realism
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Philosony: Yea, though I walk through the uncanny valley...
I wrote a few weeks back about the uncanny valley and Hideo Kojima's possibly telling observation that war machines of the future may exploit the creepiness of robotic simulations to instill fear in their prey. I want to turn my attention now to a discussion of the valley as it applies more directly to us as gamers - overcoming the creepiness of computer generated people. Quantic Dream has already boasted of successfully traversing the valley with its upcoming (and secretly acclaimed) PS3 exclusive Heavy Rain. While realistic graphics are one thing (and it's up to interpretation whether they succeeded in the tech demo almost two years ago), is there more to escaping the valley than mere realistic modeling?
The Daily Grind: Stylized or realistic graphics?
World of Warcraft is probably the best known example of a game whose graphics don't strive for realism, but instead have a cartoony, colorful look. It is sometimes criticized for being unrealistic (or even 'childish'), but this arguably misses the point. A cartoonish style allows boundaries to be stretched, making for stylised, expressive landscapes, buildings and creatures, as well as armor and weapon designs that would otherwise be merely absurd. Fantasy doesn't have to be realistic. WAR also seems to be going down this path.On the other side, we have games that strive for a realistic look, rather than a cartoonish one: the highly detailed drifts of garbage that litter the City of Villains, the gleaming interstellar behemoths of Eve, and in the fantasy genre, the gushing gore and rippling thews of Age of Conan. Attempting a realistic look can be more immersive, but it can also be harder to engage the player emotionally, not to mention being costly on graphics resources.Which do you prefer? Do you want your MMOs to look like games, without trying to appear realistic? Or do you disdain the more cartoony styles in favor of realism and detail?
The Daily Grind: Realism in MMOs ... good or bad?
When you hear the word "realistic" as it's applied to graphics and/or gameplay, do you cheer or wince? World of Warcraft, Mabinogi, Hello Kitty Online -- these are all titles that make a fantastical graphics aesthetic work well for them. At the same time, Age of Conan, Guild Wars, Tabula Rasa -- these games make a good showing of a more "realistic" style, and people seem to like it.Then again, there's "realistic" taken to an extreme; we're thinking of the way The Sims makes you exercise, eat, sleep, excrete, etc. Now, while The Sims is of course not an MMO, do we want that sort of thing in our fantasy worlds? Does realism attract more people than surrealism? Could you take currently realistic/cartoony games and switch the aesthetic around and make it all better?
The Gaming Iconoclast: Whither Shortcomings?
Many MMO aficionados cut their roleplaying teeth on one of the many pencil-and-paper titles that formed the early generation of multi-player gaming. In addition to rolling (and rolling, and rolling, and rolling) some dice to come up with their basic stats and traits, character generation involved a lot of "wet work" when it came time to acquire skills. Often, players would bargain with their Game Master to get special dispensation for pushing the envelope.Player: I want to run this adventure as a zombie elf with three arms.GM: Okay, but if you do that, none of the other characters will trust you. Also, you will spend 50% more on shirts and body armor. Still want to do it?Thus, the mechanic of trading character flaws for enhanced abilities was born. One of the hallmarks of tabletop gaming is this trade-off -- saddling yourself or your character with a shortcoming in order to obtain an advantage elsewhere, either as a skill, or a talent, or just another way to go about Min/Maxing. The huge number of available options in some games (Vampire: The Masquerade, for instance) ensures that any player, with only a few minutes' consideration, will have an almost absolutely unique character, fully their own creation.And yet, almost without exception, the online iterations we all enjoy seem to have omitted this altogether. We are an immense legion of perfectly-formed, mentally-stable, socially-adept übermensch. Even the so-called "ugly" races -- World of Warcraft's Forsaken or Tabula Rasa'sHybrids -- don't explore the depth and breadth of this concept too deeply. Racial traits and differentiation are the merest tip of this particular iceberg.Why does this rich milieu, this fecund ground of roleplay fodder and character diversity, languish? (And who left this thesaurus on my desk?)
Behind the Curtain: Less realism, please
One cry I hear a lot during my travels is that we need more realism in MMOs. Greater realism, I have heard it argued, will give a greater sense of immersion, a sense of belonging somewhere, and would make it easier for people who are traditionally non-gamers to join in with us, the enlightened ones – a 'realistic' MMO, I've been told, would be the MMO for people who normally avoid MMOs. I wonder if people use 'realism' where they really mean 'detail'. I don't want too much realism in my MMOs – imagine Orgrimmar with a 'realistic' downtown area that your character refused to enter after dark? If Shattrath was made more realistic, the Lower City would be rife with dysentery – just how many toilets have you counted down there?
