Back in business…um, three years later, and I’m full into developing my doctoral thesis for the School of Information Sciences at the University of Tampere. The topic of my thesis is game crowdfunding. More soon!
Back in business
Ok, so it’s been a while since I last time posted anything. A good indication of that is how one the newest posts on the blog talks about my master’s thesis, and how since that time I’ve actually completed the thesis – with a completely different topic to boot. Instead of game narratives, I chose to tackle a more easily defined subject of downloadable content in console games. The latest post here on the blog conveniently happened to be about Skate 3 and its “sneaky” marketing methods. Well, eventually Skate 3 became my case game for the thesis and for those more interested in the subject, I’m posting the abstract here:
“The introduction of online connectivity and a hard drive has changed how console games can be marketed and sold, as it is now possible to patch, update, and publish more content after the game is released. Downloadable add-on content (DLC) is the latest, and still evolving, formatting strategy in the long line of entertainment industry franchising practices. Continue reading “Back in business”
Sneaky advertising
The demo of Skate 3 encourages you to recommend the game/demo to at least three of your friends (through the menu of the game). For doing this, you’ll unlock a bunch of extra stuff in the complete version of the game. Not only are you spreading the word about the game, people are also being recommended stuff to them by their real life friends ––always a strong advocator–– AND, you are actually half committing to buy Skate 3. Nice and sneaky, EA, I applaud you.
My thesis
Up until this point the topic of my thesis has been the “story space” or “story landscape” of computer games. My theory has been that there’s this model of creating a game narrative. In this hypothetical model the story (or the narrative) of the game somehow emerges from the game space and presents itself to the player, possibly followed by the actions the player has imposed on the game space.
I’ve been conducting my research on the basis that I need to figure out pretty much all the relevant information about, well, games and narrative. This has led to a situation where I endlessly read articles about story in relation to computer games – and believe me, there are a lot of articles about the subject – and pretty much get more confused every day.
The old mantra “the more you know the less know” applies here, and what I end up doing is using my time to wonder profound things like “what is a game” all day every day. That is a good question, by the way, but it is a question to be tackled another day.
In what ways can the game space be narrative
In order for a research of this kind to be useful at all, for me or to anyone, I need to focus my research problem a bit. So, my question now is “in what ways can the game space be narrative”. This is a good, clearly defined research question and leads to obvious subquestions like “define game space” and “define narrative”. Especially the latter is still a tough nut to chew, but – by choosing to try to define these things, to define something like “narrative”, I let my research be more easily criticizable, thereby making it more useful to anyone interested in building on it.
So there you have it.
Summary of “The Semiotics of Time Structure in Ludic Space As a Foundation for Analysis and Design” by Craig A. lindley
Another week, another summary. This article by Craig A. Lindley really feels a welcome addition in improving the theory I’m wrestling with in my thesis.
In his article “The Semiotics of Time Structure in Ludic Space As a Foundation for Analysis and Design” Craig A. Lindley creates a model for understanding games, or, ‘ludic systems’, through their temporal nature. By ‘ludic systems Lindley means “systems of experience incorporating concepts of game or game play and related experiences.”
Because games have a special relationship with time, Lindley proposes a layered model of time structure. For any particular ludic system, such as a computer game, time structure can be considered in terms of a number of distinct layers of meaning. These layers are analogous to the levels of encoding identified in structuralist narrative theory (generation level, simulation level, performance level, and discourse level).
The simulation, performance and discourse levels correspond to the semiotic domains of simulations, games and narratives. For any specific ludic system, the overall design approach relating to how the designer intends the players’ experience to be structured (as the core of interactive engagement and immersion), can be based upon emphasizing one of these three primary forms (or integrating more than one form by various strategies). This, in turn, corresponds very nicely with my earlier rant about video game being a kind of hybrid.
Anyway, here are the layers (contrasted with the semiotics of narrative):
Discourse level forms the temporal structure of the experience of the player. It corresponds with verbal, textual and cinematic narrative systems with the level of narration. Discourse level is the level at which a plot is revealed, or, represented. This happens through one or more discursive episodes (e.g. a written novel, or different game sessions in the case of a game). However, the sequence of revealing episodes within the players’ temporal continuum may not correspond with the sequence of temporal events within the revealed plot.
