The visual novel genre is the most story dependant genre out there. Its progression and flow are all dependant on the players interaction with the narrative, and its most common trait is how the players choices can affect the outcome of the story. The genre of visual novels is a genre that holds a significant amount of potential for anyone interested in games development, but lack the necessary programming knowledge needed to create a game. To see what the visual novel genre has to offer, I played through Fate Stay Night, one of the more popular examples of the genre , in order to see how this type of game works and just what opportunities it offers for both the writer and the player.
Of course, the most important part of a visual novel is in its story and its storytelling. For the most part, the game functions in the same way as a novel or more appropriately, a graphic novel. The early part of the game progresses in a linear narrative, accompanied by the use of a background image, static character portraits for highlighting conversations and minor interactions between the characters, and the occasional sound-bite used to highlight a critical interaction or important dialogue. For the most part, the player can go through most of the game with barely any interaction with the exception of pivotal scenes requiring the player to make a choice. For the first few hours of gameplay, I literally turned on the 'auto read' function and simply watched the story unfold. Understandably this is hardly a way to actually 'play' a game, but the game still offers enough interaction from the player to still be considered a playable experience.
Set in a Japanese town, The main story consists of a hidden war called the 'Holy-Grail War' in which several individuals and their 'servants' work together to defeat their opponents. The story is a traditional set-up in the style of popular Japanese anime and manga. The story is told through a traditional first person narrative
When it comes to the format of a visual novel, the primary focus is always on story. There is often little to no gameplay in this type of game format, so the main critical points when reviewing a game of this genre is in both are its story and design. However, from an aesthetic standpoint, the game is very well designed. The backgrounds are detailed and imaginative, the character's static portraits are colourful and deeply expressive, and the music is well-crafted and relevant for each scene, either as a subtle calm melody or an enthralling and exciting combat theme.
- Written by E. Bromage.
Friday 14 May 2010
Ace Attorney Review
Capcom is a giant in the world of computer games. No one out there can claim to be a gamer without being aware of at least Street Fighter, Megaman, Resident Evil or Devil May Cry. However, most of the groundbreaking titles that this gaming Goliath has produced over the years seem to fall into the same pitfall; weak storytelling. As much as it has improved as the gaming world has evolved, one series of games holds storytelling at its very core and without it would be less than nothing.
The Ace Attorney series of games are probably the closest thing to a lawyer-sim that we are going to get and is one of the most popular series of games available on the Nintendo DS today.
For the majority of the games, starting with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, you take on the role of the titular greenhorn defence lawyer Phoenix Wright in his quest for truth. He finds himself defending a myriad of characters from accusations of murder (it’s always murder) and does this by conducting investigations and using evidence to expose contradictions in witness testimony.
The system in which the game works means that the game is essentially a story that the player simply follows with little input. Essentially the game plays itself until you get to a point where evidence needs to be presented or an investigation needs to be made. As far as presenting evidence is concerned, it is simply a question of logic. The witness says that they saw the defendant clearly beating the victim to death with a large golden hammer. Simply present the silver hammer, which you know to be the real murder weapon and all of a sudden their tall tale falls apart and the story continues.
The only way that the player can deviate from the set story path is by getting things wrong too many times, resulting in a guilty verdict for the defendant. This causes the game to abruptly end, except for the final case of the second game, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All, where a guilty verdict leads to an alternate ending.
There’s a very distinct lack of player participation in these games, they seem to show the other extreme of the gameplay and storytelling balance that all games wrestle with. When playing it, you find yourself going with the flow and although you need to concentrate and keep tabs on all your information, it sometimes feels as though you could put the DS down and the game would happily carry on playing itself regardless. This game could have easily been a comic book or a cartoon instead, but perhaps the faint illusion of control is what helped the series become as popular as it has.
Being a group of games that essentially leaves the player in its narrative dust, disguised as a pretty manga styled session of trial and error. The Ace Attorney series is for fans of the adventure games of old, and those who aren’t too bothered about being able to leap over the stand and slap the prosecution at the cheeky press of a button. These games are serious about their storylines and will be most enjoyed by people who are just as serious.
