A brief task that was set after the lecture was to look at a game in regards to:
What is the relationship between the main character and the goal?
Why does the character care about it?
Dead Rising 2
The main character, Chuck Greene, has two or three separate goals throughout the narrative: To give Katey Zombrex every 12 hours, to escape from the Zombie infested Fortune City in 3 days and finally to discover the truth of the outbreak.The relationships between the main character and the goals within the game are closely tied to why he cares about them.
Katey Zombrex: Katey is Chuck’s Daughter and therein his relationship with the goal of giving her Zombrex – a rare, expensive and hard to find medicine every 12 hours. Why he cares stems from this. If he does not give his daughter Zombrex then she will become a zombie and essentially die so his unconditional love for his daughter keeps him driven for the goal of keeping her in medicine.
Escaping from the Zombie infested Fortune City: His relationship with the goal, to escape is simply that he and his daughter are currently inhabitants within the city. He cares about achieving this goal because the city is full of dangerous elements – be it Zombies, Psychos and other outside factions like the military. If he stays with his daughter in fortune city, both of them are in a constant state of mortal peril so to get the two of them to a safer location is ultimately his aim. This can only be achieved by escaping the city.
Discovering the truth of the outbreak:The outbreaks cause was essentially fabricated – with Chuck being framed for its cause, essentially creating the relationship between the two otherwise un-interacting elements of narrative. The character Chuck cares about discovering the truth because he needs to clear his name or he and his daughter will forever be hunted for a crime he didn’t commit. If he had not been framed it would not be likely that he would care much for discovering the truth of the outbreak, as he only cares about the safety of his daughter.
Dead Rising
Frank West has two goals in Dead Rising. Reach the Helipad at 12pm on his third day at Willamette Mall and discover the truth of the Willamette Outbreak. His relationship between the two goals is ultimately formed from his current position as an inhabitant of Willamette Mall.
The character cares for discovering the truth of the outbreak due to his career as a freelance journalist. Should he uncover the truth of what is happening at Willamette then it could make him a name in the outside world as a journalist – in addition to the monetary benefits of being the sole person with the ‘scoop’. Reaching the Helipad for Frank is reaching safety as his helicopter pilot will fly him out of the Zombie infested area at the end of the three days but only at that time. Without the helicopter evacuation, Frank would essentially be trapped in Willamette due to the military presence outside of the town.
Both of his reasons for caring about the goals are about his own life, be it the promise of riches and prestige in his career, or about surviving the Zombie Outbreak and escaping.
My Game Concept:
What is the relationship between the main character and the goal?
The main characters goal is to solve the mystery that was set to free himself from the game of Zork. His relationship is that he is a “player” of this game.
Why does the character care about it?
If he does not achieve his goal he will be killed, either by the bombs set up in the “dungeon” or by “The Dungeon Master” so ultimately why he cares is derived from his will and want to survive – nothing more or less. The character might begin to care for the sake of other NPC’s dependant on the player as he has the power to save everyone, but they are essentially all strangers so this is not the driving force behind his actions although he might not be the type to just let people die.
(In the antagonistic ending, the main character does not care about the goal – he is a twisted individual who only cares for experiencing the thrill of the game and is toying with all of the players/ wardens for the sake of his own satisfaction – which makes his personal goal that, getting enjoyment from the game: Zork. Still for the sake of play his goal would remain to free himself until the ending activates at the final stage of play.)
The medium of video game delivers something all other fictional media strive for – an immersive experience, whether it is exploring the vast icy landscapes of Lost Planet or striving for success in the competitive Mario Kart environment. But what makes these worlds so immersive and what techniques can be applied to ensure this?
One aspect of the world we live in was brought up in a lecture – Theme Parks. Theme Parks may seem far removed from the virtual worlds of video games, but in essence they both work for the same goal – creating not only a location but an experience. Theme parks often utilise well placed signifiers to aid in this, throughout the park and around the rides themselves.
An example of this is the Saw Maze at Thorpe Park. From the outside, the ride is located within a building which has been disguised as an abandoned warehouse hanging precariously over the water. In front of this building, the queue stems out, entirely surrounded by tall chain fencing and rusted out objects. Slightly above this, there were numerous speakers which played various audio tracks of both the audience’s visual and audio senses are being attended to by the rides signifiers; the chain fencing meaning to create connotations of being trapped and in a difficult situation, while rusted out objects bring thoughts of disrepair and lack of human contact – both of which would be side effects of being in a reclusive area. The audio accompaniment and the location further encapsulate the audience in a small but unexplained narrative world.
