Carrot, Stick, Go! 3: Novel Discomfort

I guess it’s strange to genuinely desire discomfort, but I like it when a video game can make me feel uncomfortable.

Recent outings with generally unremarkable, formulaic game design have led to me consider why I can pick up and play 10 games, and yet only be truly captivated by one or two of them. The obvious answer is that some games are better than others, but is better really an objective concept, or is it simply a matter of measuring a game based on what is personally valuable to me? If quality is indeed objective, why do gamers and critics consistently bemoan sequels for being largely the same games as their predecessors, even when those predecessors were received with astronomical levels of acclaim? If quality is truly objective, shouldn’t a game with the same features, gameplay, and narrative delivery found in a previously extolled title be equally well received?

To me, novelty carries great weight as a component of my personal enjoyment of many titles. This plays a role in my preference of single-player or cooperative gaming over competitive multiplayer, original IPs over sequels, and genre-blending titles over conventional ones, as well as any game that emphasizes new ways to play or new strategies in game design.

This may seem obvious, as repeating the same actions and experiences ad infinitum should be torturous, but gamers actually do this all the time. Call of Duty players repeatedly shoot enemy soldiers, God of War players slash at mythical creatures for days on end, Final Fantasy players click "attack" thousands of times, and BioWare aficionados talk more than a Valley girl on speed. We do enjoy repetition sometimes, so maybe this common scapegoat is not deserving of the frequent chidings, and maybe quickly chalking up one’s level of interest to novelty is too much a simplification of the emotions at work during play.

Attack. Attack. Attack. Attack. Attack...

I used the word discomfort earlier because it communicates an emotional response that is only elicited once a certain degree of aberration has been achieved. A game may be slightly different from the standard, yet still not interesting as a direct result of its nuances, but a vastly anomalous game can be either loved or hated solely because of its uniqueness. This unfamiliarity is discomfort without qualitative assessment - simply a lack of established comfort with the content, gameplay, or other aspect(s) of the experience. Whether a good thing or a bad thing, this novel discomfort is easily recognizable when encountered, but in my experience is most effective when it literally perturbs the individual behind the controller.

Games like Monster Hunter Tri or Final Fantasy XIII do little to vary the formulas gamers have been presented with for years. I personally have spent very little time with either game as a result. Conversely, something like Demon’s Souls, also a Japanese role-playing game, is engrossing for all the ways it shakes things up, and in particular the way it makes me extremely uncomfortable while playing it. Foreboding atmosphere, fear of death, lurking phantoms, and messages from other players’ game worlds, among other things, make the game highly unsettling. The overwhelmingly positive critical and general reception shows that this works remarkably well.

Heavy Rain is another title that does an excellent job of making players feel uncomfortable throughout the experience. It does so with disturbing themes not often tackled by video games, including child death, divorce, kidnap, murder, and drug addiction. It also employs gameplay mechanics that are meant to give players a degree of influence over a long series of highly stressful, emotionally affective situations, but ultimately leaves them at the mercy of the overarching story, as authored by the game’s designers. The way it gives players control over multiple characters at different times, specifically ones whose motivations and actions are in conflict with one another, can also create a real sense of discomfort in players who are more accustomed to conventional videogame storytelling.

Completely un-conventional in that regard is Jason Rohrer’s recent 2-player storytelling tool/game system, SleepIsDeath, which presents no narrative of its own, but leaves the task up to the "controller" (a new-age dungeon master of sorts) of each individual game session. While the moderately haphazard behavior of characters in Heavy Rain can be disempowering to players trained for years on typical game design, SleepIsDeath removes even more rules of interaction, creating a blank slate that can be used to deliver some of the most powerful of interactive gaming experiences.

This can be discomforting because games with fewer rules seem less contained and less safe, with more opportunity to have one’s sense of well-being violated. This may very well be a large part of the appeal of open-world games, which the industry has seen a great push toward in recent years - that the world provides more possibilities and more unknown elements than a limited, structured game world with numerous rules governing play therein.

