Clocktower Early Development

Soon after I'd chosen my theme I decided to roughly scope out the size I wished the Clocktower to be. I created several different cylinder sizes for the Clocktower.

 This image shows how the Clocktower size changed throughout development.

The cylinder on the left was the original size I tried. I soon realised that this version was too narrow to offer compelling gameplay. There wasn't enough space for an interesting layout.

I doubled the size of the cylinder which gave me MUCH more room to work with.

Clocktower Clockface

The first area I developed was the central clockface of the tower. I used 3ds max to model a simple circle for the clockface, along with two simple clockhands.

I converted the hands into Interp Actors and used the rotation property to make them move around the outside of the clockface. An early idea I had was to allow players to walk along the clockhands to obtain a useful power-up or weapon. This would require timing, since the hands would need to be nearing the horizontal position.

I decided to place the all powerful Redeemer (mini-nuke launcher) weapon in this position.

I created a hole using BSP subtract in the wall of the clockface room.

I then added a series of platforms leading up and around to the clockhands. The player can, with the correct timing, jump off of the last platform land on the big clockhand, and run along it to the Redeemer spawn. The player can then jump back to the platforms and pass back through the hole to return to the battle.

I think this concept is a good one. I've mixed the theme of the level (dynamic/moving, height), with gameplay to improve the map experience.

Clocktower Middle

The middle of the clocktower began as a place to test out gear rotation. I modelled some extremely simple gears in 3ds max and imported them into the map to test the idea of moving, rotating platforms.

The lower set of gears allow the player to cross the middle of the map from one side to the other. The gears rotate in an alternate fashion, gear 1 rotates left, gear 2 rotates right etc.

The upper set of gears can be navigated by using the Jump Boots power-up. The player can jump from the starting platform, onto the first gear, second gear, and lastly through the open hatch into the clockface room.

Clocktower Lift

Initially I created the lift as a temporary measure purely to make testing the map easier. Every time I fell down to the ground floor, I could simply hop in the lift and speedily reach the clockface room, without needing to die and reload the entire level.

 

At some point during development I decided that keeping the lift would be useful since it allows players to easily traverse the maps height.

I decided to add glass to the lift so that both players inside, and outside the lift could see and respond to each other moving around the map.

Clocktower Ground Floor

The lift was a success but the only way to reach the middle of the map was to take the lift to the top and jump down from cog to cog. This was inconvenient.

I decided to create another method of reaching the middle of the map. On the ground floor I created a series of gears that spun up and down a pole. The player could jump on the first gear, wait until it's near the apex of it's ascent and jump onto the next gear.

If the player did this correctly they could quickly ascend to the middle of the map and then jump onto two small gears leading to a platform.

Conclusion

This concludes my post explaining the early development of my Unreal Engine map Clocktower.

Dissertation Level Themes & Unreal Editor Testing

Hello again, for the last three months I have been working on my dissertation idea in an on-again, off-again fashion. I've been writing all my thoughts on the project into a word document, most of which I will make more legible and post on my blog.

In my last blog post I mentioned three map themes I was considering. In this post I will talk in detail about each theme, the new game mechanics they present, and the static meshes needed to realise each theme. I will also explain why I chose the mechanical Clocktower theme.

Themes

Aztec Temple

The second theme I considered was an Aztec Temple hidden in a tropical jungle. The level would be composed of the jungle surrounding the temple, a cave system connecting the temple to the jungle, and a large fast flowing river.

Aztec Temple Game Mechanics

Climbable Vines - could use ladder volumes to allow the player to climb up vines to reach new areas. (Replaces traditional UT lifts on this map).

http://forums.epicgames.com/threads/587364-LadderVolume-WallDir

(Code to get ladders working properly, apparently they are semi-broken in UE3).

Swimmable River - Could have a small river, with a current that pulls the player lightly along. (If the player swims against the current they can access an underwater temple entrance. The underwater passage would lead to a corridor in the temple that is half filled with water. (Think of the first Alex Rider book, Stormbreaker, and how the protagonist thought the water was a metal sheet blocking the mine tunnel). Leads to 1-2 important rooms in the temple.