Unlike a video game which is tailored entirely for a singular coherent world, a theme park has many rides, most of which offer a loose narrative, all having to be able to operate separately from each other. Another completely contrasting world within the Thorpe Park “world” would be Colossus – which hints at an unexplored land. The queue is filled with rich and overgrowing foliage, while booming dramatic ambient sounds are played on repeat over the hidden speakers. The queue continues with dark cobweb filled tunnels and twisting tracks. Even the barriers are simple rope and wood low fencing. Again these signifiers are working to deliver the concept of being in a land barely touched by man (hence the uncontrolled foliage) – while the music acts to build the tension of ‘exploring’. Of course in this scenario the signifiers from the Saw Maze would be completely out of place within the confines of colossus and vice versa. How could a land untouched by man be enclosed by a restricting and industrial fence?
It is clear that signifiers are very much a large part of the experience of a theme park – and can often be very blatant and stereotypical. A futuristic ride will no doubt have smooth, metallic features and classic science fiction tones while a horror ride will often feature a decrepit mansion, dead trees and cemeteries. The audience will know exactly how to distinguish each ride from another by its signifiers and what to expect. The same is very much true for video games. Every video game has to utilise signifiers to draw the player into the world. For example in the video game “Fallout: New Vegas” Bethesda aims to convey a futuristic yet 1950 inspired universe that also brings the ideas of post nuclear apocalypse and the real life location of Las Vegas. To successfully do this they include numerous signifiers throughout the game for each different theme that they wish to include:
Fallout New Vegas - a game with many themes and many more signifiers
1950: Pip Boy and propaganda posters. Music, clothing, housing style, ideals and lifestyle
Nuclear Post Apocalypse:Warring factions, Bandits, Radiation poisoning, mutated animals, ‘Vaults’, wastelands, lack of food/ water, destroyed buildings and objects
Las Vegas: Poker Chips, Casinos, Neon Lights, “The strip”, seedy businesses, gambling
Bethesda has to combine all of the above elements to completely draw the player into their intended themes because if the player does not understand/ believe the coherence of the themes within the game, their suspension of disbelief will be affected.
One of the ideas discussed recently was the concept of linear and nonlinear storytelling.
Linear storytelling is that where there is a set path that is never deviated from in relation to the narrative. It is the most frequent technique used in the medium of storytelling, be it film, games, comics or novels. Linear storytelling gives the writer complete control of the happenings within the world that they have created. From the characters that their audience will meet/ interact with to the dramatic arc of happenings, a linear narrative is often chosen over non-linear storytelling because the audience’s attachment to the plot can be effectively controlled by the author.
An example of Linear Storytelling would be the film Star Wars. In the film, Luke Skywalker will get tangled into an intergalactic battle with the character Darth Vader, witnessing the Death of his mentor Obi Wan Kenobi before vanquishing the evil Emperor in the final film of the series. Those events are plotted by George Lucas and delivered at perfect points to illicit responses from the audience. But what if Obi Wan could have been saved? or Luke could have joined “the Dark Side” at the end of the film, ending the series with a much darker conclusion? Well this is what is explored by a non-linear narrative.
Non Linear narrative is a much more complex form of storytelling and is very rarely executed in any medium. In a non-linear narrative, the control of events is almost entirely dictated by the audience as they have the freedom to move within the confines of the author’s world. The freedom this gives the audience is a double-edged sword for the writer because it makes the narrative very difficult to craft in such a way that can illicit the same emotional responses that are delivered in the entirely controlled confines of a linear narrative. This does not mean that Non-Linear narrative is not a plausible technique – in fact two video games have received critical acclaim for presenting a non-linear narrative to gamers: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Bioware, 2003) and 9 hours, 9 Doors and 9 Persons (Aksys games, 2009)
Star Wars: Knights of the old republic placed the character into the role of a new military cadet. The player created and named their own character – deciding how they fight, talk and deal with elements within the world before setting off into the game.During the game, players can approach most events with a flexible nature. Would they negotiate past the rough looking gangster on the door or end up in a brawl? This would then spill out into the story at points; for example if they have fought with the gangster it might result in the player being barred entrance to the area, or for members of that gang to attack the player later. Or even conversely someone may approach the player about similar jobs in the area or congratulate them on killing such a horrible person. The player essentially provokes responses from the game by exploring choices.
