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Playing on particular games, I have discovered that some games are extremely involving, more than others. The experiences I've had in certain games got me thinking about this, but then playing on 'the Getaway' confirmed this ... games can be arduously tense.
Here's how and why:
How?
-------
Metal Gear Solid 2 is a brilliant example. This game brought shivers to my spine, but not in a scary way, in a "I've got to get out of this" kind of way. Anyone who has played it would know that it is a game majorly based on stealth, which adds to the tension. But it's when that darn alarm goes off that somehow and for some reason, even though it's just a game, your body suddenly tightens and you become that little bit more conscious about what's going on. It's basic human instincts. As you are the person controlling such and such character(s), you are given a responsibility and the character's future is placed in your hands, so you feel the need to help them when they are put in difficult situations such as when the alarm goes off in MGS2.
The thing that makes this part of the game so tense and something you always want to avoid is the sound. A realistically sounding military alarm goes off and from then on you just know that you are being hunted. Then quickly afterwards, a jurky and moving instrumental follows that adds an unbelievably huge amount of pressure on you. I couldn't believe it! It was bad enough that I had to find somewhere to hide without that scary music coming on. MGS2 to me is probably one of the most involving games around, but that doesn't necessarily make it the best.
Sure, the experience matters a lot in a game, but too much of the same isn't so good, which was MGS2s main flaw. However, there is another way how games make us tense ... using realism.
Games with a low age limit are usually softcore games that don't have much realism e.g. 'Spyro the Dragon', but games that have a higher age limit are often the ones that have more realism, and more intensity. Games are a means of escaping the real world and entering a computer generated one, but when it imitates the outside world so well, the whole experience seems all that more important.
The graphics in 'the Getaway' are superb, and they make this london thriller of a game more of an experience. You control Mark Hammond, who is famously a fugitive from the law and once the storyline had begun I knew I had a tough journey to go. During the first minutes of the game (the very first mission), I was already curious what was around the corner because the atmosphere surrounding me made me feel like I was Mark Hammond.
Birds tweeting, the sun glaring, realistic shops, cars, people.. everything just seemed like WOAH! Then once I got round the corner, I had to take out several gangster blokes, but it wasn't as easy as I expected. I was expecting a health bar, there was none. I was expecting to have at least some kind of indicator on the screen, there was none. I was expecting to receive some life on the way after receiving several hits, there was none.. what is there then?! This made the intensity increase even more because I had to control my blokey while bullets were flying everywhere in his direction and while he was limping all over the place. It wasn't until later that I found out you had to stand beside walls for him to "catch his health back?" Looks more like he's catching his breath back. Despite this weird but new way of collecting health in a game, 'the Getaway' is one very tense game because its atmosphere imitates the typical london location perfectly and once your eyes are fixed on the screen you feel like Mark Hammond.
How are games tense? Because of realism, suspense and atmosphere, and a stealthy motive to the game helps as well.
Why?
-------
Now, what would you do if you were put in a developer's shoes. Your main objective is to make a game sell, and the only way you're going to do that is if it is of public interest. Although people's interest do vary, the majority like games that offer a challenge. So when developer's make games, they are trying their best (or worst) to make a game as involving as possible using certain different tactics.
Firstly, I've noticed that games that don't let you save whenever or wherever you want to seem to be the ones that make you become much more aware of gameplay. In Onimusha for example, you have to reach certain save points during play in order to save your game, but the thing is you never know where or when the next monster, or monsters are going to strike, and yet still some are tougher than others. A slight mistake could make you have to start all the way from your last save point, which becomes very frustrating, especially if you passed a level by luck. I think the Capcom developers included this feature on purpose. If you are gamer playing a game, your obvious and main intention during play is to progress as far as possible, but without the ability to save when you like the game seems that extra bit more tense than usual. That is why some gamers dread end of level boss battles; because if you fail, you have to play the whole level again.
Another thing developers do that increasingly make games tense is again creating more of a challenge for the player, by giving quite difficult controls. Some games have been maimed for having unchangeable controls that are almost impossible to use, but most games today have configurations that can be changed. But if you look closely at certain games, you will notice that even though the buttons can be changed, the initial configuration put by the creators can seem harder to use than the other selection, depending on the type of gamer you are.
Controls are very important in the game because they are your tools for the trade. As you hold the pad and adapt to its controls, it becomes invisible as your eyes fix entirely on the screen. But if you're given difficult controls that are more challenging and you are placed in a hard part of a game to clear, you seem to panic if the buttons are in places that are unfamiliar. The control pad is one of the ultimate objects that make games more intense as well as your palms sweat. Like in 'Burnout 2', the cars travel very quickly causing things to dash towards you on the screen and the only thing you have to hold on to is your pad. Clutching the pad has made me sweat unknowingly in numerous occassions because my eyes had been fixed on the screen.