DS Daily: Realism and the DS audience
Do you think there's no place for realistic games on the DS? It seems that some people do; when we spoke with Rob Hawkey, Game Director at Deep Fried Entertainment, in regard to MLB 2K8 Fantasy All-Stars, he seemed to think that realism is a recipe for failure when it comes to the handheld's audience. But, really, when has it been tried? For every Brothers in Arms or FIFA Soccer 08, we've got ten games like Elite Beat Agents, Phoenix Wright, and every Mario-themed game ever. This isn't to say we prefer one style over another -- it just means we have more of the latter to choose from, so we choose 'em. Maybe we're over-generalizing. Here's what he said: "When you look at the most successful titles on the DS they tend to be titles that have experimented with new ways of engaging the user, rather than titles that rely solely on the strength of a license or established form of gameplay." And that's largely true, but it doesn't mean we wouldn't also appreciate games that strive for a realistic approach while utilizing the unique strengths of the DS. We appreciate that Deep Fried is trying to give us something unique rather than a port with Fantasy All-Stars; we'd rather see more emaciated, warped ballplayers and fewer half-assed Madden games, frankly. But it would also be interesting to see people not equating "unique" and "experimental" with "bright" and "cartoony." But maybe it's just us.
The Daily Grind: Cartoony or Photorealistic?
As far as artistic game development goes, there appear to be 2 schools of thought: Expressionistic aesthetics allow the designers to better portray emotional states, or heighten the absurdity/drama of a moment; photorealism lets players immerse themselves more readily into a world that might be unfamiliar to them, and generates a stronger feeling of verisimilitude. Of course, your mileage may vary, but in general, these modes of thought hold.When it comes to MMOs, where an overarching story frequently takes a backseat to game mechanics, which style provides a better experience? Would WoW benefit from an overhaul of its graphics, making things more realistic-looking? Would EVE Online become a completely different game if everything were cel-shaded and anime-like?
Age of Conan artwork for your drooling pleasure
To follow our earlier post about the Age of Conan press event, here is a Gallery full of artwork given to us by the AoC artists themselves. We're talking screenshots, renders, and concept art, all of which look outstanding. It's clear that one of the mandates for the art direction was to go for a core of realism in all things, from building design to creature physiognomy. Certainly the fantastical elements are in force, but they're tempered by a solid aesthetic that really appeals to those who aren't into the cartoony, oversaturated palette of World of Warcraft and the like. And, in fact, I'd be willing to bet that the artists took some inspiration directly from the pulp novels themselves. There's an almost indefinable quality here that hearkens back to those great old covers. This is a well-executed strategy that will keep players fully immersed in the world, and it's all absolutely gorgeous. Without further ado, have at it!%Gallery-11743%
Draenei skin, or seeing Azeroth through all five senses
I love the question that juliamarcela over on Livejournal asks: What does Draenei skin feel like? Obviously Tauren are hairy cows, and almost all the other races are more or less Human (even if the color is a little different). But the Draenei are completely alien. Sure, they're probably not scaly or slimy, but it probably feels different than most skin we know. I like julia's suggestion, too: like shark skin.And I think I like that question so much because it brings Azeroth alive for our senses. What do mana potions really taste like? What does Shadowmoon Valley smell like? The prairie in Nagrand is probably a little firmer under your feet than the lands of Azeroth (considering it's just rock down there), but Swamp of Sorrows is probably a muddy mess to get through. And what does it feel like when you actually pass through the Dark Portal-- do you get to watch that scene from Stargate as you fly through the stars?I'm known to DM a D&D game on occasion, and I can tell you that there's no better way to bring a fictional setting to life than to imagine it through all of your five senses. From Draenei skin to what surely is a hot sulfur smell drifting through the Burning Steppes, I find it extremely interesting to think of what being in Azeroth would really be like.
Making Virtual Worlds More Lifelike
Researchers at PARC have spent the past three years studying the social aspects of MMO's, and have come to some interesting conclusions. In their minds, making the games better places to socialize and interact with others could mean an improved bottom line for the game developers - even though they may not realize it. From the article: "When faced with the decision, 'Do I put in another dungeon or do I improve the experience for (groups of players)?'" said Ducheneaut, publishers often say "'I'll put in another dungeon.' I think that's incredibly shortsighted."So what do you think - do these researchers have a point, or do you prefer the development cycle as it is?