One of the most unique decisions that effected the narrative, and also highlights how flexible a non-linear narrative can be, was when as a player you could choose to side with one of your team-mates Bastila who had become a Sith apprentice, or confront her and continue the flow of narrative thus far (saving the universe against the Sith). If the player choses to join her, they do just that. The team-mates that accompany continue their roles and in turn choose to attack both the protagonist (turned antagonist) and Bastila. This scenario is the most dramatic example of non-linear narrative that I can personally think of because it results in the death of several key non playable characters that the player may have spent up to twenty hours of gameplay interacting with them previously.
The other game that I mentioned as an example: 9 Hours, 9 Doors and 9 Persons (999), also highlights both the complexity and effects of a Non Linear Narrative.
Unlike the completely free nature of character building in Knights of the Old Republic, 999 places the player into the role of Junpei – a seemingly normal young man who has awoken on a rapidly sinking ship. He must work together with eight other individuals to escape the ship by progressing through numbered doors and solving the puzzles inside. Now on the surface this scenario could be linear – Junpei could be involved in every door and talk with every character but this is far from the case. In 999 Junpei can only move through certain doors each time and talk with certain characters. Unlike most narratives which move with the protagonist, this one progresses without Junpei at points (if there are two doors, Junpei will progress through one with several individuals while the rest will move through the other door). But it is the manner in which this story is crafted which is the most interesting aspect to its non-linear nature.
During the plot, certain characters will do certain actions each game and by viewing this from different angles and allowing those characters certain freedoms, it can result in vastly different outcomes. One example:
If Junpei progresses through certain doors, he might end up paired with a girl called Clover. This girl’s brother ‘Snake’ was killed earlier in the game by a mystery person/ persons. After this event the girl becomes more and more unresponsive. In one play through, if the player interacts with Clover in certain ways, she will be much more open and trusting of the character and in that final room Junpei will ‘let slip’ what he saw when he encountered her brothers dead body. This will lead to the character of Clover returning back to her normal, responsive self because she realises her brother cannot be dead due to what Junpei said. Her trust in Junpei and the other characters is returned to its normal state (she had considered the characters 'Seven' and 'Santa' to have been possible suspects to have killed her brother). This will lead the narrative forward in a far different way to if the player had not made those actions.
If her brother had remained ‘Dead’ at the end of the game and the player was with her, she would have taken a fire axe that was in that room. Later, she would persuade three other people (including Santa and Seven - the people she suspected of killing her brother) to quickly explore a room that hadn’t been seen with her before killing them with the fire axe – as revenge for her brother’s death. The player, not having witnessed this would await their return and discover that only Clover is there. He will then be killed by her too. This is considered a ‘bad ending’ but it shows the distinct nature of the non-linear narrative. Unlike Knights of the Old Republic, a game which gives the player or Protagonist complete control over proceedings and the stories narrative arc, 999 works in a different way. Ultimately the player will have a control over the gameplay they experience, and the narrative that they see – but it is the other characters that alter the story that is told. In this game, the writer has such an understanding of his characters that he builds the plot around what they would do – what their ‘True Character’ would accomplish in the scenario presented.
This is an incredibly interesting way to craft a narrative and when researching further, he discusses the process of crafting this narrative on the 999 website:
I would like to inquire as to how hard it was to write the script for this game, as well as how many words, pages, etc. Also, I'd like to know how an idea like the Nonary Game came to exist, as well as how each character was formed, and how you decided what number each character would get. I am aspiring to become a video game designer myself, and I am curious as to how this game came together, considering how well thought-out it was.