Also, in pick up and play beat'em ups, the pad is a means of serious button-bashing to pull of as many good combos as possible so you don't lose to your opponents. It becomes tense, especially when playing against your mates because you don't want to lose face or your dignity after bragging endlessly about how much you would kick their butt. So if you always thought pads were nothing special, think again.
Why do games make you tense? Because developers are trying to give you a better experience, by creating challenges in the game, so you can obviously buy and then LIKE their game.
Whether you find games tense or not really all comes down to what kind of gamer and person you are. Easily wound up people will find games more tense than people who aren't so easily wound up, but still there is always some sort of intensity lurking in a game. The mere fact that you're controlling a character gives you a responsibility, and it is with this responsibility that tension can be created.
Thanks for reading
Dr Z
Here's how and why:
How?
-------
Metal Gear Solid 2 is a brilliant example. This game brought shivers to my spine, but not in a scary way, in a "I've got to get out of this" kind of way. Anyone who has played it would know that it is a game majorly based on stealth, which adds to the tension. But it's when that darn alarm goes off that somehow and for some reason, even though it's just a game, your body suddenly tightens and you become that little bit more conscious about what's going on. It's basic human instincts. As you are the person controlling such and such character(s), you are given a responsibility and the character's future is placed in your hands, so you feel the need to help them when they are put in difficult situations such as when the alarm goes off in MGS2.
The thing that makes this part of the game so tense and something you always want to avoid is the sound. A realistically sounding military alarm goes off and from then on you just know that you are being hunted. Then quickly afterwards, a jurky and moving instrumental follows that adds an unbelievably huge amount of pressure on you. I couldn't believe it! It was bad enough that I had to find somewhere to hide without that scary music coming on. MGS2 to me is probably one of the most involving games around, but that doesn't necessarily make it the best.
Sure, the experience matters a lot in a game, but too much of the same isn't so good, which was MGS2s main flaw. However, there is another way how games make us tense ... using realism.
Games with a low age limit are usually softcore games that don't have much realism e.g. 'Spyro the Dragon', but games that have a higher age limit are often the ones that have more realism, and more intensity. Games are a means of escaping the real world and entering a computer generated one, but when it imitates the outside world so well, the whole experience seems all that more important.
The graphics in 'the Getaway' are superb, and they make this london thriller of a game more of an experience. You control Mark Hammond, who is famously a fugitive from the law and once the storyline had begun I knew I had a tough journey to go. During the first minutes of the game (the very first mission), I was already curious what was around the corner because the atmosphere surrounding me made me feel like I was Mark Hammond.
Birds tweeting, the sun glaring, realistic shops, cars, people.. everything just seemed like WOAH! Then once I got round the corner, I had to take out several gangster blokes, but it wasn't as easy as I expected. I was expecting a health bar, there was none. I was expecting to have at least some kind of indicator on the screen, there was none. I was expecting to receive some life on the way after receiving several hits, there was none.. what is there then?! This made the intensity increase even more because I had to control my blokey while bullets were flying everywhere in his direction and while he was limping all over the place. It wasn't until later that I found out you had to stand beside walls for him to "catch his health back?" Looks more like he's catching his breath back. Despite this weird but new way of collecting health in a game, 'the Getaway' is one very tense game because its atmosphere imitates the typical london location perfectly and once your eyes are fixed on the screen you feel like Mark Hammond.
How are games tense? Because of realism, suspense and atmosphere, and a stealthy motive to the game helps as well.
Why?
-------
Now, what would you do if you were put in a developer's shoes. Your main objective is to make a game sell, and the only way you're going to do that is if it is of public interest. Although people's interest do vary, the majority like games that offer a challenge. So when developer's make games, they are trying their best (or worst) to make a game as involving as possible using certain different tactics.
Firstly, I've noticed that games that don't let you save whenever or wherever you want to seem to be the ones that make you become much more aware of gameplay. In Onimusha for example, you have to reach certain save points during play in order to save your game, but the thing is you never know where or when the next monster, or monsters are going to strike, and yet still some are tougher than others. A slight mistake could make you have to start all the way from your last save point, which becomes very frustrating, especially if you passed a level by luck. I think the Capcom developers included this feature on purpose. If you are gamer playing a game, your obvious and main intention during play is to progress as far as possible, but without the ability to save when you like the game seems that extra bit more tense than usual. That is why some gamers dread end of level boss battles; because if you fail, you have to play the whole level again.