Traps -  The temple would contain various traps which can kill an unwary player. Not only does a player need to dodge enemy projectiles, they must also dodge the traps.

Spikes on walls/ceilings

Trap doors, ancient arrow traps, fire pits etc.

Bottomless pits.

Caves - The jungle section would lead to a cave system, which also has 1-2 paths leading to the temple. (Destroyed wall in the temple will lead to the caves).

 

 Aztec Temple Game Static Meshes

- Vines

- Spike Trap

- Small Tree

- Trap Door

- Big Tree

- Arrow Trap

- Small Plant

- Fire Pit

- Bigger Plant

- Aztec Temple Walls

- Damaged Temple Wall

 

High Tech Military Facility

This idea is the least explored out of the three ideas. In essence the map would have been set in a scientifically advanced military facility, complete with lasers, security doors, and a giant vault, containing power-ups.

 

High Tech Military Facility Game Mechanics

Vault - The vault would open on a timer allowing players access to the power-ups within. After 45 seconds, however, the vault will close trapping players inside, who will then be killed via a grid of lasers.

 

High Tech Military Facility Static Meshes

- Vault Door

- Vents

- Security Doors

- Pipes

- Laser Projector

- Lasers

Clocktower

When I began to think of ideas for my Dissertation level, I thought back to books I had recently read. I immediately thought of the "Mortal Engines" series of books by Phillip Reeve. The main concept of the books, is that cities, such as London, have evolved into giant roving vehicles named, "Traction Cities", which prowl a post apocalyptic world preying on smaller cities and consuming them whilst enslaving the population.

The central idea of gigantic moving cities interested me, and made me wonder what it would be like to live inside such a city, in particular the mechanical district. Countless numbers of cogs and gears would spin, forever powering the giant machines.

This gave me the initial inspiration of setting a map inside an industrial area with many moving components such as cogs/gears, which rotate and move the players.

I thought it would offer interesting opportunities for gameplay to fight in a dynamic moving environment.

 

Clocktower Game Mechanics

1. Moving Objects - The main mechanic in the map would be moving objects. Devices such as gears, cogs, lifts etc would move players around the map.

2. Height. I wanted to base the entire map around the idea of height variation. I wanted the map to have multiple floors, and many methods to traverse up or down the map. Early on I had the idea of creating several paths that needed Jump Boots to take, that allowed players to gain height in the map more easily.

3. Environmental sounds triggered by players will clue other players into the position of opponents.

 

Clocktower Game Static Meshes

- Pipes

- Gears

- Cogs

- Mesh walkways

- Girders

- Ramps

- Lights

- Glass Clockface

- Metal Clockhands

- Mechanical device connected to clockhands.  (So they don't move by magic). :P

- Stairs

- Axels (For cogs)

- Floors

- Floors with holes for gears/cogs.

 

Aims of the Theme

- Provide z axis gameplay. (aiming and shooting up/down rather than just horizontally).

- Create a moving environment. Lots of moving parts, (cogs, gears, clockhands) via Kismet.

- Create sounds to make the environment more immersive and realistic.

- Mixture of open spaces and enclosed corridors.

- Clocktower Adapted for Tournament Usage. (Jump Pads, possibly teleporters added)

After deciding what I wanted to achieve I decided to test my initial ideas by setting up a quick test in UDK. (Unreal Development Kit).

UDK Cog Test

The following screenshots show the basic UDK test I created. As you can see I created giant 3D cog models using 3ds max. Since this was a test earlier the 3D models are extremely basic, but adequate for testing.

 Caption 1: Overview of the Test.

Caption 2: Closer view of the Test.

Caption 3: These steps lead to a rotating Cog. The player can double jump onto the tooth of the cog as it rotates towards them.

Caption 4: This shows the player after landing on the tooth of the cog.

Caption 5: This image shows the player nearing the apex of the cogs rotation.

