Dreamfall disappoints!

[PhakeDC]

http://pc.ign.com/articles/702/702002p1.html

I wasn't expecting stellar reviews. Times have surely changed.

[Access]

It is an interesting dilema... (and remmeber to think about this on a wider scope.)

How do you produce a video game whose game play hinges on a complex mystery?

Many if not most games hinge it's game play on action......  Many games hindge it's game play on survival (leading itself to fear)... many hindge it on basic puzzles....

But these games appeal to people on a primitive emotional level.

Enter cerebral gaming: How do we produce game play that appeal on an interllectual basis. Game play that involves Philosiphy, Politics, History or Mystery. And no, I dont refer to a generic FPS that half references a real world war, or an RTS that shows a middle east poltical conflict. Im talking about a game whose game play revolves around Politics, History or Mystery.

The video game, 'Revolution' did an honest attempt of creating political oriented game play, but in the end it was just a micro managing World Sim...  The Experimental Gameplay Project also has done some interesting work on atypical game play dynamics. It is also relevant to mention Fahrenheit as a title that stands out in this reguard as well.

But that brings me (in a round about way) to my point; how do you produce game play around a convincingly complex mystery. One could argue the dynamics already exist in the form of Adventure games, such as Broken Sword and A Mind Voyeging Forever which were focused around solving a single mystery.  I might agree, but certain contradictions still exist;
Firstly in accepted non-interactive mediums such as films and books, the mystery is not solved by the audience, but solved by the protagonist then later revealed to the audience in either the climax or the resolve.
Secondly, the protagonist is able to do this for some unique reason validating the character as the protagonist.

Therefore an "honest" video game revolving around a satisfactory mysery wouldnt be solvable *by definition* by the average gamer.  

Developers have approached this in various ways, but three main methods spring to mind;
1) Making the mystery less honest by making the solution obvious.
2) Making the game play less mystery oriented with the actual mystery unfolding in static exposition.
3) Release a near impossible game that becomes a monumental achievement to complete.


It appears Dreamfall has opted for option 2 by reducing the mystery solving game play and increasing the level of action, a path Broken Sword III took as well. Myst approached this problem with Option 2 as well by introducing a set of arbitrary puzzles that almost dont relate to the narrative or mystery at all.

This is an interesting field to explore and I would like some time to think on it.

[PhakeDC]

If I had the money for it I'd certainly hire you as a spokesperson for my non-profit adventure-preservation foundation

Well what all that boils down to is adventure makers trying to appeal to hardened FPS knuckleheads by incorporating more action-oriented gameplay. I don't see it working however, and the traditional niche audience are none too happy about it either.

It all went downhill with the release Quake 1 and QuakeWorld (or whatever the deathmatching service was called), LucasArts pulling the plug on sequels like Full Throttle 2 and the fact Westwood couldn't sell more than five copies of their superlative Blade Runner game.

[Access]

Dont forget Full Throttle 2 was action oreitned though.

But I dont think the classic adventure game is the solution to conveying a mystery. Im sure an answer exists, but I dont know what it is... and I doubt I will see one in my life time, but who knows...  Im still waiting for "our" citizen cane to come along and show us what to do with interactive story telling.

[Mojo]

I think 7.4 is being nice.  More like 6.0

[Access]

lol harsh.