Originally, I had a very simply story, which was essentially "There are a number of doors with nothing written on them, and you split into several groups and move forward. Depending on how you split up the group, the ending of the story changes." It wasn't on a ship to begin with, though: It was in a mysterious building...But my bosses said "It's hard for us to visualize this story. We can't relate to it, and it doesn't catch our hearts." ...So I decided to set the story on the Titanic, a location that most of us know about, and is easy to visualize. The rule where each group was determined by the numbers was also formulated at about the same time. We had a number of discussions where people said this story or that wouldn't sell, and then we came back with new characters, or rules, or stories. I kept tacking on new interesting ideas, and eventually we got our final story. Of course, as I'm sure you can imagine it was really hard to make sure that everything made sense and fit together. Because we'd just thrown so many things in without thinking, it was really quite hard to make it all work... As far as coming up with the characters... After I decided to use "9" as the theme, I used the enneagram for reference. For the character numbers, we just thought about the ending and who went in what group, and worked our way backwards from there. We made a huge chart in Excel and messed around with the numbers there until we got it right
What were your inspirations when creating your characters? Did you take a niche or a cliche character commonly found in anime and manga, and put them into this situation by adjusting them to the situation that they were in? Or did you take characters with traits from games that you had previously made and just put them into this entirely different situation?
I mentioned this in [question 17], but I used the Enneagram for reference. "Did you take a niche or a cliche character commonly found in anime and manga, and put them into this situation by adjusting them to the situation that they were in?" Yes, that's exactly what I did. I made a box, and put the characters in it, and then the story just progressed on its own. All I have to do is just work toward my "twist." So I suppose that, for me, the plot isn't really all that important. It's just an imaginary picture. As I write the story, it evolves. The 3 most important things are these: The box, the characters, and the "twist."
The characters and plot are all really well done in this game. I was just curious as to how you developed them all so well. What do you work on first; plot or characters? How do you know when they're complete? Where do you draw inspiration from?
“For me, I first start by creating a rough draft of the characters' personalities. Then I make a sort of rough draft of the setting. Next, I figure out the "twist" for the story, and work toward that by coming up with a plot that fits that particular twist perfectly. So the "twist" comes first, basically. Of course, the characters and the setting that I come up with early on almost always end up drastically changed. I write a rough draft, then draw a line, then erase my rough draft, then draw a new line... It's just that process over and over. I don't know when it's "done" until I finish writing the whole script. I always write my stories thinking "I wonder what's going to happen to these guys afterwards?" Overall, I don't change the "twist", but I will change the story A LOT to get to it. So far as inspiration goes, all that I can say is that it mostly comes from me, while I'm writing my drafts. I believe that when I concentrate very hard on writing, all of my worldly thoughts just go away, so perhaps that has something to do with it. Also, this particular idea is in the game as well, but I need some danger to have that moment of clarity and inspiration. The closer I get to a deadline, the more I'll think "Crap! The deadline is coming up!" and that helps me come up with great ideas. So I'll try to work myself into a corner like that, and I also have the product manager and the other people on the team to help me out by getting me into that mode of thinking.”
How hard was it to create 9 distinct people to interact in various ways as the game progressed? There were times of conflict, times of great emotional stress and whatnot, and creating 9 distinct persons to handle this and talk amongst others with their own personalities and quirks seems incredible to me.
You're right. It was a real challenge. To be honest, though, the 9th Man dies pretty quickly, so there were really only 8 characters... But even so, 8 is still too many for a single story. Story theory says that you should really only have up to 7 characters. For instance... Luke, Obi-wan, Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2, C3PO... You see? That's 7. If you add in Darth Vader and the Emperor, that makes 9. I believe Star Wars is a very well-developed story, and the characters are all very solid. What Star Wars uses as a base are legends and myths. According to Jung, those myths and legends are born from the human psyche, as archetypes. That fits into the enneagram I was talking about in [question 26]. With that said, the creation of the character wasn't too hard because I already had a formula to work from that's been passed down through all of human history. To make that actually work, however, was really hard. This story had rules, and it also had specific points it had to hit, so I wanted the characters to do very specific things, but...they didn't always cooperate. I tried my best to move them in the way that they were designed to, but even then there were times where the story wouldn't work and I sort of had to force them. It was very tiring.
999 Answers segment with the Writer on official website
My own game concept was heavily influenced by this style of thinking – the concept that characters are at the centre of the narratives progression and that the player is exploring the narrative branches just as much as the world itself.
