Rehana Whiteley - Unit 72: Elements of Storytelling: Task 2

Each different genre has a different way of telling its story and how it accommodates its game play type. For example below there is a list of different video game genres and I am going to explain each genres differences and what it does to tell its own story.

First Person Shooter (FPS)

A first person shooter is usually an action genre where the player is playing the game from protagonist point of view. For instance the Halo franchises, Call of Duty, Border lands, Far cry are all in a first person point of view. So the narrative of a first person game is usually done by the player seeing and hearing exactly what the protagonist hears. So the story will be told as if it’s directly being told to the player for instance the protagonist will be refereed as 'I'. This allows the player to be able to share the same opinions, thoughts and emotions as the protagonist does although some first person shooters will switch over the narrator.

In this video at 8:28 you are able to see that the camera is placed basically where the characters head will be so you are seeing what they see. As the character looks around, you are able to see exactly what their eyes will be seeing. For instance if something is behind you or next to you, you have to turn to see what is there- Just exactly like people do when moving their head.

Third Person Shooter (TPS)

Third person shooter is a game which is structured around shooting however the biggest difference between first person shooter and third person shooter is that in third person shooter you are able to see the protagonist on screen because the third person shooter usually has a perspective off being behind the characters back or over the shoulder.
An example of a third person shooter game is Grand theft auto, Dead space, Gears of war 2 and Uncharted. As you can see in the image to the right it is showing the protagonist out of grand theft auto, the camera angle is set so you can see over the protagonist shoulder although the angle may change throughout the game. However the protagonist is not the narrator of the story like in the first person shooter, He is more of an object observer which shows the player the story and help share thoughts and feelings. For instance In first person shooter the story is mostly being told as if the player is the character by using words such as 'I' although In third person shooter the player isn't seeing 'through' the protagonist eyes and is more 'observing' the character by looking over the shoulder, although It still gives a similar effect that the player is still seeing and being the protagonist just like in the first person shooter video games. Although it doesn't give the player an personal connection with the protagonist like the first person shooter does for example in first person shooter the player basically gets to know the protagonist extremely well because the player is seeing what they see and feeling what they feel providing the opportunity to feel more sympathy/emotion towards the character.

In the video above at 8:45 you can see how the camera angle is set when the character is moving and walking. The main difference you can see from the FPS is that you are seeing your protagonist and not what they are seeing. For example you see your character moving, talking, and jumping etc. while in FPS you don’t see your character doing that.

Role playing Game (RPG)

RPG stands for role playing game. RPG is basically where the player will play a role of a character within a game. For instance a fantasy genre usually uses RPG to tell the story of the video game by interacting with the imaginary worlds allowing the player to access and interact with a lot off assets and features included within the world, while still playing the roll off the character.
Role playing game is the most popular modern way to narrate a video game story in the most believable way. In fact RPG's are usually described as 'the story tellers'. For instance RPG has a greater emphasis on their writing skills and has the storytelling ability to tell the story smoothly around the characters role.
Examples of RPG includes Mass effect 3, fall out 4 and Dark souls. Most Role playing games tell their story by using a lot of dialog, cut scenes and texts to narrate their story. Although In dark souls the story is mainly told by the world around the character, by dialogues spoken by non-player characters, the detail/description of the items found across the world and from the visual design of the world itself.
Using these aspects together makes it a lot easier to picture the story due to the amount of detail. In dark souls the player has the opportunity to just flow through the game and its story or the opportunity to explore/interact with the game as much as they possibly want without ruining the narrative, this basically means dark souls allows you to have this freedom. - If you do not want to go deeper into the story then it doesn't force the story upon you although if you do want to interact with the story and get into the story as much as possible, it is up to the player. It won’t force the story on the player and instead gives them a choice. For example some RPG games stop the character in a fight just so the cut scenes can play and narrate the story. Although In dark souls that never happens, they do not stop for cut scenes, the dialogs are short and it is entirely up to the player how in depth the story goes by deciding on how much they want to interact with the world, characters and objects.

