Games Like Uncharted, Heavy Rain Don't Make Most of Medium, Deus Ex Creator Says

I like it how diversity, which is a good thing by the very nature, gets criticized. It's good that we have interactive movies alongside non-story centric shooters, fighters and sports games. This presents you with a choice. And choice is good. Always. Not every game has to be Mortal Kombat or Deus Ex. That would be awful.

Hah you know what's largely in a rut when it comes to storytelling? Hollywood movies. Games do it better; don't be jealous.

Satisfaction is more important than the BS he was babbling about. I'm talking about the amount of pleasure a game can make players felt. Uncharted, Heavy Rain, and Telltale's The Walking Dead have done better job in that aspect when compared to Deus Ex. I understand what he talked about, but those games successes explain why Deus Ex has not reached the same height the other mentioned games have reached.

Can someone please translate what he's saying to a dumbed-down version so that the people who are bashing him can understand? Wow

Every game can't be the same. Watch dogs, Saints Row 4, Mad Max, Sleeping Dogs, Assassins Creed Unity, Dragon Age Inquisition are all open world games with so much content than uncharted but i failed to complete any of them except for gta 5, witcher 3 and bloodborne.

Kill Sony !

People saying "who is this idiot?" should know this:

He ONLY developed Deus EX (the 2000 PC title, not Human Revolution) and Thief: Deadly Shadows (to name 2 titles, because he also produced or co-produced games in the Ultima series and System Shock), whether you like Deus EX or not, it was ground-breaking, innovative and award winning when it came out, it wasn't the typical annual sequel or the 11th release of a milked franchise. So please: go make some research.

People seem confused.
He's not railing against linearity itself. That's only one aspect of a larger problem.

"they limit your ability to interact with the game world", "it's about how do you accomplish a predetermined path to get to the next plot point", "That's all entirely descriptive of Heavy Rain. Though, all of that is descriptive of every other game too. Limits, scripting, predetermined effects are largely necessary for games to function.

Every choice in a game like this has been pre-scripted and handwritten by a designer somewhere, and the effects of that choice have been predetermined by the developers"

In Deus Ex, you pull a trigger, the gun fires. Predetermined effect.

You meet a guy who you can kill or let go - that choice and its effects were pre-made and scripted by a designer.

Your interactions are limited - you cannot piggy-back on an enemy, for example.

*All games have these things*. It's the extent that matters. Too much constraint and it really might as well be a book or a movie because okay, you're telling a story...But you're doing so largely at the expense of the player's agency. And that's the line between a movie and a video game - player agency. Uncharted is linear. Okay. No big deal.

BUT also it forces you to kill every enemy, solve every puzzle one exact way, beat every boss one way, use only specific vehicles along specific paths...At that point, just about the only significant player choice left is what gun to use.

Linearity is a possible symptom but not the overall issue. The issue is a near-total lack of agency to the point that there's barely any real room for playing a game.

Make no mistake. Uncharted is a fine experience. But that experience is much closer to film than game.

This is interesting, because logically he's right; games like Uncharted are "low expression" games. But just because this guy has a scale for ability of player expression in a game doesn't mean the scale is worth a damn. The fact is that if all games were high expression games, then I would hardly play video games at all. High expression games are integral to the success of the video game industry, and there is a unique experience that goes along with being able to have total control over how you want your game to turn out. But that's just the thing: everyone doesn't always want that gameplay experience. Escapism is something that many people love about video games, and the fact of the matter is that most "high expression" games require so much attention to detail that it detracts from that escapist experience. If every game were high expression then what's the point of playing more than one video game? If I could do anything I wanted in every video game, then what would be the distinction between them? Games like Uncharted and Until Dawn (and countless others) offer a blended entertainment experience that many people enjoy. I would also argue that "story-heavy" games push the industry forward, because they can teach other developers how to use plot devices and cinematic elements to enhance their "high expression" experience.

It's especially bold to tell people to "stay out of his medium." Art is art, and the ability to express yourself (as a developer or player) is at the discretion of the creator. The joy of games is that there is something for absolutely everyone, and to say that "low expression" games don't maximize the experience is ignorant. It would be like saying to a chef that his food is garbage because you can't choose what ingredients go into it; sometimes people have specific intentions with what they want to present, and just because people want to share specific ideas or themes doesn't mean they should be excluded from an entire medium of expression. Stop telling people how to create, stop telling people what they should and shouldn't appreciate, and stop fostering the idea that games are only supposed to be for players to express themselves however they please.

So instead of crafting an inspirational speech that drives prolific creativity, he chooses to come off as an idea Nazi and a condescending moderator of video games as a medium? Smooth...

says the mand that worked on epic mickey and epic mickey 2 ROFL

What an idiot.

...

Stop imposing your views on everybody else, it destroys creativity.

Also not everybody likes the same types of games.

Go make Mickey Mouse mediocre games, that I don't like but others might.

