Cinematic Game Design III

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Cinematic Game Design III
Action!
orNine (More) Ways to Make Your Game More
Cinematic Without Adding Any More Cinematics
Richard Rouse III and Marty StoltzGame
Developers Conference, 2009
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Introductions
Marty Stoltz Cinematic Director Big Huge
Games Star Wars The Force Unleashed Strangleho
ld The Suffering Ties That Bind Mortal Kombat
Armageddon Mortal Kombat Deception Mortal
Kombat Shaolin Monks Psi-Ops Sanitarium

• Richard Rouse III
• Lead Single Player Designer
• Kaos Studios
• Wheelman
• The Suffering
• The Suffering Ties That Bind
• Drakan The Ancients Gates
• Centipede 3D
• Damage Incorporated
• Odyssey
• Game Design Theory Practice

Some Games Weve Worked On
Slides available online link at end of
presentation
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What is a Cinematic Game?

• Not the bad definition
• Shouldnt mean non-interactive
• Learn from, do not copy
• Use established filmic techniques to craft an
  emotional experience
• Integrate the devices into gameplay

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Talks of GDCs Past

• Cinematic Game Design The First
• Rim Lighting
• Character Framing
• Camera Following Character
• Slow Motion
• Subjective P.O.V.
• Parallel Editing
• Split Screen
• Building Tension
• Emotional Setup
• (Mis)Leading the Audience

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Talks of GDCs Past

• Cinematic Game Design II Storytelling
• Exaggerated Camera Angles
• Voice Over Narration
• Image Juxtaposition
• Audio Juxtaposition
• Visualized Thoughts
• Altered Reality
• Misdirection
• Picture within Picture
• Visual Storytelling

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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 games action, without making it
  less interactive

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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

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Starting a FightGameplay 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

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Technique 2Pacing 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 Bunch
• The Untouchables

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Pacing a ShootoutGameplay 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

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Technique 3The 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

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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

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Technique 4Car 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

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Car Chase CameraGameplay 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

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Technique 5Foot 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

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Foot Chase TensionGameplay 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

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Technique 6Getting 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

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Getting a Sense of HeightGameplay 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
• Mirrors Edge

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Getting a Sense of HeightGameplay Application

• Long shot of objective to be climbed
• Third person perspective allows you to understand
  what youre climbing better
• Less immersive
• Synchronize and Jump Off mechanic emphasizes
  sense of height
• Examples from
• Assassins Creed

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Technique 7The 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

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The Unexpected LocationGameplay 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

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Technique 8The 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

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The Confusing EnvironmentGameplay 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

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Technique 9The 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

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The Intimate Death SceneGameplay 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

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The Intimate Death SceneGameplay Application

• Death is most meaningful when the player spends
  game-time with a character
• Cameras and fancy graphics not necessarily
  required
• Example from
• Planetfall

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Nine Cinematic Action Techniques

1. Starting a Fight
2. Pacing a Shootout
3. The Suspense Change Up
4. Car Chase Camera
5. Foot Chase Tension
6. Getting a Sense of Height
7. The Unexpected Location
8. The Confusing Environment
9. The Intimate Death Scene

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Questions?

• Contact
• Richard rr3_at_paranoidproductions.com
• Marty martystoltz.com
• Slides ( previous years slides) available at
• www.paranoidproductions.com
• Special thanks to Coray Seifert for a lot of
  video tomfoolery.