Bram Stoker's Dracula might seem like a strange source for illustrating the need to acknowledge emotion in games. I chose these quotes from Dracula for various reasons. The first, because 'horror' is one of the most enduring genres of human story telling, an experience that is both difficult to generate with subtlety and exquisite to experience as an entertainment. The modern horror genre in the media of fiction, film and games is indebted to and is perhaps exemplified by Stoker's unique creation and his ability as a storyteller. Dracula, is also an enduring inspiration for game designers attempts to create atmosphere and evoke some of our most primal emotions, fear, loathing, hope, redemption. And finally, I was inspired by a talk with Paul Conway, the Irish game designer and anchor of the team that created The Dark Side Detective, hugely successful point-and-click adventure puzzle humour (so many cross-overs) video game. Paul used the following quote to anchor the investor pitch for his upcoming game Eldritch House.
(Dr. Seward's Diary, 26 September.)
"I want you to believe."
"To believe what?"
"To believe in things that you cannot. Let me illustrate. I heard once of an American who so defined faith: 'that faculty which enables us to believe things which we know to be untrue.' For one, I follow that man. He meant that we shall have an open mind, and not let a little bit of truth check the rush of a big truth, like a small rock does a railway truck. We get the small truth first. Good! We keep him, and we value him; but all the same we must not let him think himself all the truth in the universe."
Bram Stoker
I add the following to illustrate the author's word-craft, Stoker's talent for elevating the tension and sense of mystery.
(Dr. Seward's Diary. 29 September, morning..)
"Un-Dead! Not alive! What do you mean? Is this all a nightmare, or what is it?"
"There are mysteries which men can only guess at, which age by age they may solve only in part. Believe me, we are now on the verge of one.
Bram Stoker
So, starting with an example of exemplary story-telling, the slow accretion of detail, the gradual illumination and revealing, of unveiling glimpses of the 'world' or 'game-world', a 'whole' world of characters and concepts, of history and lore. The storyteller creates a whole that intrigues, entices, and coheres over time to excite and instil wonder in the player/audience.
Storytelling is the central art of engaging game experiences, regardless or game genre (action, adventure, puzzler, open world, role-playing, strategy, sports). The storytelling can range over authorial (i.e. designed in, crafted narrative, scripted, a long-form prose), participative (where player/audience have some agency in shaping the story) through to emergent (where players create and produce their own narratives).
In her 2011 GDC keynote Kellee Santiago (Venezuelan American video game designer and cofounder of thatgamecompany, publisher of Journey) stated that she believes that a game needs a message that captures the emotions at its core rather than chasing or being defined by technologies and features. The emotion, the message should be captured in a sentence or two and that, in itself, defines either or both the pitch for the game and/or its essential meaning. It acts as a touchstone against which ideas for inclusion may be judged.
"Begin with the intent of your content and make it your guide," and pay attention to the artistry "music, imagery and story arc" rather than technology or features for technology's sake. They believe in a "holistic, experiential approach", to, in a way, let the game talk back to the designer. [1]
Achieving that stage, of talk back, of letting people respond to the gameplay and for development to respond to that feedback means getting people involved in testing prototypes, learning how they react and feel. The prototyping and testing approach is crucial when designing interactive experiences, but becomes even more important with multi-player, playing together and sharing experiences. Some aspects of a design really only emerge when you give players the controller.
In Journey, "Together we can move the mountain" started out as the underlying message of the game, but as it developed, as the gameplay and feel evolved they found that it "'was moving in a slightly different direction than was originally laid out. So they recast the message to "We all walk the path. Each journey is different.'" Interviews and press reaction also helped to shape the message, providing a testbed for vocabulary and key phrases for describing the game. [2]
Jenova Chen talked about the potential for games to engage player emotions, across the gamut of human experience.
Prototyping for the emotional Journey actually began around its music. Chen said that he always does so because "music is the most effective and powerful medium that can create emotion." [6]
[1] Interview with Kellee Santiago (Christian Nutt, 2011)
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134862/the_thatgamecompany_way.php
[2] Interview with Kellee Santiago (Mike Rose, 2011)
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/36575/GDC_Europe_Design_Your_Game_Around_A_Message_Not_Features__Santiago.php
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Thatgamecompany founders Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago had landed a three game contract with Sony, and guaranteeing access to the PlayStation platform and the marketing muscle of Sony (for flOw, Flower and Journey). Journey took three years from idea genesis to launching. And in the end?
Jenova Chen stated, towards the end “A lot of people in our studio were not paid in the last half year, and we paid out all our savings,” Chen says. The company actually went bankrupt, at the time. “Was it really worth all this,” he asked? [5]
[3] Jenova Chen's Games for Change talk (Chen, 2014) G4C14: Jenova Chen / Blank Canvas Designing A New Era of Emotional Storytelling Through Games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_RKKuKvAvA
[4] In-Depth: Journey's rare and magical success (Alexander, 2012)
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/163143/InDepth_Journeys_rare_and_magical_success.php
[5] The journey to create Journey -- the quest for emotion (Sheffield, 2013)
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/186282/The_journey_to_create_Journey__the_quest_for_emotion.php
[6] GDC Video: Designing a new emotional experience in Journey (GDC Vault Staff, 2013)
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/191646/Video_Designing_a_new_emotional_experience_in_Journey.php
Notes:
thatgamecompany producer Robin Hunicke (Journey, 2012)
