Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Spectacle
Many AAA video games, like many blockbuster movies, rely heavily on
spectacle
to wow their audiences. During game development, ideas for
mind-blowing events and spectacular set pieces fly freely in energetic
brainstorming sessions, sometimes constrained by little more than scope
or scheduling limitations. “Wouldn't it be cool if” is the kick-off phrase to
any number of ideas for high-octane twists and turns (replacing the word
“cool” with “awesome,” “epic,” or whatever superlative the speaker prefers).
This innocent phrase, full of enthusiasm and promise, can nevertheless
chill a game writer's blood.
Because there's a problem with “wouldn't it be cool” aside from scope,
which often gets overlooked—especially when the game is in its Produc-
tion phase or later, by which time the story elements should probably be
pretty well defined. Often—not always, but often—the “cool thing” is an
idea that doesn't really fit the existing story. The forced insertion of spec-
tacle can create a tone problem, violate what's been established for a
character and her motivations, contradict the established physics of the
world, or pose any number of other narrative concerns.
▪
Wouldn't it be cool
if the player got to blow up the ship at this point?
▪
Yes, but that ship is important later in the story.
▪
Wouldn't it be cool
if Character X changed sides here so the player
has to fight her in a climactic death struggle?
▪
Yes, but she wouldn't do that, and modifying her prior actions to
set this up would break other story beats earlier in the game.
▪
Wouldn't it be cool
if Character Y went nuts here and trashed the
whole area?
▪
Yes, but we've established that she lives here and wants to
defend
it from being trashed.
The contortions the writer may have to put the story through in order to
accommodate that moment of spectacle can impact any number of other
plot or character elements, which may in turn damage believability on
many fronts. A well-constructed story eventually resembles a house of
cards, and so the further into development you get, the more protective
