Research for Writer
I decided that I wanted to research the history of video game storylines. I wanted to find the earliest from when games were first created, a game which was in the early 2000's with a more detailed story line, and a more recent game with a more complex storyline. I wanted to do this so that I could see how games have developed over the years and I wanted to compare the games I have researched to each other so that I can improve how I write my own stories for my own video games for in the future.
I decided to look online for the earliest video game with a story and I came across 'Donkey Kong'. Once I found out about this game, I decided to research more about the writer for the story line before going into further research about the game. I quickly found that Shigeru Miyamoto was the one who created 'Donkey Kong'.
Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer and producer for the company Nintendo. Before he worked for Nintendo, he graduated from Kanazawa Municipal College of Industrial Arts with a degree in industrial design and originally he planned to become a professional manga artist. He was influenced by the narrative structure of Kishōtenketsu which is a four-line composition and he was influenced by the western genre television shows. He was mainly inspired to join the video game industry because of the 1978 arcade game 'Space Invaders'.
Miyamoto joined Nintendo and became the company's first artist. He was given the task to create a new arcade game with the unsold 'Radar Scope' units that the company had failed to get into the North American market. That's when he started coming up with the idea for 'Donkey Kong'.
He based his plot for 'Donkey Kong' on 'Popeye' and the love triangle between Popeye, Bluto, and Olive. Nintendo pursued to get the rights to the license for 'Popeye' but they failed. They changed the characters from 'Popeye' to 'Mr. Video', to 'Jumpman', and then later to 'Mario'. Mario is named after 'Mario Segale', an American businessman and real estate developer while his company was renting a warehouse near Seattle to Nintendo. 'Bluto' to 'Donkey Kong', and 'Olive' to 'Lady' and then changed again to 'Pauline'. Miyamoto wanted his ape that he created to be 'nothing too evil or compulsive' and he wanted the ape to be the pet of the main character who would be 'a funny, hang-loose kind of guy'. He also named 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'King Kong' as influences for the name.
You can see the 'Popeye' and 'Donkey Kong' comparison below. Both have an extremely similar level design and the characters that Miyamoto created look very similar to the characters from the 'Popeye' version.
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While I was researching about this, I decided to look on Youtube to see if I could find any videos for both of the games including information about both games which would help with my research. I was able to find a video which compared both 'Donkey Kong' and the 'Popeye' version of the game.
In this video, it is explained in more detail about the gameplay, the sound, and the graphics for both of these games. It compares the similarities and differences between both games and it compares the positive and negative to both of the games. For example, with sound on 'Donkey Kong' the character 'Jumpman' has a 'horrible walking sound', yet on 'Popeye' the sound of him walking fitted perfectly with the music.
I decided to find a video of each game with the gameplay so that I could see the similarities and differences. I was able to find gameplay for 'Popeye and for 'Donkey Kong' and it was very interesting to watch the gameplay for the 'Popeye' version as I had never watched it before so it was a new experience.
I came across a video on YouTube where Shigeru Miyamoto was interviewed about the game and also about his work in present day.
He explains how he likes to 'avoid trends' while making games and he explains that he wasn't adding small in-game purchases to Mario for iPhone in 2016 as he was 'told to do it' but he wasn't the type of person to 'be told to do something'. In the interview, it is revealed that his first assignment was to design a replacement for a game called 'Radar Scope' as it was performing poorly in the US which left the company with 2000 unsold arcade units. It the explains how he came up with 'Donkey Kong' and how he developed the characters over the years.
The video continues on talking about how he created more video games such as 'Super Mario Bros' and it discusses 'the most iconic level in video history' as it shows a breakdown of the level design and the final result and compare the two.
Afterwards, it is then discusses the immersiveness with a video game and it is explained how the game mechanics were developed over the years to improve the gameplay for players so that the games would be more enjoyable. The first controller was the 'Nintendo Entertainment System (1983), then the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (1990), Nintendo 64 (1996), the WII (2006), and then mobile phones (2016).
Watch the video below to find out more information.
After I researched a game that was in the 80's I decided that I wanted to research a game in which was in the early 2000's as I wanted to see and compare more of how games have developed in graphics and storyline over the years. I found a game called 'The Simpsons: Hit & Run' which was initially released in 2003.
The game was first going to be a direct sequel of the game 'The Simpsons Road Rage' and that game was an homage to Sega's arcade game 'Crazy Taxi' and Sega had a lawsuit against 'Fox Entertainment', Electronic Arts', and 'Radical Entertainment' because they disagreed to that statement. That's when the developers looked for inspiration and came across 'Grand Theft Auto III'. This game then became a 'Grand Theft Auto clone action-adventure' video game which was based on the animated sitcom 'The Simpsons' and it was developed by 'Radical Entertainment' and it was published by 'Vivendi Universal Games'.
