{"id":2491,"date":"2010-07-13T14:17:39","date_gmt":"2010-07-13T14:17:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danielprimed.com\/?p=2491"},"modified":"2010-07-13T14:21:31","modified_gmt":"2010-07-13T14:21:31","slug":"design-discussions-deconstructing-the-video-game-three-pillars-of-design-for-interactive-drama-heavy-rain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danielprimed.com\/2010\/07\/design-discussions-deconstructing-the-video-game-three-pillars-of-design-for-interactive-drama-heavy-rain\/","title":{"rendered":"Design Discussions: Deconstructing the Video Game: Three Pillars of Design for Interactive Drama (Heavy Rain)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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[‘Design Discussions’ is a new, regular-occurring column for Kombo by Daniel Johnson, explicating on elements of game design through a case study approach. Today he debuts this column with the first in a series of posts exploring Heavy Rain.]<\/em>

To wit:\u00a0Heavy Rain<\/em> is a radical revision of the medium, changing, and in many cases eschewing, video game-defining principles which have remained largely unchanged since the arcade era. If it weren’t for such a deep-seated departure from stagnant norms,\u00a0Heavy Rain<\/em> would not be capable of being such a competent piece of drama, let alone an emotionally engaging one. It’s quite surprising actually that such a revisionist approach would be met with such a gripping context on debut, but it only makes\u00a0Heavy Rain<\/em>‘s message all the more potent and worthy of critical discussion.\u00a0

As is the case with properties which attempt to elicit an emotional response, I think many writers have, quite naturally, first conferred with their personal side. In which case this article and the accompanying columns will attempt to take the opposite approach by deconstructing elements of design, thereby allowing us to have a clearer understanding of\u00a0Heavy Rain<\/em>‘s unique direction.\u00a0

Deconstructing the Video Game: Three Pillars of Design for Interactive Drama<\/strong>

Heavy Rain<\/em>‘s backend is an inversion of most typical gameplay systems. For one,\u00a0Heavy Rain<\/em>employs a contextual-based input system where the player’s actions are built into the environment or the scene, initiated by following on-screen cues which mimic the real life action. This works differently to most video game systems which begin with the basic mechanics (usually walk, attack, grab, etc.) and then stack vertically as jump, punch and then “jump and punch while in the air” mechanics are added. Because\u00a0Heavy Rain<\/em> relies on a contextual system of interactivity, it’s also a single tier system as opposed to most games which contain the aforementioned layers of vertically-stacked mechanics. There is only one “mechanic” in\u00a0Heavy Rain<\/em>, so to speak. That’s walk.\u00a0Heavy Rain<\/em> is built around walk and interactivity is mapped horizontally to the environment or scene. In this single tier, contextual system, basic familiarity with the controller and on-screen interface are the only requisites for play.\u00a0

Heavy Rain<\/em>, as a very atypical type of game which through its unique design has circumvented many of the issues facing modern interactive narrative, forces us to reassess the definition of a game. So then, I purpose this question: what is a game and does\u00a0Heavy Rain<\/em> meet this definition? For the sake of this argument, a game is a win condition and a set of rules for the player to meet that condition. Does\u00a0Heavy Rain<\/em> have both a win state and rules? Well, it certainly has rules, despite their differences from most traditional games, however, the win state argument is very unclear. There are two possible conclusions here, either\u00a0Heavy Rain<\/em> has no win state or the win state is the ratification of the narrative. That is, you win by participation, only your inputs may vary the narrative. Participation\u00a0is<\/em> a win state, but it’s a condition which deconstructs the intrinsic crux that all games operate on: skill. So then, is a game without skill a game at all?<\/p>\n

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Definitions aside, there’s a lot to unpack there, so let’s distill my explanation into 3 succinct bullet points.\u00a0Heavy Rain<\/em> deconstructs games by the following three means which I have ranked by order of importance:\u00a0

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