Post by xtjmac510x on Mar 17, 2014 23:01:20 GMT -5
At GDC today, a number of speeches were given. Ubisoft gave a speech stating that games don't need to be "fun" to give the player an experience. But the biggest speech with the most talking points came from a speech by Riot Games (League of Legends) Tom Abernathy and Microsoft Studios' Design Lead Richard Rouse III entitled "Death to the Three-Act Structure."
First they talked about plot in games:
"Players really hardly remember the plots of the games that they play. When they were asked, ‘tell me the plot of your favorite movie,’ they did it at length, and very accurately. When they were asked, ‘tell me the plot of your favorite TV show,’ they did it at length, and very accurately. ‘Tell me the plot of your favorite game.’ Not so much at length, not so accurate. Game characters were consistently remembered, but not necessarily for their role in the plot. So the question is, how much does the third act pay off, that you’re putting so much work into, as you’re trying to structure your plot, intricately. How much does that matter, when the fact is that a majority of your players are never even going to see it? In games, plot is highly overrated… Players don’t remember plot. What they do remember, is they remember characters."
Then they brought up how a majority of players don't actually finish the games they play:
"Statistically, most players don’t finish games. We’ve all seen numbers that say something like a third [do finish games], on average." They then added this chart of completion levels for most gamers:
The Walking Dead: Season 1, Episode 1 - 66%
Mass Effect 2 - 56%
BioShock Infinite - 53%
Batman: Arkham City - 47%
Portal - 47%
Mass Effect 3 - 42%
The Walking Dead: Season 1, Episode 5 - 39%
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - 32%
Borderlands 2 - 30%
What are your thoughts on these statements? Is plot relevant to gaming? Does finishing a game matter? I want to hear a discussion.
First they talked about plot in games:
"Players really hardly remember the plots of the games that they play. When they were asked, ‘tell me the plot of your favorite movie,’ they did it at length, and very accurately. When they were asked, ‘tell me the plot of your favorite TV show,’ they did it at length, and very accurately. ‘Tell me the plot of your favorite game.’ Not so much at length, not so accurate. Game characters were consistently remembered, but not necessarily for their role in the plot. So the question is, how much does the third act pay off, that you’re putting so much work into, as you’re trying to structure your plot, intricately. How much does that matter, when the fact is that a majority of your players are never even going to see it? In games, plot is highly overrated… Players don’t remember plot. What they do remember, is they remember characters."
Then they brought up how a majority of players don't actually finish the games they play:
"Statistically, most players don’t finish games. We’ve all seen numbers that say something like a third [do finish games], on average." They then added this chart of completion levels for most gamers:
The Walking Dead: Season 1, Episode 1 - 66%
Mass Effect 2 - 56%
BioShock Infinite - 53%
Batman: Arkham City - 47%
Portal - 47%
Mass Effect 3 - 42%
The Walking Dead: Season 1, Episode 5 - 39%
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - 32%
Borderlands 2 - 30%
What are your thoughts on these statements? Is plot relevant to gaming? Does finishing a game matter? I want to hear a discussion.