I found a video on YouTube about interesting facts, easter eggs, and the history about the game. It talks about how the game was published on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and PC by Vivendi Universal Games, and it talks more about in detail how the story and dialogue was crafted for the video game and how they involved the voice actors (cast of 'The Simpsons') to the game. In the video it also has quotes from 'Tim Ramage' the Associate Producer and 'John Melchior' the Executive Producer who talk about different parts of the game and the development towards the final results.
I found out that there were three writers for the video game. 'Matt Selman', 'Tim Long', and 'Matt Warburton'. I decided that I wanted to find an interview where they all or at least one of them talk about the game, but sadly I couldn't find an interview with them. I did find an interview with 'Tim Ramage' who's role for the game was an 'Associate Producer for Vivendi Universal Games'. He was asked about the writers of the game. He was asked 'How much did the show's writers contribute to the game itself?' and he responded briefly with 'The writers wrote the story for the game, as well as all of the dialogue'. I decided that I wanted to research more about the storyline so I began to research the levels of the game
I decided to research more about the levels as I knew that this would be very important information for me to learn about as the story progresses throughout each level that is played. If you look above, you can see the different characters you can play as for each level of the game.
I started by finding a website which could go into more detail and I was luckily able to find a website called 'FANDOM' which had 'Simpsons Hit And Run Wiki'. It explains in detail about the plot of the first level of the video game.
I found this very useful as it shows the loading screen with newspaper articles that give a peek of what is currently going on in Springfield and it also mentions what character you play as. I liked this aspect of he game as the writers have clearly thought about the small details to make the game better.
It also has as a link to know more about the next level. I decided to look through all of the other levels to see what else I found find. I came across all of the other level plot descriptions and although it didn't have as much information compared to the first level, it was clear and consise which made it easier for me to understand.
The game is about the Simpsons family and their friend Apu who all witness strange incidents occurring in SpringField which include security cameras, mysterious vans, crop circles, and a 'new and improved' Buzz Cola which is being promoted by 'Krusty the Clown' as a TV commercial, but it is revealed that 'Buzz Cola' is causing insanity to whoever drinks it. It is revealed that the aliens 'Kang' and 'Kudos' have been causing all of these incidents. The gameplay mainly focuses on the missions and exploring SpringField while featuring a role-playing element to the game which include side tasks and branching storylines.
The storylines for the game are more detailed compared to 'Donkey Kong' as the objectives you are given to help progress throughout the game help the player reach the end goal. During the game you can play as: Homer Simpson, Bart Simpson, Lisa Simpson, Marge Simpson, and Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. If you look below, you can see the list of the playable characters and the levels which you can play them on.
Homer: Level 1 (and level 7)
Bart: Level 2 (and level 6)
Lisa: Level 3
Marge: Level 4
Apu: Level 5
Bart: Level 6
Homer: Level 7
I decided to find the trailer for the game so that I could see what the gameplay looks like as I wanted to see the influence of 'Grand Theft Auto III'. The trailer for the game is below. The gameplay itself emphasizes driving as a main mechanic as the game which is heavily inspired by the 'Grand Theft Auto' series which also features races, time trials, and vehicle destruction. Each level is set in different areas of Springfield. This is so the player can explore the different parts of Springfield while playing the game. I wanted to watch the trailer as I wanted to see the gameplay for myself.
The game features a 'Hit and Run meter'.
The 'Hit and Run' system is one of the main features of this game. The player is allowed to cause damage, violence, and destruction. If the players crime rate increases to a high enough level then the police will be dispatched to catch the player. The radar is on the bottom right of the screen and the meter is displayed on the outer circle.
When the player hasn't committed any crimes the outline will be blank, but when the player causes a crime it will slowly become yellow. As the player commits more crimes, the yellow on the outline will increase clockwise. When it reaches the third quarter of the circle, the yellow will start flashing red which warns the player that they need to avoid causing any more crimes.
When the circle is filled the outline will be fully red and the blue and red light at the top of the circle will flash too. This is notifying the player that the police have been dispatched. On level 1, 2, and 3 there will only be one cop car that is dispatched, but if you are levels 4, 5, 6, and 7 you will have two appear instead.
I also found out that when you are indoors the mini map disappears (which is seen in the GIF below) and when you are outdoors the mini map appears (which can be seen if you scroll further down).
In the middle of the radar (circle) is a mini map to direct the player to where they are in Springfield. It also shows icons on the map which are available to use nearby such as a payphone. Buildings around the area are also highlighted in a lighter green to stand out to the player and characters which you are interacting with will be seen as a turquoise arrow. You can see the icons I have mentioned on the image to the right.
I remembered that before the official game was released there was a demo version of the game, so I decided to research a little bit about that so I could see the before and after results of the developing process. On the image to the right, you can see that this is what the radar looked like in early development. There was no hit and run meter as there was only a radar, but on the radar a green line would circle around it. A blue circle would appear and flash on the radar when the player is being chased by the police.
