In the readings for today's class, there was one section where Andrew discusses his opinion about cut-scenes depicting the actions of the character, and how they ruin the experience for the player. I thought that this was interesting because most of the games that I have played that contain these types of cut-scenes are RPGs (Japanese) that have been translated to a North American version. These types of games usually cater to a very specific type of gamer who plays the game to uncover the storyline or plot (which is already predetermined), they are not looking to create their own character or make their own story. They play these games to see the story and find out the ending, and cut-scenes are a great way to tell a story. And for some gamers they like the cut-scenes because they are very 'Anime' like and have that appeal.
Overall, games and gamers are very unique. Some aspects of a game will appeal to some and not to others. There is no 'right' answer to the perfect game design, only guidelines on what may be 'good' design.
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That reminds me of the new Metal Gear Solid 4. I haven't played it myself, only seen it played, but from what I've heard, something like a quarter of the game time is spent in cutscenes (I'm sure that's exaggerating, but a couple people said 50%, so I'm actually being generous based on what I've heard). Granted, it is a PS3 game, so the point is to show of just how great they've made the graphics, but for some gamers, the cutscenes make the game worth playing.
ReplyDeleteCutscenes work to move a story along and should be made to be enjoyable, so as to reward the player. I believe it was Final Fantasy IV, a Japanese import of course, that had something like a 20 minute ending video after completing the game... talk about actually rewarding the player! And that game is one of the top 10 selling games of all time, and I've got friends that still go back and play it again just for the sake of it, so obviously the developers were doing something right.
Absolutely, Mr. Glassner's opinion is a valid one, because there are plenty of gamers out there that probably don't like cutscenes (many of them probably would classify themselves as casual gamers, too), but I agree that there is no absolute right game design. The fact that many Japanese-made games feature cutscenes points to a cultural difference I think; hardcore Japanese players are more concerned about the story... whereas hardcore American gamers tend to just want to shoot things and blow them up.
So as we make our games, we have to wonder, what would Sarah think of cutscenes? My guess is "No, thanks", but if a group can come up with a concept that works them in nicely, she might find herself pushing her limits and enjoying something new!
Very nice way to sneak Sarah in there! I would have to agree that she would not like cut-scenes, but perhaps if they were informative or challenging her mind...
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