This all leads me to think about the reasons we play games in the first place. One is to experience the fantastic. For a seasoned gamer, the virtual experiences that were once extraordinary are not so anymore. Interest can wane, as it does in my case, without constant freshness and increasing distance from the recycled themes that reside within our gaming comfort zones. These comfort zones can relate to any aspect of video games: story content, gameplay mechanics, aesthetics, etc. Anything that challenges our sense of familiarity with the medium can put us in a state of alert, preparing us to encounter novel stimuli. In this way, novelty directly translates to discomfort as a measure of attentional agitation, automatically increasing our interest in what is being presented.

The simple truth is that for a fair share of gamers, especially progressive, veteran gamers like myself, convention in gaming is becoming increasingly uninteresting, while the unknown, untested, and unfamiliar can still maintain the wild appeal that enthralled us during our childhood. Games that cause us discomfort achieve this visceral captivation, and then some, better than other titles. To put it another way, if I’m not in tears, worried, terrified, or else on the edge of my seat, what am I playing for?

Carrot, Stick, Go! 2: You Can't Win This Game

"You can't win 'em all."

This popular statement is relevant in the world of gaming, but not exactly as one might think. Sure, you win some and you lose some in competitive games, but not all games are meant to be "won." Rather, many games are meant to simply be experienced from beginning to end, with little concern for concepts such as success and failure.

In the modern gaming era, fewer single-player games can be, to use archaic gamer terminology, "beaten." Video-game narratives are typically predetermined, with each possessing a natural flow from a definite beginning to a definite end. There is rarely, if ever, a final, losing state. A game would have to forbid the player from resuming after a game-over screen, or perhaps revert to the old restart-from-the-beginning game design model, in order to be truly "winnable."



These days, to "win" a game is simply to see its ending, which may or may not be a happy one. No matter what the tone of the story's outcome, though, to finish is to achieve a goal. This still does not equate to an objective "win." This achievement can be considered a "win" based on the player's personal desires and motivations, but is in no way definable as a "win" without the diametrically opposed "loss." Proof of the subjectivity inherent to this "winning by finishing" concept is the alternative situation where a player may, in fact, triumph over a bad game by turning it off in the middle and never loading it into his or her console or PC ever again. In both cases the player's desires are satisfied, but neither is a direct function of the game's content.

To say that a player can "beat" a game is to assume that the game is doing everything in its power to prevent the player from succeeding. This is rarely the case outside of specific genres or multiplayer competition, which is no longer player vs. game at all. The intention of developers is almost always for the player to at some point see the game through to its end, regardless of challenges and obstacles along the way. There is no such thing as "beating" this sort of game because the game is not the enemy, and no victory can be won over it. In essence, the player is at all times working in synergy with a piece of software that is constructed so that he or she may extract enjoyment out of it; the game and the player are partners.



Some genres do emphasize winning more than others, and as the only games that can truly be won or lost should be considered differently. These are genres such as sports, fighting, racing, and strategy. These games do have definite and permanent win and loss states that cannot be altered once they have been attained. On the other hand, once narrative structure is infused, as is the growing trend in gaming, even these genres blur the concepts of winning and finishing. "Win" is essentially limited to those pieces of software that more closely approximate traditional board games, sports, or other such competition. Most other, story- or campaign-based games lean instead toward the realm of literature, theater, and film.

This natural lack of win and loss states toward which the video-game industry is progressing calls into question the definition and labeling of the industry as a whole. The evolution of the medium has made the term "video game" a misnomer. Much of what we manipulate on the screen is not a game at all, but a means to witness the expression of the dramatic arc. The recently released Heavy Rain makes this notion all the more obvious, clearly proclaiming to be "interactive drama" and abandoning the old "game" moniker. This directed experience gives the player control throughout, changing in key ways based upon player interaction, but inevitably concludes with one of a handful of predetermined denouements, each based on a single general outcome. Someone who "plays" Heavy Rain ends up acting more as a puppeteer than as contestant, completing a story rather than winning a game.

No matter what the label, the mechanics and structure of modern video games are changing. No longer are players asked to compete with a game in order to win, but are instead presented with narratives to explore and experience. Fortunately, each individual can choose to enjoy the type of play that he or she prefers, and even without actually "winning," will come away with some measure of success.

