Narratology Versus Ludology

An ongoing debate that it is, whether Video Games can only be made successful by its story or by its game-play. Narratologists are adamant that a game requires an engaging story as opposed to meaningless action, whilst Ludologists argue that games are about interactivity first and foremost, and so a successful game is made so by its structure of play and action. This debate applies to, more than any other, quests. How do you create a quest game to incorporate its narrative with the idea of interactive game-play, where the player influences events?

In Quests Jeff Howard writes about a Quest: 'A Journey across a symbolic, fantastic landscape in which the protagonist or player collects objects and talks to characters in order to overcome challenges'. This definition blurs the line between rule-based and narrative game-play. So, it stands to reason that you cannot create an interactive journey without a story to lead it. Literature, mythology, technology and gaming all unite to form interactive and compelling play. 

I believe that it is all ultimately conjoined, to unify meaning and action. Within a quest, meaning includes personal ambition, ideas, benefit to society and spiritual authenticity, as suggested by Howard. There is a reason for every action, dialogue, and strategy - relating back to the story of the game. Symbolism engages the player in the story, creating cognitive activity rather than passive spectating. The way in which a player interprets the narrative of a game determines what action they will then take and consequently change the game accordingly. Lead by a narrative, it is the player who shapes the game. 

Howard states the two arguments by each side. According to narratologists, 'games be analysed as narratives', whilst ludologists counter-argue that 'games should be studied for the features that are distinctively related to play'. These arguments are simultaneously right and wrong, in my opinion, for rules and simulation are nothing without meaning. A game cannot engage a player if there is no motivation for the action. Therefore, games should be analysed for how the incorporate narrative and interactivity together. 

While a game is a set of rules for interactive play, a player also follows a series of events deliberately connected and designed to lead on to each other in time. The player must interact and set these chain of events into effect in order to unfurl further story and game-play. Jesper Juul, an influential games researcher, writes: 'Quests in games can actually provide an interesting type of bridge... [ ] in that games can contain predefined sequences of events that the player then has to actualise or effect'. His statement suggests that the player essentially unlocks the progression of the game's narrative through completing challenges and interacting in the game world. It is seen as 'enactment' when a player plays out an unknowingly predetermined plot. 

A Quest is not what it claims to be if there is no meaning. The term derives from the Latin 'questare', which means to 'seek'. This suggests a goal-orientated search. If you were to analysis an existing quest game, such as the Legend of Zelda (one of the most renowned of modern video games), it is clear that the interaction is meshed with the narrative of the game. Every challenge undertaken within the game is for a reason. In Ocarina of Time, you must collect the three Spiritual Stones in order to reach the Triforce before the Gerudo Thief Ganandorf - whilst this is the narrative, the predefined story the player must follow, the player enacts this by overcoming challenges: defeating monsters, seeking out ultimately helpful objects that aid progression through the game. To move through the game, the player must 'decode the significance of a new object, in relation to the quest', but also ideas and insights with it. 

Howard suggests three main types of meaning in quests: 

'Impact of accomplishments'; how will this shape the path ahead?

'Emotional urgency of backstory'

'Expressive, semantic and thematic meaning'

All of these spark cognitive and interpretative effort to try and discover the meaning of the quest, thus engaging the player in the game's challenges and its story. Moral virtues are introduced, which are predominantly absent in a game lacking narrative. If a player is forced to consider morals and consequences, they begin to interpret the meaning of dialogue and action within the game in their effort to make the right decision in their challenge [which will eventually take them down the narrative path]. Ultimately, a successful Quest game designer has to create the right balance between narrative and game-play. I believe that neither works greatly without the other. A player needs to have a reason to overcome challenges, such as consequential results based on those actions. Is there truly consequence in a game without narrative? And how can the player overcome challenges without interactively shaping the Quest? 

Quests games build the bridge between Ludology and Narratology. In the end, no game is void of narrative. If there is action, only action, then a game is only a meaningless string of events which lead to an ending lacking in achievement or consequence. There is no true engagement. Quest games are neither one nor the other. They are both: an epic story unfurled by the seeking and finding of vital items essential to moving through the predetermined fate of the protagonist. 

Although this discusses Quest games, it is suggested that every game indicates a form of quest in one way or another, so the idealogy of narratives and interactivity working in partnership to create an engaging world with meaningful action can apply to other genres of games too. 

Games such as Halo leave much to be desired. Players spend the majority of their time shooting the living daylights out of enemies, and for what? They are given a mission, but what is the consequence of completing the mission? What is the virtue the player gains out of it, as opposed to the satisfaction of having murdered dozens of enemies in cold blood? The story lacks in meaning, rendering the game monotonous, bland and eventually the type of game which will be left collecting dust on the shelf because it has lost its appeal. You can only get so much enjoyment out of blasting creatures' heads off for so long. In the long run, it would give so much more meaning if there was something deeper for the player/protagonist to fight for.

