A free, narrative based game

[OhSoNegative]

Hi Guys,

So I've recently finished a Bachelor of Games Design, and for our final year project we had the opportunity to develop a complete game. The one I pitched and directed was this:

http://hyde-game.com/

A narrative based game similar to the likes of Dear Esther and The Path, Hyde doesn't focus so much on multiple game play mechanics as it does on story and experience. Hyde was developed in Unity, and has a captivating visual aesthetic. If you like these kinds of games or are simply interested in what it's all about, head on over to the main site to download it for free.

The game is also on Mod DB, alternatively:

http://www.moddb.com/games/hyde

Note that there is an advised M to MA 15+ rating for this.

Hope you like it!

Also, I'd like to hear opinions on the genre of games such as Dear Esther, The Path and Hyde. Do you guys think that there should be more games like these? Or do you think it's a game that only appeals to a niche audience?

 

[Genocidicles]

Huh I thought this would be someone talking about that crappy anime game, where you're just talking to 2d cut-outs or some such.

This one actually looks it could be good. I'd like to play it, but my uni computer is a piece of crap. I'll have to wait until I'm back home before I can I give it a go.

 

[OhSoNegative]

Haha, glad to see that you like the look of it. :] Hopefully you'll enjoy it once you can play it.

In the meantime, what're your thoughts on narrative based games generally?

 

[dimensional]

Hey that looks pretty interesting will try it if I ever get chance I am actually writing a narrative for a game myself at the moment or more accurately a structure for a narrative but damn its a lot of work I abandoned my first few projects because I was too lazy and thought I know fighting games have almost zero narrative that should be easy and now just over 10000 words later I have finished the bare bones of it.

Im not fleshing it out anymore yet TBH I have sorta overstretched myself still I am happy with what I have achieved even though it is very much a work in progress. If I ever got the chance to develop the game however I would definitely seek to build on what I have and hopefully end up with something fun and slightly different to the standard fighting game fare. It wouldnt win any awards or break any major ground in video game narration but I would like to think it would raise a smile in some people and keep them entertained throughout as well as get them to reflect a little on its themes (only lightly though I kept it mostly lighthearted).

One thing I do like about videogame narration is how you can structure it with randomisation different paths as well as tie the whole package together through your concept including the title screen and its different modes all harking back to threads planted throughout the story mode (including menu design and art style.)

Mine isnt really a narrative driven game however its just something I tried to infuse it with to entertain and give purpose to those who dont want to concentrate purely on the game mechanics which is a lot in this genre even though they are at its heart, get the mechanics wrong and nothing will save it.

As for full narrative driven games I have no problems with them but the narrative has to be pretty strong and I know it would be beyond my ability alone to create a compelling one.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

The game looks good, congrats!

I like games like The Path (as in narrative-based gameplay), though I don't like The Path itself. I realize it's an allegory for growing up and leaving childhood behind, but to willingly have all of your characters raped seems a bit exploitative, to say the least. Also what's the message here? Rape is a mandatory part of maturing?

 

[OhSoNegative]

dimensional: You've definitely raised some interesting points regarding game narrative in specific genres. Often we look to standard tropes - in games, literature and film- and consider these established ideas to be pretty easy and straight forward. I suppose sometimes we underestimate the complexity of the trope and how to properly adapt it to our specific needs. This can lead to it being developed and executed poorly in our own creative pursuits. Developing narrative in games specifically is challenging in that games are interactive, ergo the player is participating in the story you set out for them. I agree that a narrative-based game needs to strike a balance between a well developed story and the player's successful integration into that story and world. As you say, the story needs to be compelling, or the player's interest is lost.

Johnny Novgorod: Thank you for your kudos - it was a lot of blood, sweat and tears but ultimately worth it. :] I can understand what you mean in regards to liking games like The Path but perhaps not The Path itself. The art style and core structure of the game are probably the most memorable parts to me. As for the story I partially agree that the implementation of those mature themes was not as well thought out as it should've been. While The Path didn't show anything explicit, I reflected on the implied rape as being 'tacked on'. Personally it read to me as lazy narrative because that is where the character development stopped.

If the instance of rape is used as a meaningful turning point for the character, and explained as such, then I find it slightly more acceptable. Take 'The Lovely Bones' novel and subsequent film - that read to me more as a novel about grieving and eventual acceptance than it did about sexual assault. I also agree that the context when dealing with that kind of material is paramount. Like you've stated, to have that theme paired with the overarching story of 'growing up' sends some mixed messages. In a way one could argue that the event signifies the loss of innocence, therefore the character has to grow up. But in another it has the potential of communicating what you've described - that in some perverted way it's saying that rape is core to maturing.

In an interactive medium, that's an awkward and uncomfortable position to put the player in. The dev team needs to understand that sensitivity, and make sure they don't overstep the mark.

Moving away from that topic for a moment, have you played Dear Esther? I personally really enjoyed the game, because to me it had a well thought out narrative and tasteful execution. If you enjoy narrative-based games and haven't played it, I highly recommend it. Also, what other narrative-based games have you come across? What themes/issues did it address that made it memorable?