Interactive Drama -- Heavy Rain Review

GamerNode - It's been a long time since we've done a review in this format here at GN, but with the branching plot, multiple possible outcomes, and overall variance in the player experience with Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain, we felt this was the best way to represent the title in a review. Eddie Inzauto and Jason Fanelli have finished one playthrough each, and this is what they have to say about it.

Don't worry, it's spoiler-free.

Eddie Inzauto: Hey Jason. It looks like we've both managed to avoid the spoilers and uncover the mystery of Quantic Dream's new interactive thriller, Heavy Rain. So what are the first words that come to your mind in assessing this thing?

Jason Fanelli: Un-freaking-believable story. I was so engrossed in these characters and this plot that I couldn't stop thinking about it for days. I really feel that if this game were instead a movie, the Oscar buzz would be out of this world. How about you?

Eddie Inzauto: I'm not speculating about Oscars, because who knows what those people are thinking sometimes, ha, but Heavy Rain has absolutely one of the best, most engaging stories I've experienced with anything on a game console. I found it to be incredibly intense for a surprisingly large percentage of the time I spent with it, and my connection to what was happening was quite different from what I normally feel while playing videogames. In fact, I'm reluctant to even call this a videogame; nothing about this experience was a game at all. They definitely nailed it with the word "HEAVY," though.

Jason Fanelli: "Heavy" is certainly one of the best ways to describe it, for sure. I found myself particularly interested in Ethan Mars. The absolute torture that this man must endure -- the kidnap of his son and the trials that the Origami Killer makes Ethan go through to save him -- is almost unbearable to me as a player. When a situation in a game makes a player cringe, you know that the writers were doing something right. Case in point: broken glass. I got chills every time I moved Ethan during that scene.

Eddie Inzauto: Exactly. The attachment to characters felt by the player is unreal, and it's very difficult to tear oneself away untitl the very end. What's amazing is that even in assuming the roles of multiple different characters, the game still makes the player empathize with all of them and become emotionally involved in each story thread. And when Heavy Rain reveals just how intricately woven together these threads are, you feel like you're on a fishhook. It's crazy that I found myself actually talking urgently and nervously to the screen at times (something I never do), exclaiming aloud at particularly disturbing on-screen events.

Jason Fanelli: What I love most about Heavy Rain is how every playthrough can be completely different. You and I even talked about our different scenarios, and my game ended incredibly differently from the way yours did, The fact that the story adapts to the player, and that the outcome could be such a deviation from other players, is the perfect formula for replayability, and Quantic Dream NAILED it with this. I know I want to change my ending, because I hated it. Too sad for words. No matter what the outcome, though, everything is set up perfectly: every scene, every conversation, even every thought process weaves into the fabric of the story. Not many games pull it off quite like this one does.

Eddie Inzauto: One thing that impressed me was the attention to detail in the plot, character behaviors, and environmental elements. A couple of small examples of this are playing with your son as Ethan and the way it builds a bond between the characters and, more importantly, within the player, or subtle clues in the characters and environment that influence what should be done next or that aid in unraveling the mystery. Especially when it all comes together, the effect can be flooring. And yes, after sharing just a few words with you about the actual content of your story, I know I must go back through and make different choices and/or perform differently during certain action sequences just to experience more fully what Heavy Rain has to offer. Which reminds me, what did you think about the way it's controlled? Were you a fan of this latest evolution of quick-time events, or would you say that there wasn't enough direct influence on the action?

Jason Fanelli: I thought the quick-time event part was perfect for this type of game. It gave the player some control, but the story was too intricate to give the player full control. By limiting the player's input, it gives the story that much more impact, especially during those times where you do everything you can and the outcome still sucks. What I did have a problem with was the walking action. It wasn't holding the R2 trigger that got to me, it was the loss of movement control every once in a while. One particular camera angle change made Madison walk in a circle non-stop until I pressed the button again.

