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I think a big problem of modern AAA games is that they want to be movies.
Take The Last of Us, for instance. It often is called one of the greatest video games of all time. It has a great tension & narrative, but mechanically speaking? It's just really not that interesting.
Take The Last of Us, for instance. It often is called one of the greatest video games of all time. It has a great tension & narrative, but mechanically speaking? It's just really not that interesting.
When you hear someone talk about The Last of Us, you the praise is always the story, the characters, the music, the graphics. I rarely ever hear anyone talk about how great the gameplay is. And that's because it really isn't great gameplay.
It's just a third-person shooter.
It's just a third-person shooter.
The most gameplay focused discussion I've seen about The Last of Us was done by Game Maker's Toolkit about the level design. And what stuck out to me was that the level designer's two big gameplay moments there were getting to climb & jump off a dino & keeping a quick time event.
Like, I'm glad that designer fought to keep the QTE in as opposed to just having the scene play out as a cut scene, because he was right when it said it gave the player investment.
But dear goodness does it feel silly to talk about something as small & uninteresting as that.
But dear goodness does it feel silly to talk about something as small & uninteresting as that.
QTEs are, on the whole, the excusable cut scene. Sure you're there & being asked to press a button, but it's basically being asked to press "continue to play the scene" without any input as to how the scene unfolds. It's like when Netflix asks if you're still watching a show.
In terms of immersive gameplay, it barely counts.
Mass Effect did way better by offering multiple (gasp) choices during QTEs. Even The Walking Dead did better at this with its timer.
If these other games have better gameplay, when then is The Last of Us so heartily lauded.
Mass Effect did way better by offering multiple (gasp) choices during QTEs. Even The Walking Dead did better at this with its timer.
If these other games have better gameplay, when then is The Last of Us so heartily lauded.
Because, I'd argue, AAA companies don't want to make games.
They want to make movies that you can play.
And... that's pretty clear once you sort of look at titles like The Last of Us.
Even games with a lot of mechanical variance like Red Dead Redemption II have this issue.
They want to make movies that you can play.
And... that's pretty clear once you sort of look at titles like The Last of Us.
Even games with a lot of mechanical variance like Red Dead Redemption II have this issue.
RDR2 actually suffers from a quite opposite problem that TLoU does.
Where TLoU's gameplay is that of a fairly tight shooter with very light puzzle solving, RD2 is a shooter & also heavy reality simulator. It's burdened by an overabundance of "immersive & realistic" gameplay.
Where TLoU's gameplay is that of a fairly tight shooter with very light puzzle solving, RD2 is a shooter & also heavy reality simulator. It's burdened by an overabundance of "immersive & realistic" gameplay.
Every page turned, every object examined, every footstep, every weapon, every interaction, it's all some new, unique, specific style of interacting.
And many people hate that about RDR2. People griping about crafting in Animal Crossing have nothing on notching bullets in RDR2.
And many people hate that about RDR2. People griping about crafting in Animal Crossing have nothing on notching bullets in RDR2.
Where TLoU seeks to embody the shooter as an approachable cinematic experience, RDR2 gets weighed down in trying to make itself as immersive as possible.
And it loses what immersive really means. If you have to constantly remember how to navigate menus, that takes you out of it.
And it loses what immersive really means. If you have to constantly remember how to navigate menus, that takes you out of it.
One of the most immersive games I've ever played is also a game with some of the simplest mechanics I've ever encountered:
Journey.
But to talk about that, we have to first talk about "verbs" in game design. Verbs are, simply put, controller inputs. And Journey has very few.
Journey.
But to talk about that, we have to first talk about "verbs" in game design. Verbs are, simply put, controller inputs. And Journey has very few.
Let's compare so we understand.
In TLoU, there are 14 unique inputs that can be done to interact with the game world. Not too shabby.
In RDR2, there's 41 & half of them are multiple button inputs. See why it can overwhelm?
But Journey?
Journey only has 7, and that's all.
In TLoU, there are 14 unique inputs that can be done to interact with the game world. Not too shabby.
In RDR2, there's 41 & half of them are multiple button inputs. See why it can overwhelm?
But Journey?
Journey only has 7, and that's all.
There's move the stick, move the camera, sing, fly, sit, the start menu, and the options menu.
That's it.
But there's also what are called versatile verbs, which are inputs that - depending on how hard a button is pressed or how long - can change some things. Journey has those.
That's it.