Caption 6: This image shows the player reaching the highest point of the cogs rotation. The player can now disembark the cog by double jumping onto the platform near the apex of the cog.

I felt this game mechanic of using devices such as cogs to traverse the map was sound, so I decided to re-create the concept in Unreal Editor 3.

Unreal Editor 3 Test Area

I created two basic test areas to learn the interface of Unreal Editor 3, and to try out different ideas I had for my level.

Simple Rooms and Platforms

 

These three simple rooms make up the first test area. This area was created purely as a simple way for me to learn the differences in interface between UDK and Unreal Editor 3. The biggest difference is the way movement around the world is handled, in UDK I used the "Flythrough" controls (WSAD) to move around, like in a simple game.

The rooms themselves are extremely simple, two rooms are identical in layout, with a corridor intersecting them. (One room has rain and different lighting). A jump-pad in each room allow the player to reach the roof.

I was curious as to the properties of the UT3 Jump Boots Power-up since it wasn't present in the previous UT game (Unreal Tournament 2004), which is the game I'm most familiar with in the franchise.

I decided to test out the jump boots by creating several floating platforms, eventually working out that 500 Unreal units was the height per jump.

I also created some UT jump pads which work identically to UDK. The purple lines show the trajectory of the jump pads.

The Tower

This simple Tower structure is the second test area I created. It was created to further test out the height in Unreal Units that a player can jump using the Jump Boots Power-up. I placed platforms and Jump Boots at intervals of 500 units in height around the structure of the tower, allowing the player to jump from platform to platform and eventually climb onto the roof.

Caption 7: This image shows the bottom of the Tower and a pair of Jump Boots.

Caption 8: This image shows a view from halfway up the Tower.

Screenshot of halfway up the Tower.

Caption 9: This image shows the top of the tower, complete with two

 power-ups I was experimenting with.

After creating the two test areas I was satisfied that I had the ability to create a fully functioning level in Unreal Editor 3.

Final Map Choice: Clocktower

I eventually decided upon the Clocktower theme, since I believe it offers more scope for z axis, height based gameplay, in dynamic environments. Moreover the gear moving tests were a success and I felt that this would create interesting gameplay in a level.

Dissertation Project Idea: Unreal Editor 3 Level

 Dissertation Project Idea: Unreal Editor 3 Level

Hello 2012. It's been a while since I've updated the blog, but I will be updating regularly from now on, throughout the summer, and continuing into next year. I will primarily use this blog to show weekly progress on my Dissertation project. Speaking of my Dissertation project, I have been considering some ideas and would like feedback on if they are feasible ideas for my Dissertation.

Initial Dissertation Ideas

Below are my initial ideas for a Dissertation project. I really enjoy "level design", that is planning out levels on paper, and then creating them via game editors such as the; Unreal Editor, Unreal Development Kit, Hammer Editor etc. It seems logical to base my Dissertation on something I am interested in, and want to learn more about.

To this end I will create a highly polished multiplayer map using the Unreal Editor 3 tool. Unreal Editor 3 is similar to the Unreal Development Kit I learned to use this year, except it is geared towards making maps for the game Unreal Tournament 3, rather than entirely new game projects which is what UDK is designed to do.

Over the summer I plan to come up with three varied map themes from which I will choose the final theme for my Dissertation multiplayer map.

Regardless of the map theme I select I will create entirely new custom static meshes (game objects), and textures to accompany them. All the assets in this map will be 100% my own. I will not use any of the existing Unreal Engine assets.

Skills it will Teach me

- Greater knowledge of Texture creation.

- Greater knowledge of UVW unwrapping.

- Greater knowledge of 3ds Max 2012. In particular creating modular game objects which can combined and manipulated in the Unreal Editor.

- Greater knowledge of Adobe Photoshop CS5. In particular creating textures to be applied to UV maps.

- Greater knowledge of creating detailed Map floorplans. I am undecided on which program to use while making Floorplans. This year Myself and my group experimented with Using Microsoft Visio for our UDK project, but in the end it proved easier to use Photoshop.

