Hey Cody! (Games as Art, etc.) (Gaming)

by Oholiab , Tuesday, September 29, 2015, 01:10 (3142 days ago) @ cheapLEY

I know I'm rehashing old ground here, but reading this excerpt reminds me of how much I enjoy ODST. My daughter and I have been playing through it again, so it's fresh in my mind.

There are very few "game mechanics" that get in the way of the story, and instead there are a lot of key gameplay decisions that mesh seamlessly with the narrative. The choice of guns, the "open" world", the non-linear story, the environment, even the visor... so many little gameplay design decisions work to enhance the film noire concept that drove the production. This marriage of storytelling and game mechanics seems to be the "art" to which the author refers.

My daughter knows nothing about film noire storytelling or video game design, so I find it very telling that she refers to the game as "Halo Mystery". She gets the concept without being told it explicitly because almost everything in the gameplay works with the story narrative to create a cohesive whole.

And dat music!