Assignment 3 1

ASSIGNMENT 3 1 Assignment 3 ID: 151 University of Gothenburg ASSIGNMENT 3 2 Abstract In this paper, I will analyze and compare two computer games from the past and recent years. Due to the nature of the assignment the comparison will be in context of four questions. These questions revolve around the technological affordances and constraints and how they defined these games, their features that identify them as specific genres, how is space and time constructed in these games and how does the audiovisual design provide cues for the player to understand what is going on in the game at any given time. To understand and answer properly to these questions I will use material from papers and personal experience, the papers will be referenced for a detailed view when used. Finally, prior to tackling the questions at hand, I will briefly describe the games. During that description and the rest of the paper terms like Patterns, Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics will be based on Patterns and Mechanics in Game Design [1] and MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research [2]. Keywords: Patterns will be in CAPS (with the exception of acronyms), mechanics in bold and aesthetics in bold italics. ASSIGNMENT 3 3 Assignment 3 Introduction For the purpose of this assignment I will be comparing the games Doom (1993) and Doom (2016). From now they will be mentioned as Doom’93 and Doom’16 respectively. Starting with their description, I will then create four separate categories, one for each question. In these categories the two games will be placed for me to show how they’ve handled in each question. Because the games are the first and last of the same lineage the technological and design evolution will be, I think, clearer. Finally, the platform on which these games were run for this paper were both on a high-end PC. ASSIGNMENT 3 4 Description Doom 1993 The original Doom [3] (Figure 1 & 2). Doom’93 is a FIRST-PERSON SHOOTER (FPS). Taking place in another planet with a human company trying to harness resources from hell after constructing a portal that travels to that dimension. However, things go haywire really fast and the protagonist (the player character) steps into the fray and pushes back the hordes of demons in the demon realm. This narrative is mostly Figure 1: Doom 1993 mentioned in the game’s handbook and not really in game. Doom’93 doesn’t really excel in STORYTELLING as the plot is there mainly to function as an excuse for the game to start. The player PICKS UP a variety of different WEAPONS and shoots his way past the enemy hordes. The game heavily features a run ‘n’ gun mechanic as it is key to move around fast while shooting down enemy demons. The game finally, features some light PUZZLES in the form, for instance, of collecting different KEYS to open doors. Figure 2: Doom 1993 in Action ASSIGNMENT 3 5 Doom 2016 This reimagining of Doom [4] (Figure 3 & 4) is a reboot of the franchise. The game however, does heavily imply that the backstory for this game is close to the events that happened in Doom (1993), Doom 2 (1994) and Doom 3 (2004). The game does share a lot of similarities when compared to the original of the franchise. In detail we again have a hellscape realm and a strong protagonist who really is there to just kill as Figure 3: Doom 2016 many demons as possible. The game plays similarly, however the technological leap is really apparent, the core remains the same. The run ‘n’ gun mechanic makes a return here as well as of course the FPS perspective. The game is fast paced like its predecessor and relies on avoiding enemy attacks by MOVEMENT rather than COVER. Some more specific mechanics and details about how these games work will be examined in the below sections. Figure 4: Doom 2016 in Action ASSIGNMENT 3 6 Comparison and Analysis Definition of Games in Context of Technological Affordances and Constraints Doom 1993 Doom’93’s limited hardware resources had the developers come with unique ways to bypass the limitations with some rendering techniques. The technique in question is the binary space partitioning (BSP) [5]. With the use of BSP the developers had the opportunity to project 2D data as an illusionary 3D. This means that the game is not actually 3D, there is no Z-axis. Everything is calculated and measured in the background with a 2D tiling map. This is the reason why the player cannot look up or down, why there are no areas where a floor is on top of another floor and finally why PROJECTILES that will seemingly fly up or under the target will strike successfully. However, the technique did give out the impression that the environment and the enemies all traversed a 3D plain when true 3D was indeed impossible to have in video games at the time. This gives an amount of limitation on how a level is structured. Because there cannot be levels stacked on top of each other the areas seem expansive and “short”. The verticality is something that Doom’93 really misses in its level design. Also, when shooting there is no RECOIL (except from the animation which has no actual impact on how the game plays), the player never loses SPEED and there is no limit on how many WEAPONS he can CARRY at the same time. All of these features were removed in most of the upcoming FPS games to make them more realistic and closer to how real guns work. However, as we’ll see when examining Doom’16, this made future FPS titles to distance themselves from Doom (and Wolfenstein (1992) [6] which shares most of these features). ASSIGNMENT 3 7 Doom 2016 With a first viewing of Doom’16 one can clearly see how everything looks better (Figure 2). It is understandable given the 23 year gap these games have. However, Doom’16’s seemingly unlimited resources (at least when compared to those Doom’93 had), it tries its best to mimic the key characteristics of its ancestor while improving its weaknesses. In detail, Doom’16 has a lot of verticality in its level design. Floating platforms, hazards and multifloored buildings are a few examples to give when comparing the two games’ level design choices. That said, Doom’16 lets the levels be expansive and labyrinth like, reminiscing heavily the direction Doom’93 had. Furthermore, Doom’16 albeit being a modern shooter doesn’t have COVER systems, won’t slow the player when they shoot. The players never reload their weapons and there is almost no RECOIL when firing shots. This makes the game feel different from modern shooters and more similar to Doom’93. Finally, there is no limit on how many weapons the player can CARRY at the same time. But since this is a new game, the developers have added some additional mechanics to compliment those first introduced in the original game. Namely the player now can finish off an enemy with a gory animation when they’re low on HEALTH and saw down demons with a chainsaw from a close distance for extra AMMO. ASSIGNMENT 3 8 Features for Genre Identification. Inherent and External Features. For the FPS genre the identification comes mainly from its name. The perspective is FIRST PERSON and there is shooting in the game. There were many FPS over the years. All of them have this as their core. Some require COVER and AMMO MANAGEMENT. Others have strong NARRATIVE and others don’t have one. For the purpose of this section and assignment, I will point as inherent features those that make the two games be defined as FPS games and external those features that make them a “doomlike game”, according to Therrien, Carl.’s paper [7]. For Doom’93, it inherits its perspective from ID Software’s previous title Wolfenstein (1992). Though advancing its rendering method gave the game a better look and more complex scenes in its level design, it holds true to the fact that the weapon is centered on the screen, the player cannot see the character’s face (only a portrait in the game’s HUD [8] (Figure 7)). The enemies seemingly attack the player’s screen and only the hands are visible during the entire game. For the FPS genre this is what concludes the placement of this game in its category. However, given the genre’s evolution over the years some features that Doom’93 has are no longer relevant as genre defining. These would be the unlimited storage of WEAPONS. The ARMOR which reduces damage by a percentage when it is up. The HEALTH being refilled only with HEALTH DROPS and PICK-UPS. The POWER-UPS found scattered throughout the LEVELS. The AGILITY of the character in the game. All of the above can be seen as external features as they no longer define the FPS genre. Rather their combination defines “a doomlike shooter sub-genre”. ASSIGNMENT 3 9 For Doom’16 similar results apply. The perspective is still FIRST-PERSON. The gun is no longer centered on the screen as it is placed where modern FPS games place their visible weapons (on the right side with a slight tilt). Shooting makes a return as a mechanic. These conclude the inherit mechanics from the FPS genre. The external are in place to make the game more similar to the Doom franchise’s name. In detail, the run & gun mechanic. The absence of reload and COVER.

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