Tag Archive for 'Characters'

‘Halo 3′ Believe Ads Seduce with Story

Published
on September 22, 2007
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While only the latest piece of Microsoft’s intensive marketing campaign for Halo 3, the “Believe” series of advertisements is unique even among advertisements in that it focuses almost entirely on the game’s concluding storyline.

The advertisements center around a painstakingly constructed diorama of a battle featuring detailed models  of marines and aliens, eight to 19 inches in height, duking it out over a devastated city. Two of the short ads, including the latest one, feature veterans reminiscing over the war in the style of “Band of Brothers.” Another is a making of documentary, and the fourth pairs shots of the model with a little Chopin. All of them recognize the role Master Chief played in turning the battle around and giving hope to the beleaguered human marines.

The opportunity to “play the hero” has always attracted me to some games. The player takes up the heroes path, saves the world and has a tangible impact on the game’s setting, which is far more eventful than anything I can ever picture myself getting into. This aspect of games, however, is rarely used to steer a marketing campaign, taking a backseat to ubiquitous sellers like graphics, gameplay and game-related gags.

The Believe series of advertisements do not highlight new features or gameplay, or even show any of Halo 3’s next-gen visuals. They emphasize the epic nature of Halo 3’s story, and the absolutely pivotal role the protagonist plays in saving humanity, a role that the player must take up and see to the end.

While naturally done in the interest of profits, turning Halo 3’s release into the entertainment event of the year, the Believe ads show an increasing emphasis on story, now becoming a selling point for the game rather than an excuse for an interstellar shoot-em-up.

A Hero’s Death: PAX’s Panel on Storytelling in Games

Published
on August 28, 2007
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This past weekend’s Penny Arcade Expo, which has outgrown its webcomic roots to become one of the top video game conventions in the nation, hosted a a Q&A panel addressing the new possibilities for storytelling in games afforded by advances in technology.

Titled “Once Upon a Time… Storytelling in Games Today,” the panel consisted of Dave Grossman, creator of The Secret of Monkey Island, Ron Gilbert, also of LucasArts, and Sly Cooper developer Nate Fox. Moderated by Chatterbox Radio’s Alon Waisman, the three developers addressed a number of interesting points, including user created content, linear and dynamic narratives and AI involvement, all of which are quoted in Gamasutra’s coverage of the panel.

One of the most interesting and most often undiscussed subjects visited by the panel involves death in games, which is ironic because only an absolutely infallible gamer could avoid it. All of us have led our protagonist into the gaping maw of death only to have him spat out in shame, perhaps minus one of his collected “lives,” and sent back to face the barely-surmountable odds once more.

“I think the death of the protagonist is just one of those things where the belief has to be suspended. I think in games people just don’t think about that. You don’t want to kill people to introduce frustration, I think death will just be one of those languages of our medium that people just don’t think about,” commented Gilbert.

Death is so common in games that it becomes mundane. That demoralizing exclamation of “Game Over” loses any significance it holds in real life, loses any significance at all beyond annoyance–all it takes is a quick tap of the reset button to start anew. However, the protagonist’s death is not without its repercussions.

“Interruption of the narrative is much more important to me than anything else,” said Grossman. “I don’t like what happens when you have to restore from a saved game. I try to avoid it.”

Continue reading ‘A Hero’s Death: PAX’s Panel on Storytelling in Games’

REVIEW: Baldur’s Gate I & Tales of the Sword Coast

Published
on August 21, 2007
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Yes, this game came out 10 years ago. Yes, I’m just now playing it. But that only means that there must be other people out there thus far uninitiated into a truly landmark RPG. The strange thing about my experience is that I’ve already played Baldur’s Gate II, and that it’s one of my favorite games.

Baldur’s Gate uses Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition rules. I know little to nothing about good old D&D (I was instead raised on Diablo and Heroes of Might and Magic), but I do know that this makes the character creation and combat system incredibly complex. Some people may enjoy the depth allowed in creating their protagonist. I just lower my head and bull-rush my way through it.

The game’s storytelling is incredible. It drops you flawlessly into the role of a self-created character, and guides you through a free-form and intriguing plot. The ability to chose between good and evil has since become a staple of BioWare RPG’s but was quite original at the time of the game’s release. Unlike many other ethics-testing games, Baldur’s Gate does a consistently good job of posing questions with no clear right or wrong answer and with tempting incentives to take each of the many paths.

The game’s graphics have aged pretty well, all things considered. The sprites still look smart and diverse, the animations well done. Many backgrounds look hand-drawn, distinguishing the dungeons of Baldur’s Gate from the cut-and-paste tiled affairs of her contemporaries. BioWare was prescient enough to allow untested resolutions and 3-D graphics, and load times have thankfully and substantially increased over the years.

Although it’s a strange way of looking at it, Baldur’s Gate has the foundations for everything which made the sequel great. The characters, graphics, sound and interface all set the stage for the excellent climax and conclusion.