But there's also what are called versatile verbs, which are inputs that - depending on how hard a button is pressed or how long - can change some things. Journey has those.
But they're not the sort of versatility that you'd find in, say, a Mario game.
In Mario, if you time your inputs correctly, you can do things like perform a triple jump, or cancel a ground pound.
Journey's versatility is more like fly longer, or sing harder. It's simple.
In Mario, if you time your inputs correctly, you can do things like perform a triple jump, or cancel a ground pound.
Journey's versatility is more like fly longer, or sing harder. It's simple.
And yet?
Even with that simplicity?
Even without the game ever saying a line of dialogue?
Even without a AAA budget to make realistic characters?
Journey is more immersive to me than either TLoU or RDR2 ever was.
Because it sucks the player in with immersive gameplay.
Even with that simplicity?
Even without the game ever saying a line of dialogue?
Even without a AAA budget to make realistic characters?
Journey is more immersive to me than either TLoU or RDR2 ever was.
Because it sucks the player in with immersive gameplay.
It gives you a journey. You see the mountain, you go to it. That's your one main objective. And there are minor ones scattered about.
TLoU does this too, with more mission variance. RDR2, in Rockstar style, throws the whole buffet at you. But neither games do it like Journey.
TLoU does this too, with more mission variance. RDR2, in Rockstar style, throws the whole buffet at you. But neither games do it like Journey.
When I played TLoU, I played as Joel. And part of the game's beauty is realizing you are a different person than Joel is.
Same with RDR2.
But with Journey... man, I was that character.
When I load up the game, I am the robed wayfarer, and I've earned my white robes as well.
Same with RDR2.
But with Journey... man, I was that character.
When I load up the game, I am the robed wayfarer, and I've earned my white robes as well.
And Journey isn't even the only game to do this for me!
In Ocarina of Time? I was that Link. In Mass Effect, that Shepherd is some reflection of myself in that world. Even Mario feels closer to my sense of self, my sense of accomplishment, than either Joel or Arthur Morgan were.
In Ocarina of Time? I was that Link. In Mass Effect, that Shepherd is some reflection of myself in that world. Even Mario feels closer to my sense of self, my sense of accomplishment, than either Joel or Arthur Morgan were.
Because ultimately, the stories of Joel & Arthur could easily be on the silver screen.
Would we lose some of the connection? Sure. Video games feel different from films by the nature of their mediums.
But would we really lose that much?
I'd argue ultimately, we wouldn't.
Would we lose some of the connection? Sure. Video games feel different from films by the nature of their mediums.
But would we really lose that much?
I'd argue ultimately, we wouldn't.
And this is not to say that games like those games aren't games. I am by no means saying that TLoU & RDR2 should just marry films if they wanna be them so bad lol.
There are games with even less gameplay than Journey that are still good games, like a vast amount of Light Novels.
There are games with even less gameplay than Journey that are still good games, like a vast amount of Light Novels.
Gaming is a spectrum, and I think there is a real argument to be made for having more film-like games be made.
But the issue for me is that AAA doesn't seem to want to make film-LIKE games.
They want to just make films.
And that is a fundamental difference in creating them.
But the issue for me is that AAA doesn't seem to want to make film-LIKE games.
They want to just make films.
And that is a fundamental difference in creating them.
Because when you make a film-like game, something that's akin to Star Wars, you make Mass Effect. Mass Effect is not a game you don't have to play to understand. There are mechanical & narrative choices that can only be solved in gameplay. It's still pretty linear, but yeah.
But by comparison, what would we really lose, gameplay wise, if The Last of Us had just been a film?
In Mass Effect, we'd lose choosing romance, character development, class specialization, major plot points, especially in the last game.
But what's lost from The Last of Us?
In Mass Effect, we'd lose choosing romance, character development, class specialization, major plot points, especially in the last game.
But what's lost from The Last of Us?
And this is the part where I tell you I've never played The Last of Us except as a demo.
And it played like a good shooter. But it's story and graphics and soundscape was impressive.
And I like watching it! It's a great story. But I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.
And it played like a good shooter. But it's story and graphics and soundscape was impressive.
And I like watching it! It's a great story. But I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.
I can watch The Last of Us like a movie & not yearn for any of the gameplay, because it's gameplay I've played before.
And that's kinda sad.
But that's the issue I have.
And I hope AAA remembers that they're making games. Because something is lost when they try to make films.
And that's kinda sad.
But that's the issue I have.
And I hope AAA remembers that they're making games. Because something is lost when they try to make films.
