BA4 - Creating Coherent Worlds entry 3 - Transmedia Storytelling

What I learnt from today's talk:

Henry Jenkins is a academic who promotes the idea of participatory culture being used as a tool for good. He proposed that teenagers, who don't have a good image when it comes to activism, becoming politically and socially active to the benefit of their communities. He first talked about the  history of participatory culture. He referenced the first home printing presses in the 1850's , where children would produce material similar to modern 'zines'. Or the amateur radio operators or stations, which thrived in the 1920's, where it was commonplace for young people to set up their own radio stations. Also, he talked about the 'Underground press' of the 1960's, or 'Super 8' film. The point he was trying to make, I thought, that people have a history of using the technology avalible to them at the time, and utilisze it to create, produce and construct their own culture.

We were shown an example of a transmedia product; 'The Matrix'. As well as being a popular film, The Matrix was translated into; an anime, a series of comics, several video games and action figures. The first video game made off the back of The Matrix, was 'Enter the Matrix'(2003). Instead of playing as Neo, the game placed you in the role of two secondary characters of the film.

'Drillibility' is an important concept for a game to have. Creating a game world which is open-ended, propagates people to take away from and add to it. The world of the game has to be complex, as people 'drill' down into it , so to sustain the audiences's interest. In addition, it seems to be important for a game to be planned as open-ended from the outset. As if it isn't, any transmedia will seem 'bolted-on' and meaningless.

Another exampe we were shown, was Batman. This has gone from being avalible as a disposable comic book, to graphic novels, numerous films, television serials, action figures, halloween costumes, Lego and video games. Although Batman has been cast in various forms, in a wide range of media, there are some elements that remain constant throughout. Things like, the cowl and cape, the batmobile, the batcave, Alfred the butler etc. These things are 'integral elements', and help bridge the gap between the vastly differing medias.

Various itterations of Batman

BA4 - Creating Coherent Worlds entry 2 - Vladmir Propp

Vladimir Propp - How his theories on narrative reflect in Video game worlds

Bioshock

2K Games

Released: 2007

Platform: Pc, Xbox 360, Ps3

Genre: First-person-shooter w/ elements of Role-playing-game 

Bioshock is solely a single-player, narrative driven game. It has deep roots in Ayn Rand's work's, including; 'Atlas shrugged' and 'The Fountainhead'. It also focuses around the ideology of Objectivism. Bioshock is a game that consistently changes, and one that is governed by the player's choices.

One of Vladimir Propp's 'sphere's of action', was the sphere of Villainy. This is basically supposed to be the bad guy the hero of the story struggles against. Villainy comes up a great deal in Bioshock. 

Bioshock is set in a grand, underwater dystopia, called Rapture. It was a city free of any government, religion, or ethical bindings. When the player arrives in Rapture, the city has recently fallen from grace. The shining idea it was built on has gone sour. The city is collapsing around the player as soon as you arrive. As such, water plays a key part in Bioshock. From playing through the game,I found that the city itself seemed to be trying to drown you. Everywhere you turn, the Ocean is patiently finding ways inside. Cascading down walls, leaking in through window seals, flowing from broken plumbing, water gets in. Some sections of the game require you to run away from rapidly flooding chambers, and bulkheads buckling under thousands of gallons of water. Water is your enemy in Bioshock. Although, fittingly, this can change. 

Water as a 'villain' in Bioshock

The Helper - Bioshock's game world can be turned into a helper, with a bit of ingenuity from the player. Water, as previously mentioned, is prevalent throughout Rapture, but can sometimes be a valuable asset. If the player spots enemies wading through shallows for example, they can shock the pool of water with the Electro Bolt plasmid, and fry their opponents instantly. Other elements also exist, namely oil slicks, when can be set ablaze, creating fiery hazards for adversaries.

The player uses 'electro bolt' on a couple of unsuspecting enemies 

A large puddle of flammable oil, which could easily be ignited...

Additionally, the machinery of Rapture can be turned to the player's side. Vending Machines, Ammo dispensers, flying security bots and CCTV cameras can all be hacked and made to work to the player's advantage. This is an example of how usually mundane objects in games, can be interacted with and aid in the player's quest. 

The Princess - In a way, the 'Little sisters' of Bioshock can be considered the ultimate rewards or prize. They populate the world of Rapture, playing an integral part of the city's life cycle. They gather and harvest ADAM, a genetic wonder-drug, from corpses all over the city. The player interacts with them by killing their guardians first, then deciding to either harvest or rescue each one. Bioshock is a game of choices, and if the players saves the little girls, by 'rescuing' them, they are eventually rewarded with the greatest gift of all. Where simply 'harvesting' the girls will kill them, but will make you significantly more powerful.