The games have a huge fan following on the internet, with their hub being www.court-records.net. The unexpected incredible reception of the games has led to them being re-released on the PC, the Nintendo Wii and the iPhone.
- Witten by C. Rose.
The Ace Attorney series of games are probably the closest thing to a lawyer-sim that we are going to get and is one of the most popular series of games available on the Nintendo DS today.
For the majority of the games, starting with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, you take on the role of the titular greenhorn defence lawyer Phoenix Wright in his quest for truth. He finds himself defending a myriad of characters from accusations of murder (it’s always murder) and does this by conducting investigations and using evidence to expose contradictions in witness testimony.
The system in which the game works means that the game is essentially a story that the player simply follows with little input. Essentially the game plays itself until you get to a point where evidence needs to be presented or an investigation needs to be made. As far as presenting evidence is concerned, it is simply a question of logic. The witness says that they saw the defendant clearly beating the victim to death with a large golden hammer. Simply present the silver hammer, which you know to be the real murder weapon and all of a sudden their tall tale falls apart and the story continues.
The only way that the player can deviate from the set story path is by getting things wrong too many times, resulting in a guilty verdict for the defendant. This causes the game to abruptly end, except for the final case of the second game, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All, where a guilty verdict leads to an alternate ending.
There’s a very distinct lack of player participation in these games, they seem to show the other extreme of the gameplay and storytelling balance that all games wrestle with. When playing it, you find yourself going with the flow and although you need to concentrate and keep tabs on all your information, it sometimes feels as though you could put the DS down and the game would happily carry on playing itself regardless. This game could have easily been a comic book or a cartoon instead, but perhaps the faint illusion of control is what helped the series become as popular as it has.
Being a group of games that essentially leaves the player in its narrative dust, disguised as a pretty manga styled session of trial and error. The Ace Attorney series is for fans of the adventure games of old, and those who aren’t too bothered about being able to leap over the stand and slap the prosecution at the cheeky press of a button. These games are serious about their storylines and will be most enjoyed by people who are just as serious.
The games have a huge fan following on the internet, with their hub being www.court-records.net. The unexpected incredible reception of the games has led to them being re-released on the PC, the Nintendo Wii and the iPhone.
- Witten by C. Rose.
Games & Films
Video and games and films have always had a complex and intertwined relationship. As creativity based University courses grow increasingly popular, Games & Stories takes a look at the development of this relationship, the material produced by it, the techniques and technologies that these two mediums share and what this synergy will mean for future film and game releases.
To begin with, we’ll need a little back history. The film industry has been around for over 100 years and has undergone huge technological advancements to get from the silent films of the late 1800’s to the blockbusting standards of our contemporary cinema releases. Hollywood cinema alone is a multibillion dollar industry and has become so deeply rooted within our global cultures that even the most pop culture deprived of us can recognise intertextual references from the most well known films. In contrast, the gaming industry has only been a part of mainstream culture for the past 30 years - only recently has it begun to appeal to larger, more mainstream audiences. It has quite a way to go.
When considering the relationships between films and video games it is likely that the first subject to come to mind is film tie in games. These are games which are released in conjunction to cinematic film releases and are notorious for being of poor quality, often due to film studios pushing for tie in games to be released in time for film launch dates. Recent releases to have the film tie in game treatment include ‘Iron Man 2’ (2010) and ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ (2010). Creating a film tie in game requires game developers to purchase creative licenses from studios as well as the right to certain material such as characters and storylines. Film tie in games are often economically successful despite their sometimes poor reviews. So why do audiences buy these games regardless? Mainly because of the ‘hype’ which so many big budget and high popularity film releases enjoy. Consumers are attracted to merchandise sporting the name of their favourite films – this ensures that film tie in game marketing ploys are almost always successful. This trend also applies to films which are based on games. Although often poor translations, game based films are usually successful because they ride on the guarantee that fans of the original games will also want to see their screen adaptations. Game based films such as ‘Hitman’ (2007) and ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’ (2001) were considered to be financial successes, but were considered to be poor by critics.
