Darkstorne;‪243992371‬ said:
I don't think there's an expectation for the player to completely role play into the story, because the developers go out of their way to encourage players to act however they like within the game.
If the player is presented with a particular character to play, isn't there an implicit expectation - and forgive the circular reasoning here - that character is who the player is playing...? Did that make sense?
Also, I don't think GTA, for example, explicitly states in game to "GO NUTS", it's simply part of the baggage that genre carries, y'know? Most, if not all, of the missions are given sufficient narrative set-up. Whether they're convincing or not is another issue entirely.
I think what I am getting at is this: the player could (arguably) be considered a primary agent of ludo-narrative dissonances in an open world game if they decide to act out of character. Games are a dialogue, after all; so there has to be at least some responsibility on the part of the player, surely?
Say I play as the character as written, and someone else doesnt, I wont experience LD, but the other player would. The game is the same; our actions are different. Where does the guilt lie: in the game or the player?
Its an interesting gray area, I think.
But yeah, a game that fluidly adapts a narrative around player actions is the Holy Grail. No idea how that would work though.
Darkstorne;‪243992371‬ said:
It's enough of a hand wave for player skill to be lacking in the early game, but I think the main issue of LND isn't in temporary situations like this where the player is getting to grips with the game, but when the player is able to engage in gameplay activities throughout the entire game that contradict with the core narrative.
Some people never get any better though!
Well, it's just an example.
As I said, games are a dialogue with the player. The one thing they have over other mediums is how well they facilitate that two-way discussion.
Not to labour my point, but if the game offers you freedom, but narratively (not mechanically) restricts that freedom by presenting you with a defined character, LD only occurs when the player breaks character, doesn't it? In these open-world games, is LD about the potentiality of dissonance or something more concrete?
Darkstorne;‪243992371‬ said:
Completely agree, and exactly why Mirror's Edge made me so depressed. Those guys DID create an imaginative and highly engaging non-combat gameplay mechanic, but still thought it wouldn't sell unless they also forced combat and guns into the game as well. I really do wish we could check out an alternate reality where Mirror's Edge was 100% parkour, without excessive violence and shooting, and see if focusing on that strength led to better sales and critical reception.
I'm very excited to see what Ken Levine has been up to since Bioshock Infinite as well, since he spoke so much about trying to create gameplay mechanics focused on dynamic dialogue and story, which is exactly where games need to be experimenting right now imo.
Ooo! I might be able to get my dream Hellblazer game!