Cinematic Game Design III

Richard Rouse III and Marty StoltzGame Developer’s Conference, 2009

Action!

* orNine (More) Ways to Make Your Game More Cinematic

Without Adding Any More Cinematics

IntroductionsRichard Rouse IIILead Single Player DesignerKaos Studios

WheelmanThe Suffering The Suffering: Ties That BindDrakan: The Ancients’ GatesCentipede 3DDamage IncorporatedOdyssey Game Design: Theory & Practice

Marty Stoltz Cinematic Director

Big Huge Games

Star Wars: The Force UnleashedStranglehold

The Suffering: Ties That Bind Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

Mortal Kombat: DeceptionMortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks

Psi-OpsSanitarium

Slides available online – link at end of presentation

Some Games We’ve Worked On

What is a “Cinematic” Game?

• Not the “bad” definition• Shouldn’t mean non-interactive• Learn from, do not copy• Use established filmic techniques to craft an

emotional experience• Integrate the devices into gameplay

Talks of GDCs Past

Cinematic Game Design The First

1. Rim Lighting2. Character Framing3. Camera Following Character4. Slow Motion5. Subjective P.O.V.6. Parallel Editing7. Split Screen8. Building Tension9. Emotional Setup10. (Mis)Leading the Audience

Cinematic Game Design II: Storytelling

1. Exaggerated Camera Angles2. Voice Over Narration 3. Image Juxtaposition4. Audio Juxtaposition 5. Visualized Thoughts 6. Altered Reality7. Misdirection8. Picture within Picture 9. Visual Storytelling

Talks of GDCs Past

CGD3: Action!• Action games are superior at tension

and immersion• Action movies are great at pacing

and imbuing combat with meaning• Cinematic techniques allow us to

instill more gravitas in a game’s action, without making it less interactive

Technique #1: Starting a Fight

• Entrances can have different styles and can set the tempo of the scene

• Fight scenes composed of small sequences/”fight blocks”:• The Entrance• The Fight• The Special Event• The Finish

• Examples from: Conan The Barbarian

Starting a Fight:Gameplay Application

• A new enemy is positioned in a highly visible but unreachable position

• Immediate understanding of how the creature behaves

• Enemy gets to wreak havoc before player can do anything about it

• Companion NPC provides reinforcement• Example from:

Half-Life 2: Episode 2

Technique #2:Pacing a Shootout

• Stylized slow motion can be used for different purposes

• Direction of action can be chaotic or precise

• Amount of shooting defines the pace• Examples from:

The Wild BunchThe Untouchables

Pacing a Shootout:Gameplay Application

• Mexican stand-off starts with a brief non-interactive setup

• Mini-game builds on gameplay of the main game, but with altered mechanics (unjustified)

• Recreates a trademark dramatic situation• Example from:

Stranglehold

Technique #3:The Suspense Change

Up• Build to a moment the audience is

expecting• Unexpected event alters the payoff• Often we arrive at the same

destination but take a different route to get there

• Examples from: Unforgiven

Dawn of the Dead

The Suspense Change Up :

Gameplay Application

• Some of the player's abilities are taken away (carefully justified)

• Remains highly immersive• Player must quickly master surprise

situation with somewhat altered mechanics

• Example from: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Technique #4:Car Chase Camera

• Different scenes view the car from different perspectives

• View of the driver is important, altering immersion

• Examples from: The Hidden

The Bourne Supremacy

Car Chase Camera:Gameplay Application

• Third person camera makes experience playable

• Shooting transitions to almost-POV shot from within car

• Works better for gameplay and drama

• Emphasizes the main character• Example from:

Wheelman

Technique #5:Foot Chase Tension

• Use open shots to see both pursued and pursuer

• Use close shots to see either the pursued or the pursuer

• Example from: 28 Weeks Later

Foot Chase Tension:Gameplay Application

• Player is deliberately kept weak and weaponless

• Heavily scripted, without being too obvious

• Situation is “unfair” but forgiving• Example from:

Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth

Technique #6:Getting a Sense of

Height• How to add suspense to a scene

with continuous danger• Different shots can be used for scale• Selectively show the ground to

focus on other things beside danger• Example from:

Saboteur

Getting a Sense of Height:

Gameplay Application• First person perspective immerses with

feeling of real world vertigo• Forgiving controls, but with tense “just

avoided falling” animation• Falling to your death is uniquely disturbing• First person creates a world awareness

challenge• Examples from:

Mirror’s Edge

• Long shot of objective to be climbed• Third person perspective allows you to

understand what you’re climbing better• Less immersive• “Synchronize” and “Jump Off” mechanic

emphasizes sense of height• Examples from:

Assassin’s Creed

Getting a Sense of Height:

Gameplay Application

Technique #7:The Unexpected

Location• Throws the audience off a bit• Environment presents unusual

obstacles and unusual solutions• Can be used to change the mood of

a scene• Example from:

Enter the Dragon

The Unexpected Location:Gameplay Application

• Carefully chosen familiar yet novel place for a gunfight

• Space feels real and functional• Clever player gets to go "behind the

scenes"• Example from:

Duke Nukem 3D

Technique #8:The Confusing Environment

• Throws the main characters off a bit• Nature of the location makes the

viewer feel vulnerable • Break from reality gives us a chance

to play with surreal effects• Example from:

The Lady from Shanghai

The Confusing Environment:

Gameplay Application• Confusing space keeps players

guessing, constantly on edge• Player feels he's never safe, even

though it is not dangerous• Allows for self-referential naval

gazing• Example from:

Max Payne 2

Technique #9:The Intimate Death

Scene• Stylized slow-motion draws out the

event and can focus on suspense and brutality

• Often audio is distorted or drops away• Can be used to wrap up the story or

characters• Example from:

The Dead Zone

The Intimate Death Scene:

Gameplay Application• Everything is kept first person,

extreme character close-up, forces the player to be “hands on”

• Tie to the plot and core mechanics • Example from:

Bioshock

The Intimate Death Scene:

Gameplay Application• Death is most meaningful when the

player spends game-time with a character

• Cameras and fancy graphics not necessarily required

• Example from: Planetfall

Nine Cinematic Action Techniques

1. Starting a Fight2. Pacing a Shootout3. The Suspense Change Up4. Car Chase Camera5. Foot Chase Tension6. Getting a Sense of Height7. The Unexpected Location8. The Confusing Environment9. The Intimate Death Scene

Questions?

• Contact:Richard: rr3@paranoidproductions.com

Marty: martystoltz.com

• Slides (& previous year’s slides) available at:

www.paranoidproductions.com

Special thanks to Coray Seifert for a lot of video tomfoolery.