Films and games are also growing ever closer in numerous technological aspects. Following the development of new technologies for viewing films such as HD TVs and BluRay discs, further ideas have been formed regarding the potential to store both games and films on singular discs. In July 2006, major film studio DreamWorks speculated that in the future games and films could be marketed and sold together on single discs, bridging the present gap between these two entertainment medias. Entertainment giant Sony has also expressed its interest in the concept, the development of which is rumoured to occur around the release of its Playstation 4 system in the not too distant future. The introduction of online gaming marketplaces such as the Playstation Network and Xbox marketplace system mean that players can now download films and film trailers through their gaming consoles. This is a clear sign of films and games becoming much closer entertainment medias and means that the gaming industry is more relevant to mainstream audiences than it was previously. Increasingly similar creative technology is used across the two mediums –the recent advancement of motion capture has been present in both games such as ‘Heavy Rain’ (2010) and films such as ‘Avatar’ (2010). Games are becoming increasingly cinematic, with titles such as ‘Soul Reaver 2’ (2001) and Gears Of War (2006) including extremely cinematic visual styles and long cut scenes which deepened their stories narratives. Influential companies such as Industrial Light and Magic are now sharing their CGI knowledge with game production companies, so it’s not surprising that that there are correlations between the development of films and video games.
Ask any film or video game buff and they’ll tell you that there have been many homage’s and references across to two medias. Many films have taken noticeable inspiration from video games and cinematic video game styles. The best known example of this is perhaps ‘The Matrix’ (1999) which incorporated imaginative camera angles and cinematography, as well as highly stylised action sequences which are akin to cinematic sequences seen in video games. Many television shows, particularly those of the recent trend of crime thrillers, incorporate split screens to show two sets of narrative action at one time. This technique is directly influenced by similar methods used in video games. In contrast, there have been many recent game releases which draw upon cinematic techniques found in films. Games now frequently feature tag lines, such as the 2008 release of ‘Fallout 3’ which sported the tag line ‘prepare for the future.’ The recently released ‘Heavy Rain’ blurred video games and films in a way which had never been done before, with players actions and decisions directly effecting the virtual in-game world and its characters. Many critics believe that ‘Heavy Rain’ is an indication that in the future, huge budget films will merge with top-selling games into one singular form of entertainment.
It’s becoming pretty clear that this synergy between films and video games has been here for a long time, and it’s going nowhere fast. The two have a complex history and will arguably have an even more complex future. Perhaps new technology will allow us to play out the roles of our favourite film characters in virtual reality, or perhaps new filming methods will mean that audiences can interact with films as they watch them. Only time will tell.
- Written by C. Duckworth.
To begin with, we’ll need a little back history. The film industry has been around for over 100 years and has undergone huge technological advancements to get from the silent films of the late 1800’s to the blockbusting standards of our contemporary cinema releases. Hollywood cinema alone is a multibillion dollar industry and has become so deeply rooted within our global cultures that even the most pop culture deprived of us can recognise intertextual references from the most well known films. In contrast, the gaming industry has only been a part of mainstream culture for the past 30 years - only recently has it begun to appeal to larger, more mainstream audiences. It has quite a way to go.
When considering the relationships between films and video games it is likely that the first subject to come to mind is film tie in games. These are games which are released in conjunction to cinematic film releases and are notorious for being of poor quality, often due to film studios pushing for tie in games to be released in time for film launch dates. Recent releases to have the film tie in game treatment include ‘Iron Man 2’ (2010) and ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ (2010). Creating a film tie in game requires game developers to purchase creative licenses from studios as well as the right to certain material such as characters and storylines. Film tie in games are often economically successful despite their sometimes poor reviews. So why do audiences buy these games regardless? Mainly because of the ‘hype’ which so many big budget and high popularity film releases enjoy. Consumers are attracted to merchandise sporting the name of their favourite films – this ensures that film tie in game marketing ploys are almost always successful. This trend also applies to films which are based on games. Although often poor translations, game based films are usually successful because they ride on the guarantee that fans of the original games will also want to see their screen adaptations. Game based films such as ‘Hitman’ (2007) and ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’ (2001) were considered to be financial successes, but were considered to be poor by critics.