Of course creating any story with a Non-Linear narrative presents its own problems – namely combinational explosion. If you present the player/ audience with a number of routes to choose from, and repeat this, very quickly the number of different routes and outcomes explodes into vast numbers – as shown by the diagram below.
The way that the writer or game designer would combat this is by placing in inevitable events or goals that would happen every time. By doing this the designer can funnel the choices the player makes back to a strict point before allowing it again. An example of this can be seen in the flowchart for my game concept Zork:
In the concept, the player will have to make a decision over which route they would like to take out of three options and progress through that. After they have finished that segment of gameplay the plot will force the player, no matter their route, back to a singular point where they will once again make their decision. Only at the end of the game will the diverse effects of the player’s decision be shown by several ‘endings’.
Away from the concepts of linear and non-linear forms of storytelling, a ‘good story’ must have several ingredients to make it successful – especially in games. Any story must begin with a scenario which can force the protagonist onwards, be it a mystery or series of happenings – if the opening can create feelings within the player/ audience and draw them in then the story has been successful.
Many games and books will begin with powerful events – from Harry Potter being abruptly told that he is a wizard from living many years under a staircase, to the murdering of the protagonists parents in Fable and being enlisted into the Heroes Guild by the mighty Wizard Maze.
[Footnote: Dragon Age: Origins and the many different origins of the player character]
One of Dragon Age: Origins unique narrative aspects are the idea of experiencing a different origin depending on your characters race. But each of these starts and ends in the same way, and give the player meaning to push on with their quests:
Dalish Elf: You begin by living a normal life as an elf until the protagonist and a childhood friend go into the woods together and uncover a secret mirror. This mirror makes the players friend disappear and the player is forced to leave the town with the Grey Warden Duncan
City Elf: It is the day of your wedding and you must go to the centre of town. Just before you are to be wed, human noblemen from the town take the women (and you if you are female) to the castle. You end up breaking out and killing many soldiers in the process. When you reach the town you are forced to leave in case trouble is brought upon the town with the Grey Warden Duncan
Human Noble: You begin life as a prince of a castle somewhere in Ferelden. After experiencing a day in the life of a Noble you are awoken to the sounds of fighting. The castle has been overrun by men hired by a rival count. By teaming up with your characters mother you attempt to escape the castle. Your ‘father’ was mortally wounded in the escape and your mother stays with him to allow you to escape with the Grey Warden Duncan – who had been residing in the castle at the time (taking great interest in your character).
Mage: You begin life in the mages tower and you must complete your initiation into the fade. After resisting the temptations of the demons which reside in the fade you are roped into aiding your magician friend into getting his blood from a storeroom so that he may elope with his lover. The task fails dramatically and Duncan takes you under his wing in order to save you from being killed for insolent behaviour.
There are two other Origins but they all follow the same technique:
Present the character with an equilibrious state (living normal life), a conflict occurs which then forces the character to take up the call to arms that due to the life they have led had been ignored.
It is a common technique to draw the player into their character by seeing how they lead their life but see that life stripped very quickly from them – so that the Player can almost share the loss they have experienced. This technique is often referred to as the “Hero’s Journey”.
Kyle Hyde (Hotel Dusk/ Last Window: Secret of Cape West)
Kyle Hyde is characterised by his very simple and plain appearance. He is a Caucasian male in his early thirties with short hair and some stubble on his chin. He will either wear a suit or have ‘red crown’ sales Jacket thrown over the top of it. His gestures are very simple, with slight nods, an outstretched hand or hands on his hips being his range of movements in conversation. He is heterosexual but does not actively chase a relationship in both of the games (commenting more than once about his own ‘type’ when dealing with female personalities). He is intelligent but does not actively seek to strain his intelligence with tasks despite his role as the protagonist in a point and click puzzle game – the narrative will often sweep him up without his interest. Beginning as a detective, he quit and became door to door salesmen to aid in his hunt for his former partner, not necessarily enjoying his new career path in the process.
Kyle has a very frank and sharp personality, at times being very confrontational if he does not agree or like the person he is talking to. At points this has led to the tears of a child and the bewildered look of a failing author although more often than not this has also led to the conclusion of peoples troubles. Despite his rough personality Kyle is fair though, and will help others when it is necessary. If someone has a likeable personality and doesn’t pry into Hyde’s life he is not adverse to making friends – although this is very rare.