- Greater knowledge of Unreal Editor systems, such as the Kismet animation system and the Unreal Editor 3 filming system.

Career Opportunities

This Dissertation Project will help me apply for a job at... a game studio. Plenty of games use the Unreal Engine to run their game. Throughout the summer I will research and find possibly game development studios who are seeking level designers with the Unreal Engine skillset.

Epic Games the creators of the Unreal Engine are one such developer, but I am sure they have extremely high standards, and require potential candidates to have several years experience working in the games industry before hiring. Still something to consider.

Academic Sources

I will support my Dissertation with academic research, specifically relating to Twitch skill, and level design. Sjoerd De Jong (Hourences) a well known map designer who created several of Unreal Tournaments most popular maps, wrote a book: The How's and Why's of Level Design - SE. This book contains useful information covering floorplans, gameplay for both singleplayer and multiplayer maps, sound effects, and more. It will be extremely useful to me when I plan out and create my multiplayer level. I will finish reading the entire book over the summer. I am presently about half way through the book.

I will also use Twitch skill related books and articles while making the map. I will decide on which books and articles during the summer break.

Bibliography

Sjoerd “Hourences” De Jong (29 August 2011). The Hows and Whys of Level Design – SE. N/A: Sjoerd De Jong. N/A.

Conclusion

I am looking forward to starting this project over the Summer. If I can work on my Dissertation ideas weekly I will have a solid, well researched base to iterate on for when term starts in September.

Thank you for reading my blog. I plan to post additional blog updates throughout the summer, highlighting each of my chosen map themes, and all the design challenges I will need to overcome to execute my designs.

P.S.

I simply can't reliably log in to the My UCS system. Every time I get my account unlocked, it works for one day, and then tells me the password is wrong the next. This makes no sense and is extremely frustrating. Thankfully I will be able to use this blog to show my Dissertation progress next term, rather than relying solely on the temperamental My UCS system.

Casual Game Design, Chapter 2 (Gregory Trefry).

Casual Game Design, Chapter 2 (Gregory Trefry).

Intro

Hello and welcome back to my blog.

I’ve been feeling under the weather for the last 1-2 weeks, so I ceased updating the blog.

Now I’ve fully recovered I plan to update weekly on weekends, starting today.

The Book

Last week I read the first and second chapters in Gregory Trefry’s book, Casual Game Design.

The book focuses on designing games that appeal to large audiences, many of which may not have played games before.

The end of the chapter focuses on refining an existing concept, and the process of designing the levels for your game.

Design the Levels

In this section Trefry lists some level design guidelines, and explains how to go about them. Below I have broken down the guidelines into individual quotes, and interpreted what Trefry is saying.

Be Empathetic

Trefry says, “First-time designers mistakenly take level design as a contest between designer and the player. The ethos seems to be, ‘But can you beat this!?’ This is the wrong approach.”

By this Trefry is saying that newer level designers often try to create levels that actively defeat the player; as though playing the game is some kind of bloody gladiatorial contest. Indeed I have seen an approach similar to this in the later levels of the platformer Super Meat boy. The later levels of the game are designed to absolutely challenge the player, and force them to use all their skills in order to succeed.

The next few quotes tie heavily into the agile software development process, Scrum, and its User Stories. (A user story is a way of breaking down the mechanics and actions of the game into ‘stories’ which the player would like to experience. E.g. in a platformer, ‘The player will want to jump.’

“You need to be able to put yourself in the position of the player, and see the game through their eyes.” “They don’t know all the tricks and secrets hidden in the level.”

“But then you must also ask yourself, what would the players like to do? What will make them enjoy the level?”

Here Trefry is simply saying that the player must use empathy to experience the level and game from a new players point of view. This is after all, the audience who will be playing the game.

“They want to win. Your challenge is letting players do that without letting them see that you let them win.”

