Jaffe: Game Execs Need a BS Filter

[krellen]

I offer a counter-argument - Planescape: Torment. The story - the central story of the undying, unkillable protagonist - could not have been told in any medium but a game. The protagonist simply would not work anywhere else; the Nameless One was the absolute distillation of a video game hero, and would not be as engaging and interesting in a movie, book or television series.

But what would Jaffe know about stories? He's never told a great one.

 

[ThoughtlessConcept]

People should listen to the whole address before they try to put him down or make him sound like an idiot, he stated very early on in his talk that he loves story heavy games when they work. He even said Arkham City was his favorite game of last year. He was talking about not green lighting a game just because a developer says he has the next big thing, he'd like to know how the game's going to work and why it's going to be the next big thing. Seems really intelligent to me.

 

[ultrachicken]

The beginning of his advice is more or less solid, though I worry following it will stifle innovation further. However, his final word on video game storytelling makes me want to punch him in the mouth.

 

[ThoughtlessConcept]

The beginning of his advice is more or less solid, though I worry following it will stifle innovation further. However, his final word on video game storytelling makes me want to punch him in the mouth.

Do you really think typed violence is necessary?

 

[ultrachicken]

The beginning of his advice is more or less solid, though I worry following it will stifle innovation further. However, his final word on video game storytelling makes me want to punch him in the mouth.

Do you really think typed violence is necessary?

No, but I do think it conveys my contempt for that statement. Until I actually am in a position where I could punch Jaffe in the mouth, or would have an actual reason to, then you are in no position to complain about using exaggeration to show emotion.

 

[Manji187]

I would like to bring up bastion for a moment. It is, in my opinion, the best written game ever. Game writing isn't just what people say, but the general mood of the game itself. Everything, from music to level design is to enhance the writing. Every event and note is based of the emotion the writing gives the other developers. It is a collaborative effort, but the writing is the first thing done for a reason.

Unfortnately that's not true. The vast majority of game writing is done after the game is finished, or is mid-way through production. Writers are adapting their stories to the game rather than vice versa.

Damn, then it's about time this process is inverted. Can't a new generation of developers please stand up and do the right thing? Pretty please?

 

[ThoughtlessConcept]

I DEMAND STORY BOARDS!!!!

 

[Atmos Duality]

But what would Jaffe know about stories? He's never told a great one.

Neither have I, yet I know when I like a story in a game.

 

[krellen]

But what would Jaffe know about stories? He's never told a great one.

Neither have I, yet I know when I like a story in a game.

You're not telling people that games aren't the proper place for stories.

 

[BrotherRool]

Ha, would Snake crawling through the microwave corridor been nearly as epic if I wasn't frantically mashing triangle? Snake needs me to exist.

Actually, yes, it would have been. That's a poor example, as it was coded to proceed as planned after a minimum number of presses. 100 presses a minute or 10, he'd still get down that hallway. It does speak for the writing that you felt compelled to mash the button like that though.

I do know that, but I think in a way it even makes my point

The thing is, the experience wouldn't have been as good. It's even designed to make you feel that you need to mash it more. Jaffe was saying video games were a bad way to express story, but here is story in a video game being expressed directly and manipulatively. They took something and thought, this is how we can use this mechanic to make the story better.

See also Heavy Rain.

I have to admit if I were looking for the best examples though it would be stuff like the flash game In The Company Of Myself and One Chance and that game where you play as an assassin but with a One Chance esque twist. Planetscape turns the story into the game. Max Payne 2 does some great things, as does Uncharted and some of the Final Fantasies (as much as I like XIII, this is an area of the games failing. They even had some of the right ideas, forcing a sense of isolation, retreat and hopelessness by the way the game staves of towns etc but they then combined it with a gameplay mechanic that doesn't give the feeling of journeying or hopelessness at all but I felt the MGS example was concise .


(Also despite the button pressing irrelevancy it's actually not that hard to fail the microwave corridor scene, if you go into it with low health (because for example you've been running down corridor after corridor full of robots) it can be pretty touch and go. My brother took quite a few attempts to get it down)

 

[katsabas]

Greek Tragedy IS gore soaked male fantasy.

And you didn't touch Bioshock.

HAHAHAAAAAA! Ok, then. So I guess Helen, Antigone, Electra, Ifigenia and Oedipus are gore soaked and full of men. Hell, there is even a tragedy with the protagonist being the woman that killed Hercules. The woman. Not Hercules. There is a difference between tragedy and mythology.

What Jaffe simply stated is that you don't begin making a game if you want to tell a story or make a point. The reason Bioshock succedeed IMO wasn't the story but the setting. Underwater in the 60's ? How often do we get to see something like that ?

Was I suprised at the twist of Bioshock ? Of course. But that wasn't the reason I bought the game. Know why ? Cause you can only be surprised once. Due to the atmosphere and setting, I plowed through it enough times to platinum it.

In fact, everybody here should be a sport and acutally watch Jaffe's speech before commenting on it. Just saying.