Comparative Analysis of Game Principles in the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Kingdom Come: Deliverance
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Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Comparative analysis of game principles in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Kingdom Come: Deliverance Bachelor’s Thesis Tereza Rašilovová Brno, Spring 2019 Declaration Hereby I declare that this paper is my original authorial work, which I have worked out on my own. All sources, references, and literature used or excerpted during elaboration of this work are properly cited and listed in complete reference to the due source. Tereza Rašilovová i Acknowledgements I would like to thank Mgr. et Mgr. Zdeněk Záhora for his guidance, support and valuable pieces of advice while writing this thesis. I would also like to thank my mother, grandmother and the rest of my family for help and support during my studies. Nonetheless I would like to also thank my friends and everyone else who supported me while writing this thesis. iii Contents 1 Abstract 1 1.1 Abstract in English language .................1 1.2 Abstract in Czech language ..................1 2 Introduction 3 2.1 About Game Studies .....................3 2.2 Structure and goal of the thesis ................4 3 Theory of game principles 5 3.1 Five game mechanics by Jesse Schell .............5 3.1.1 First game mechanic: Space . .6 3.1.2 Second game mechanic: Game objects, attributes and states . .6 3.1.3 Third game mechanic: Activity . .7 3.1.4 Fourth game mechanic: Rules . .7 3.1.5 Fifth game mechanic: Coincidence . .9 3.2 Game design according to Jesse Schell ............ 10 3.3 Game design according to Raph Koster ............ 11 3.3.1 What games need, to be successful . 12 3.4 Narrative ........................... 14 4 Role playing games 17 4.1 Typology of the RPG genre .................. 18 5 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 21 5.1 Context ............................ 21 5.2 Story .............................. 22 5.3 The game principles ...................... 23 5.3.1 Game mechanics and design . 23 5.3.2 Narrative . 25 5.4 Reception of the game ..................... 26 5.4.1 Gameplay . 28 5.4.2 Narrative . 29 5.4.3 Criticsm . 30 6 Kingdom Come: Deliverance 33 v 6.1 Context ............................ 33 6.2 Story .............................. 34 6.3 The game principles ...................... 36 6.3.1 Game mechanics and design . 36 6.3.2 Narrative . 38 6.4 Reception ........................... 38 6.4.1 Controversy . 40 7 Comparation of both digital games 43 Bibliography 47 vi 1 Abstract 1.1 Abstract in English language This thesis examines game principles of digital games and it mainly analyzes game mechanics, design and narrative by comparing two of the newest games in the RPG genre. Both games work with the open world in which there is more variability on how the player can progress through the game and the gaming community writes an imaginary equal sign between those two games. In my thesis, I show differences for example in game mechanics or design I mentioned before. Polish The Witcher 3 is displaying fantasy world to the player whilst Czech game Kingdom Come: Deliverance is trying to be realis- tic. We can see those differences of the games not only in how those games are presented to the players but also in inner game principles. 1.2 Abstract in Czech language Práce se zabývá herními principy digitálních her, analyzuje přede- vším herní mechaniky, design a narativ srovnáním dvou nejnovějších her v žánru RPG. Obě hry pracují s otevřeným světem, ve kterém se vypráví s mnohem větší variabilitou, jakým způsobem může hráč hrou postupovat a mezi hry dává hráčská obec pomyslné rovná se. Ve své práci poukazuji na rozdíly, kterými se hry liší v rámci například již zmíněných herních mechanik nebo celkového herního designu. Polský The Witcher 3 zobrazuje svět více fantaskní, zatímco česká hra Kindgom Come: Deliverance se snaží o realističnost. Tyto rozdíly jsou patrné nejen v tom, jak jsou hry prezentovány hráčům, ale i ve vnitřních herních principech. Keywords: game studies, game design, naratology, game mechanics, RPG, ludology, analysis, comparation 1 2 Introduction We can say that digital games are one of the most progressive and the fastest growing media in the last few decades. Something that began as a scientific experiment became one of the biggest attractions of show business. The complexity that digital games’ technologic platform offers is the reason that they grew into various different genres and have many forms. The approach to making digital games is also different in many cases. We can observe the same thing with media like film or music. We see creators make simple games that are more experimental and artistic. On the other hand, there are digital games with a budget worth of millions, huge