Well it was that time of year again, a gamer's haven - E3!! I wish I could have been but of course it's not in the UK, it was in Los Angales and it was all over the interweb via GameTrailers, GameSpot, IGN and other gaming sites and tech blogs - I was following Geoff on GameTrailers along with YouTube's own iJustine providing all the social media's updates.
It was Microsoft first turn in the spotlight, nothing major was announced in terms of hardware (that was Sony and Nintendo's area of excitement, but that will be discussed later) but it was a few software updates i.e. It's pride and joy ... The Kinect!! Now I have a Kinect at home and my opinion of it fluctuates quite allot, I mean it is great in terms of tech breakthrough but for me I am more of a core gamer and jumping up and down, firing an invisible gun and basically moving around like a maniac. So Kinect was one of Microsoft's main highlights, announcements included little programs created from the brand in a little package called 'Fun Labs'. One for example is called 'Kinect Me' which allows you to make a photo realistic Avatar of yourself, after a quick use of it last night I have to say it was pretty good. It firstly asks if you are Male or Female, then takes a passport-like photo followed by at body shot where you have to stand in the guidelines. After a couple of seconds...poof...there is avatar you! Unfortunately at the moment you can only share photos which is quite an anti-climax in my opinion. Another main reveal was an addition to one of the biggest gaming francheise in history...HALO! Yes, yes, Halo 4 is coming...exciting huh!? A trailer was shown with some tantalising points, I can't wait to get my thumbs on that game! (oh and apparently it's not by Bungie any more!)
This is getting quite long now and I'm typing this on my iPad resulting in some finger cramp so I'll talk about Sony's conference. Honest, I was sitting at home waiting for the announcement of the NGP or now called 'Vita'. I was amazed, my brother was sitting next to me with his anti-Sony quips and ended up walking out the room. I do think Xbox is better but that's beside the point, cutting this short...I want one!
Did you ever met my friend Aristotle? Well, he was a Greek Philosopher that came up with three poetics that applies to narrative, these are known as the Arristotle Poetics:
1) Beginning
2) Middle
3) End
These are pretty key in how books, films and games are created. Imagine if the book you were reading had no ending, or you started watching a film half-way through, it would be infuriating wouldn't it?
With literature and other media of that sort using those poetics, you could say that as the audience; you were experiencing it in a linear way, from point A, to point D at the end. But is it different in video games seen today?
Are Video Games today changing traditional narratives?
As video games have become increasingly interactive and graphically immersive the way the story or plot is told can change depending on the player's actions throughout the game. Games typical of this are RPG's (Role Playing Games) where the player usually creates a character from a various array of selections i.e. race, power, clothes etc. This straight away makes it a unique experience as the main character used in the story is different to everyone else playing. In a book for example, everyone reading will have the same description on the page in every copy, imagination creates the character's looks but primarily the character is who the author wants him/her to be. This begs the question of whether or not authors are actually dying out, not the books; this will be looked at later on in the post.
An RPG that uses this 'player-told story' is the Fable series by Lionhead Studios. Fable 2 released in 2008 really played on the idea of changing traditional narratives. Check out the video below from an interview with one of the main creators, Peter Molyneux:
The 'Free-Roaming' World
A quote from the biginning of the clip is a great example to use that stresses the point that Aristotle's Poetics are not being re-written but changed and altered, "...has an incredable story that morphs around what your [the player] like and allows you to be whoever you want to be, whether its good or evil, pure or corrupt." Moloyneux talks about how the player can get married and buy houses, this really allows the story to be experienced at a unique pace to someone else. He also keeps using the word "free-roaming" when he talks about the world that the story is set, this is an epitomising point because it really contradicts the idea of a linear path typically seen when reading books. Molyneux seems like he's homing in on changing the traditional narratives seen in the Modern Warfare franchise when you follow a set path through check points and triggers.
Take a look at this other video with interviews from some writers and other fans of the game and how in-depth the story is:
The player in Mass Effect
Another game that experiments with different narrative methods is Mass Effect. This game series by BioWare really focus's on in-game choices. The main area here to talk about is the conversations. In this game the player can choose which line of dialogue to say allowing the conversation to unfold differently every time. This is similar to Fable as it gives the narrative a more user-controlled feel rather than the script writer's. Choosing different lines of dialogue can create tension between the player and the crew member, can create a love story within the main story and can even unlock various parts that would not be accessible because the player did not choose to get to know that person well enough.