Eddie Inzauto: I agree, it definitely took a long time to feel comfortable to not try to hold the left analog stick to guide the characters, but to just trust in the R2 button and occasionally "steer" him or her in the appropriate direction, too. The movement actually feels like it has roots in the driving genre, but has been implemented in a more clumsy way. As for the on-screen commands, I found them to be everything "QTE" (and I hate that term) should be. They are high contrast and very clear, for the most part, and they appear in locations on the screen that correspond to the action and where the player's eyes are likely to be focused. It was rare that I felt it was the game's fault that I made a mistake. Except of course the times when the characters' nerves got in the way, making the prompts jitter, bounce, and blur, and effectively delaying my response because of the difficulty in reading/seeing them. Again, this serves only to more intimately connect players to their characters. Overall, this type of control seems an excellent way to maximize the intensity of the story, which, unavoidably, is Heavy Rain's main focus. I also like the fact that there are so many different types of commands.

Jason Fanelli: The variety of commands adds a lot of the overall experience. Pressing R1 to move the right leg, then L1 for the left, was a great effect. The command I found most difficult was holding multiple buttons at once. There's one scene in particular as Norman where you have to hold seven (!) buttons at once to succeed. I had to do it four times before I got it right. I also like that every scene has multiple outcomes, but I wish I had more control over where I could stop to take a breather. The three times I screwed up the Norman scene, I had to restart the whole scene just to get back to the one little part I missed. I'm glad I did, because as I found out later, screwing up that scene can lead to someone's death. Which brings me to one of the best things about Heavy Rain: no Game Over screen. The game doesn't end until the credits roll, no matter who lives or dies during the adventure. Wouldn't you agree, Eddie, that it's this idea that makes every moment in Heavy Rain so intense?

Eddie Inzauto: That's true. I hadn't even considered a Game Over screen, because so little about Heavy Rain reminds you that you're supposedly "playing a videogame." It's just one cohesive experience, and whatever happens, happens. It's each player's individual story. I didn't try to restart any scenes, myself, but I did wonder how imperative success with the controller was to the outcome of a few of them. I get the feeling, though, that it's far less a "funneling" system than we talked about on a couple of VS Node episodes regarding dialogue in other games, as evidenced by the many differences between different players' playthroughs. Either way, not having a Game Over screen really keeps the player immersed in the experience, as does the quality of its audio and visual presentaton, which was very solid.

Jason Fanelli: The music was expertly written, perfectly setting the mood of every scene. This feat is made even more impressive by the fact that there were maybe five or six different tracks, total. I would have liked to have heard some more variety in the music, but what I did hear was wonderful. The score reminded me of Michael Giacchino's score for LOST: minimalist, yet beautiful at times; heavy and intense at others. The voice acting left a little bit to be desired, though. For a game that relies so much on story and plot, it would have been that much more effective if the voices didn't sometimes clash with the scenes themselves.

Eddie Inzauto: Agreed. That assessment is spot-on. Visually, though, I found the game to be beautifully crafted, especially in the way the environmental atmosphere always seemed to elicit the proper emotional response from the player. Again, though, it was the characters that left something to be desired, at times looking funny or awkward while delivering a line or making an odd movement. The uncanny valley is in full force at those moments.

Jason Fanelli: That damn uncanny valley.... Despite that, it was definitely one of the prettiest games I've ever played. Anyone who walked by while I was playing would stop and watch for a minute or two, amazed that a game could look so good.

I think that covers most of what the game has to offer without giving away any major plot points (which, loyal readers, is SO HARD TO DO you have no idea) What's your final word, Eddie?

Eddie Inzauto: I have to say that Heavy Rain is something of a revolution for gaming, and it tells one of the best stories I've had the pleasure of experiencing. From a "games" perspective, it's true that the movement controls are a little wonky, and there are a few small issues with its presentation, but this is a piece of work that must be viewed wholistically, for what is aims to achieve and what it absolutely succeeds at. If you're the type of gamer who's only interested in feeling comfortable with what's familiar, I would normally say this isn't the game for you. Instead, however, I'm going to say that you should try it out and expand your horizons a little. More likely than not, I truly believe you will enjoy it, and it will open up new ways for you to play games and new ways to think about what is possible via this medium. It is a masterpiece.

Jason Fanelli: I don't think I could have worded that any better. The shooter/blood-and-guts crowd isn't going to like this game, but for the gamers who are looking to branch out and try something new, this is game to do it with. You will not be disappointed.

Eddie Inzauto: And the moment of truth... your score?

Jason Fanelli: If the voice actors were on point and the walking was better, this would be a 10, but because of that, 9.5 is my score.