Another thing developers do that increasingly make games tense is again creating more of a challenge for the player, by giving quite difficult controls. Some games have been maimed for having unchangeable controls that are almost impossible to use, but most games today have configurations that can be changed. But if you look closely at certain games, you will notice that even though the buttons can be changed, the initial configuration put by the creators can seem harder to use than the other selection, depending on the type of gamer you are.
Controls are very important in the game because they are your tools for the trade. As you hold the pad and adapt to its controls, it becomes invisible as your eyes fix entirely on the screen. But if you're given difficult controls that are more challenging and you are placed in a hard part of a game to clear, you seem to panic if the buttons are in places that are unfamiliar. The control pad is one of the ultimate objects that make games more intense as well as your palms sweat. Like in 'Burnout 2', the cars travel very quickly causing things to dash towards you on the screen and the only thing you have to hold on to is your pad. Clutching the pad has made me sweat unknowingly in numerous occassions because my eyes had been fixed on the screen.
Also, in pick up and play beat'em ups, the pad is a means of serious button-bashing to pull of as many good combos as possible so you don't lose to your opponents. It becomes tense, especially when playing against your mates because you don't want to lose face or your dignity after bragging endlessly about how much you would kick their butt. So if you always thought pads were nothing special, think again.
Why do games make you tense? Because developers are trying to give you a better experience, by creating challenges in the game, so you can obviously buy and then LIKE their game.
Whether you find games tense or not really all comes down to what kind of gamer and person you are. Easily wound up people will find games more tense than people who aren't so easily wound up, but still there is always some sort of intensity lurking in a game. The mere fact that you're controlling a character gives you a responsibility, and it is with this responsibility that tension can be created.
Thanks for reading
Dr Z
elastomania makes you want to flash-fry your computer
your right, games ARE tense. Only five minutes ago i cacked myself after playing medal of honour allied assault.
*goes away to clean boxers and to a lesser degree, pants*
*goes away to clean boxers and to a lesser degree, pants*
Just playing a simple game of timesplitters 2 gets my herat pounding.
I agree that involving games make you tense excpeilly horror ones such as Eternal Darkness and think you are the character and you never know what's going to happen next.
I agree responsibility leads to tension and although you know the game cant hurt you, you will jump if the game unexpectedly surprises you. The tension works much in the same way as a horror film. In a horror film there is always 1 main character that you are meant to relate to. One by one the other characters (The token black guy and the boyfriend/girlfriend) until the killer goes for the main character. This makes the audience more jumpy than before as they relate to the character more than the others and so creates a climax in the film.
I said, don't lie!
oh the irony
oh the irony
Playing on particular games, I have discovered that some games are extremely involving, more than others. The experiences I've had in certain games got me thinking about this, but then playing on 'the Getaway' confirmed this ... games can be arduously tense.
Here's how and why:
How?
-------
Metal Gear Solid 2 is a brilliant example. This game brought shivers to my spine, but not in a scary way, in a "I've got to get out of this" kind of way. Anyone who has played it would know that it is a game majorly based on stealth, which adds to the tension. But it's when that darn alarm goes off that somehow and for some reason, even though it's just a game, your body suddenly tightens and you become that little bit more conscious about what's going on. It's basic human instincts. As you are the person controlling such and such character(s), you are given a responsibility and the character's future is placed in your hands, so you feel the need to help them when they are put in difficult situations such as when the alarm goes off in MGS2.
The thing that makes this part of the game so tense and something you always want to avoid is the sound. A realistically sounding military alarm goes off and from then on you just know that you are being hunted. Then quickly afterwards, a jurky and moving instrumental follows that adds an unbelievably huge amount of pressure on you. I couldn't believe it! It was bad enough that I had to find somewhere to hide without that scary music coming on. MGS2 to me is probably one of the most involving games around, but that doesn't necessarily make it the best.
Sure, the experience matters a lot in a game, but too much of the same isn't so good, which was MGS2s main flaw. However, there is another way how games make us tense ... using realism.
Games with a low age limit are usually softcore games that don't have much realism e.g. 'Spyro the Dragon', but games that have a higher age limit are often the ones that have more realism, and more intensity. Games are a means of escaping the real world and entering a computer generated one, but when it imitates the outside world so well, the whole experience seems all that more important.
The graphics in 'the Getaway' are superb, and they make this london thriller of a game more of an experience. You control Mark Hammond, who is famously a fugitive from the law and once the storyline had begun I knew I had a tough journey to go. During the first minutes of the game (the very first mission), I was already curious what was around the corner because the atmosphere surrounding me made me feel like I was Mark Hammond.
