Time to discuss my personal favourite part of video games, the dramatic elements. I enjoy this part because it entails the story. Dramatic elements can also affect the challenge, premise, and characters of the game.This blog will focus on the parts of dramatic elements discussed in our second online lecture. I will go into more detail about a few of these elements.
Character:
For characters, the dramatic elements are told through their actions. The characters feelings are used to mirror the audiences fears and emotions. If the gnome character is scared to venture into the dark cave, it creates a dramatic element for the player. Do they fear going into the cave? Are they excited to venture forth? What mysterious a wait? These questions fit into the methods of characterization for characters. Their wants,needs,hopes, and fears help shape the drama.
The story of the game draws in players emotionally. It gets them attached to the characters and the world they are in. Dramatic conflict directly affects the game conflict. The conflict in the game must escalate for the drama to be more effective. The story usually accentuates the main conflict and setting of the game, this makes the players choices more meaningful to them. Story doesn't just have to be displayed through text and cutscenes. It is most effective when it emerges from gameplay.
Premise:
The premise sounds like it is similar to the story but it is what actually propels the story forward instead of actually being a part of it. The premise is the set of things that make the story be able to develop. Things like the time, place, protagonist, antagonist and objectives are examples of what a player needs to be able to understand the story.
Challenge:
Players need to feel challenged in order to receive a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment. The challenge doesn't always have to be extremely frustrating for the player, it needs to have a balance of enjoyability within itself as well. It has to be an even blend of challenge and skill or the player will succumb to boredom or too much anxiety from the given task. Some players love excruciatingly hard tasks like the challenges faced in Dark Souls. Others find equal pay off from figuring out a level in Angry Birds. This means the challenge has to be individualized.
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