marketing campaigns and games that create franchises. We can hardly doubt the stand that digital games have in today’s culture. Digital games nowadays are a phenomenon with extraordinary economical turnover and social impact. We can safely say that it is mainstream media and its academical reflection is on the rise in recent years. In the Czech republic we can observe the creation of a field of study called game studies, subjects focusing on analyzing games and also subjects teaching how to create games. However those are still not very expanded trough universities and we would hardly find a lot of publications from famous authors under the keyword ludology. This thesis is going to analyze the genre of digital games called role-playing games, RPG for short. The main motive of this thesis is to compare two titles of this genre, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Kingdom Come: Deliverance. The games were released three years apart from each other but they are often compared by the gaming community. There are a lot of voices who say that the games are the same. In this thesis, I want to focus on their differences and how they are reflecting the RPG genre. Differences in the question aregame mechanics, design and narrative. 2.1 About Game Studies The academic field of game studies which this thesis is supported by went through a rather dramatic development in its short existence. At present time it can be considered an established discipline and 3 2. Introduction periods of defensive rhetoric is in the past. There had been doubts voiced by troubled academics who started to closely examine medium of digital games. They just could not agree on how to approach this medium. At the end of the 20th century came a Finish game designer and academic Gonzalo Frasca. He introduced ludologic approach to the narratological approach which was degrading digital game to just a carrier of a story. He urges the necessity that we need to study digital games with less basic tendency and free ourselves from concepts and stands that are more suited for traditional media. Those media are for example literature, theatre or film.1 Frasca supports this claim by pointing out the uniqueness of digital games that needs a separate field of study because of their interactive nature. 2.2 Structure and goal of the thesis As I mentioned, I will be comparing two gaming titles in my thesis. The three main points of this comparison will be game mechanics, design and narrative. Firstly, I would like to look closer at them and analyze them. For game mechanics, I will use the definitions by Amer- ican game designer Jesse Schell. When looking closer at the narrative part I will be mainly using the work of Marie-Laure Ryan. Then I will thoroughly describe both games and based on previous definitions of game mechanics, narrative and design I will identify them in those games. In the last part I will focus on what those games have in com- mon and what makes them different, which is the main focus on this thesis. 1. FRASCA, Gonzalo. Ludology Meets Narratology: Similitude and Differences Between (Video)games and Narrative. [online]. 1999 [cit. 2018-05-11]. Available from: http://www.ludology.org/articles/ludology.htm 4 3 Theory of game principles Before I dive in the description of both games that I’m comparing in this thesis I would like to cover the theory first. I will more closely look at the game mechanics as it is the main principle I will study in my analysis. Then I would like to explain the basics about the game design and narrative that I will use in this thesis. 3.1 Five game mechanics by Jesse Schell When talking about game mechanics, the name Jesse Schell has to be mentioned. Jesse Schell is an American game developer and designer who has his own game studio and he also works as a Distinguished Professor at the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.2 In his book The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses he offers a very clear factual overview of what game mechanics are and how to define them. This book is widely appreciated for its intelligibility and the book is used by students and even senior designers when talking about digital games.3 For the purpose of my thesis and this chapter, I will use mainly parts that talk about game mechanics. However we need to describe and define what game mechanics are. They are one of the basic elements which make a digital game. They define the goal of the game and the way of how the player may or may not achieve said goal. The player can also determine what is happening in the game with the help of game mechanics.4 This is how Schell speaks about game mechanics in general. We can say that they are some kind of a layer between a game and the player that is enabling mutual interaction and communication.5 In the next part, I would like to look closely on individual game mechanics.