So the idea that Quest games close the gap between Narratology and Ludology should be taken on board. Every action has some kind of meaning, take human lives for example, so why do so many games lack this? There is a little quest in everything, reason for everything, so video games should overcome the conflict between Narratologists and Ludologists who so deeply oppose each other. I regard that neither is right alone. They are two sides of the same coin, two halves.

Hmm, let's stop the silly bickering as to whose right about what should make a game and work together, eh?

In the battle Narratology Versus Ludology, nobody wins. 

The Emerald Isle

So some time ago now, two companions and I took a short break to Northern Ireland, Belfast in fact. Within those four nights and five days, we crammed in a fair few activities. Traditional Irish pubs, coach excursions to popular landmarks around the coast, a foggy day out at the Zoo and a visit to the Titanic museum (an outing almost foiled by the Queen who, unbeknown to us, was due to visit that very same museum the same day).

I must say the Emerald Isle lives up to its name, especially through some of these photographs which I took over the course of the mini-holiday. Sure, we didn't have the best weather - in fact there were floods nearby - but we made the most of what we were given, and the sun seemed to come out at the perfect moment for taking beautiful pictures of a unmistakably picturesque landscape. 

May I disclaim that these were taken with a rather old camera whose quality rapidly diminishes with each zoom. Considering that, these aren't bad quality really.

Okay, so nearly two months on and I finally get around to showcasing my favourite pieces from the holiday, but at last they are here: 

View from Across the Rope Bridge

En-route Rope Bridge

The Silverback

Otter the Curious

Tiger Spies Lunch

Inside the Titanic Museum

Titanic Quarter - Steps to Nowhere

Skyward Verdict

Given that I've just completed the most recent instalment of the Legend of Zelda series, Skyward Sword, and given that I'm a games design student, I thought I would express my thoughts on the game as a whole, and break it down into sections. I'll be considering a number of different questions from a Games Design student's point of view:

 How good was the level design? 

      Were the puzzles challenging?

          Did the mechanics work well? 

                 Were the characters well thought out? 

                         Was the story well written? 

                                  Better designed than previous instalments?

I'll try to keep it as concise as possible, don't you worry. 

ALSO,  SPOILER ALERT. DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT ANYTHING GIVEN AWAY. 

FIRSTLY, I'm a big Legend of Zelda fan, and the excitement I felt when I heard of the new game last year was immense. About time, I thought, and in the end I was not disappointed. Granted, Skyward Sword took a bit of getting used to. The graphics are somewhere in between the likes of Twilight Princess and Wind Waker, which ultimately makes some characters in particular look too cartoon-like compared to others, let's say Fledge compared against Link. The controls are very different, of course, to Twilight Princess if you played that on the Gamecube - yet make more sense when it comes down to it. Once again, though, you have Link the main hero and Zelda, around whom the story revolves. Zelda goes missing from Skyloft to the surface world, and you must find her. Here the story begins, and onwards the plot unfolds and thickens. 

LEVEL design was one of the best things about this instalment. Whereas older instalments were designed with a much more typical structure (Ocarina of Time: run from Temple to Temple collecting medallions), Skyward Sword was designed with much more variety. Each dungeon was a unique location despite the fact there was only Faron Woods, Eldin Volcano and Lanaryu Desert to visit on the surface world. My favourite was the ship. Clever idea, using 'timeshift stones/orbs' to solve puzzles, and it played out like a ship, right down the boss of the 'dungeon'. So maybe you have to revisit each location about three times, but each visit is completely different. Take Eldin Volcano: upon your third return, the volcano erupts and your taken prisoner by the Bokoblins, with most of your equipment stolen. You have to get it all back. 

I was so impressed with the diversity of the level design in this game, from the Fire Sanctuary to the Ship to the Sky Keep. 

PUZZLES in the game were most certainly challenging. While some were similar to those of other instalments, there were definitely new and more difficult puzzles. Using 'timeshift stones' in the Lanaryu Mining Facility was definitely one that makes you think. Of course, there is the usual, like getting across chasms with the claw-shot. The whole idea of puzzles is to challenge the player and add meaning, particularly in a quest game like LoZ. Everything you do is for reason. You don't just hit a switch to open a door. You hit a switch because you need to activate something that will point you to another puzzle to open a door. It was good to see more innovative puzzles in this instalment. Collecting the Tadtones was perhaps one of the most enjoyable for me. 