Birds tweeting, the sun glaring, realistic shops, cars, people.. everything just seemed like WOAH! Then once I got round the corner, I had to take out several gangster blokes, but it wasn't as easy as I expected. I was expecting a health bar, there was none. I was expecting to have at least some kind of indicator on the screen, there was none. I was expecting to receive some life on the way after receiving several hits, there was none.. what is there then?! This made the intensity increase even more because I had to control my blokey while bullets were flying everywhere in his direction and while he was limping all over the place. It wasn't until later that I found out you had to stand beside walls for him to "catch his health back?" Looks more like he's catching his breath back. Despite this weird but new way of collecting health in a game, 'the Getaway' is one very tense game because its atmosphere imitates the typical london location perfectly and once your eyes are fixed on the screen you feel like Mark Hammond.
How are games tense? Because of realism, suspense and atmosphere, and a stealthy motive to the game helps as well.
Why?
-------
Now, what would you do if you were put in a developer's shoes. Your main objective is to make a game sell, and the only way you're going to do that is if it is of public interest. Although people's interest do vary, the majority like games that offer a challenge. So when developer's make games, they are trying their best (or worst) to make a game as involving as possible using certain different tactics.
Firstly, I've noticed that games that don't let you save whenever or wherever you want to seem to be the ones that make you become much more aware of gameplay. In Onimusha for example, you have to reach certain save points during play in order to save your game, but the thing is you never know where or when the next monster, or monsters are going to strike, and yet still some are tougher than others. A slight mistake could make you have to start all the way from your last save point, which becomes very frustrating, especially if you passed a level by luck. I think the Capcom developers included this feature on purpose. If you are gamer playing a game, your obvious and main intention during play is to progress as far as possible, but without the ability to save when you like the game seems that extra bit more tense than usual. That is why some gamers dread end of level boss battles; because if you fail, you have to play the whole level again.
Another thing developers do that increasingly make games tense is again creating more of a challenge for the player, by giving quite difficult controls. Some games have been maimed for having unchangeable controls that are almost impossible to use, but most games today have configurations that can be changed. But if you look closely at certain games, you will notice that even though the buttons can be changed, the initial configuration put by the creators can seem harder to use than the other selection, depending on the type of gamer you are.
Controls are very important in the game because they are your tools for the trade. As you hold the pad and adapt to its controls, it becomes invisible as your eyes fix entirely on the screen. But if you're given difficult controls that are more challenging and you are placed in a hard part of a game to clear, you seem to panic if the buttons are in places that are unfamiliar. The control pad is one of the ultimate objects that make games more intense as well as your palms sweat. Like in 'Burnout 2', the cars travel very quickly causing things to dash towards you on the screen and the only thing you have to hold on to is your pad. Clutching the pad has made me sweat unknowingly in numerous occassions because my eyes had been fixed on the screen.
Also, in pick up and play beat'em ups, the pad is a means of serious button-bashing to pull of as many good combos as possible so you don't lose to your opponents. It becomes tense, especially when playing against your mates because you don't want to lose face or your dignity after bragging endlessly about how much you would kick their butt. So if you always thought pads were nothing special, think again.
Why do games make you tense? Because developers are trying to give you a better experience, by creating challenges in the game, so you can obviously buy and then LIKE their game.
Whether you find games tense or not really all comes down to what kind of gamer and person you are. Easily wound up people will find games more tense than people who aren't so easily wound up, but still there is always some sort of intensity lurking in a game. The mere fact that you're controlling a character gives you a responsibility, and it is with this responsibility that tension can be created.
Thanks for reading
Dr Z
Here's how and why:
How?
-------
Metal Gear Solid 2 is a brilliant example. This game brought shivers to my spine, but not in a scary way, in a "I've got to get out of this" kind of way. Anyone who has played it would know that it is a game majorly based on stealth, which adds to the tension. But it's when that darn alarm goes off that somehow and for some reason, even though it's just a game, your body suddenly tightens and you become that little bit more conscious about what's going on. It's basic human instincts. As you are the person controlling such and such character(s), you are given a responsibility and the character's future is placed in your hands, so you feel the need to help them when they are put in difficult situations such as when the alarm goes off in MGS2.