Kyle’s values are pretty simple; so long as people stay out of his business, he will stay out of theirs. Due to his profession as traveling salesmen, Kyle is frequently travelling and living out of backwater hotels although in actuality he lives in the Cape West apartment block. He does not purchase fancy items although he does enjoy a good meal and a stiff drink at the Bar.
Kyle’s true character is very much as he is characterised. At times where he has a gun pointed at him or he is trapped in a room running out of air, his reaction will still be calm yet frank. With Kyle Hyde what you see is what you get.
“Ace” – 9 Doors 9 Hours 9 Persons
Ace is an interesting character of the interactive novel; 9 Hours, 9 Doors, 9 Persons, whose Characterisation and True Character couldn’t contrast more – making him the perfect example to explore McKee’s definition.
Ace can be characterised at first by his large build and older age to the other central characters. He has mature face (roughly around 40 – 50 in age) which is framed by a mass of flowing hair. The protagonist when he first meets the character makes a mental note referring to him as a Lion before the code name ‘Ace’ is created. Ace appears as one of the most calm and collected of all the characters in 999, with his gestures and general mannerisms seeming kind. Ace is also intelligent, offering assistance when he is around with a good general knowledge. It is revealed at a later date that he is the head of a pharmaceutical company that has created a miracle drug and with that it could be assumed he lives a good lifestyle but this isn’t actually shown in the game (neither is reflected by his clothing)
Behind the mask of “Ace” however lies his true character. His calm nature is still at the forefront but his kind actions take a much darker tone as they are to aid his own personal goals by manipulating everyone with the veil he has so carefully laid down. Under pressure from the Nonary game scenario he will always choose brute force to get the outcome he desires – at two endings coercing central characters via a weapon while others he kills characters that stand in the way by using a knife. At the root of all of his actions lie a desperate yet simple goal, to be gain the ability to distinguish between human faces, but the way he carries these goals out is in no way relative to the characterisation and kind manner in which he presents himself to others. The true character of Ace is a contradiction of his characterisation – acting as a figure that the player should trust.
Miles Edgeworth
Another interesting character to examine in regards to Characterisation/ True Character would be Miles Edgeworth from the Ace Attorney series. Miles is a 26 year old prosecutor for the American courts. He is considered to be Handsome and impeccably presented, wearing a red suit which is embellished with a flowing white cravat. At the beginning of the game Edgeworth is referred as a demon of the courtroom and this is shown in the way that he acts. His gestures and poses can range from rigid, to courteous to even derisive. They are also almost theatrical, with Bows, disapproving shrugs and a singular wagging finger all being prominent actions when he makes his point. His personality reflects this also. Edgeworth will be ruthless when it comes to getting a guilty verdict for the defendant but will treat witnesses and the judge with the utmost respect – often to gain favour and in return make Phoenix Wright, the protagonist, suffer additional hardships. In his early exchanges with the protagonist he is harsh and unforgiving, keeping his professionalism as the opposing Prosecutor above his status as a childhood friend. From these points it is clear that Edgeworth is an exceptionally intelligent but focused individual and this is also shown by his in game reputation as a prosecuting prodigy. Not much is mentioned on how Edgeworth lives other than his love for fine teas (having a hotel bellboy personally delivering him Tea in his office) and that he must have a reasonable amount of money to his name by his bright red mustang car.
Edgeworth’s true character is buried deep underneath the ruthlessness that was beaten into him by his mentor, Manfred Von Karma. While he was taught to strive for perfect guilty verdicts, after his first surprise ‘loss’ he began to question this – more than once assisting Phoenix to discover the truth when he realised who truly committed the crime. It could be said that when he is under pressure he will make the morally correct decision and this in turn became more and more prominent throughout the series. Initially Edgeworth’s interest was purely in getting a guilty verdict (with the first case involving attempting to prove Phoenix’s guilt for a crime that Edgeworth knew he didn’t commit) but by the final game in the Ace Attorney timeline (Ace investigations for which Edgeworth is the protagonist), his mantra becomes discovering the truth.
Like Phoenix Wright, and any other character in the series, under pressure Edgeworth’s disposition will change dramatically depending on the plot development. Unlike Phoenix’s expressions of Shock and Bewilderment, Edgeworth will appear startled and then furious – quietly muttering bemused comments to himself for having overlooked something.