Performance level is the level where the actual events are revealed to the player as part of the play experience. Here, the player is an active participant, having actual influence.Performance level includes only those parts of the virtual world directly experienced by the player. In purely narrative systems this is the plot. Here, however, it cannot generally be regarded as a plot, as it is experienced by the player. The play experience might be designed to lead to inevitable plot points (i.e. plot -VS- plot points). These plot points are then either enacted by the player, or revealed by non-interactive animation sequences or cut scenes.
Lindley gives an example: in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind there’s a very specific set of central plot points within main plot. These plot points are partially ordered: seven high level tasks must be completed, however, their constituent sub-tasks can be accomplished in any order. This is repeated for the sub-tasks involved in those sub-tasks. The final order is therefore largely chosen by the player. Choosing to follow the central plot is very much like choosing a part in a drama (with a large scope for character interpretation including endless variations of detail).
In order to do this player uses the “language” of game moves and scenarios provided by the designers as a language for dramatic improvisation.
Story level is the level where players’ (inter-)actions are likely to have consequences. This happens both directly within their own play experience and implicitly, implying a game world beyond that which is explicitly represented to the player. The player doesn’t need to have a strong sense of plot for this to happen. The temporal system may not be as precisely pre-structured as traditional narratives, and so can more appropriately be referred to as the:
Simulation level. The authored logic and parameters of a game system, together with the specific interactive choices of the player determine an (implied) diegetic (represented) world, only some of which is made available to the player. This happens through the experiential zone created by a virtual camera, a virtual volume of audio reception, and a surface of virtual haptic reception (e.g. a virtual body that receives damage or health).
Generative substrate is the system of functions, rules and constraints. It lies beneath the simulation level and constitutes a space of possible worlds of experience created by the designers of the game. For verbal language and narrative it’s a space of possibilities implicit within a culture and from which members of the culture may improvise meaningful stories. For computer games there is a narrower and much more specific generative basis: it is derived from general cultural understandings, but is embodied in the software code of the game framework. For digital games it can be divided into two levels: one inspiring the code and being very similar to the structural foundations of narrative systems and the other being the actual structure of the code as an artifact.
A unified plane for classifying ‘ludic systems’
So, there are three kinds of temporal semiotic systems found in ludic systems: simulation, game, and narrative. These might be found together or separately in any specific system. It may vary what the system provides as the primary modality in structuring the player’s interactive engagement and experience with the system. This is reflected in concrete terms by the range of different player-selectable actions belonging to each of these kinds of formal systems. Again, an example from Morrowind: simulation-based actions include character movement, positioning and management of game items, and creating spells, potions etc. Game-based actions include actions such as those created for operating the combat system of the game. Narrative and story-oriented actions include choosing to belong to social groups (races, classes, guilds and houses), accepting and completing quests, engaging in NPC conversations and choosing to allow cut scenes to play.
The classification plane below unites the three temporal semiotic systems:
We thank you, Craig A. Lindley, and I encourage anyone interested in the subject to chaeck out the whole article in: http://gamestudies.org/0501/lindley/.
I’d like to be at GDC so bad…
Mostly because Harvey Smith (Game Director, Arkane Studios) and Matthias Worch (Senior Level Designer, Visceral Games) are giving a talk on the subject I’m most intrested in: Environmental Storytelling. From Worch’s blog:
What Happened Here? Environmental Storytelling
Speaker: Harvey Smith (Game Director, Arkane Studios), Matthias Worch (Senior Level Designer, Visceral Games)
Track: Game Design
Format: 60-minute LectureSession Description
This lecture examines the game environment as a narrative device, with a focus on further involving the player in interpreting (or pulling) information, in opposition to traditional fictional exposition. We provide an analysis of how and why some games in particular create higher levels of immersion and consistency, and we propose ways in which dynamic game systems can be used to expand upon these techniques. The lecture presents the techniques for environmental storytelling, the key to the creation of game spaces with an inherent sense of history; game spaces that invite the player’s mind to piece together implied events and to infer additional layers of depth and meaning. In addition to commonly-used environmental storytelling tools (such as props, scripted events, texturing, lighting and scene composition), we present ideas for using game systems to convey narrative through environmental reaction. Environmental storytelling engages the player as an active participant in narrative; game systems that reflect the player’s agency can do the same. The lecture will analyze existing cases and provide a framework for dynamic environmental storytelling in games.
It’s interesting to see how this kind of “literacy” translates in to Visceral’s future games.
I love it when they get creative
A really cool way to use Nintendo DSi’s camera:
Summary of “Game design as narrative architecture” by Henry Jenkins
This “summary” of Henry Jenkins’ 2002 article came out quite a bit longer than intended. I promise to write a tighter summary next time! The article is available here and here.
In his 2002 article “Game Design As Narrative Architecture” Henry Jenkins tries to reconcile the two sides of the, then present, Ludology-vs-Narratology -feud. Since then things have eased out and people can pretty much discuss the many sided relationship between games and narratives. Jenkins positions himself in the middle ground claiming the spatial nature of games to be the most appropriate starting point for putting things in perspective.
Jenkins points out that not all games (want to) tell stories. Then again, many do. “Some, but certainly not all, of these products also make bids on telling stories; storytelling is part of what they are marketing and part of what consumers think they are buying when they invest in this software.” Yet, “a discussion of narrative potentials of games need not imply a privileging of storytelling over all the other possible things games can do.” Games tell, according to Jenkins, stories in different ways than any other media. We shouldn’t be afraid to test and map out these, seemingly multiple possibilities. Jenkins accuses the (now old) ludologist approach for getting stuck with too narrow a model of narrative, and points out that narration can be other things besides a storyteller. Also, it’s not the case whether whole games tell stories, but about the possibility of narrative elements being parts of the game in “more localized level”.
Jenkins’s main point, however, is to introduce spatiality as an important new aspect to the study of games and narrative. Digital games have, from the beginning, “centered around enabling players to move through narratively compelling spaces.” Jenkins draws comparisons to the space oriented nature of classic adventure stories and to the typical act of “world building” of fantasy and science fiction stories. “Description displaces exposition.” Games excel at this even better – this is the reason game developers go for the kind of stories they do.
Evoked narratives
Games get compared also to amusement parks, a view somewhat popularized come 2010. Much like in game space people get to walk in and around amusement parks. “The story element is infused into the physical space a guest walks or rides through”, writes Jenkins, quoting Disney’s show designer Don Carson. It’s the preexisting fantasies of whichever theme that are being evoked. Jenkins argues that games contribute to a larger narrative economy, tying the problem of game narratives to the larger body of his work, mainly transmedia storytelling. Like theme park spaces, game spaces exist in dialogue with the preexisting notions we have on, for example, Pirates of the Caribbean. The “story” in amusement parks, however, depends mainly on the (distraction free) atmosphere – people haven’t got really that much choice on where they are going within a single attraction.
Eventhough spatial stories “are often dismissed as episodic” they are not badly constructed – rather “they respond to alternative aethetic principles”, Jenkins writes. “Spatial stories are held together by broadly defined goals and conflicts and pushed forward by the character’s movement across the map.” This kind of “environmental storytelling” relies mainly on designing a geography, a well paced and crafted map.
Enacted narratives
In enacted narratives the story is “structured around the character’s movement through space and the features of the environment may retard or accelerate that plot trajectory.” At this point Jenkins brings up “micronarratives”. Micronarratives might take, for example, the form of a localized incident – generally speaking they are some kind of emotionally impacting attractions. They could be cut scenes, but not necessarily. “Inexperienced storytellers […] often fall back on rather mechanical exposition through cut scenes, much as early filmmakers were sometimes overly reliant on intertitles rather than learning the skills of visual storytelling”, Jenkins writes. The game could for example lead the player to do something in the story space which makes her see the game space in different light.
Jenkins reminds that not many, supposedly linear, narrative forms are that restricted in nature. Musicals have room to “bend” and commedia dell’arte suffices with theatrical move sets associated with a particular mask/role. We often watch kung-fu movies for their action set pieces – a familiar structure with games.
There’s also a difference between a plot and a story. Plot is the way a movie presents it’s narrative (with time jumps etc.) whereas story is what we construct in our minds of everything that has happened chronologically. This way a story isn’t concerned about the flasbacks and such (whereas plot is).
