Incoherent Dialogue in Fallout 4

Transcription

1 Incoherent Dialogue in Fallout 4 This essay examines the state of character dialogue systems in games through the lens of systemic coherence (Hunicke, LeBlanc, Zubek 2004), using Fallout 4 (Bethesda, 2015) as a case study. This is not a question of whether or not Fallout 4 should be considered a dialogue- driven game or not with over 111,000 lines of recorded dialogue (Nunneley 2015), it s clear that dialogue between characters is an important focus of Bethesda s design. Rather, this is a critical appraisal of the systems used to deliver dialogue in Fallout 4 in light of their suitability for engendering systemic coherence. Systemic coherence refers to an ideal state in which a game s mechanics, dynamics and aesthetics complement each other to create a seamless experience, outlined by Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc and Robert Zubek. They summarise: systemic coherence comes when conflicting constraints are satisfied, and each of the game s parts can relate to each other as a whole. (Hunicke et al. 2004) By examining Fallout 4 through the lens of mechanics, dynamics and aesthetics the three distinct parts deemed necessary to achieve systemic coherence - this essay aims to establish how successful the dialogue systems within the game are at achieving coherence. While this analysis will specifically address the systems in Fallout 4, the conclusion will be broadly applicable to a wider field of games that seek to offer player choice and expression through dialogue. Recent examples include The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt, 2015), The Walking Dead (Telltale, 2012) and Dragon Age: Inquisition (Bioware, 2014). Like many modern role- playing games, Fallout 4 offers a large open world filled with diverse locations, creatures and characters which players can interact with in largely any order they choose. Mechanically, Fallout 4 contains a huge range of interwoven systems, including but not limited to real- time and semi- turn- based combat, multiple- choice dialogue, settlement building, weapon and armour modification, a working economy, a companion system and a dynamic weather system. The developers have woven these systems together with a focus on dynamic player choice in a way that has kept some players engrossed for over 400 hours (VanDervoort 2015). Aesthetically, Bethesda has created a narratively cohesive world rich with detail, providing a high- fidelity vision of what Don Carson calls environmental storytelling, where it is the physical space that does much of the work conveying the story. (Carson 2000) It is when something other than the environment is required to convey the story that Fallout 4 s otherwise dizzying array of systemic options become more limited. When approaching a character in Fallout 4 the player has three options. The first is to engage that character in combat and attempt to kill them. The second is to sneak up to them and attempt to pickpocket them. The third is to engage them in dialogue. The first two options draw heavily on the game s wider systems, which in turn are influenced by the dynamic choices the player has made during the game. Engaging in combat invokes a complex first- person shooting system bolstered with a semi- turn- based strategic aim assist system, with the play of combat defined by the player s choice of weapons and perks, as well as how they ve chosen to engage with many of the game s other

2 systems. Successfully pickpocketing is dependant on the player s control dexterity, their understanding of space and vision- cones as well as their character s perks and inventory choices. Engaging a character in dialogue usually present the player with four possible dialogue choices, bound to the controller s face buttons in the console version of the game. While the player is engaging in dialogue the rest of the game systems are effectively paused; the player cannot move, shoot, or otherwise engage with any system other than dialogue. The player must wait until the dialogue has concluded, at which point the rest of the game s systems resume and they are free to continue interacting with the game world as they please. Dialogue, then, exists in a systemic bubble of its own, separate from the rest of the game s integrated systems. Mechanically, the dialogue system is extremely basic; players can never select from more than four dialogue options at a time, each of which delivers a pre- set recorded response from the player s character. The character they are addressing then usually responds, after which the player is either presented with another four dialogue options or else the dialogue ends. Dynamically there is little for the player to engage with outside of selecting options from a list, momentarily reducing Fallout 4 to the complexity of a choose- your- own- adventure book, a form noted for its lifelessness and mechanical exposition rather than enthralling entertainment (Jenkins 2004). The player s ability to make meaningful decisions in dialogue is further hampered by the fact that they can only select from brief descriptions which imply what their character might say for example Sarcastic or Sounds great (Fig 1) with the player character providing a line of dialogue intended to match the emotion or intent stated by the interface. The effect of this is that the player doesn t know what they re actually going to say when they choose to say it Table 1 shows that while some of the options match up with the resulting dialogue, others introduce information that s invisible to the player - here the player is supposed to anticipate their character saying but there s room for my entire family, right? when the only information they re presented with is enough space?