(From 5.00 onwards reveals many of the below iconic features in the actual gameplay)
1-“Objection! “ – One of the reasons this is such an iconic element to the Ace Attorney series is because it is such an integral part of gameplay. The act of Objecting in Phoenix Wright leads to discovering the truth, dramatic music, arguments and the building of tension. It is also one of only a few phrases that are actually voiced.
2-‘Damage Face’ – Every character in the Ace Attorney series has a number of dramatic actions and poses that cycle depending on the pressure that is placed upon them. From throwing of Toupee’sto eating of medals and strangling one’s self with scarves – the characters in Ace Attorney will always explode with character, sometimes literally during play
3-Music – The music of Ace Attorney is one of its defining features. If the player meets a new character often they will have their own accompanying theme that perfectly suits their wacky nature (explained more in the next point). In addition to that though the thrilling themes that are initiated whenever an argument breaks out or the Protagonist is in a tough spot can really get the player ‘fired up’ and absorbed into that world.
4-Crazy characters – The Ace Attorney Series is almost entirely constructed from crazy characters. From the timid thief Ron DeLite who at one point tries to get himself arrested, the slightly insane but dim Mike Meekins who again tries to get himself convicted (“Occupation…that’d be MURDERER, sir!”) to the smooth coffee addict Prosecutor ‘Godot’ who will drink exactly 17 cups of coffee each trial and despite boasting to have never lost a case has also never won a case.
5-‘Turnabout’ – the theme Turnabout runs throughout the entire series and it’s something that is iconic about the series just purely because it gives birth to ludicrous situations. For example, with very little testimony to work with and his back against the wall Phoenix Wright cross examines a Parrot – which ends up turning the entire case on its head (hence ‘turnabout’). The word turnabout is also used in the title of most of the cases.
The Donor – Wardens/ Locations within “Underground Empire”
The Helper – Wardens/ June/ Syo/ Dwanholf
The Princess and her father –June/ Syo
The Dispatcher – Dungeon Master/ Detective Dwanholf
The Hero – The player
The False Hero – The player/ Detective Dwanholf/ June/ Syo
Due to the complex nature of my game there are many overlapping and multiple characters acting through each role because it is dependent on the choices the player makes so it is very difficult to apply roles to each character strictly. Still if I was to analyse my choices this is why:
The Villain
Dungeon Master: He/She placed everyone in the life and death situation they are in and because of it they would be seen as the antagonist even if they weren’t included in the situation. The stipulation that the player must discover who he is to save everyone who is innocent also makes them the villain and makes the role almost the same – the player must “defeat” the dungeon master by discovering his identity and leaving him in his own game when they win.
The Player: Two choices the player has (whether to pick up the gun in an area (not decided where yet) and whether to save the player they are paired with) can determine whether or not they themselves are the Dungeon Master and in turn the antagonist. If they let June fall, or push Syo into the falling debris, it will switch the game ending immediately to “Antagonist” whereby the player themselves was the dungeon master all along, which would then be tied together by a number of smaller cut scenes at the end of the game. This isn’t the true ending of course given the that Dungeon Master is in actuality the Warden in the theatre so an exchange between to two would hint at that but not explicitly show it.
The Donor
Wardens: If the trust is high enough on a Warden at the end of an investigation segment, they will give the player an additional clue or hint – acting as Donors of information.
Locations within “Underground Empire”: They are the places of which the Player will receive their clues from.
The Helper
Wardens/June/Syo: Whoever is present with the player in their chosen location can act as a helper to aid investigation segments should the player so wish
Detective Dwanholf: More of a plot related “helper”. He brings June, Syo and the Player together at the beginning of play and keeps everyone more or less together as the plot progresses via radio contact. Of course this isn’t necessarily helping because he has his own motives but for the sake of plot progression until the final stages of the game he plays the role of the “Helper”
The Princess and her father
June/Syo: Purely for the option to save them in the game. Technically this could be seen as the player because they would be progressing through the game to ultimately save their own life. The other innocent NPC’s could be included in this also.
The Dispatcher
Dungeon Master: The Dungeon Master sets the player on their initial “quest” via the rules of his game.
Detective Dwanholf: Acts as a plot pushing device in that he will urge everyone to keep going and where they could look.
