While interviewing Ken Levine earlier this month for my story on the use of objectivism in BioShock we talked quite a bit about the plot. Near the end of the interview I found myself compelled to tell Levine what I thought of the game.

"I know I'm not a game developer, I just write about games," I said to Levine, steeling myself for his reaction. "But I wasn't exactly thrilled with the ending of the game. I felt like the confrontation with Ryan, the deneumont of the story, should have probably been the game's ending. It felt like you dragged it out too much after that and it ended up watering down the experience."

Then I waited, for a second, in silence before hearing Levine say he agreed.

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game design

The Four Keys Revisited - Emotion and Games

I don't always agree with what Chris Bateman has to say over at his Only A Game, but I generally find his (occasional) lengthy commentary on video games to be quite interesting. This week, he was tackling some aspects of Nicole Lazzaro's Four Keys model, which has to do with 'unlocking' emotion in games without relying on story (a popular subject, to be sure). It's a lengthy piece, but pretty fascinating if you're interested in game design, regardless of whether you agree with his conclusions or not. Bateman frequently seems concerned with the divide between casual gamers and what he terms 'gamer hobbyists' (that would be the more dedicated market) and how it impacts the industry: More »

There's not much to dislike about Half-Life 2. With the exception of its sometimes dreary atmosphere and the deafening silence of empty vessel Gordon Freeman, it gets just about everything right. The screenwriting team at Valve should be commended for fashioning one of the few ongoing story lines in which I actually find myself invested, now nine years in the telling. But the team at Valve, I believe, deserves credit for one of Episode Two's most welcome features: the recap.

For those who haven't played Episode Two, it begins with a quick summary of the events of Episode One. That's extremely helpful, as I'd completed that portion of the post-Half-Life 2 trilogy almost 18-months ago. Rather than having to re-read some FAQ, check the Wikipedia entry on the episode, or, God forbid, look into the recesses of my gray matter for the plot synopsis, Valve provides a quick, pre-rendered brush up. Why don't more games do this?

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cbs

Storytelling And Gaming

William Vitka over at CBS's GameCore has an ambitiously fascinating piece up on gaming and storytelling. He puts forth the question of whether or not video games will ever have a Citizen Kane moment. "My first response is to ask whether the analogy is the right one," Henry Jenkins of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology tells Vitka. "If the question is, 'Will video games become a serious art form in their own right?' I think the answer is inevitably yes." More »