Something that has always baffled me is how a player knows what he/she is supposed to do in a video game. I know while in class watching numerous demos, I always wondered, how do they know to even go there?
In Fatal Frame 2, we follow our sister, Mayu, into an abandoned village. We have no clue why we are here, there's something about a ritual that requires twins to perform. If Nick hadn't watch a walk through of the game before we played it, I doubt we would have gotten as far along as we did. The second time we played FF2 we spent an absurd amount of time not knowing what we were doing, where we were going, finding new places, only to realize we had traveled way ahead of where we should have gone. We overlooked an object in the beginning of the game, this was why we were stuck. It was something so minor, like forgetting to look in one of the bookcases that threw us off track. How do the game designers expect us to know where to go? In FF2, there is a boy with white hair who is locked in a building that give us hints. But still, if we are lost we have to backtrack all the way to the center of "town" to ask the boy for help.
In Deadspace they have implemented a guide, a blue line that shows you which direction you are meant to go in. I think this is a genius idea and should be put in every game. It isn't permanent, so for gamers that would prefer to figure it out on their own, they can. But it is refreshing to know that with the simple press of a button you will be put back on track. Condemned 2 is a first person shooter game. When I played it, I was in a building with my partners and events would only happen if I was in the correct place to trigger them. It was actually really frustrating, you didn't know if you were on the right track until one of your comrades gave you further instructions.
In The Path there isn't much of an idea of what you are supposed to do besides go to your grandmother's house. The girl walks unbelievably slow and it isn't very clear where you are supposed to go. I know that when you let go of the keys you can "interact" with your surrounding, if there is something to interact with. When I first started playing, a crow kept appearing, so I figured I ought to interact. My character chased after it and went into the forest. I took this as a good sign and followed the crow once more, even though I was was advised to "Stay on the path". It ended up leading me to some theater in the middle of the forest where this weird woman started to speak. After that, there was no crow, so I wasn't sure what to do. In a game like The Path I would have loved a little blue line to point me in the correct direction.
In a game like The Path, it was comparably easier to try to figure out what to do; even I realized that the crow had to be of some significance. But in more complicated games, I think that picking up signals and knowing where to go, comes with experience. I think it's possible that some kind of gamer "intuition" develops the more you play games. What do you all think? How do you figure out where to go in games? Do you hear about it from friends, watch walk-throughs, or just plough in without any previous knowledge?
I totally understand your frustration about not knowing where to go. Many games try to subtly point you in the right direction or only allow you to go in one direction. Not knowing where to go in Fatal Frame that one time was SERIOUSLY annoying. Remember how we went back and forth all over that stupid village for like an hour before we realized that there was that hidden puzzle that we never solved? Stupid.
ReplyDeleteLeft 4 Dead is an interesting example to consider. When you play online with 3 other people, there is usually one person who knows where she/he is going. I just follow her. When Laura and I were playing L4D earlier today, we wondered around some busses and zombie-filled buildings for ages just looking for the next safe house. When you start going in the right direction, your character says something like "hey, guys! Over here!" to let you know. It doesn't always work.
Other games give you clues as to what you should be doing. The worst thing is when you put away a game for a few weeks and then come back to it only to realize that you have no idea where you are, where you should be going, or what you are supposed to be doing. I've had to restart games because of this. If I'm particularly frustrated, I might go read a walkthrough.
Joanne: Yeah, the Path is particularly upsetting because it works hard to keep you from knowing where you're going. It only lets you see a map every what, 500 steps? and the map has no landmarks, it's just a dotted line showing the shape of your wanderings, with no actual 'map' to show you where grandma's house is in relation to your location. That game is deliberately trying to lose you. Which works for the game's ideology, yeah: you get lost because the girls are supposed to be 'lost' in their 'lives', etc etc. It's also good for the frustration and tension that the developers obviously want you to feel. But I also found it incredibly irritating.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, L4D has some confusing-as-hell bits in it. Yesterday was only the second time I'd played it, but I remember that when I played it the first time online, not only did I have no idea where to go, but no one would explain it to me at all. I recall getting turned around by a Boomer and then running in the wrong direction by myself for about half a level. They try to direct you mainly with light in that game-- lit-up doorways, etc. But, as you said, it doesn't always work.