There has been much writing about SiD since the early previews in March, from Anthony Burch on Destructoid, to a piece I wrote, basically gushing at how excited I was about the whole thing. But following its release on the 9th April (if you pre-ordered it that is), many have endeavoured to summarise the experience you’re likely to encounter whilst playing, those looking to provide guides for getting the most from the game and even more serious tutorials from those in the industry on how to produce a higher quality SiD assets. Now the SiD community is firmly established, players and controllers a like have been concentrating on producing a myriad of stories as diverse as the human imagination, however as well as the varied nature of the stories, the quality appears to be equally as variable.
Thanks to SiD Tube and Sleep is Death Stories all users of SiD can share their creations with the rest of the community, rate other’s work and even download assets which other users have made. This creates a scenario which is becoming more and more familiar recently, especially with titles like Little Big Planet, Warioware D.I.Y., Modnation Racers and countless others, yet this growing trend displays similarities with the development of social networking and community websites and displays an obvious need for a community feel rather than the solitary experience which gaming is often considered as. Although, if there is anything these “create, play, share” games have also displayed is that many would rather to cherry pick those creations which rise to the top pile rather than produce anything serious themselves. There is nothing wrong with this approach, I have to confess, that for various reasons this is usually my approach. Sleep is Death is different though, in many respects actually. Because the whole game is based upon the controller’s creations there is considerably more emphasis placed on everyone creating their own content. One potential stumbling block though, as identified by Michael Abbott, Mike Dunbar and many others, is the relative inaccessibility of the controller aspect of the game. Simply offering too much freedom can be just as constrictive as not giving enough of it.
As some reading this may be aware of, I am in the process of trying to adapt Crime and Punishment so it can be played within Sleep is Death. When I was researching other SiD flip books for my adaptation (now named, Crime, Sleep, Punishment, Death, check here for more information), I begun to realise the exact scope of what can be made on SiD. Whilst a lot of games are relatively simple encounters that looked fun to play and not too stressful to control, some are seemingly epic, with 20+ scenes, several characters and lasting over 100 turns. The length, and complexity of the flip books appears to vary, the mode of story telling appears to change as well. The most common form the stories appear to take on is that displayed by the previewers and are simplistic encounters with no more than two or three characters and are one scene improvs, typically comedy. More interestingly though, there are examples of stories which take on much more conventional video game elements. There are HUD elements, inventories and even whole RPG-style class systems, the most interesting example I’ve seen being this creation by Tufty.
Whilst not being the most interesting story narratively, the controller strives to create a strong ludic experience by implementing a set of familiar rules for the player to adhere to early on. There are 12 different classes to choose from each male or female, the player has to choose which one they want to play as and the controller describes the traits and abilities briefly. Technically speaking, this is commendable achievement within SiD because immediately there are 24 different potential skins the player can choose from which is a large amount of variables (even if they are largely aesthetic). Once the player chooses his class, he is then placed into a typical setting for a fantasy RPG, the adventurers guild. The risk here is that the player could just decide to exit the guild and would force the controller into a very difficult decision, let the player leave the guild and explore the world aimlessly or break the first rule of SiD and say “no”. The strength of SiD is that if the controller is well prepared and can think quickly, there is no reason why the player can’t explore the world as she/he chooses. Having an explorable world however, requires it to be formed well enough to withstand the player’s ability to break it.
In this instance though, the player opts to look at the quest board. Someone who is familiar with RPGs would most probably see a quest board and would immediately know that this was the source of adventure, gold, weapons, fame and most importantly, narrative progression. So the player engages with a quest (the only quest available) and where a brief search and then a chaotic battle ensue. The battle is played out in a similar fashion as a traditional D&D game, but without perhaps the most important element, the dice rolls. The absence of dice rolls however, looses all the sense of excitement and tension of any conventional RPG battle because the player knows the controller is calling the shots. Because of the nature of SiD the reliance on the suspension of belief is already significant and in a simulated game experience, this is then increased further. There is an instance of the player acting slightly irrationally and this is conveyed through the next instance of the controller’s commentary, which in terms of breaking the suspension of belief is akin to the breaking of the fourth wall within film or television. So, whilst the whole “game” feels well planned and implemented by the controller, the actual elements which characterise the emulated genre aren’t suited terribly well to SiD’s system of control.