Eddie Inzauto: 9.5 here, too.

We are in agreement, Heavy Rain reigns supreme. PS3 owners, do yourself a favor and play this game.

Play A Story -- Heavy Rain: The Origami Killer Preview

Heavy Rain, from Indigo Prophecy (aka Fahrenheit) developer Quantic Dream, was one of the most unusual games on display at E3 2009 in Los Angeles, but is also one of the most interesting.

According to director David Cage, the main premise behind Heavy Rain is to "play a story," which is quite an apt description, considering the nature of the gameplay. Technically an adventure game, Heavy Rain is controlled entirely by moving the protagonist through 3D environments with the left analog stick, then pressing buttons, making motions with the right stick, or shaking the controller in order to perform character actions when faced with context-sensitive on-screen commands. The player never takes direct control outside of general movement, but participates in an interesting blend of quick time events and choose-your-own adventure menus.

Quantic Dream was showing off the first real gameplay segments from Heavy Rain at this year's E3, and I got the chance to observe a scene centering around the second of four main characters in the game (one more will be revealed at Games Con, and the last at the Tokyo Game Show), the insomniac Madison Paige. The team wanted to make the characters flawed in particular ways to bring a more human element to each of them. Madison's handicap effects gameplay by making her feel fatigued and less stable, and the only way for players to give her a good night's rest is by getting a motel room -- the only place she CAN sleep.

In the E3 2009 demo, Madison is out looking for a man named Paco in a nightclub. He happens to be the owner, she hears from the bartender, and is sitting in the back. She moves through the crowd, carefully avoiding bumping into other people (and walking with a sort of handicapped, sideways limbo posture), until reaching a bouncer to talk to with the X button. She can't get through to see the big shot, so players have to figure things out. By leaning on a nearby table, she watches as the chauvinistic club owner calls a girl dancing on a different table over to sit with him. This represents one way to gather information in Heavy Rain, given nothing to go on. Players can expect to observe and explore the world around them before making progress in the story.

Madison tries to dance on the table to catch Paco's eye, and the player must complete a QTE segment to do so successfully. Unfortunately, it doesn't work, and she must think of a new solution. When players are searching for ways to proceed, Heavy Rain will often allow them to dive into the protagonists' thoughts via a number of button prompts that float in the space around their heads. By using what is known about the situation, this process can reveal the logical next step. If the character is nervous, scared, or otherwise unstable at the moment, these prompts will be jittery, flashing, or even partially blurred out, making it more difficult for the player to act expediently when fast action may be necessary for the character's well-being.

In this case, the plan is to be a little bit sexier for the club boss, so into the bathroom Madison goes. Standing at the mirror, the player sees a few different options, and another example of Heavy Rain's gameplay. By pressing up on the analog stick, Madison might change her hair, while pressing left or right will make her unbutton her blouse or reach for some extra makeup in her purse. Pressing down will make her shorten her skirt with a few quick rips well above her knees. Each of these actions features another light gameplay element, such as slowly motioning in a semi-circle with the analog stick to apply heavier eyeliner or jerking the motion-sensitive PS3 controller sideways to tear away the fabric of the skirt.

Madison can then make a second attempt at table-dancing, and after another small Simon says session, Paco takes notice of her newly sluttified performance and calls her over. During the conversation, more on-screen prompts guide the conversation as the player sees fit, and up to a private room the two go, Madison with a purse-bound pistol, hoping to get the information she wants.

The demo continued to the end of the scene, but I will stop there to avoid spoiling too much, as the game's appeal is primarily the unraveling of its multi-faceted storyline, with variants of the above-mentioned gameplay governing its direction. Mr. Cage explained to the crowd that many of the game's 60 scenes, which come to about ten hours of gameplay, are optional, and dependent on player choices and even whether or not a particular character even lives to see each portion of the game. In this way, no two play-throughs will be identical, and the game will continue to deliver fresh content to the player the second and third time around.

Heavy Rain looks very promising, and will help to expand the definition of videogames in a way that is very much unlike the growing casual shift and Nintendo vision. PlayStation 3 owners can look forward to seeing Heavy Rain in Q4 2009.

