{"id":2486,"date":"2011-03-03T22:01:47","date_gmt":"2011-03-04T05:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shshatteredmemories.com\/greenvale\/?p=2486"},"modified":"2015-09-07T08:52:51","modified_gmt":"2015-09-07T08:52:51","slug":"swery-at-gdc-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.shshatteredmemories.com\/greenvale\/swery-at-gdc-2011\/","title":{"rendered":"SWERY at GDC 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

Couldn’t go to GDC 2011 to see SWERY talk….neither could I, luckily Gamasutra has provided a nice summary of his talk<\/a>!<\/p>\n

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\"swery\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2010, Deadly Premonition was a surprise hit among players searching for a deep narrative single player game, and went on to win over a dozen end of the year awards from a variety of media outlets (including Gamasutra). At GDC 2011, Deadly Premonition director Hidetaka \u201cSwery\u201d Suehiro, revealed his seven tactics for creating a memorably story that will inspire a strong fan reaction.<\/p>\n

Point 1: Make gamers think about your game when they aren\u2019t playing it.<\/strong>
\nRelate actions in the game to actions players take in real life. \u201cGamers who smoke have said this a lot \u2013 when they see York smoke in the game, they want to light up in their living room,\u201d said Suehiro. \u201cSleeping, Hunger, and Shaving, wanting to stay clean. Though these things seem unnecessary at first glance, they help with the cause and effect.\u201d The goal is to link memories of Deadly Premonition with the player\u2019s actions real world.<\/p>\n

Suehiro says he likes to put daily human needs in the game, because they help affect the player outside the screen. \u201cPlayful elements\u201d like predictions in the coffee, discussing movies lead to players identifying with the characters. \u201cThey\u2019ve also told us they\u2019ve rented one of the movies York talked about in the car,\u201d he said. These things linger in your mind.<\/p>\n

(My Notes: I have to say even after a year I still try and find FK in my coffee and I even checked out Xanadu \ud83d\ude42 )<\/span><\/p>\n

Point 2: Make gamers actively \u201cwant\u201d to play through your meticulously scripted story.<\/strong>
\nBeing forced to play through a tightly-bound storyline is a chore. \u201cThose rails make the player feel like they\u2019re being forced to do something. How do we alleviate that?\u201d he asks. \u201cHow do you make them want to play through it?\u201d<\/p>\n

There are two pre-existing methods; multiple endings, and side quests. DP used a third method \u2013 freedom of timing \u2013 allowing for a \u201cchange of heart\u201d from the player. They can stop whatever quest they\u2019re on at any time, and take another path. It creates the illusion of freedom. \u201cOnce they\u2019re comfortable, they\u2019re more willing to get involved in the story,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In other games, including his previous game Spy Fiction, you get scolded for failure. In Deadly Premonition they wanted the main character, York, to go along with the player when he changes his mind. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly what I was thinking,\u201d is the feeling York gives the player when he or she goes off the rails of the story to pursue their own path. In fact, an important character within the story itself tells the player that timing is what\u2019s important, not speed.<\/p>\n

The goal is to earn the player\u2019s cooperation with the story and suspension of disbelief. To do this, you\u2019ve got to allow for a retry at any time, support the player\u2019s actions 100%, and modify the story to allow for a player\u2019s change of heart. Player feels empowered due to decision being allowed.<\/p>\n

(My Notes:What’s funny is when I first played Deadly Premonition I tried my best not to be late for anything, but I found when I stuck to the game schedule I missed out on a lot of side missions. When I realized I could make my own schedule and basically tell George and Emily….well George mainly to fuck off I had a lot more fun! )<\/span><\/p>\n

Point 3: Creating a storyline for a free-roaming open world game.<\/strong>
\n\u201cWe need to make a universe and characters in our game that are unique,\u201d he says. Vague characters never stick in anyone\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n

When creating a storyline, it\u2019s not uncommon that you\u2019d figure out the map of the game world, and character details after the script for the main plot is complete. In DP they created the high level synopsis, then the map and character details, then made a 24 hour action table for each character\u2019s daily life. Only then did they finalize the plot.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe universe, the environment, and the characters are just as important as the storyline,\u201d he says, especially for a free roaming open world game. \u201cWhen we started making this game many years ago, there weren\u2019t many games with free-roaming storylines that we could refer to,\u201d said Suehiro, and this was the solution they came up with.<\/p>\n

(My Notes: All the characters in Deadly Premonition are pretty memorable. I also like how each have their routine. Even if you are done with the game it’s fun to stalk a character and see what they do in 24 hours. One of my friends followed Michael and Mr. Stewart around with some hilarious results )<\/span><\/p>\n