Films and games are also growing ever closer in numerous technological aspects. Following the development of new technologies for viewing films such as HD TVs and BluRay discs, further ideas have been formed regarding the potential to store both games and films on singular discs. In July 2006, major film studio DreamWorks speculated that in the future games and films could be marketed and sold together on single discs, bridging the present gap between these two entertainment medias. Entertainment giant Sony has also expressed its interest in the concept, the development of which is rumoured to occur around the release of its Playstation 4 system in the not too distant future. The introduction of online gaming marketplaces such as the Playstation Network and Xbox marketplace system mean that players can now download films and film trailers through their gaming consoles. This is a clear sign of films and games becoming much closer entertainment medias and means that the gaming industry is more relevant to mainstream audiences than it was previously. Increasingly similar creative technology is used across the two mediums –the recent advancement of motion capture has been present in both games such as ‘Heavy Rain’ (2010) and films such as ‘Avatar’ (2010). Games are becoming increasingly cinematic, with titles such as ‘Soul Reaver 2’ (2001) and Gears Of War (2006) including extremely cinematic visual styles and long cut scenes which deepened their stories narratives. Influential companies such as Industrial Light and Magic are now sharing their CGI knowledge with game production companies, so it’s not surprising that that there are correlations between the development of films and video games.
Ask any film or video game buff and they’ll tell you that there have been many homage’s and references across to two medias. Many films have taken noticeable inspiration from video games and cinematic video game styles. The best known example of this is perhaps ‘The Matrix’ (1999) which incorporated imaginative camera angles and cinematography, as well as highly stylised action sequences which are akin to cinematic sequences seen in video games. Many television shows, particularly those of the recent trend of crime thrillers, incorporate split screens to show two sets of narrative action at one time. This technique is directly influenced by similar methods used in video games. In contrast, there have been many recent game releases which draw upon cinematic techniques found in films. Games now frequently feature tag lines, such as the 2008 release of ‘Fallout 3’ which sported the tag line ‘prepare for the future.’ The recently released ‘Heavy Rain’ blurred video games and films in a way which had never been done before, with players actions and decisions directly effecting the virtual in-game world and its characters. Many critics believe that ‘Heavy Rain’ is an indication that in the future, huge budget films will merge with top-selling games into one singular form of entertainment.
It’s becoming pretty clear that this synergy between films and video games has been here for a long time, and it’s going nowhere fast. The two have a complex history and will arguably have an even more complex future. Perhaps new technology will allow us to play out the roles of our favourite film characters in virtual reality, or perhaps new filming methods will mean that audiences can interact with films as they watch them. Only time will tell.
- Written by C. Duckworth.
The Stoic, Silent Protagonist
You would think that using an undefined, empty character would be a pretty bad choice when creating a story, right? So why is it that the silent protagonist remains a popular form of characterisation in video games to this day? The silent protagonist is a common form of characterisation in which a 'blank-slate' character is used to immerse the player with the story. When the player is expected to reflect aspects of their own personality onto the character, in order to truly integrate the player with the game world, the silent protagonist is used. So how can a soulless husk of a character serving as the drive of the narrative be considered good storytelling? The name of the game is immersion.
Its a consistent trope in all forms of storytelling, that there should be at least one character with whom the reader, watcher or player can project themselves onto in some form as a means of integrating with the plot. This character serves as the reason that all the exotic settings, cultures miscellaneous plot devices are explained in the narrative. The best example of this is the character Tidus in Final Fantasy X, a character who is also new to the main setting of the story, so his ignorance of the world is the narrative device for explaining the facets of the world that the player also does not understand. This form of integration between the player and the game world is also extended by allowing the player to name the protagonist themselves, further moulding the character into this bridge for the player to immerse themselves in the game's world.
