Comments for Craig Ostrin

Comment on Why Don’t We Finish Games? by Craig

Craig — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:59:45 +0000

Another reply to Feen’s post…

The difficulty curve exists to keep the game interesting. Developers wouldn’t need to rely as much on ever-increasing challenge to engage the player if the stories were more competent.

Comment on “Meaningful Thought” by Craig

Craig — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:22:36 +0000

And one of the great things about Nathan Drake is that his character isn’t just conveyed in the well-voiced cut scenes, but also in every move he makes.

Comment on “Meaningful Thought” by George

George — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 06:10:49 +0000

This is the main reason that I’m so fond of Uncharted. Nate makes an excellent protagonist because he not only has flaws, he actually overcomes them throughout the story. But the sad truth is that we’ve been trained to expect one-dimensional heroes in games, and I would never have noticed what a good character he is if Beige hadn’t gone out of his way to point it out.

The problem is not just that we don’t know how to make compelling characters; it’s that we don’t recognize them even when we HAVE them.

Also, I got your email! It’s just taking me a while to reply because Full Sail is keeping me super busy and I want to send you a cogent response.

Comment on Why Don’t We Finish Games? by owen

owen — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:52:20 +0000

I guess people just have access to too many games. especially good games. This is why I am still sticking to the wii (just picked up no more heros) because the majority of the game are so shitty that I have to cherish the good games that I get to play. Good games just come out for the 360 so fast that people either finish then quickly or never get to finish them before they get distracted by some other over hyped game.

gmaefly could be blamed as well.

Comment on Why Don’t We Finish Games? by Craig

Craig — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:40:41 +0000

That's a fair point, and one that goes hand in hand with the annoying tendency to lock away essential content, especially in games with barely a semblance of a plot (see: Rock Band, Street Fighter IV). Why don't you let me play what I've paid for? And yet, at least in my experience, frustration isn't the main reason why I don't finish games. Yes, there are definitely games like Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword that I've throw down in disgust after dying on the 27th wave of enemies and will probably never pick up again. However, these days, "accessibility" is the word on the tip of every designer's tongue. As we're seeing fewer Ninja Gaidens and more Prince of Persias, I think that excessive difficulty is fading as a barrier to entry. Also, I should point out: the difference here is that frustration will drive you away from a game, while story will keep you coming back for more. The former pushes you away, while the latter pulls you in. My problem has been less about difficulty driving me away (Ninja Gaiden DS stands out as the first exception in a long time) and more that most games fail to keep me engaged all the way through, which, if you ask me, calls for better stories, not easier and more accessible gameplay.

Comment on Why Don’t We Finish Games? by Feenwager

Feenwager — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:44:54 +0000

Nice piece, but I’m going to respectfully disagree. Not about most gaming stories being less than great (they are, but I have a fairly low threshold for narrative…it only has to be interesting, it doesn’t have to be War & Peace).

I think the reason that most people don’t finish games is because of this antiquated notion that games should get more difficult as you progress through them. When the industry was about sucking quarters out of your pocket as fast as possible, this made some sense. When I’ve paid $60 for an “experience” the practice is borderline retarded.

To use your example of other media: do movies and books get more challenging the closer you get to the ending? Does the print get smaller? Does the movie suddenly speed up or go in and out of focus? No, of course not…that would be silly. So why does a game throw roadblocks of increasing difficulty at you if the developers want you to see their entire work?

I could go on and on about this, but I’m a pretty firm believer that frustration is the number one reason people don’t finish games.

Comment on Why Don’t We Finish Games? by Craig

Craig — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 04:19:30 +0000

I probably misused Levine’s quote there. I think that he was more talking about setting than broader genres. Rapture’s one of the most unique places I’ve ever visited in a game, but all in all, BioShock’s still just a shooter.

I haven’t played Gravitation, but Rohrer’s Passage is one of my favorite examples of “mechanics as message.”

Comment on Why Don’t We Finish Games? by Cyranix

Cyranix — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:25:41 +0000

I think Levine is actually being quite disingenuous there, not to mention belittling of his peers. It’s not a matter of exposure to other media; it’s a matter of difficulty. Designers who would create a “life drama” game (perhaps there’s a better term, but something that matches the characteristics from my previous comment) have very little to build on, and creating a wholly new model of game mechanics or exploring an untried setting is daunting. The easy road is to recycle existing models and settings with minor variations, knowing that a proven audience will subscribe to it.
This is one reason that I try to keep up with indie and arthouse games — a lot of the guys and gals in that scene are exploring terra nova. They’re much more likely to invent and refine “life drama” than any mainstream developers. I’m not the biggest Rohrer fan, but Gravitation was actually a pretty fine step in that direction, especially to someone like me who is largely in the “mechanics are the message” camp of game design and analysis.

Comment on Why Don’t We Finish Games? by Craig

Craig — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 05:39:44 +0000

I think the limited subject matter in videogames is more a weakness of the creators than the medium. To quote Ken Levine again, “Most videogame people have read one book and seen one movie in their life, which is Lord of the Rings and Aliens or variations of that. There’s great things in that, but you need some variety.”

Hopefully, as games become more and more mainstream, we’ll see new designers who come from a slightly different background.

Comment on Why Don’t We Finish Games? by Cyranix

Cyranix — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:21:07 +0000

Here’s a question I posed to the Squad a while back, though I think only Roc answered. How many video games do you own that involve none of the following?

– magic
– murder, war, et simil
– mythological creatures, aliens, et simil

Now subtract narrative-free games like Peggle and representations of pre-existing games and sports. What are you left with?

All other forms of entertainment and artistic expression do quite well at portraying views of common human life in interesting ways. The same can hardly be said of video games.