Errrr...and who are u again, mr spector? ohh..i see, someone who didn't even make a significant dent in gaming history

Live and let live... those games cater to their base, and give people away to change it up...

In the words of hood chicks everywhere "Just do you, boo"

I get what he is saying. Very basically, he is all about player-driven experiences. Stories that make themselves out of random situations. Games like Fallout and Skyrim. Yeah. Okay. I don't know if I call those high expression games. Then I see story as most important. Just differently than Spector. He just believes because video games are interactive, that all games should allow for more player-driven story than scripted. Yeah, but I am not sure if that is what people exclusively want.

I think the best stories are ones that are written so well that you can immerse yourself in. There is a reason that the Uncharted Series is thought to be one of the best out there. Yeah, you don't have any player choice as the story shuffles you to spot after spot but the story is SUPER Engaging. Sometimes that is hard to accomplish with player controlled story. Hell, sometimes players are simple and the only story that emerges is a bunch of goofing off.

That may be fun for the player but adds nothing to the story.

I get his point but I think he has too much faith in player agency. There has ALWAYS been an illusion of choice.

"Games shouldn't aspire to be movies, Spector said. "If all you want to do is show off how clever you are, get out of my medium!" he said. "Go make a movie or something, because that's what you should be doing.""

Frankly, I find this particular comment to be quite distasteful. This isn't "his" medium. No art form belongs to one person - or even to a select group of people - exclusively. You can't put a stamp on it and claim it for your own just because your perspective of what it should be differs somewhat from others.

I personally believe that variety is the spice of life. The more choices and variety we get, the better, and that goes for game genres as well. So what if some games are more cinematic or movie-like? Some people enjoy that. For those who don't, it's easy enough to avoid what doesn't appeal to you and focus on what does. This is why choice exists. Even though I personally like my choices and freedom in games, there are times when I feel too tired to bother with such intricacies and prefer to simply let a game take me for a ride, without having to invest too much thought or energy into it. This is why I can equally appreciate games like Uncharted or The Witcher (for example) for what they are.

So I guess the industry should only be made of games that he deems appropriate. The games business is made up of all types of games from the Pew Pew to the JRPG, and people have the choice to purchase to their tastes and likes. Also, people don't purchase games for the same exact reasons.

Sounds a little salty.

I think I can see where Spector is coming from. His concept of "expression", whether low or high, in games is based on the things you don't have to do as opposed to the things you have to. In Fallout, for example, there is a clear story-line and hundreds of quests, but you don't necessarily have to do any of them to play the game. There is a level of freedom equaled by few other games.

Be that as it may, saying that Uncharted, Heavy Rain, and The Walking Dead "do not make the most of games as a medium" is wrong. As a medium, games are all about freedom, so it doesn't make much sense to restrict what "makes the most of them" to his concept of expression.

I don't really get his problem with designer-driven 5 stories-into-1 narrative games. Yes they might seem limiting or linear at points and of course they don't offer much freedom to the player.

But consider this:
All games, like most art, are about IMMERSION!

This can be achieved either by a believable open world game (i.e. Fallout, Witcher 3 etc.) that gives you freedom to explore and learn, or with a narrative/story based game (i.e. Telltale games, Uncharted etc.) that captures the player with its interesting character development and decision making that ultimately has significant impact in the future of the narrative.

I don't get why we have to have one OR the other in videogames and why one of them should "get out of his medium" if he doesn't like it.
We apologize Mr. Spector, but gamers DEMAND the freedom to choose between these kind of games, and don't want to be limited in options based on your preferences...

I expected him to bring up The Order 1886.

Uhh yeah i don't play game to express myself but to have fun and good laugh. But isn't All games are designer given, dishonor, sim or etc choices are pre determine by

developer.

Funny that he didn't mention AC since it already turning the game into a movie

What is it with the Sony Defence Force? You’re so goddamn sensitive.

Are you not even bright enough to realise that he is criticising the medium (criticise in the true sense of the word – constructive and based around the principles of game design) rather than the actual product values of the game itself? He says it is an excellent example of a style of game. He just has concerns with ‘that style’.

Beautiful cut scenes followed by linear, wave based gameplay is not, in his opinion (and mine) the pinnacle of what games can achieve. If it is, for you, then I can think of no finer game than Unchartered.

Not every game has to. Sometimes you just want a popcorn game the same way you want a popcorn movie.

Did he even play Uncharted? That series does make most of the medium. Remove the cutscenes in Uncharted and it's still a good, well designed game. Remove the cutscenes in Heavy Rain and it would no longer be a game anyone would play.

Games like Heavy Rain should be exception, not a norm (as GS once wrote about such games). But games like Unchartered & Last of US though very linear offer greater value by offering both gaming & cinematic experience.

The future of gaming & movies go hand-in-hand. With VR technology rapidly evolving eventually movies & games should be merged & lead roles should be left to the players to play out.

Each to their own. To me both kinds of Game types have their advantages. Sometimes i prefer a better told story to variation of possibilities. I don´t always need to play my story.