The Count | Top 5 Anticipated Original Games Of 2009

GamerNode - The "Top X Anticipated Games of 20XX" has become an annual requirement for just about everyone in videogame journalism nowadays; this article proves that I am apparently no different in that regard. To be at least somewhat unique, I've decided to split the typical top ten list into two parts this year: sequels and original titles. Moving on from the predictable list of sequels, here is my list of the most anticipated original IPs of the coming year:

Trine (PC, PSN)

Trine is a very interesting puzzle/platform game set in a beautiful 2.5D fantasy world. Players take control of three different characters to overcome obstacles and beat back an army of undead, often manifesting objects out of thin air to solve physics-based puzzles, or using a Bionic Commando -like grappling hook to swing across large chasms. The burly, hammer-wielding Warrior, the deadly accurate and agile Thief, and the platform-conjuring Wizard can be swapped out at any time, depending on the task at hand. Little else is known about Trine, but from what I've seen so far, it definitely looks like a keeper.

Prototype (PC, PS3, 360)

If the sole purpose of gaming was to make players feel empowered, then Prototype may very well be the most successful work of electronic entertainment of all time. In this game, Alex Mercer wakes up in a morgue, defying death from the outset. He has no memory of his past, but has been endowed with supernatural strength, speed, and agility, as well as the ability to absorb the skills, knowledge, memories, form, and appearance of the people he kills. From instantly learning how to maneuver a helicopter or tank, to unlocking the secrets of his and the virally infected New York City's history, consuming victims like this can prove to be very useful. Radical Entertainment claims that there will be over 750 unique superpower combinations in this sandbox of destruction. What's more, Mercer can easily pull off a T-1000 impression, impaling enemies with spikes or clubbing them to death with weapons made from his own "biomass." I want what he's got.

Alan Wake (PC, 360)

Alan Wake, the newest offering from Max Payne creators Remedy Entertainment, looks to redefine the way we look at videogame horror. Billed as an action thriller, this grisly game is the story of author Alan Wake, a novelist whose frightening fiction begins to creep off the pages and into his life. The funny thing is that most of the plot for his story came from his own dreams to begin with. Drawing influence from the Silent Hill and Max Payne series, Alan Wake is set in what the developers claim is a 38-square-mile portion of rural Washington, in a town that the titular protagonist comes to realize plays host to more than its fair share of paranormal and otherwise terrifying activiy. Themes of dreams, reality, light and darkness are prevalent here, as Alan's level of consciousness can be ambiguous, and even when he is awake, the various sources of light found throughout Bright Falls are his main sources of protection. That, and a .44 magnum.

Brutal Legend (PS3, 360)

Tim Schafer is one of the few videogame designers whose every thought somehow seems to transform into gaming gold, so it should come as no big surprise that his studio's first project since Psychonauts scores high on the "do want" list of many gamers. Jack Black will lend his voice and likeness to this comedic action/adventure game about a roadie who must raise an other-dimensional army to save humankind from eternal servitude...to demons. In an open world where everything is fashioned out of heavy metal (music, not steel), this Tenacious D -like character can be truly heroic, and with each subsequent mission, his hard-rocking warband grows stronger and larger. From what we know so far, Brutal Legend is set to be one of the most over-the-top absurd games out there, befitting both Schafer and Black -- and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Heavy Rain (PS3)

After Quantic Dream's last game, Indigo Prophecy, it's hard not to put Heavy Rain at the very top of my most anticipated games list. Billed as a game made for adults, this story-driven adventure aims to affect players on a mental and emotional level like no other. Heavy Rain is a malleable film noir thriller in which decisions players make will have serious repercussions in the game world, be those consequences immediate or long-term. Much of the gameplay will focus on this thoughtful interaction with the images on-screen, rather than dexterous controller manipulation. The heavy themes involved will play out via the game's already-stunning visuals and audio. For anyone seeking the next step in gaming, Heavy Rain may very well be the ticket.

'Twill be a good year:

There are a lot of really exciting new IPs on the way in 2009. This list just represents a small portion (arguably the most intriguing, so please do argue) of that bunch. Games like inFAMOUS, Dragon Age: Origins, Darksiders: Wrath of War, Alpha Protocol, Flock, and many others are very promising, too, making 2009 look like yet another great year to be a gamer.