Friday, January 02, 2009
The Moment of Silence: Lebensrelevanz
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5 Comments:
this make me think of Riven (the Myst sequel). The game was located on 1 big island with almost all places accessible and almost all puzzles available at the start of the game ... which make the game very (too) difficult because they was a lot of buttons or elements to activate all over the place, which could activate something else at the other side of the island ...
(in the first Myst, there was 4 or 5 different islands, with only a couple of puzzle on each)
But the great thing about Riven was that each puzzle was not here just for for the purpose of having a puzzle to resolve. Each puzzle was a device which serve a given purpose on the island, it was actually useful for the people which were living on this island. Each puzzle have a signification, and you discovered the aim of these during the game. The goal was to learn how to use the machines and/or repair them. There is too much game were you ask yourself "why would someone do that" ...
about your question "cultural value or polish?" :
if by "cultural value" you mean "a real scenario", then yes I do prefer cultural value. But I know some game without "cultural value" but with "polish" which were very enjoyable :)
Thanks for pointing out Riven! I haven't thought of it. You are absolutely right, one of the biggest differences between Riven and Myst were that you have access to many locations at the Beginning of Riven - as opposed to just one island in Myst.
Did you know that they did it on purpose? The game designers figured out that many people enjoyed Myst not by solving puzzles but by simply walking around and looking at the scenery. The called them "Tourists". Riven was specifically designed to accommodate the need of Tourist players. That's why you can access so many locations without solving any puzzles.
I think it works well in Riven though. Riven has no inventory so you can solve a lot of the puzzles in parallel like in Day of the Tentacle. So the puzzle density is still quite high.
And yes, the fact that all the objects and machines have such a purpose and a background makes then more convincing.
By the way, "Lebensrelevanz" doesn't equal "real scenario". The scenario in The Moment of Silence could be considered more fantastic than the scenario in Tunguska. It plays in the future while Tunguska is contemporary. Still, the topics discussed there bear more relevance to everyday life.
To answer your question: I'd vote for polish anytime. I like your point, but I think you overestimate the importance of a good story. Adventure games are games like other computer games, so the story isn't essential. For me, it's more important how much fun a game is to play. Of course, the story has an influence, at least regarding Adventure games, but there are many more and more important factors. Are the puzzles fun, is the user interface smooth to control, how are the looks of the game, are the puzzles well designed, does the game set the right mood etc.
By the way, your thesis sounds _very_ interesting. Did you publish it anywhere?
Oops, I missed that last comment.
I can see your perspective on the importance of gameplay. However, I believe that if games are to be a major medium in the future, we need to develop techniques for them to provide more than mere entertainment. We need to develop techniques for them to convey meaning. This goes beyond simply "Story", it's also about Values and Ideas transmitted with the game.
Unfortunately, my Thesis is in German but I will probably release a digested cersion when I publish my upcoming game. Stay tuned!
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