 

[Phrozenflame500]

I think experimenting with narrative is fine, but I disagree with the idea that Dear Ester is really a game. There really isn't much of an interactive element beside increasing immersion and it doesn't offer any sense of choice even on a micro level. I found it didn't really have a narrative as much as a loose set of plot hooks that meant to put the player it a contemplative mood. Maybe I'm just not the creative soul, but I find there is a fine balance narrative games need to achieve. The story has concrete enough to feel there is actually a point behind it but unclear enough so that point needs to be reached by the player, even if the point varies depending on him.

I'm downloading your game now and I'm interested in playing it, it seems like it has promise.

 

[Keoul]

Played a few minutes of it, there are some technical issues I want to mention before going into the "game" aspect.

-Please allow us to play at a lower screen size, It was laggy as hell and I had to use the smallest resolution in windows mode for it to be playable.
-Please lock the mouse into the middle of the screen, just a little irritating.

The game itself looks pretty good, voice is a little quiet and I haven't really gotten anywhere yet but still looks decent.

 

[Arakasi]

I played the whole thing, so there may be spoilers in what I say. You were warned.
-It was, as Keoul mentioned, rather laggy, and having the mouse lock to the centre would have made it better. Perhaps having options for mouse sensitivity would have helped too.
-In the school map, there were a few problems with me walking down the wrong corridor, not noticing where I was meant to go. If you ever play through the Dev commentary on Left 4 Dead they mention that players are like moths, they follow the lighting. So especially in memory sequences it makes a lot of sense just to have the place you wish the player to go to be lit, and have the rest dark.
-I think I walked too far once the walls started changing on the hospital level too, because some of the textures hadn't changed in the next room, the walls were still white.
-The story was good, but it felt really short, and there was no real build up to the shock ending. There was something about it that was like 'Oh, okay, so I killed her, oh, that's the end? Okay.' I am not exactly sure what you could have done about this, maybe have him mention Jenny more? It didn't seem like a central theme in comparison to his parental issues.
-The walking was slow, and normally that would be okay, but in certain situations like when he's angry, there should be some more movement I think, it doesn't suit the mood to have him yelling while he is slowly slowly walking down a corridor. Seeing how he is clearly drugged out of his mind, some jiggling of the camera from left to right as he stumbles around may have been apropriate.
-In this type of experience, having little visual clues is key to an absorbing experience, the character having to talk about all of them kind of makes the player lazy and less involved. That's why in Portal when you see 'The cake is a lie' scrawled on the wall it is special, it is something you could have easily missed, but you picked up on it (or didn't).

That's about all I have for now. It was a fairly good experience.

 

[OhSoNegative]

Phrozenflame500: An interesting point of view, and not one that's hard to understand. Dear Esther is definitely an 'unconventional' take on the term 'game' and what that means. Have you played through Dear Esther more than once? Apparently there are different takes on certain plot hooks that can change the way the story is told depending on what order you choose. I understand that Hyde may not necessarily be your kind of game, and appreciate that you're willing to play it anyway. Even if you don't usually play narrative-based games, constructive criticism is almost always helpful in some way.

Keoul: I'm sorry to hear that you had a few technical issues with the game. We have recommended spec details on the main site for Hyde, so that may be the issue.(Please see http://hyde-game.com/downloads/ for recommended spec) The resolution and mouse issues are unfortunately things we cannot amend presently. This game was created with a university supplied version of unity, and for those things to be amended a professional version of Unity would need to be purchased.

Arakasi: It's interesting that you mention the Left4Dead Dev commentary in regards to lighting, as we looked to that exact commentary as reference when designing the levels. Did you find the same issue with the graveyard or hospital? I'll tuck this feedback away for future reference, that the lighting of each level needs to be more consistent. As for the texture loading, all I can really deduce is perhaps a spec issue, otherwise I'm quite stumped on that point. The story length was indicative of the time available. Specifically, we had two university semesters to create Hyde. I originally wanted to make a game that was at least an hour long, however problems can and do arise in dev. Because of this, plans needed to be scaled down, hence the shortened length of the game. As to Henry's parental issues, they are meant to allude to a larger problem. spoiler (Hint: 'alternate me', 'these are supposed to help with my moods' and 'He wouldn't hurt you if you were a better son' correlate) Again, I'll stow away the feedback for future projects to make that kind of thing clearer. Perhaps with more time available in the future we could look at creating a game that incorporated more of what you've mentioned. Things like more variable walking speed, extra 'shaky cam', etc would've been very nice to have.

Glad to hear that it was for the most part a good experience though. :]

 

[Arakasi]

Arakasi: It's interesting that you mention the Left4Dead Dev commentary in regards to lighting, as we looked to that exact commentary as reference when designing the levels. Did you find the same issue with the graveyard or hospital?

The graveyard, a tad, not as much, I had a fair idea of where I was meant to go, I'm not sure most other players would have though. The hospital, no, not really. The hospital's layout was very linear in terms of closed doors being within sight of a fork in the path, whereas it was not that case in the school.

The story length was indicative of the time available. Specifically, we had two university semesters to create Hyde. I originally wanted to make a game that was at least an hour long, however problems can and do arise in dev. Because of this, plans needed to be scaled down, hence the shortened length of the game.

