior is certainly a compelling read. I’m unsure if I related because I’m aussie, because my dad has a military background, because a lot of places visited in the book are familiar, or because I see authority in the same transparent way, but I highly recommend this book to anyone; especially those not convinced - Dave is likable, funny and very human. He doesn’t break the law, he disregards it; but his motives are so clear and innocent you’ll accept his actions rather than judge them.

For those looking for a taste, a chapter omitted from the book is available to read here.

Random Muesli

So the DSi has a release date and price in Australia, and awesomely, it’s not too far off.

EB in true form have already demanded offered preorders, eager to take your money without the nuisance of parting with their goods. Which sucks, because that’s really my favourite part.

I’ve had my eye on the DSi since it was announced last October, ever intrigued with the promise of downloadable titles, ready to shed the shackles of physical media and begin my new trouble free life. But my focus has changed, and these bits of plastic do look appealing. The more explorative clickers will notice one of those links directs directly to a page about Pokemon Platinum.

I’m not sure I want to catch ‘em all, but I’m prepared to say I want to catch some. Specifically the cool ones, like the ghosts and shit.

Sometime this week Killzone 2 and myself will both visit the same store. I’ll start a conversation and wont even know why – I’m already taking her home; the $100 in my wallet is the guarantee. Maybe I’m nervous, nervous about my decision. I want you K2, I know I do. Or I think I know I do. But thought insinuates doubt, maybe I think (I know) I don’t. In either case, I’m buying Killzone 2 because I own a Playstation, in the same way as I chase women because I own a penis; I’m buying it because god wants me to. I’m not arguing with him and you shouldn’t either, unless your prepared to wake up with a wii and vagina instead.

I can’t determine what my stance on the game is, looking at the last paragraph I’m unsure if I’ve advocated it’s mass purchase, or condemned it’s inevitability. Maybe you can decipher it, whatever, but you’ll follow my reservations when I drop the news that I don’t have a quality internet connection in the dark place I dwell. Allow me to make a comparison – playing Killzone 2 without online multiplayer is like.. say, for example, playing CoD4 without online multiplayer. Yeah, I thought that would illustrate my point.

My weekend in gaming – LittleBigPlanet impressions

On my girlfriends recommendation, nigh, insistence, I picked up LittleBigPlanet.

Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hesitate to comply, the game had simply dropped while I was on holiday and at the rate we’re moving forward even the most remarkable titles can get left behind. Shortly after the title’s release I had played a couple of levels at a friends house, and enjoyed my brief exposure. But I still wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, was this game really as good as they’d said it would be?

The answer is yes. And no. Well at least, not yet. I was honestly amazed by what MM where capable of achieving with some of their levels. Prior to purchasing the game I read a comment on Kotaku in reply to a your favourite gaming moment of 2008 type post which read “LBP… Hands down” and I couldn’t comprehend it. I do now. But unfortunately it’s this all encompassing understanding that Media Molecule have over their game and mechanics that threatens to defeat LBP’s other selling point. Simply put, I can’t beat them at their own game. If I try to make something simple or derivatory, I can’t present it as well as MM. If it try to make something outside the box.. well MM have crafted a pretty big fucking box. Alas, my attempts so far have been enlightening learning tools and observing what MM have done in their levels is a great way to expand my own ideas. I will create an awesome level, and you will love it. It may just take a while.

An open letter to EA, Part 2: Please reboot C&C Renegade, and heres how

The goal, to take an existing property and create a well received game, minimising risk while ensuring a profitable outcome.

In part one of this proposal we located Renegade’s target audience and market position. It almost seems counterproductive to discern this information prior to detailing the game; but it’s an important step in making a profitable title, by defining our audience we can determine the goals Renegade must achieve, and understand the qualities it must encompass. 

The goal, to create a popular online console experience enjoyable by traditional multiplayers and first timers alike.

Renegade’s target audience has been determined, and consists of console owners with the ability to purchase and play content online. The audience can be broken further into two groups – multiplayers, and first timers.

When tailoring a game for traditional online participants there is ample direction and a wealth of inspiration, anything from Doom to CoD4 and every title in between can be studied to observe trends and discern the qualities players of these games hold in regard. But for every console sold, potentially, an offline gamer has the ability to enter the realms of online play. To ascertain what qualities a multiplayer virgin looks for in a multiplayer game, we must apply the knowledge we have of the target group; specifically their interactions with games in other genres.

Games that are popular among the casual, offline crowd share the following qualities.

• Easy learning curve.
• Segmented gameplay.
• Low skill requirement.
• Simple rules and gameplay.

Renegade’s gameplay features and mechanics will not be compromised to suit the casual player, that is not our goal. Our goal is to create mechanics and features from the ground up that lower the requirement for online play, allowing players with less time, skill or motivation to play online.

I’ve briefly outlined some requirements for success, and it’s time to give the game legs and define the gameplay and features that will carry Renegade towards unfathomable popularity. But before we do, there is one matter I would like to discuss.

There is a certain frailty involved when dealing with existing IP, especially when attempting to diverge from the formula; some fans of forerunning titles can be difficult to please. Fortunately, there is an almost universal solution. The most effective strategy for dealing with possible fan backlash, is to ensure the new product is polished; show the fans that the IP means as much to you as it does to them.