German Interview feat. Job Stauffer (AKA more lies!)
Jan 14, 2017 14:57:44 GMT
Bioshock Infinite WD, Tormundo, and 3 more like this
Post by the meg on Jan 14, 2017 14:57:44 GMT
WIRED: What will be the most important in the future of story-telling in video games?
JOB: That games are classified into categories like comedy, horror or the like—For 30 years, the industry has sorted its titles according to the mechanics: Games that are called shooter, role-play, racing game, platformer or real-time strategy. This, however, only defines how players interact with the content on a mechanical level. If you look at films, television, comics and books, then the genres are defined according to the types of stories. Their content is at the center. It is important to me that the game industry takes stories so seriously that they define the genre. We should cease to regard the narrative as secondary.
WIRED: So should all games be classified differently, not just 'Adventure'?
JOB: Not all games. Because not all need a story. This is the great power and magic of interactive entertainment. The game industry still has a lot of space to grow, to mature, to discover itself and to pursue new paths. We at Telltale, love games and stories as much as we love films and comics. We stand by the overlap of all this. Conventions must be rediscovered and defined. And we are glad to be there.
WIRED: While classic adventures have to combine items and solve puzzles, you are more and more distant. Why?
JOB: We have grown up with adventure games. Half of the studio has spent a lot of its life with them. Many come from Lucas Arts and have created some of the best adventure games of all time, such as co-founder Kevin Bruner, who has worked on Grim Fandango. One issue for us, however, was always that it is hard to get more people to play classic adventures. They are enthusiastic about the story, but it comes to a halt when the players no longer understand what they are supposed to do. They do not manage to open a certain door or to cross a labyrinth. Finally, they need six hours to get to the next scene—to the next dialogue.
WIRED: And that is a problem?
JOB: For the people who have grown up with it, it is a lot of fun. But the best thing about Adventures are the relationships between the characters and the storytelling. That is why we want to lower the entry barriers for players and focus on the action. We focus on making decisions instead of on puzzle and logic puzzles. And so want to keep the interactive experience at a pace that resembles film and television.
WIRED: In Telltale's adventure games, the player has to press the same keys again and again in case of danger. He or she can not influence the result. The interaction thus becomes a pure illusion. Why do you do that?
JOB: At the beginning of each game we show a message. It says that it is an interactive story that is tailored to the decisions made by you. The word 'tailored' is very specific here: when two people buy the same suit, they still have different sizes. When we write an interactive story, we know where to start and where to end it. By and large, we all have the same suit, but it was adapted to each individual.
WIRED: So, if your games are not about decisions, what is the point?
JOB: Our games are more than adventures, they are role-playing games. If we allow the player to control a protagonist and interact with different characters in the story, he or she has the ability to define the character himself. We allow him to play as an asshole or as a nice guy - but only to the extent that it is still within the framework set by us. It's a bit like Dungeons & Dragons. Someone just has to tell you that you are a dwarf from the north and that this is your ax. And then you can play the character with these prerequisites as you want.
WIRED: How does this show up in your games?
JOB: In The Walking Dead, you play an African history teacher in his mid-thirties, who becomes a substitute guardian for a girl named Clementine. It's your decision, what you want to teach her. Whether it is the value of the community, survival or self-reliance. They are your ideals that you give to this non-playable character. And in the second season you play this nine-year-old girl during the zombie apocalypse. And based on what you gave her in the first season, you can control her in the second season. This allows players to define a character as they would play it.
WIRED: The story never really changes, but only the 'character' of the protagonists.
JOB: Yes, in the third season of Walking Dead you play as a completely new character. And you meet the now 14-year-old Clementine. If you've played the first two seasons, let's look at your choices you've made in past episodes, as defined by Clementine. So you meet a character that you have created by your own 'role-play'. Each decision has influenced how that person is now, years later. In this respect, any decision you have made is important.
WIRED: If fans complain that they have made a decision and the story has not changed, is that simply the wrong expectation?
JOB: Sure, many fans do not understand that our games are not about what happens on the screen, but about what's going on in your head and in your heart. Our games are often about empathy. Not only in heroic stories, but also in comedy, you need empathy, so that you can identify with something that makes you feel or laugh. To want to make games that are about relationships, empathy and hard decisions is what drives us.