The Hero
The Player: The player ultimately is the only possible catalyst for which an outcome where a hero could immerge (aka: Saving everyone and defeating the dungeon master) so he takes the role of hero in the “True Ending”. All other endings he would either be saved, killed or be an antagonistic character so he wouldn’t fit that role.
The False Hero
The Player: If you solve your mystery and become the dungeon master you are given a conundrum in that you cannot save everyone for one of them is the dungeon master and all of you will die but at the same time if you choose to save the only people your certain about (which would be yourself) you are essentially as bad as the original Dungeon Master. Both of those choices paint the player as a False Hero.
Detective Dwanholf: The Fourth Player who will stop at nothing to kill the dungeon master. His tactic for this is simple – by feigning his status as a warden and directing the players to collect all the clues, he can simply eliminate the one which has His Clues, solve his mystery and use his power as Dungeon Master to only allow his escape – which would kill the dungeon master and anyone else in the process. While he understands most of them are innocent, he cannot allow the Dungeon Master to escape. Depending on choices made, he will either Kill the Player, June or Syo, be killed by the player’s pistol or be restrained in the true ending by Syo and June.
His sense of Justice (admittedly twisted and cynical) makes him a false hero rather than an antagonist as he is only trying to do the best choice in the long term.
June: Again like Dwanholf, her sense of Justice is misplaced and leads to the death of everyone. If she solves her mystery then she will let everyone free, which includes the dungeon master – activating his stipulation that everyone is killed.
Syo: Will only save himself and maybe the Player if your trust with him is high enough – not because he wants everyone to die but rather to save himself. Picking people is too risky in his eyes, especially for a bunch of strangers.
The lecture today discussed the ideas and theories of Vladimir Propp (1895-1970), a theorist of the last century who decided to analysis the core narrative structure of Fairy-tales and Folk Lore. In his influential work ‘Morphology of the folktale’, he states that folk tales can be analysed; ‘according to the functions of its dramatis personae’. He then gives a number of small examples, each sharing a basic structure where in a Hero is given an object by another narrative element (be it character or inanimate object), which then acts as a means of transport to another world.In each example the characters change from princesses to eagles to rings, but never the less their function remains the same.
This makes reference to his previous statement; analysing the folktale in regards not to the characters but rather the actions that are taken – stripping the narrative down to the pure components. He continues in his book to explore this and lists several different “Spheres of action” for the “dramatis personae”:
The Villain – Main Antagonist
The donor – a giver of an integral item for the hero
The helper- helper of the protagonist
The princess, and her father – (only role that was difficult to explain)
The dispatcher – Sends the hero on a quest
The hero (seeker-hero, victim-hero) - Protagonist
The false hero – Beginning as a “hero”, is proven to be false by actions
These spheres of action can be applied to many modern narratives, be it film, novel or Video game and so I decided to break down a few contemporary games and their characters into these roles:
Fable
The Villain – Jack of Blades
The Donor – Maze
The Helper – The Guildmaster
The Princess and her father – Albion? (Not sure of meaning however if it is the idea of what needs to be saved then it would be between Albion and Theresa)
The Dispatcher – Guild Map
The Hero – The player
The False Hero – Maze / The player
Maze and the Player character - both examples of how more than one Sphere of Action can apply to the same character
Dragon Age
The Villain – Arch Dragon
The Donor - Duncan
The Helper – Party Members
The Princess and her father -
The Dispatcher – Flemeth
The Hero – The Player
The False Hero – Loghain
But for a more complex narrative such as Nine Doors Nine Hours Nine Persons for the Nintendo DS, this model falls away slightly and those spheres of action do not fit. However the role of the lecture, and the exposure to Propp’s work was not as to give a definitive structure for which all narratives should be based but rather show an example of the useful nature of the pure act of stripping a game or narrative down to its core. By identifying “spheres of action” in characters, objects and settings in a narrative, one can then identify it within their own worlds that they are aiming to create. In doing this the roles of a character can be defined and it can then be worked out what elements are working/ aren’t working, what needs to be changed and what keeps the narrative progressing. There is no use in having a set of characters or objects which look aesthetically pleasing but don’t have any role in the narrative – especially if they were to be the central figures of a plot.
