![]() Nothing here advances the game or its plot, but I believe this section is pivotal to the player's experience because it feels so right so necessary. You can kick a soccer ball with a couple of children you can listen to other children giggling at you behind a wall. In terms of pacing, this chapter functions like an oasis, offering the player a chance to relax and explore without looking over his shoulder for an ambush. These arrive at precisely the right moment. This chapter introduces Tenzin, a character who speaks no English, and his Nepalese village. Chapter 16: " Where am I?" contains almost no gameplay at all, and the player often has no control over Nate. Pacing in Uncharted 2 is about more than gameplay shifts. Lots of games let the player decide what to do, but few games connect their storytelling to this dynamic system so satisfyingly well. To a great degree, Naughty Dog's successful management of pacing in this game is a cooperative arrangement in which my preferences and needs as a player mesh with my avatar's within a system that makes all this both fun and meaningful. You might say the audience has some measure of input in live performance, but certainly not to this extent or effect. Such dynamic control of pacing - a give and take between me and the game - has no analogue in theater or film. When I make my decision, the game resumes control of the pacing until I complete that section, then hands it back to me. But if I need to collect my thoughts - or if I simply want to challenge myself with a tougher option - the game provides me with many opportunities to stop and assess the situation before pressing on. If I want to press forward and engage the enemy, I can play a fast and furious version of Uncharted 2. The player retains a certain degree of control over the pace of the game. Here is where the interactive nature of games most clearly distinguishes itself from theater and film. Before you reach your goal, the game will throw running, precision jumping and rope swinging at you, as well as a cutscene between Elena and Nate that cleverly explains (by doing rather than telling) why Elena is the woman Nate will choose at the end. When you're ready to kick the action into high gear, start shooting and the pace rapidly accelerates. Or you can attempt to scurry unseen from cover to cover and avoid combat.Įither way, you've got time to deliberate and act. You can take cover behind a barrier and wait for a guard to come nearby so you can disable him and grab his gun. Now you and Drake must catch your breath, take your time, and find a stealthy route out. The preceding chapter concluded with a frantic escape. In its most frenetic moments, the game throws a cocktail of gameplay options at you all at the same time.Ĭonsider Chapter 12: " A Train to Catch." Up to this point the player has grown accustomed to shooting or climbing his way out of trouble, but here you find yourself unarmed and surrounded by bad guys. Just as the player begins to tire of climbing, swinging, and jumping - along comes a combat sequence or a dialogue scene or an environmental puzzle. The most obvious expression of pacing in Uncharted 2 is its elegant shifting from one style of gameplay to another. ![]() Lots of reviewers have praised Uncharted 2 for its pacing - and I believe it richly deserves such praise - but what does this mean, exactly? I think Uncharted 2's success in this regard can be traced to the same factors I described above, but the interactive nature of games adds a layer of complexity to the formula that's worth exploring. Advance too soon, and you'll kill the laugh too late and you're milking it. Feel the laugh wave crest, then push the next bit forward. Slow it down a bit, and you'll get the laugh. Sometimes a gag fails simply because the audience didn't have time to process the setup. Comedy, in particular, relies on carefully tuned pacing. Good actors have an acute awareness of pacing and its variability from night to night with different audiences. ![]() In the theater, pacing has mostly to do with tempo and rhythm speeding up and slowing down. What exactly do we mean when we say a game is well or poorly paced?īefore I began writing about games, my understanding of pace grew out of my experience as a stage director. We often talk about pacing in games, but I'm not sure we're all talking about the same thing. You can find the first two posts here and here. This post is part of a short series devoted to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |