RE: Content

["Brandon J. Van Every" <vanevery@3DProgrammer.com>]

> The obvious problem with Westworld is
> that once they've seen it, the audience is not likely to stay
> very long, nor to come back very often.

That depends entirely upon (1) how much it costs (2) how much of a kick
someone gets out of putting a bullet through a gunslinger, or (3) taking a
fancy to a mechanical whore.  In the movie, wasn't there some biz exec who
came down there every chance he got?

> Having Mickey Mouse meet each guest at the  front gate
> and say, "Thank goodness you're here, the Wicked Witch has
> kidnapped everyone
> and you're the only one who can save them" isn't the way to do
> it.

But Mickey Mouse doesn't have to give anyone stage directions at the front
gate.  You can simply have 20 different places for the player to go, all
within similar walking distance.  Preparatory information is along the walk,
and players will choose for themselves whether they enter a specific
plotline.  You don't have to have all possible tailorable plotlines, only
enough plotlines that the majority of customers can find one they like.  In
other words, I think it's a mistake to assume that elaborate customization
to perceived individual needs is necessary.  You can just run them through
the rides.

> Having him
> meet each guest _outside_ the gate and say, "Before you go in,
> here are 47
> critically important decisions you have to make about your character
> identity, starting situation, participation style, and goals" is
> even worse.

Well, that is in fact exactly the approach that www.matchmaker.com uses.  I
found it interesting the 1st time.  A year later, after I was more
experienced with online personals, I found it totally annoying and wrote
rather rebellious, flippant, bizzaro stream-of-consciousness answers to most
of the questions.  This actually got me at least one date.  :-)  Pity it
didn't get me a gaggle.  There was definitely a strong contingent of
"Matchmaker asks idiot questions" on that site.  Some people reacted by
simply not answering questions.  Others by answering them all, but being
rather brief about it, and periodically complaining as they answered.
"That's personal!"  "Why are you asking this?"  "None of your business."
Still, it's important to note that most people sheepishly followed
directions, even if they groused about it.  They didn't have the imaginative
capacity to conclude that the correct response is anarchist performance art.
Maybe they wanted to get laid or something?

> The development of the craft of interactive storytelling offers
> the hope of better solutions.

Don't discount obvious, hamfisted solutions as you search for "better" ones.
One world view is that everyone is very unique and special and needs a lot
of handholding.  Another is that we're fish spawning in a river and you're
controlling a redundant pile of resources moving through your theme park.

> That is, the gamers would hate it but it would sell a zillion
> copies, and no one inside the game industry would be able to explain why.

Plenty of people inside the games industry can explain why Myst sells.  The
question is whether their explanations are pejorative, whether they
personally feel a need to tell everyone how much they hate Myst.  As far as
I can tell, the general consensus amongst game developers is that simple
mouseclick UIs sell to casual gamers, Myst caught the rise of the new CDROM
medium, pretty pictures are good in a "slideshow" or "coffee table photo
album" sense, people often bought this game as a gift for someone else or it
came bundled with something, and nobody actually finishes Myst except
hardcore gamers.  That's because Myst has the classic blunders of the
adventure genre, like that ridiculous maze puzzle they threw in.  So, the
remarkable thing about Myst is creating a product that casual audiences will
buy, but not finish, and not feel ripped off enough to criticize the game or
return it.

My own specific analysis of Myst is that the engagement of the player with
the virtual world begins with the box cover.  The Myst island looks like it
"does stuff."  It doesn't really do much, but it sure looks like it does,
and that engages the mind of the buyer.  They're already playing in the
world as they purchase the product.


Cheers,                         www.3DProgrammer.com
Brandon Van Every               Seattle, WA

20% of the world is real.
80% is gobbledygook we make up inside our own heads.