Saving the day

[Concept]

I've just seen the recent Mass Effect footage people have been raving about, and while it admittedly looks stunning, I couldn't help but think how the technology would be put to use (particularly in terms of character interaction) if it didn't involve saving the world/universe from a disaster/apocalypse.

Now, I am more or less using Mass Effect as an example of a problem that's systemic of 90% of all single-player narrative-based games.

Do you ever want to stop 'saving the world'? If so, how else would you like stories to be structured?

I'd like to see more games along the lines of Fahrenheit's first half using technology similar to Bioware's or Kojima Production's. Can the market support high production narratives which don't involve epic (and some might say tired and cliche) conflicts?

[NekoFever]

I see what you mean and I got really disappointed in Fahrenheit when it turned from an interesting murder mystery (with some occult elements, admittedly) into some great mythological conspiracy like any other game. It's probably just that an epic adventure to save the universe is an easier sell than an intimate personal adventure, just as it is in film. Shenmue (yes, I'm banging that drum again) started out as someone on the hunt for his father's killer supported by some of the best technology in gaming at the time and it sold like ****. Those who finished Shenmue II will know what direction it was starting to take by the end.

It's probably to do with escapism. Nobody buys driving games to drive a Rover 75 at a sensible speed and observe all the traffic laws no matter how good the game mechanics are because that's what they do every day. They want to drive their Ferrari down the wrong side of the road while trying to ram their opponents into a passing lorry.

Now I'm not saying a murder mystery is an everyday occurrence but I don't think most games have the narrative maturity to handle a story like that in the way that an intimate film or novel for example can. They just don't translate into an exciting - of perhaps more importantly, commercially viable - game as well as the final battle for the fate of the universe does.

[Sony Fanboy]

Games don't start with a script like in movie production and companies rarely have dedicated writers, so they stick to what they know.

[eastyy]

Yes i have to agree to


With the game deus ex and most RPG's i tend to really enjoy the small missions or the stuff before the sav the world part a lot more

[JazzFunk]

I agree, too. Deus Ex totally shot itself in the foot with all that Area 51 shoot 'em up arse-garbage, which rendered the most of the previous gameplay-style pretty much defunct. Still one of my fave all time games, though.

[toythatkills]

It might seem like a ridiculous game to throw at this thread, but what about Pok?mon? Throughout all of it's GB/GBA iterations there's been very little saving of worlds, and huge amounts of sales. Proof at least that it can be done.

[Oblivion_is_here]

It's similar though... start of weak.. battle through people and leaders till you get to the final boss battle and it's over.

[Wools]

We need a mixture!

But that epic save the world stuff certantly get's me going! The first Halo 2 footage where the camera panned to the entire world on fire then the words "Stop destruction of the human race: In progress"

Get's the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end!

Actually we don't have enough. More I say!

[MattyD]

I'd like to see a game where overcoming a personal trauma or helping a character grow as a person in some way was the goal of the game. Character growth is pretty much a prerequisite for any of the 'higher' arts like literature or good quality cinema and I think the lack of it in videogames is one reason why they're still being scoffed at by critics of traditional media.

[El Leone]

What I think it comes down to, fans will become atached to the main character, and at the end, they're going to be upset if you win/lose or the main character dies. So the developer/publisher just decide to make it a win situtation so they can make more sequels.

[chopemon]

chicks dig guys that save the world

well known fact

[EvilBoris]

Character growth is pretty much a prerequisite for any of the 'higher' arts like literature or good quality cinema and I think the lack of it in videogames is one reason why they're still being scoffed at by critics of traditional media.

Yeah but looks what happens when a game that actually acheives this comes out, it gets slated for not having enough gameplay. I'm specifically thinking of MGS here.