Another popular trope of the silent protagonist is the influence of the player on the character as a whole. Most RPG's (Role playing games) will let you to name the main character yourself, there are others which expand on this, giving the player the choices that affect the narrative. In Persona 3, once you've named the character, your given an increasable level of freedom. At least half the game is devoted to your character pursuing relationships with numerous NPC's (Non playable characters) throughout the game world, its ultimately the player's choice who to interact with and how they want to do it. There's the freedom to be an absolute nice guy and then a complete jerk all through one conversation. Its this freedom of choice, the opportunity to shape the characters interactions to your own preference that truly bridges the gap between the player and the games world.
But what about those games that aren't trying to immerse you in this way, yet still use a silent protagonist? There are situations where a character who says little to nothing throughout the course of the entire game ends up being the most important one of all. In ICO, the symbiotic yet charming relationship between the protagonist Ico and his only ally Yorda, or delves into the players psyche through their subtle relationship with barely a few sentences of dialogue between the throughout the entire course of the game. Both characters are unable to talk to each other through a language barrier, Yorda's dialogue in particular is represented through incomprehensible symbols, which are only deciphered during a second playthrough. The game uses this lack of dialogue to focus on the fact that they both need to rely on each other to survive, the result is an incredibly powerful relationship between the two characters that simply has to be seen to be believed.
The use of a silent protagonist offers perhaps the most important contribution of all. For the purpose of immersion, they're the blank-slate the player is able to project themselves onto, perhaps even to provide the player with a degree of purpose and influence over the narrative. Or alternatively, the lack of a voice means the game's plot can portray its meaning in a more complex and subtle way, giving the player a truly thought provoking experience that can leave more of an impact than many well-versed stories. Ironically, the empty husk of the narrative can ultimately become much more important than any other character in its respective narrative than any other character, and remains to this day an effective narrative trope that holds such hidden potential.
- Written by E. Bromage.
Its a consistent trope in all forms of storytelling, that there should be at least one character with whom the reader, watcher or player can project themselves onto in some form as a means of integrating with the plot. This character serves as the reason that all the exotic settings, cultures miscellaneous plot devices are explained in the narrative. The best example of this is the character Tidus in Final Fantasy X, a character who is also new to the main setting of the story, so his ignorance of the world is the narrative device for explaining the facets of the world that the player also does not understand. This form of integration between the player and the game world is also extended by allowing the player to name the protagonist themselves, further moulding the character into this bridge for the player to immerse themselves in the game's world.
Another popular trope of the silent protagonist is the influence of the player on the character as a whole. Most RPG's (Role playing games) will let you to name the main character yourself, there are others which expand on this, giving the player the choices that affect the narrative. In Persona 3, once you've named the character, your given an increasable level of freedom. At least half the game is devoted to your character pursuing relationships with numerous NPC's (Non playable characters) throughout the game world, its ultimately the player's choice who to interact with and how they want to do it. There's the freedom to be an absolute nice guy and then a complete jerk all through one conversation. Its this freedom of choice, the opportunity to shape the characters interactions to your own preference that truly bridges the gap between the player and the games world.
But what about those games that aren't trying to immerse you in this way, yet still use a silent protagonist? There are situations where a character who says little to nothing throughout the course of the entire game ends up being the most important one of all. In ICO, the symbiotic yet charming relationship between the protagonist Ico and his only ally Yorda, or delves into the players psyche through their subtle relationship with barely a few sentences of dialogue between the throughout the entire course of the game. Both characters are unable to talk to each other through a language barrier, Yorda's dialogue in particular is represented through incomprehensible symbols, which are only deciphered during a second playthrough. The game uses this lack of dialogue to focus on the fact that they both need to rely on each other to survive, the result is an incredibly powerful relationship between the two characters that simply has to be seen to be believed.
The use of a silent protagonist offers perhaps the most important contribution of all. For the purpose of immersion, they're the blank-slate the player is able to project themselves onto, perhaps even to provide the player with a degree of purpose and influence over the narrative. Or alternatively, the lack of a voice means the game's plot can portray its meaning in a more complex and subtle way, giving the player a truly thought provoking experience that can leave more of an impact than many well-versed stories. Ironically, the empty husk of the narrative can ultimately become much more important than any other character in its respective narrative than any other character, and remains to this day an effective narrative trope that holds such hidden potential.
- Written by E. Bromage.
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