Quote: Original post by VanceXT
#2: Noone, with the possible exception of Will Wright, has figured out how to mesh emotional depth and gameplay.

I definately have to retract this statement. The game I just finished not five minutes ago, ICO, created an amazing synergy of emotional depth and gameplay. I'm quite honestly blown away.

I just started playing ICO for the first time and I was immediately captivated by the emotional depth of holding the little girl's hand. It instills this true feeling of wanting to protect this girl as if she was my daughter or my little sister. Just reaching for her little hands to save her from the darkness and the nightmares. It is such a simplistic mechanic drawing from the basic human need to touch. Essentially the little girl is a key. You need this key but it cant be carried so easily and you must guard this key because it is your only way out. This is what I got from it this far and I just started playing :) Really great game. Emotionally, Visually, and Mechanically appealing.

Quote: Original post by adventuredesign
I firmly believe we are going to have to program more and more tightly constructed contexts of emotional response and action/reaction into our NPC's and objects and other entities if our players are going to do in games what is another part of good fun, playing a supporting role and watching a scenario succeed because you helped, but were not the most important character in scene.

We all know how to be a good supporter, and, that can make for some interesting gameplay possibilities, freeing up designers from having to make UberOmnipotentChallengeDesign every step of every level, exhausing the player through overuse of only one set of emotional response, fight or flight. MMORPG's make fight or flight a gangfight, and don't do much except temper the emotional fear and replace it with cameraderie communitizing.

This is an interesting idea that hasn't really been tackled before. Fight or flight are definately about the only emotional responses players have to make in most games (in fact, in most cases it's just fight, as flight is not an option.) Furthermore, the emotional impact of even that simple choice (fear and overcoming it) is often killed by quicksave.

The main problem with breaking this mold, is that with limited coding resources, you can only make so many methods of gameplay sophisticated enough to be enjoyable. I assume that making one fully fleshed out "fight or flight" gameplay structure (such as in Ninja Gaiden) to stretch through the entire game is about the limit of what current development resources can do.

Opinion?

Will: Haha, keep playing bro. =) You have absolutely no idea how attached to that little girl you are until you hit the last 45 minutes of the game. Whatever you do, make sure you finish it. I'd like to hear what you think of the ending.

In reading this topic, I began to re evaluate all the games that I have played during my life(I'm the nintendo generation, so I'm 23 and grew up with that as my first experience in gaming) What games were adult games? Other than the obvious ones with extreme violence, sex, or cursing. Does it all draw from gameplay? Or is it really derived from the storyline? Or is it derived from the ideas and feelings you take from it? Or maybe just the combination of all these factors?What about games that are deemed kiddy games? what keeps Mario from being an adult game? You have someone close to you kidnapped and you would do anything to save them. That has some emotional depth. As far as gameplay goes you could say that mushrooms mirror something that is empowering in real life and by eating these mushrooms, you are able to cope and eventually overcome adversity and the act of jumping is paralled to the real life meaning of jumping over obstacles. Mario is not the typical hero. He is short, plump, and a plumber and not the handsome prince that we see so often replicated in actual children's books. He is courageous and daring, but I think mainly out of necessity. He is pretty ordinary [aside from his jumping prowess :) ] and could possibly be someone to identify with as a character.So Symbolically it could be said that Mario is an adult game. Through this use of symbolism and metaphor it can be a parallel to real life. I think over the years Nintendo has molded Mario to be this mass market, lovable, cute character like mickey mouse. As Mario became older, his heart grew younger essentially.

VanceXT: yea I cant wait to find out! I love ICO and wish I would have gotten it alot sooner. Kinda the same way I felt when I first played Planescape:torment.

To everyone:Play these games! Make a difference in the life of your controller!

If you are looking for a real 3d smooth animated XXX game
take a glimpse at Moonlight Theatre.


[Edited by - Fritzcat on June 28, 2004 7:57:34 AM]