What Tutfy’s flip book displays is what I believe is central to SiD and how it plays out, and that’s how the controller needs to think of her/himself. I don’t mean something as simple as storyteller or dungeon master, but to think over themselves as AI, a replacement for the game’s scripting, or if you’re looking for a friendlier comparison, the AI director from Left 4 Dead. When controller’s realise that they are in fact the replacement for the game’s scripting, it becomes clearer as to what their purpose is. This obviously isn’t a hard and fast rule, scripting and AI within gaming is typically rigid and either works in one specific way or it doesn’t and the player gets alienated and they start to dislike the game. SiD death however, uses the controller’s mind as the game engine, the scripting and replaces artificial intelligence with that of a real human. This introduces the flexibility needed to make the player believe that they have real genuine agency, that they are responsible for the game progression. This puts a lot of pressure on the controller though, as in conventional games the pacing can be off, dialogue unconvincing and the feeling of progression, slow or unwieldy, all these issues can plague a SiD game – and a whole host of others too! Yet, a well planned game can move forwards at the exact pace of the player, the dialogue and interactions tailored exactly towards her/his direction. The beauty of the controller’s flexibility is that narrative units can be triggered in different orders, at different times, there is no reason why a story created by the controller ever need play out in the same way, yet not become a different entity altogether.
It is this notion as controller as game director/script is one which is central to my adaptation of Crime and Punishment and it is my research into the other flip books is displaying what techniques do and don’t work when creating a game with SiD. It is clear that the potential strain that this approach will put upon the controller, it is a reflection of the difficulty of providing the most in depth experience within SiD. Another reflection of this is the amount of willing controller’s ready to make games on SiDTube, if you ever venture onto their IRC page you’ll most probably notice more people looking to play than control, although this is a trend which is changing as more people become comfortable with the interface and working under continued pressure.
Chr15 6r33n (Follow me on Twitter at chrisgreen87 and for Chronoludic updates click here)
Is sleep conducive to death? Or more importantly, is Sleep is Death conducive to compelling storytelling?
There has been much writing about SiD since the early previews in March, from Anthony Burch on Destructoid, to a piece I wrote, basically gushing at how excited I was about the whole thing. But following its release on the 9th April (if you pre-ordered it that is), many have endeavoured to summarise the experience you’re likely to encounter whilst playing, those looking to provide guides for getting the most from the game and even more serious tutorials from those in the industry on how to produce a higher quality SiD assets. Now the SiD community is firmly established, players and controllers a like have been concentrating on producing a myriad of stories as diverse as the human imagination, however as well as the varied nature of the stories, the quality appears to be equally as variable.
Thanks to SiD Tube and Sleep is Death Stories all users of SiD can share their creations with the rest of the community, rate other’s work and even download assets which other users have made. This creates a scenario which is becoming more and more familiar recently, especially with titles like Little Big Planet, Warioware D.I.Y., Modnation Racers and countless others, yet this growing trend displays similarities with the development of social networking and community websites and displays an obvious need for a community feel rather than the solitary experience which gaming is often considered as. Although, if there is anything these “create, play, share” games have also displayed is that many would rather to cherry pick those creations which rise to the top pile rather than produce anything serious themselves. There is nothing wrong with this approach, I have to confess, that for various reasons this is usually my approach. Sleep is Death is different though, in many respects actually. Because the whole game is based upon the controller’s creations there is considerably more emphasis placed on everyone creating their own content. One potential stumbling block though, as identified by Michael Abbott, Mike Dunbar and many others, is the relative inaccessibility of the controller aspect of the game. Simply offering too much freedom can be just as constrictive as not giving enough of it.
As some reading this may be aware of, I am in the process of trying to adapt Crime and Punishment so it can be played within Sleep is Death. When I was researching other SiD flip books for my adaptation (now named, Crime, Sleep, Punishment, Death, check here for more information), I begun to realise the exact scope of what can be made on SiD. Whilst a lot of games are relatively simple encounters that looked fun to play and not too stressful to control, some are seemingly epic, with 20+ scenes, several characters and lasting over 100 turns. The length, and complexity of the flip books appears to vary, the mode of story telling appears to change as well. The most common form the stories appear to take on is that displayed by the previewers and are simplistic encounters with no more than two or three characters and are one scene improvs, typically comedy. More interestingly though, there are examples of stories which take on much more conventional video game elements. There are HUD elements, inventories and even whole RPG-style class systems, the most interesting example I’ve seen being this creation by Tufty.