Embedded narratives
Viewers of a film “assemble and make hypotheses about likely narrative developments on the basis of information drawn from textual cues and clues”. “[A] story is less a temporal structure than a body of information.” This means information could be retrieved in multiple ways. “[A] game designer can somewhat control the narrational process by distributing the information across the game space”. This way information is presented to the user across a range of spaces and artifacts. Player, however, can’t be expected to find or recognize the importance of any given element. There must be sufficient amount of information presented in a sufficiently obtainable way. This way game world becomes a kind of information space. The player then moves through this “narratively impregnated mise-en-scene”.
The challenge for game designers is to find artful ways of embedding narrative information into the environment. Quoting Carson Jenkins writes: “Staged areas… [can] lead the game player to come to their own conclusions about a previous event or to suggest a potential danger just ahead. Some examples include… doors that have been broken open, traces of a recent explosion, a crashed vehicle, a piano dropped from a great height, charred remains of a fire.”
Useful hints on how to do this could be found in melodrama. “Melodrama depends on the external projection of internal states, often through costume design, art direction, or lighting choices.” “As we enter spaces, we may become overwhelmed with powerful feelings of loss or nostalgia, especially in those instances where the space has been transformed by narrative events.” Jenkins, however, doesn’t touch upon the fact that players postioned to play a game usually search for functional potential rather than narrative. The challenge would be then how to guide players go for narrative potential AND keep it interesting and engaging.
Finally, in games like The Sims we find emergent narratives. According to Jenkins most of the artifacts in a Sim-house perform some kind of narrative funtion. Seeking information about jobs is performed by reading a newspaper and “bookcases can make you smarter.” This, in turn, results to a highly legible narrative space. “Emergent narratives are not prestructured or preprogrammed, taking shape through the game play, yet they are not as unstructured, chaotic, and frustrating as life itself.”
In conclusion
The four “narrative options” Jenkins goes through in his article are:
In evoked narratives “spatial design can either enhance our sense of immersion within a familiar world or communicate a fresh perspective on that story through the altering of established details.”
In enacted narratives the story is “structured around the character’s movement through space and the features of the environment may retard or accelerate that plot trajectory.”
In embedded narratives “the game space becomes a memory palace whose contents must be deciphered as the player tries to reconstruct the plot.”
In emergent narratives “game spaces are designed to be rich with narrative potential, enabling the story-constructing activity of players.”
My thesis
In the following weeks I try to use the blog to summarize a couple of good articles. These are mostly research articles I need to read while I try to gather useful info for my master’s thesis. The focus of thesis is on the narrative techniques used in games. Particularly I try to concentrate on what would be the ideal form to merge game and narrative. I hypothesize that best option might be creating a “story space” or a “story landscape” from which the story either emerges or can be “extracted”.
The first article I’m finding useful is Henry Jenkins’ “Game design as narrative architecture” found in First Person edited by Noah Wardrip-Fruin and Pat Harrigan. Coupled with very interesting online responses to every article the book seems to be pretty excellent resource. The kind of back and forth discussion found in First Person‘s web site by some very capable people really highlights some of the tensions in the game research field.
Some excerpts that relate to my earlier post:
“My essay is talking about computer and videogames as they are constituted within the current marketplace. I am making no claims about dodgeball, tiddlywinks, checkers, Legos, or golf. I am quite prepared to accept that these traditional forms of games and play have little or nothing to do with narrative at all and I would be very surprised if my essay contributed much to our understanding of them.”
“The market category of “games,” in fact, covers an enormous ground, including activities that traditional ludologists would classify as play, sports, simulations, and toys, as well as traditional games.”
“These computer games, then, are a strange, still unstable, and still undertheorized hybrid between games and narratives. They are a border case for any study of narrative, but they are also a border case for any study of games.”
How do you define a “game”?
Jesper Juul’s classic game model gives a game six characteristics:
1. It’s a formal system based on rules.
2. It has a variable and measurable outcome.
3. Different outcomes have different value.
4. The player effort aims to influence the outcome.
5. The player is emotionally connected to the outcome.
6. The consequences of player action can be decided on and are negotiable.
Every game has these characteristics and these characteristics are enough for something to be classified as a game.
So, classic game model = a game (at least as many researchers acknowledge it).
For example, Monopoly is a game in somewhat classic sense:
A game like Final Fantasy X incorporates elements familiar from other media:
The Passage, created by independent game designer Jason Rohrer, should look something like this:
So why do we call all three “games”? Why are they all researched as “games”?
Heikki's Game Lab -- 