The thing that makes this part of the game so tense and something you always want to avoid is the sound. A realistically sounding military alarm goes off and from then on you just know that you are being hunted. Then quickly afterwards, a jurky and moving instrumental follows that adds an unbelievably huge amount of pressure on you. I couldn't believe it! It was bad enough that I had to find somewhere to hide without that scary music coming on. MGS2 to me is probably one of the most involving games around, but that doesn't necessarily make it the best.
Sure, the experience matters a lot in a game, but too much of the same isn't so good, which was MGS2s main flaw. However, there is another way how games make us tense ... using realism.
Games with a low age limit are usually softcore games that don't have much realism e.g. 'Spyro the Dragon', but games that have a higher age limit are often the ones that have more realism, and more intensity. Games are a means of escaping the real world and entering a computer generated one, but when it imitates the outside world so well, the whole experience seems all that more important.
The graphics in 'the Getaway' are superb, and they make this london thriller of a game more of an experience. You control Mark Hammond, who is famously a fugitive from the law and once the storyline had begun I knew I had a tough journey to go. During the first minutes of the game (the very first mission), I was already curious what was around the corner because the atmosphere surrounding me made me feel like I was Mark Hammond.
Birds tweeting, the sun glaring, realistic shops, cars, people.. everything just seemed like WOAH! Then once I got round the corner, I had to take out several gangster blokes, but it wasn't as easy as I expected. I was expecting a health bar, there was none. I was expecting to have at least some kind of indicator on the screen, there was none. I was expecting to receive some life on the way after receiving several hits, there was none.. what is there then?! This made the intensity increase even more because I had to control my blokey while bullets were flying everywhere in his direction and while he was limping all over the place. It wasn't until later that I found out you had to stand beside walls for him to "catch his health back?" Looks more like he's catching his breath back. Despite this weird but new way of collecting health in a game, 'the Getaway' is one very tense game because its atmosphere imitates the typical london location perfectly and once your eyes are fixed on the screen you feel like Mark Hammond.
How are games tense? Because of realism, suspense and atmosphere, and a stealthy motive to the game helps as well.
Why?
-------
Now, what would you do if you were put in a developer's shoes. Your main objective is to make a game sell, and the only way you're going to do that is if it is of public interest. Although people's interest do vary, the majority like games that offer a challenge. So when developer's make games, they are trying their best (or worst) to make a game as involving as possible using certain different tactics.
Firstly, I've noticed that games that don't let you save whenever or wherever you want to seem to be the ones that make you become much more aware of gameplay. In Onimusha for example, you have to reach certain save points during play in order to save your game, but the thing is you never know where or when the next monster, or monsters are going to strike, and yet still some are tougher than others. A slight mistake could make you have to start all the way from your last save point, which becomes very frustrating, especially if you passed a level by luck. I think the Capcom developers included this feature on purpose. If you are gamer playing a game, your obvious and main intention during play is to progress as far as possible, but without the ability to save when you like the game seems that extra bit more tense than usual. That is why some gamers dread end of level boss battles; because if you fail, you have to play the whole level again.
Another thing developers do that increasingly make games tense is again creating more of a challenge for the player, by giving quite difficult controls. Some games have been maimed for having unchangeable controls that are almost impossible to use, but most games today have configurations that can be changed. But if you look closely at certain games, you will notice that even though the buttons can be changed, the initial configuration put by the creators can seem harder to use than the other selection, depending on the type of gamer you are.
Controls are very important in the game because they are your tools for the trade. As you hold the pad and adapt to its controls, it becomes invisible as your eyes fix entirely on the screen. But if you're given difficult controls that are more challenging and you are placed in a hard part of a game to clear, you seem to panic if the buttons are in places that are unfamiliar. The control pad is one of the ultimate objects that make games more intense as well as your palms sweat. Like in 'Burnout 2', the cars travel very quickly causing things to dash towards you on the screen and the only thing you have to hold on to is your pad. Clutching the pad has made me sweat unknowingly in numerous occassions because my eyes had been fixed on the screen.
Also, in pick up and play beat'em ups, the pad is a means of serious button-bashing to pull of as many good combos as possible so you don't lose to your opponents. It becomes tense, especially when playing against your mates because you don't want to lose face or your dignity after bragging endlessly about how much you would kick their butt. So if you always thought pads were nothing special, think again.
Why do games make you tense? Because developers are trying to give you a better experience, by creating challenges in the game, so you can obviously buy and then LIKE their game.
Whether you find games tense or not really all comes down to what kind of gamer and person you are. Easily wound up people will find games more tense than people who aren't so easily wound up, but still there is always some sort of intensity lurking in a game. The mere fact that you're controlling a character gives you a responsibility, and it is with this responsibility that tension can be created.
Thanks for reading
Dr Z