In games like Mass Effect or Fable the in-game choices allow the story to unfold around the player ultimately creating a completelydifferent ending to the story. In Mass Effect for example, during the game you may wish to have more evil morales to that of one of your companions, that companion leaves the party and therefore doesn't join you at the end for support during a massive onslaught. Or if you are enemies with a party member he/she may not listen to your commands at he end of the game resulting in their demise. This links to the idea that authors are somewhat not the main element any more, they lay the foundations for the player (audience) to create their own experience. Are the players actually becoming the author? I suppose we do certain things within the story that catalyse the story to unfold but in my opinion, the idea of a game having a beginning, a middle and an end is still apparent but the rate at which they are experienced differs.
Another quick game to look at, Heavy Rain. This is a different take on traditional games mainly because it is a different genre all together. Heavy Rain is solely an interactive book, the main strengths in its production and experience is its story.
See how the choices that the player can choose floats dynamically around the main protagonist. This game is extending the power of what traditional novels provide: an immersive experience from beginning to end. The same is for Heavy Rain except it allows the player to deviate from the beginning point to the end point freely.
The advance in computer graphics is ever increasing, I mean looking back in 1970 to when Pong was first introduced and then to now, 2010 the journey has been massive.
Wow! They're having a blast!
Pong 1970
ll
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V
Too Human - Xbox 360 today! Wowza!
As the technology has advanced the line between the game world and the real world has blurred together and researchers and tech boffins are now "pulling graphics out of your television screen or computer display and integrating them into real-world environments" (howstuffworks.com).
This new technology is named Augmented Reality and is quite something I have to admit!
So, what are the uses and potential of this new technology? you might ask, well my friend, keep reading and all your questions will be answered.
At the moment Augmented Reality (AR) is still in its infancy but to be honest some of the things achieved at this stage is amazing. Take a look at how AR could change how we interact with the world.
In that video notice how all the AR elements were triggered by a 'marker'. This uniquely designed image is programmed into the software meaning that at this stage, unfortunately they can only be used with that specific camera but the glasses that people were wearing allowed the AR to be that more portable like the children's book. The book had the specific markers on the page and when the child looked through the glasses the images were created. But do people want to walk around with large glasses? This debate is very similar to the new 3D technology where allot of people negate the possibility of buying a 3D tv because of the glasses. As tv culture is very much social and communal; wearing 'geeky' glasses is barrier.
But has this been over come with the introduction of designer glasses?
Not just any 3D glasses. These are premium Armani
3D glasses! Would you wear them?
I wonder if the 3D glasses from Armani would improve the progression of AR, just imagine walking down the street with those snazzy shades and getting information all around you: hmm very tempting in my opinion!
AR offers the real world more, in the area of advertising. In the future if you are wearing your designer glasses and glance over at a store such as HMV then there could be a list that appears giving sale information, new releases and special offers. But at this time, in its infancy the methods are still developing but there are some that look pretty cool.
Using the unique printed markers companies can print them in a magazine and instruct the customer view them through their web-cam through their site. An example is with cars, a customer can see a digital 3D projection of the model: A Mini Augmented Reality.
AR is used to show what you would look like if you were wearing a particular item of clothing, a shade of makeup or even watches which is what customers experienced at Selfridges, London. The markers are still used here but the technology and the concept is still amazing, in the future the markers may not be there and the software knows where to place the 3D image.
Another example is to advertise tv programs. The Vampire Diaries has become a hit in the US and the UK and this AR demo was set up in New York and Loas Angeles with the slogan "Vampires cant see their reflection...can you?". In the video one of the ladies experiancing it says, "I would look at this [the AR advert] than the sign up there2, I think that encapsulates the who idea of the new advertising technology that is named as 'storescapes'.
This next one is amazing in my opinion: Avatar Storescape. The idea of emailing the pictures to the customer adds another dimension making that targeted link between film and audience.
This sets a new era for advertising and makes the audience involved, something that didn't happen when watching them on tv or in the movies.
One other AR I came across from Youtube is building projections. The whole building is mapped by cameras allowing powerful and precise projections to be emitted onto the surface with realistic effects. This magnifies the idea that the boundary between real life and the digital life is dissolving. Check out these amazing videos:
AR has some commercial products too. Restaurants are taking use to this new tech making the customer experience that much better now that it is part digital, the iBar is revolutionary although not holding any purpose but to entertain it is a great addition the the AR family: The iBar. Another example is the Microsoft Surface shown at CES 2008, this table allows users to interact digitally with their surroundings such as bar cups etc or even in shops like the man described using product tags. It becomes an interactive tool that draws the digital reality and the real life together.
I thnik that at the moment the main area that is homing in on AR is advertising companies, in the future it could expand further to the general public but people do not want to pay large amounts of money for new tech that is still in infancy. But the direction that AR is going is very promising and extremely exciting indeed.
