advice on adding cutscenes?

Game Design and Theory Game Design

Started by synth_cat October 10, 2007 03:19 PM

22 comments, last by synth_cat 16 years, 5 months ago

439

October 12, 2007 08:01 PM

Quote:Original post by synth_cat
I've always liked the cutscenes in the games I've played.

I refer to the kind of cutscenes where you completely abstract away from gameplay and see some sort of story progression. I don't mean the kind of cutscene where you simply _break_ from gameplay and watch your character open a door or something.

Story cutscenes have always been something of a "player reward" for me. I like them not because they will necessarily directly enhance or even have anything to do with the following gameplay, but because they help increase the suspension of disbelief and personal involvement in the world of the game.

Is this idea not in vogue anymore? If so, why do AAA games even have cutscenes anymore?

I totally agree.

I usually like cutscenes more than the game's gameplay itself, and it's always a great reward for me.

I'm talking about the kind of cutscene you can find in games with good stories, like Max Payne, Half-Life, Indigo Prophecy, Deus-Ex, etc.

JesseHopkins

144

October 18, 2007 03:30 AM

The best cut scenes are in Gunbird 2 (try it on MAME). Hilarious and brief. I get really bored when I have to read a lot or listen to bad voice acting. Or see some bad cinematography by a developer with no film making experience.

synth_cat

306

Author

October 18, 2007 05:47 PM

Well, there will not be any voice acting in my cutscenes. I will try as hard as I can to make it work with just text. I realize that this could quickly get irritating, so I'll have to pretty minimalistic about it.

Greg Philbrick, Game Developercoming soon . . . Overhauled CellZenith

Captain Griffen

100

October 19, 2007 10:50 AM

Pros:

- You can do more stuff

Cons:

- Takes away player control
- Takes away player aprehension

Basically, pros only exist if you use them well. Don't use them badly or where they aren't needed. The main issue I have with them is that the player can sit back and relax - they know that the game maker won't kill them while they are not in control.

Beyond that I can say nothing unless you give more info on the game type. Cutscenes can be very effective for RPGs - FF games have benefitted a lot from them, and the absence of any notable ones in FFXII was for many disappointing. However, it should be noted that most FF cutscenes are good because they create an emotional response. I'd say if you can't manage an emotional response, don't use them, because you won't be achieving anything.

It should be noted that keeping the player in control and first person view but making them watch something can feel a bit unnatural, but still get the pros while mitigating some of the cons (BioShock demo seemed to make great use of that).

Badgerigar

122

October 19, 2007 12:30 PM

I think any form of cutscene is okay. But I agree that you should be able to skip them, and having the choice of seeing it as a script instead is good.

You should also be able to watch the cutscene any time you want (provided that you have seen it before) so that you don't have to miss anything.

synth_cat

306

Author

October 19, 2007 01:28 PM

Quote:
I'd say if you can't manage an emotional response, don't use them, because you won't be achieving anything.

Well, in my case I'd say the main point of using cutscenes would just be to help the player understand what the heck is going on (my game is a little offbeat and techy, so some kind of exposition seems crucial.)

I'll be limited in a dramatic sense, not just because I won't be able to use voice recordings, but also because I won't be able to show any actual characters (you're essentially just looking at a bunch of ships most of the time.)

Of course, I could possibly add some kind system where a character's face appears in the corner of the screen and talks to you for a while (like in Major Stryker.) However, I expect this would do more harm than good.

Greg Philbrick, Game Developercoming soon . . . Overhauled CellZenith

blackplasma

138

October 19, 2007 02:49 PM

cut scenes i really liked where in resident evil 4. some cutscenes had some gameplay inthem where you have to press a given combination of buttons rapidly to succeed. it kept the player glued in his place.

Captain Griffen

100

October 19, 2007 03:39 PM

Quote:Original post by synth_cat
Quote:
I'd say if you can't manage an emotional response, don't use them, because you won't be achieving anything.

Well, in my case I'd say the main point of using cutscenes would just be to help the player understand what the heck is going on (my game is a little offbeat and techy, so some kind of exposition seems crucial.)

I'll be limited in a dramatic sense, not just because I won't be able to use voice recordings, but also because I won't be able to show any actual characters (you're essentially just looking at a bunch of ships most of the time.)

Of course, I could possibly add some kind system where a character's face appears in the corner of the screen and talks to you for a while (like in Major Stryker.) However, I expect this would do more harm than good.

Telling people what do to is generally the worst way for people to learn. Showing them is a bit better, but actually getting them to do it is much more effective - and for that you don't need boring cutscenes.

synth_cat

306

Author

October 31, 2007 01:44 PM

It may seem like a bad reason, but I'd say my main purpose in adding cutscenes is to increase the level of polish (I intend to get published this time around.)

However, I still believe my game is unique enough that some form of cutscene will be necessary to help the player understand what is going on.

Greg Philbrick, Game Developercoming soon . . . Overhauled CellZenith

HappyCoder

5,076

November 04, 2007 04:04 PM

If you could take the content of a cut scene and put into into game play that solves the problem of cutting into playing time and a clueless player. You could have audio playing over a speaker in a room or computer controlled characters could have lines that they say while you play. The player can play straight through if they like or stop and pick up information form the game world.

Bioshock did something like this with the tapes the player would collect. The player could listen to them if they wanted to but only to fill in more of the story.

Portal also did a pretty good job of progressing a plot without any cut scenes.

My current game project Platform RPG

advice on adding cutscenes?

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