JOB: That games are classified into categories like comedy, horror or the like—For 30 years, the industry has sorted its titles according to the mechanics: Games that are called shooter, role-play, racing game, platformer or real-time strategy. This, however, only defines how players interact with the content on a mechanical level. If you look at films, television, comics and books, then the genres are defined according to the types of stories. Their content is at the center. It is important to me that the game industry takes stories so seriously that they define the genre. We should cease to regard the narrative as secondary.
WIRED: So should all games be classified differently, not just 'Adventure'?
JOB: Not all games. Because not all need a story. This is the great power and magic of interactive entertainment. The game industry still has a lot of space to grow, to mature, to discover itself and to pursue new paths. We at Telltale, love games and stories as much as we love films and comics. We stand by the overlap of all this. Conventions must be rediscovered and defined. And we are glad to be there.
WIRED: While classic adventures have to combine items and solve puzzles, you are more and more distant. Why?
JOB: We have grown up with adventure games. Half of the studio has spent a lot of its life with them. Many come from Lucas Arts and have created some of the best adventure games of all time, such as co-founder Kevin Bruner, who has worked on Grim Fandango. One issue for us, however, was always that it is hard to get more people to play classic adventures. They are enthusiastic about the story, but it comes to a halt when the players no longer understand what they are supposed to do. They do not manage to open a certain door or to cross a labyrinth. Finally, they need six hours to get to the next scene—to the next dialogue.
“We want to lower the entry barriers for players and focus on the action.”
WIRED: And that is a problem?
JOB: For the people who have grown up with it, it is a lot of fun. But the best thing about Adventures are the relationships between the characters and the storytelling. That is why we want to lower the entry barriers for players and focus on the action. We focus on making decisions instead of on puzzle and logic puzzles. And so want to keep the interactive experience at a pace that resembles film and television.
WIRED: In Telltale's adventure games, the player has to press the same keys again and again in case of danger. He or she can not influence the result. The interaction thus becomes a pure illusion. Why do you do that?
JOB: At the beginning of each game we show a message. It says that it is an interactive story that is tailored to the decisions made by you. The word 'tailored' is very specific here: when two people buy the same suit, they still have different sizes. When we write an interactive story, we know where to start and where to end it. By and large, we all have the same suit, but it was adapted to each individual.
WIRED: So, if your games are not about decisions, what is the point?
JOB: Our games are more than adventures, they are role-playing games. If we allow the player to control a protagonist and interact with different characters in the story, he or she has the ability to define the character himself. We allow him to play as an asshole or as a nice guy - but only to the extent that it is still within the framework set by us. It's a bit like Dungeons & Dragons. Someone just has to tell you that you are a dwarf from the north and that this is your ax. And then you can play the character with these prerequisites as you want.
WIRED: How does this show up in your games?
JOB: In The Walking Dead, you play an African history teacher in his mid-thirties, who becomes a substitute guardian for a girl named Clementine. It's your decision, what you want to teach her. Whether it is the value of the community, survival or self-reliance. They are your ideals that you give to this non-playable character. And in the second season you play this nine-year-old girl during the zombie apocalypse. And based on what you gave her in the first season, you can control her in the second season. This allows players to define a character as they would play it.
“Many fans do not understand that our games are not about what happens on the screen, but in your mind and heart.”
WIRED: The story never really changes, but only the 'character' of the protagonists.
JOB: Yes, in the third season of Walking Dead you play as a completely new character. And you meet the now 14-year-old Clementine. If you've played the first two seasons, let's look at your choices you've made in past episodes, as defined by Clementine. So you meet a character that you have created by your own 'role-play'. Each decision has influenced how that person is now, years later. In this respect, any decision you have made is important.
WIRED: If fans complain that they have made a decision and the story has not changed, is that simply the wrong expectation?
JOB: Sure, many fans do not understand that our games are not about what happens on the screen, but about what's going on in your head and in your heart. Our games are often about empathy. Not only in heroic stories, but also in comedy, you need empathy, so that you can identify with something that makes you feel or laugh. To want to make games that are about relationships, empathy and hard decisions is what drives us.