The pivotal choice in the game

Tekken series

1994-present day

Developed by Namco

3d-arcade 'beat em' up'

Tekken is a game which is about the furious combat between two opponents. It has it's beginnings in dingy saturday arcades, with a line of kids waiting to battle it out with each other.

The world of Tekken is very much secondary compared to the actual fighting. There is brief description of the Mishima Zaibatsu, the corporation who run the brutal tournaments. There are rival companies, various relationships between the fighters and a narrative that revolves around the Mishima family. But little else. The locations where the fights take place are called 'stages'. Literally, they are like theatre stages, supporting where the action takes place but adding very little by themselves. 

The stages could be almost anywhere, and sometimes Tekken takes it's fighters to some extreme locales. Tekken also seems to know that it's stages are thin in substance. There are some comical stages, which are supposed to be fun to look at, but that is all.

BA4 - Creating Coherent Worlds

Contextual studies 

CTR Crash Team Racing (1999)

1. How is the game structured? Does it have levels?

There is a single player story mode, where you start on a central island, or ‘hub’ from which; you can choose to participate in races of your choice. You drive onto a teleportation pad, and the game whisks you away into another part of the same world to play the race. You go onto unlock new ‘hubs’ by completing levels and beating bosses. There is also battle, time trial and arcade mode, which are not directly joined to the narrative story in single player, rather they are there for people to enjoy together as a group, in a lighter spirit of play.

2.Do you have to follow a set path to complete the game? How much freedom do you have to explore the game world?

CTR is more about having fun racing, as opposed to a deep, immersive narrative. To ‘complete’ the game, requires the player to win each race, and finally race and win against a boss character. But to complete the game 100%, the player must, in addition, collect all the CTR tokens, Relics, Gems and beat each track in Time Trial mode.  The entire game is assumed to be present day Earth, although this isn’t really important for exposition or gameplay. Exploration of the game world is very limited in some senses. You must complete the majority of the game in a strict order, and don’t really have a chance to explore the world by yourself. There is some choice however; you can drive around the ‘hubs’ of the game, indefinitely. The ‘hubs’ are each supposed to represent some portion of the Crash Bandicoot world.

3.What does your game look like? What is the visual feel?

The style is typical of previous Crash Bandicoot titles, in that it’s very cartoony. The game is primarily aimed at children; therefore the art style is friendly, fun and comedic. 

4.How do the visuals affect the player?

The visuals are a reflection of the nature and tone of the gameplay. The visuals are exciting, they encourage the player to keep playing. In the past, Crash Bandicoot has been a 3d  platforming game. The player assumes the role of Crash, running through levels etc. In CTR, players of previous Crash games suddenly find themselves with Crash now strapped into a 'Kart', unable to move in the same sense he did in the previous games. But this is a vital change due to the nature of the game.

BA4 - Game Design Document entry 2

So, we have chosen our game; Medal of Honor (2010), or less specifically the Medal of Honor series as a whole.  We are yet to decide if we want to take influence exclusively from the 2010 game, or the entire series. We went out and bought a copy of the Medal of Honor game from 2010, simply titled 'Medal of Honor'. We wanted to experience the game first hand, and see it from the player's perspective.

After playing through the first few single-player missions, I can't say I think much of it. The game tries to feel gritty and realistic, telling the story from behind the eyes of a 'Tier One' operative, in Afghanistan, 2002. You (the player) go through various covert missions, using assault rifles, handguns, sniper rifles, as well as more hi-tech equipment to complete the levels. The game rather tastelessly puts you up against Taliban fighters with AK-47's. Although I'm certain that the enemies are accurate, it seems to be a shooting gallery aimed at a western audience. You are the elite American soldier, blasting through lacklustre scenario's full of generic enemies. Additionally, it's plain to see that Medal of Honor takes from super-successful, other games like Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare. Which from a financial standpoint, can't be faulted on.

BA4 - Game Design Document entry 1

We have been tasked with creating a concept for a game, from a game that already exists. So in other words, we are to re-imagine it. I suspect this is to test our innovative capabilities, or how well we can create original content from something already established.

The five games we have to choose from are ; Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Buttery, Moshi Monsters, Flow, Medal of Honor and The Portopia serial murder case. All are very distinctive games, with differing art styles, tone, target audiences, genre etc.

Me and my partner have settled on the idea of creating our own iteration of the Medal of Honor series, set during World War One. We want to boost up the idea of cavalry, where the player acts through a warhorse, rather than a generic infantryman. To make the horse idea work, we have been thinking about altering the technology of the time of WW1, so as to make cavalry combat more viable. Maybe we could set back the development of gunpowder, so as to remove bolt-action rifles and machine guns, and replace them with far more primitive weapons. In doing so, we would be making a great deal of  work for ourselves, given the detail and accuracy of the Medal of Honor series so far, as we would be creating a greatly altered world, albeit one grounded in reality.