I wanted to find a video of the gameplay for the demo version of 'The Simpsons: Hit & Run' game as I wanted to see how the hit and run meter functioned at the time when they were developing the game. I quickly found a website called 'The Simpsons: Hit & Run Prereleases' where it has al of the information about the demo and the final results for the game. This includes previews, the levels, the E3 Demo, the ING, and it also has before and after screenshots of some of the results for the game. Here I was able to find the video for the demo gameplay.
I clicked onto the video and I went onto the YouTube video where it was originally from. I was successful with this and I was able to find a video on YouTube of the gameplay which was on the GameCube. The video is below.
The reason why I wanted to research more about the hit and run meter was because it's an important mechanic for the game and with this, if you are being chased by the police it can effect the missions within the storyline. For example, if the player was being chased by the police, they would most likely fail the mission and have to restart the mission again meaning that they would still be interacting with that particular part of the storyline repeatedly until they completed the task.
I wanted to learn more about this mechanic as I thought it might be an interesting concept to use for a future game. I will consider this mechanic, but I know that for players if they're having to restart a mission it can make the storyline drag on and it could make the player become bored.
This has helped me figure out that when I'm writing a storyline for a game to make sure that the game doesn't become too repetitive and to make sure that the storyline is more diverse so that each level.
I want to make sure that with games I make that players can have multiple interactions and if they fail a mission that NPC's (Non Playable Characters) have different dialogue. I also want to make sure that the player can leave that mission and play side missions until they're ready and confident enough to come back to the main mission.
I researched a game called ‘Life is Strange‘ (2015) which is told from the perspective of a twelfth grade student Max Caulfield who lives in Arcadia Bay. She has the power to rewind time to solve the mystery behind a missing girl called Rachel Amber, yet the reason to why she has this power is unknown to her and to the players of the game. This graphic adventure game has a very complex story line which can be affected depending of the choices that the player makes. The choices can change relationships between the character you play as and the others around her, so for example if you have a conversation with a character and they ask your opinion on the topic of the conversation you can either agree or disagree, but whatever choice you make will have a different outcome and the relationship between you and that person may be effected by your decision.
Influential Practitioners & Products
I wanted to find video games with complex storylines which would help influence me for when I write my storylines into my games. I want to write stories that are compelling and will hook the player into the game because they will get drawn into the game and the interaction that the storyline involves. I decided to look back on a game that I have previously talked about called 'Life is Strange' (2015) as it is a finished product (game) and I have played the game myself and it fits perfectly with the types of stories I want to make.
I decided to research more into 'Life is Strange' to see if I could find the writers who created the storyline for the game. I found one of the writer's of 'Life is Strange' and his name is Jean-Luc Cano. He is a French writer who has written other storylines for video games such as 'Life is Strange 2' (2018) in which he was the head writer, and 'The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit' (2018) (which is a demo for 'Life is Strange 2').
I came across a video on YouTube where Jean-Luc Cano and Michel Koch (Game and Art Director) were interviewed about the game. They both talk about how they didn't think about marketing or audience as they only wanted to make something they loved but the game they created also created a strong gaming community and michel koch explains how he wants to continue making games and to improve games so that others can reach other players so that he can tell other great stories. Jean-Luc Cano explains how when they were working on the game, they wanted to make something that would change lives and make something important for not only them, but for others.
In this video as well, and it is revealed that they have been 'nominated for 5 BAFTAs' and so I decided to find the video in which they win an award for 'Life is Strange'. I found a video in which they were nominated for a 'BAFTA Games Awards 2016' for 'Story' as well as 'everybody's gone to the rapture', 'her story', 'undertale', 'until dawn', and 'the witcher 3: wild hunt'. The game 'life is Strange' won the BAFTA. if you want to watch it click the video below.
They are asked 'how do you think games writing has changed over the last few years?' and their response is that they can 'evolve a lot' and that it's a 'new direction for games'. they also mention how games go into directions where they introduce 'real-world issues, some social issues, even some political games' as it is a 'wide medium' to talk about a lot of subject.
Conclusion
I think that knowing this information is interesting as it will help me keep this in mind when writing my stories for games. It will help inspire me to push my ideas to the extreme where I can make a storyline as detailed and as interesting as 'Life is Strange'.
The storyline is very different to anything I have seen before. there is a rewind option where you can rewind in time for 15-20 seconds and change your choices that you make which can then change your gameplay and the way you interact with your surroundings. I haven't ever played a game in which you ave this ability that can change a gameplay experience as much as it does on 'Life is Strange'.
I am going to take inspiration from 'Life is Strange' and use either the same rewind method or something similar that gives the player the opportunity to make more decisions and to have more of a diverse experience for when they play my game and get the opportunity to experience something different and unique to majority of the games which are on the market.
Harvard Referencing
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