The video above at 10:28 there is an example off RPG in the video game Dark souls. As you can see it has a similar camera angle as a TPS but with a further view and a more interactive story (when the video first starts the character is already interacting with the story and the objects.)

Fighting
Fighting games usually tell their story in a different way than the Genres which I have explained above. For example A RPG usually tells there story through dialogue and by interacting with the world around the character although in a fighting genre there isn't much dialogue or interacting with items or objects. Firstly, I am going to explain what a fighting game basically involves and how it is played.

Fighting games such as Tekken, Street fighter and Mortal Kombat are some of the most popular fighting games, which All have a lot of similarities, For instance A fighting game usually involves; A tournament/Arena, Co-Op, Several character- All having different personalities and different appearances.
With many fighting games it begins with the player choosing the character from several of options, each character will have a different move, look and a different story. Once they have chosen their desired character they will then be entered into a tournament or arena which Is usually a platform the player fights its opponent on (Most fighting games are co-op which allows you to combat with friends) However the platforms are not open area such as RPG and normally have a certain amount of room to move on the platform. I personally think fighting games do this so the player can’t hide/run from the opponent which gives it more of a combat and violent effect within the level. However even though fighting games have a lot of similarities there is also a lot of differences and this is what makes each fighting game storyline unique. For example fighting games are popular for telling their story's through cut scenes, Background/setting and the characters. For example, In tekken's story mode each character has their own personal reason for entering the tournament and competing for the prize which reveals a lot about the background off the character which for obvious reasons Open a lot up for the story line of the game for example knowing the background off the characters makes it a bit more personal so the player understands what the character has been through and why they want to win. After beating the game with each character, an ending cut scene is unlocked and usually one of the endings from each continues the story. Although in street fighter IV the cut scenes were disappointing and according to IGN Street fighter IV Was so poorly animated and tell you almost nothing about the story or the context for each character's participation in the tournament. Overall To have a good storytelling fighting video game the game has to have an amazing, unique background for all their characters and make it easy/Noticeable so the story line is more satisfying as well as having acceptable cut scenes which are able to tell the player what is happening with story line.

The video above is Tekken 6's cut scenes which put together creates a 'movie' due to the cut scenes being the main way tekken and many other fighting games tell their story.

Sport

A sports game is a video game which makes the player much more active than most video games for instance Using wiii sports resorts as an example, the player has to stand up and move with the remote such as when playing Wii sports tennis the player has to move and swing their arms like they are playing tennis in real life. Video games simulate the practice off sports in an entertaining and modern way. However some sports games such as need for speed or fifa, the player doesn't have to move to make the game move. The player can play the game like any usual video games (Sat down). So overall a sport game can emphasize the video game and make the player move such as jogging, swinging, leaning etc. (Wii fit) or a sports game can be played normally by using the analogue on the pad (Fifa).
Although Sports games have an unusual way off telling their story, compared to the other genres Most sports games are based in an arena, Have boundaries (certain distance to move) or in a stadium so depending on what the sport is the level and characters should be based around the sports. For example Wii Sports have a Tennis match which is based in a tennis court and have Mii characters which the player creates. The characters are then dressed and act like actual tennis competitors for example It would be abnormal going on a sports game and seeing swimmers wearing a bikini playing tennis wouldn't it. So in a small evaluation, sports games base their story, setting, characters around the sport. This makes each sports game unique with a different way to tell the story.
Using Wii Sports as an example; Wii sports was popular because the player could put their BMI into the game and the character will then be based onto the player. The game would give the player goals to achieve such as going for a jog on the platform or play a tennis match. These will overall make the player much fitter but it also means that this game story is based around the player its self. The character within the game is a mini character off the player.
However Fifa is the exact opposite off Wii sports.
Wii sports involve movements and being active while in Fifa you are able to sit down and play the game. Fifa is a sports game based on real life football teams, each football teams is presented so you can see the rating and the player is able to change the positions on the field. Each team have a different statics so this gives a personal effect towards the story line for example a team may be faster at the other team while the other team might have better defence. To create the story line fifa uses small cut scenes for example if you get a red card/warning the game cuts to a scene where the referee is giving the card to the players and the team mates will look disappointed, sighing etc. While if the team wins the cut scene will be victory and the players team will cheer etc. This makes the game look like a realistic football match, giving it a lot more emotion and more of a competition.
Overall sports tell there story’s by being competitive and trying to put the player in the most realistic environment while doing so.