Whilst not being the most interesting story narratively, the controller strives to create a strong ludic experience by implementing a set of familiar rules for the player to adhere to early on. There are 12 different classes to choose from each male or female, the player has to choose which one they want to play as and the controller describes the traits and abilities briefly. Technically speaking, this is commendable achievement within SiD because immediately there are 24 different potential skins the player can choose from which is a large amount of variables (even if they are largely aesthetic). Once the player chooses his class, he is then placed into a typical setting for a fantasy RPG, the adventurers guild. The risk here is that the player could just decide to exit the guild and would force the controller into a very difficult decision, let the player leave the guild and explore the world aimlessly or break the first rule of SiD and say “no”. The strength of SiD is that if the controller is well prepared and can think quickly, there is no reason why the player can’t explore the world as she/he chooses. Having an explorable world however, requires it to be formed well enough to withstand the player’s ability to break it.
In this instance though, the player opts to look at the quest board. Someone who is familiar with RPGs would most probably see a quest board and would immediately know that this was the source of adventure, gold, weapons, fame and most importantly, narrative progression. So the player engages with a quest (the only quest available) and where a brief search and then a chaotic battle ensue. The battle is played out in a similar fashion as a traditional D&D game, but without perhaps the most important element, the dice rolls. The absence of dice rolls however, looses all the sense of excitement and tension of any conventional RPG battle because the player knows the controller is calling the shots. Because of the nature of SiD the reliance on the suspension of belief is already significant and in a simulated game experience, this is then increased further. There is an instance of the player acting slightly irrationally and this is conveyed through the next instance of the controller’s commentary, which in terms of breaking the suspension of belief is akin to the breaking of the fourth wall within film or television. So, whilst the whole “game” feels well planned and implemented by the controller, the actual elements which characterise the emulated genre aren’t suited terribly well to SiD’s system of control.
What Tutfy’s flip book displays is what I believe is central to SiD and how it plays out, and that’s how the controller needs to think of her/himself. I don’t mean something as simple as storyteller or dungeon master, but to think over themselves as AI, a replacement for the game’s scripting, or if you’re looking for a friendlier comparison, the AI director from Left 4 Dead. When controller’s realise that they are in fact the replacement for the game’s scripting, it becomes clearer as to what their purpose is. This obviously isn’t a hard and fast rule, scripting and AI within gaming is typically rigid and either works in one specific way or it doesn’t and the player gets alienated and they start to dislike the game. SiD death however, uses the controller’s mind as the game engine, the scripting and replaces artificial intelligence with that of a real human. This introduces the flexibility needed to make the player believe that they have real genuine agency, that they are responsible for the game progression. This puts a lot of pressure on the controller though, as in conventional games the pacing can be off, dialogue unconvincing and the feeling of progression, slow or unwieldy, all these issues can plague a SiD game – and a whole host of others too! Yet, a well planned game can move forwards at the exact pace of the player, the dialogue and interactions tailored exactly towards her/his direction. The beauty of the controller’s flexibility is that narrative units can be triggered in different orders, at different times, there is no reason why a story created by the controller ever need play out in the same way, yet not become a different entity altogether.
It is this notion as controller as game director/script is one which is central to my adaptation of Crime and Punishment and it is my research into the other flip books is displaying what techniques do and don’t work when creating a game with SiD. It is clear that the potential strain that this approach will put upon the controller, it is a reflection of the difficulty of providing the most in depth experience within SiD. Another reflection of this is the amount of willing controller’s ready to make games on SiDTube, if you ever venture onto their IRC page you’ll most probably notice more people looking to play than control, although this is a trend which is changing as more people become comfortable with the interface and working under continued pressure.
Chr15 6r33n (Follow me on Twitter at chrisgreen87 and for Chronoludic updates click here)