3 NPC: I m here to tell you that because of your family s service to our country, you have been pre- selected for entrance into the local Vault. Vault 111. Input (PS4) Player selection. Character response. Enough space? But there s room for my entire family, right? I m busy. I m a little busy right now X Sounds great. Sounds great. O Go away. Go. Away. Table 1 Conversation options and responses from an early- game conversation. The one link to the broader systems of Fallout 4 comes when the player makes a choice dependant on their charisma points, usually when trying to persuade another character to do something against their nature. At this point the pertinent dialogue option is displayed in a different colour depending on how difficult the player character will find making a successful persuasion, with yellow being moderate difficulty and red being extremely difficult. The outcome of this choice is based on chance, with the probability of success increasing with the player s charisma points. However, there is no indication beyond colour of the actual statistical chance of success, nor what the repercussions will be for successful or unsuccessful attempts, and the player is unable to affect the outcome in any way beyond simply picking the option and hoping for a lucky roll. The aesthetics of dialogue are likewise limited. Conversations occur with two characters facing one another, each talking in turn, with the camera usually focusing on either the face or entire body of the speaking character. Characters cannot move whilst conversing beyond stationary animations; it s possible for other characters to speak to the player whilst both are walking, but impossible for the player to reply without the game pausing their movement and cutting to dialogue view. If games are, as Greg Costikyan writes, an interactive structure of endogenous meaning that requires players to struggle toward a goal, (Costikyan, 1994) then the game of Fallout 4 s dialogue is severely lacking. It s barely interactive, its meaning within the context of other game systems is limited to a 4- way selection of predetermined options, and the only struggle is presented as a contest with a random number generator. While the other systems within Fallout 4 would arguably meet the criteria of this definition by themselves the combat is a reasonably deep facsimile of a first- person shooter, the settlement building elements are creatively rewarding in the way of a simplified Minecraft (Mojang, 2009), inventory management requires strategic prioritising of a huge range of items it is difficult to argue that anyone would enjoy engaging with the dialogue system for its own sake. In terms of systemic coherence, dialogue is the least coherent of Fallout 4 s varied systems. A ludological conclusion would be that this enforces Costikyan s statement that there is a direct, immediately conflict between the demands of a story and the demands of a game, (Costikyan 2000, 44-53). Certainly the static and detached nature of Fallout 4 s dialogue system supports Jesper Juul s statement that the narrative tends to be isolated from or even work against the computer- game- ness of the game. (Juul 1999)

4 This would, however, be ignoring the amount of critical praise Fallout 4 has received for its narrative elements. Alec Meer of Rock Paper Shotgun praises the dramatically better- presented and performed characters (than in previous Bethesda games) (Meer 2015) while Arthur Gies of Polygon applauds Bethesda for leveraging the strongest writing it's ever managed, to present really difficult choices. (Gies 2015) This could simply be a case that the strength of the writing overcomes the weakness of the system that supports it, or it could be that the game s other systems make up for this weakness. While the definition of systemic coherence would deem Fallout 4 s dialogue system severely limited, it is at least functional, and its functionality has clearly not inhibited players experience of deep and engaging stories within this game world. If such apparent success can be achieved with such a limited system, it isn t hard to imagine the storytelling potential for a similar game that integrates dialogue more fully into its design in a way that is coherent with the otherwise excellent game systems. Word count: 1587

5 References Carson, D., Environmental storytelling: Creating immersive 3D worlds using lessons learned from the theme park industry. Gamasutra.com. Available at [Accessed 27 December 2015]. Costikyan, G., I Have No Words And I Must Design. Interactive Fantasy# 2. British Roleplaying Journal. Costikyan, G., Where stories end and games begin. Game Developer, 7(9), pp Gies, A November. Fallout 4 Review. Polygon. Available at 4- review- xbox- one- PS4- PC [Accessed 04 January 2016]. Hunicke, R., LeBlanc, M. and Zubek, R., 2004, July. MDA: A formal approach to game design and game research. In Proceedings of the AAAI Workshop on Challenges in Game AI (Vol. 4). Jenkins, H., Game design as narrative architecture. Computer, 44(3). Juul, J., A Clash Between Games and Narrative. JesperJuul.com. Available at [Accessed 03 January 2016]. Nunneley, S., 2015 September. Fallout 4 has more lines of dialogue than Fallout 3 and Skyrim combined. VG24/7. Available at 4- has- more- lines- of- dialogue- than- fallout- 3- and- skyrim- combined/ [Accessed 04 January 2016]. Meer, A., 2015 November. Wot I Think: Fallout 4. Rock Paper Shotgun. Available at 4- review- pc/2/ [Accessed 04 January 2016]. VanDervoort, O., 2015 June. Fallout 4 Gameplay Length Could Be More Than 400 Hours. Gamingbolt. Available at 4- gameplay- length- could- be- more- than hours [Accessed January ].