Above is a game playoff Wii sports, as you can see the mii character is swinging the bat. This only happens when the player themselves is swinging the Wii pad which has a sensor. There is mini cut scenes within the game play which you can see, they are quite basic. But they do surprisingly give an effect of a real life tennis match. For example if you watch tennis on the television, when the player hits the camera is zoomed in and you can hear sighing etc. This game has created a similar cut scene to give a similar effect.

Strategy

A strategy video game is a game which involves a lot off thinking and a game which needs the player’s attention because the player needs to focus on the game to create a plan which will lead to success. The player must plan their actions a lot more carefully than the other genres. Most popular strategy games could be chess, battle field and balloon defence because each of these games have a certain static to win within the game. For example chess is one of the oldest strategy games and is still the most popular, online or by board. To win chess the player must think before moving, think about what is going to happen if they do this move - will it be a good move or a bad move. And this is what most strategy games are like. Although not every strategy game is set from a 'god like view' for instance chess and battle filed pieces more where the player wants them to, they are in control. But there is a game such as Rayman or Saw which is not a genre off strategy but has strategy within the game. For instance, my most favourite video game is Saw due to all off the thinking and focus the game needs to be successful. You need a strategy plan to be able to escape each room. For example in one room there are a lot of manikins which all individually have a different number. If the player goes to a number when it isn't time to go to that number then the player dies. So there is a lot of planning involved such as remembering which number goes first, second and so on. This is what a strategy game does, it makes you think.
Like I just explained, a game could be a strategy game without have the genre. For instance saw is a survival horror but it more known as a strategy because you have to think to survive Although games with strategy as their main genre such as balloon defence tell their story in a way which the player may have to die/fail a certain amount of time to realize what they are doing wrong. They tell their story through trial and error for instance with balloon defence you are choosing where the monkeys are going to shoot the balloons, this is what the objective off the game is.

As you can see even though this game is in third person shooter, the game involves a lot of moving and thinking. The player has to make a plan before he does an action although this is a survival horror I wanted to give an example that most genres do link together.

Simulation

A simulation game is a game which copy's activities which may happen in real life and is then turned into a form of a video game for example the most popular simulation game is Sims. There is a lot in the Sims franchise although Sims is basically a world which the player creates and controls. Sims city allows the player to build their own houses and buildings as well as making sure the buildings have electricity etc. While Sims 3 allows the player to build their own house or buy their own house, making their own families and then moving their family into the house. They get to make babies, have jobs, get hungry etc. Sims is basically what it is like in real life but in a virtual world. Simulation usually has a lot off freedom with no exact goals in the game and is able to freely control their character. I think Sims allows their player to create their story, the player tells the story. For example in Sims 3 you can either go into a present family and house which is already made or you can create your own family. In the family you can change the personality, their goals and their appearances quite a lot. This creates a base for their story for example if they create a young man who wants to be an athlete their game/story is going to be around that young man training and gaining skills to get the job, to then get a promotion, get married, have kids etc. The player is in control of what happens such as the player could create an evil man who steals and cheats etc. There is a lot to do in a simulation game and the story is usually based around the player and their decisions. However the camera angle plays a huge role in the Sims, for example if the character needs a pee and doesn’t end up going the camera will zoom in on the character and the character will have an accident on the floor. If the character is driving, the camera will zoom out so you can see the city. The player can control the camera angle but for emergency's scenes the camera will make it a lot more dramatic.

As you can see in the video, straight away the player is able to change the character. They have control in near enough everything - what clothing, hair, fabric, eye shape, nose, makeup.

Task 2 – Storytelling within Genre’s