THEN comes the mechanics. This game probably has the best mechanics out of all of them. The fact that you can upgrade weapons using treasures is a great way to make players explore the world, because you have to find the treasures. The same applies to enhancing potions for better effects. The beetle is a good weapon, allowing you to scout and look around a large area, and to reach far off objects. Although the bow is a recurring item, the mechanics are definitely more interesting - to shoot the bow you actually have to aim with the remote, draw back the nun-chuck as if drawing the string, hold down C and then let go to hit your target. I had great fun with that. A new mechanic is being able to burrow underground with 'Mogma Digging Mitts'. As a summary of mechanics, they are far more interactive from the players point of view (using the wii remote) and Link's point of view (exploration, talking to NPC's in the game. Well designed mechanics. 

YES, the characters were definitely intriguing. By collecting gratitude crystals, you were encouraged to interact with the NPC's to get them. You learned things about people you wouldn't have thought. And one of the biggest character developments is Groose, another student of the Knight Academy who hates Link and has a crush on Zelda. In the end, he grows out of his childish bullying to help the hero, but all the while his feelings for Zelda are real. There are definitely some funny moments with Groose. Another character development is between Cawlin, Karane and Pipit - basically the hero plays matchmaker in a love triangle. In the meantime you learn that Pipit has a bit of a temper.... Even Link seems to have more expression to him in this game, and you see the relationship between him and Zelda later on in the game. Although character design in places is questionable, they all have heart and personality. 

THE story. Now that was a story, in my opinion. This game shows that games and narratives  can work together, as is debated in the book Quests, which I'm currently reading. Skyward Sword is basically the origin story to most other instalments, if not all. The game plays out how the Master Sword came to exist, the rising of the first Hero, the relevance of the green tunic and Zelda's true nature, and basically leads to the becoming of Hyrule. Link embarks on a journey to save Zelda and the world from being consumed by the Demon King. As you progress, you pursue Zelda and enhance the Skyward Sword with the powers of the Goddesses. The whole story is deep, thoughtful and emotional (for me, especially the moment where they are briefly united), and having played through this, everything else makes sense. It all fits together. 

IN a nutshell, yes, Skyward Sword is definitely the best designed game in my opinion. Although it gets a bit repetitive going back to the same places, it never feels the same when you go back each time. And the amount of bosses it feels like you have to battle is crazy - like the Imprisoned. Three times?! Come on! I hated that battle each time. However Skyward Sword is the best game in the series, with the most heart and importance to it.

I could have rambled for much longer, but I certainly made the effort to keep it as compact and easy to read as possible. 

And that's me done trying to apply my experience of Games Design to a game I absolutely loved. If you read to this point, I commend you, and I hope you visit my blog again.

Nachos
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Escapism

Both art and games are an excellent way of escapism, when it comes down to it. I, for one, am capable of spending hours at a time beating my frustrating at a particularly difficult boss in my favourite game, or in deep concentration creating my next piece of artwork. It helps me to block out the world when I least feel like interacting with it or at my most unsociable moments. Then, given some time, painting something - maybe an out-of-this-world fantasy scene or possibly a fictional creation of my mind engulfing enough to distract my thoughts from an otherwise disheartening, droll day. 

Sometimes it's absolutely necessary to escape from real life for a while, especially when the atmosphere beneath the roof you live is somewhat tense and less than amiable. This, unfortunately, appears to be the case for me and has been over the past eighteen hours. 

I very much need to retreat into my own private world for a little while. So maybe you might see more frequent uploads of art, or maybe none at all if I so choose to immerse myself in video games rather than to take the more artistic route and digitally paint whatever comes to my mind. I'm thinking I'll turn more towards  playing games, especially since I yet have to completely The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. That will certainly keep me busy for hours on end. Of course, games are the kings of procrastination and the bane of productivity - but once in a while productivity can wait in line. After some quiet time. 

Quiet time is good. 

Escapism is something I'm quite adept at, easily able to throw myself mentally out of reality and into a daydream. In a way this is also good for creating a new piece of artwork. The more I daydream, the more ideas that spark strong motivation for a potential piece, ultimately making that piece better quality than it might have been without that random imaginative flare. Take my Winged Wolf in the previous post as an example. I'm not entirely sure where that stemmed from at all, except maybe my love of wolves (those spectacular creatures!). As I've said before, sometimes the less you think about it - when it comes to an initial idea - the better. It gives you so much creative freedom when you get creating and painting, moulding and shaping as you absently built a piece from your mind to paper (in my case a Photoshop canvas). You lose yourself in what you're doing, stroke by stroke, imagining that whatever it may be forming on that blank canvas is real.

Even if you cannot physical evade hardships, you can always indulge yourself in the best thing you can escape to mentally, a haven. For me that's art and that's games. 

Perhaps a somewhat solemn entry, but given the skittishness within these walls, I very much needed to express myself somewhere. Basically I'm probably going to ignore the world for a day or two.

Nachos
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