Wk 3. Metal Gear Theft Auto

It's funny that reading these articles, they give precisely the same advice in writing for games as the textbooks do when writing for film. What's interesting, however, is that in the case of games, the cinematic elements of the game (cinematography, editing, sound, mise en scene) are much more closely tied to the writing of the game.

In the case of films, of course, these elements are only specifically highlighted in the script if they play a very specific role, and are otherwise left to the people who run the respective departments. However, in games, these elements are al, to some degree, interactive, which means that they must be meticulously planned from the outset.

One thing I did find in the Luban/Meziane article though, is that despite highlighting a number of great game series', they did not include one of the most elaborate and highly detailed games series' ever, Grand Theft Auto. From Liberty City onwards, these games have been a benchmark for interactivity.

To highlight:
Cinematography: Players have full control of viewpoints, including 3rd and 1st person.
Editing: The games feature enough cut scenes to give information and provide entertainment, but not so many that the player feels bored or manipulated.
Sound: Dozens of catchphrases and cityscape sounds, as well as changeable radio stations in cars.
Mise en Scene: Virtually limitless possibilities as to what the character can interact with, from passers by to vehicles to objects lying around, nearly everything can be reacted with.

But, it did regularly cite Metal Gear Solid, the great love of my gaming life, so I will forgive it. It's interesting that Luban and Meziane highlight MGS for its cinematic qualities, as I've always felt my attachment to it and enjoyment of it come from those qualities. The games' stories are brilliantly told and the gameplay never contradicts or distracts from them. Furthermoe, the games ingulge in the excesses offered by the interactive experience by allowing the player to catch countless extras (Famously, Johnny, the ever-unfortunate guard), which makes the games equally fun upon replaying them.

But it's the basics mentioned by Alex Kriss that really make the difference. The really simple things like avoiding cliche; full, measured characterisation and well thought out backstories, that make the difference. However little varied gameplay there is - I spoke about Mortal Kombat in the Week 2 blog - these basic, common sense decisions lift individual games and whole brands to levels above the regular.



Articles referenced:
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20010615/luban_01.shtml
http://www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article1021.asp