Yeah I understand that. It's sometimes hard to realise that someone can spend months working on something that takes you about 20 minutes to experience.

As to Henry's parental issues, they are meant to allude to a larger problem. spoiler (Hint: 'alternate me', 'these are supposed to help with my moods' and 'He wouldn't hurt you if you were a better son' correlate)

I understood those, but the problem was that they didn't relate to what I think was meant to be a 'shock' ending. I got the whole split personality thing (hence the name of the game being 'Hyde') but there wasn't enough relating to Jenny to have it be a shock, they were almost souly related to his upbringing.

Again, I'll stow away the feedback for future projects to make that kind of thing clearer. Perhaps with more time available in the future we could look at creating a game that incorporated more of what you've mentioned. Things like more variable walking speed, extra 'shaky cam', etc would've been very nice to have.

Glad to hear that it was for the most part a good experience though. :]

If you ever want a critical look at whatever you're doing, feel free to message me. If you find it useful that is.

 

[OhSoNegative]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMHV9XRkdGk

Looks like Hyde is starting to get noticed. :]

 

[Twilight_guy]

Form a development studio as soon as possible and start making money. God knows no studio wants to hire a guy with 0 years in the industry.

 

[OhSoNegative]

Guy OR girl. :] And that's the plan, with luck.

 

[Arakasi]

Guy OR girl.

I don't know about that, from what I've heard the videogame industry is an 'equal opportunity' bonanza.

 

[Fat Hippo]

Guy OR girl.

I don't know about that, from what I've heard the videogame industry is an 'equal opportunity' bonanza.

Look at HER profile, SHE is a girl. So let's hope they don't discriminate.

Downloading the game now. I'll post my thoughts later.

Edit: Alright, I've played it now.

It's quite good looking for a university project, was my first thought, so kudos there.

I've never been big on purely narrative games. I didn't enjoy Dear Esther or The Path at all. That said, I enjoyed how Hyde wasn't incredibly obtuse in its storytelling, and I very much appreciate the fact that it doesn't intentionally confuse the player, as I find this an easy cop-out for a game that wants to seem like it has more depth than it actually does. (See: The Path)

It DOES jump around quite a bit chronologically, but with the combination of narration and environmental storytelling, it tells the simple, yet complete story, of this deranged individual. These scenes manage to tell us all we need to know despite the short length of the experience. We know everything we need to, about the events of his life, the development of his condition, and its final conclusion.

Overall, I think you can pat yourselves on the back. I actually liked this, despite it's purely narrative nature. And I think its brevity is a strength, rather than a fault. As long as you can tell the story you want to tell, it's better to be short and sweet.

As for the future of this 'genre.' I don't think it will ever be more than niche, and honestly, I don't want it to be. This isn't exactly a criticism, but the entire time, I just wished I could be interacting with the game in any way. For example, I wished I could throw something at that pyramid of pill containers and knocked it over. It CAN still be an interesting experiment, but I wouldn't want to play them very frequently.

 

[OhSoNegative]

Fat_Hippo: Thanks for your compliments on the visuals of the game. Everyone in the core team worked really hard to achieve the look and feel we were going for. I'm glad also that you took the time to explore a game in a genre that you didn't particularly enjoy. When I wrote the story and script, I passed the script around to a lot of people to make sure that it made sense. During university, peer review is probably the closest I could get to a 'general public' response of what worked and what didn't.

I can appreciate the issue of 'jumping around', as it was an intentional design choice to allow the player to engage each memory sequence in whatever order they chose. Through further exploration of the apartment after each flashback you can find more statements as Henry's hysteria worsens. If you haven't already, I'd suggest you play through again and explore more of the apartment after each flashback. If you are interested, it sheds more light on Henry's personality.

I'm glad that you appreciate the game's length instead of mocking it. Contrary to popular belief, with a core team of six people making a complete game takes longer than thought. Additionally, in several 'let's play' videos [http://hyde-game.com/lets-play/] the point of Henry's disorder seems to be understood about half way through the game. Like you've said, 'short and sweet' is better in this instance.

For me personally I believe that narrative is an important feature in a game, but agree that it's not everyone's cup of tea when all encompassing. Reflecting on the development process, I think that interactivity will be more of a focus on the next project undertaken. Haha, I suppose it's the ongoing struggle of a games developer isn't it? Finding the correct balance between interactivity and story/purpose. Either way, it's been a learning experience, which hopefully will serve to help the next project.

Once again thank you for taking the time to play Hyde and post your review. My team and I are always happy to hear reviews that extend beyond 'that was crap.' :]

 

[Karoshi]

I think you did an amazing work as a team and showing a lot of promise.

I feel that the game progression was very solid and you had made a lot of effort to make the apartment reflect on Hyde's change. He loves things clean and tidy, yet as the story progress his rooms become more of a mess and especially the knives attract attention (although that that a bit to blunt, imo).

Games that are purely driven by narration seem to hit a nerve for some in the gaming community, yet I absolutely adore them. I would very enjoy if more people tried their hand at them.