Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Sometimes, however, the requirements of one discipline create an over-
reach; a gap that may not be able to be filled without breaking something
else or expanding scope beyond what is tenable for the project.
Enemy Illusions
One common example has to do with enemy characters. Narrative some-
times establishes a degree of tactical competence and coordination in an
enemy group that Design and Engineering are hard-pressed to fulfill in ac-
tual gameplay. Rather than watching AI programmers beat their collective
heads against the wall of humanlike enemy AI behavior—or twisting the
fiction so that the enemies are painted as less organized—Narrative and
Audio will often step in and help create the illusion of coordinated intent
and action.
Simple systemic VO trigger lines such as “Flank him!” and “I've got you
covered!” and “Defensive position Tango!”—even when they are accom-
panied by no change in enemy behavior whatsoever —can go a surprisingly
long way to convince the player that the enemy is smarter than they really
are. In the heat of battle, it can be difficult to determine which VO lines
really do indicate enemy actions and which don't.
Physics
Back in chapter 6 we discussed the need for a storyteller to take world
consistency into account in order to maintain believability. The rules of a
fictional world must be defined and adhered to so that the audience isn't
overtly reminded that it's a contrivance, and get “bounced out” of the
fantasy. This doesn't mean that the rules need to perfectly match those of
the real world in which we live; they just need to be clear and internally
consistent.
If the rules are different than what the audience would normally expect,
that needs to be established early and clearly. If those rules change over
the course of the experience, there needs to be a believable reason
they've done so.
For an interactive space such as the world of a video game, consistency
is even more important, since the player counts on it to succeed. For ex-
Search WWH ::




Custom Search