Trefry is saying that player’s ultimately want to win the games that they play. I think this is even more crucial for casual games, since the audience will not be used to failing at a game, and so may instantly give up playing it.

If you can’t beat the level then it is waaaaaaaay too hard

“As a general rule of thumb for causal games I feel the designer should be able to beat early levels in a game with one arm tied behind his back.”

As you can see, the first level in Super Meat Boy takes literally under 5 seconds to complete. The player can make two small jumps to reach the central platform or they can wall jump using the left wall and complete the level extremely quickly.

"It’s entirely possible to design a level that is unwinnable by setting a goal score too high or a jump too far. You have to be able to play through your level from beginning to end and prove it’s winnable."

Trefry is demonstrating that it is absolutely essential for the designers to play through and complete every level in their game, to prove it is possible. This example reminds me of the Validate feature in the Track Editor mode of Trackmania 2: Canyon.

Once the player creates a custom track, they must press the ‘Validate button (Looks like a flag) in order for the track to be playable online. Once the button is clicked the player will be teleported to the start of their track, so they can race it from the beginning to the end to prove it is possible. This simple system prevents people uploading broken tracks, that are physically impossible to race on.

Design for the General Audience not the Hardcore

“You need to take their demands into consideration, but like democracy you need to answer the majorities needs first.”

“The large majority of your casual audience is not hardcore. They want challenge in the order of an invigorating hike, maybe some light scrambling over rocks. They don’t want to scale a 100ft cliff, covered in ice.”

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a platformer that satisfies both parties. The game features two help systems, Hint TV, and Super Guide, that greatly aid players new to the franchise, or gaming in general.

The first system is called Hint TV. Carefully positioned throughout the game are a number of small TV screens. Once approached the screens show a small gameplay clip, showcasing a new mechanic in the game, such as a new power-up. Newer players can watch these TV’s to gain valuable information on how to complete levels, and use Mario’s various abilities. Experienced players can avoid the TV’s if they so wish, and figure out the game’s new controls and power-ups for themselves. This system benefits both casual and hardcore players.

 

The second system, Super Guide, has a more pronounced effect. If the player dies a fixed number of times in any level, a character appears and offers to play the level for you, while you watch. The caveat of this is the player only “earns” a bronze star at the end of the level, rather than the normal golden star. This system allows a new player to watch the computer player’s, pre-recorded actions, showing how to pass certain obstacles, and how to utilize items and abilities. Once the Super Guide has finished a run, the player can re-play the level at any time via the map screen and go back into the level to earn the full reward, the golden star.

Ease players into the Game

Ease players into the game. Introduce one element at a time.”

“Since players must spend so much energy learning the game in the first few levels, don’t overwhelm them by making them learn tricky levels too.”

Super Meat Boy is a very challenging game, but it also eases the player gently into the experience. Indeed, the first 1-3 levels in SMB are incredibly easy, and virtually anyone gamer or not, can complete them.

The early levels introduce one mechanic at a time, beginning with jumping.

Next progressing to wall jumping up simple spaces to gain height.

 And finally moving onto sprinting and jumping, which allows the player to jump further.

Don’t forget to challenge players

“Without a bit of challenge, the game will lose all sense of vitality, devolving to no more than an exercise.”

“Sometimes challenge means making players actually lose a level, just to remind them they are playing a game and keep them on their toes.”

Build levels around a central concept

“The best levels are concise and clean. They focus on one central idea, running through different elaborations on that idea.”

“Focusing on one idea will help you find the core idea of fun in the level and help you polish that to a shine.”

Teach players to play the level

“A level should offer signals to the player that indicate how to approach the level.”

“If your game requires a particular kind of wall jump, set up similar structures for the wall jumps in the easy and hard parts. In this way players will begin to recognise what action they should perform to pass difficult spots.”

Give players room to explore

“Levels that introduce a new feature should focus on teaching the player the basics of using the feature. Completing the level should require the player to interact with the new feature in some basic and straight forward way.

In Super Mario Galaxy 2, the player gains access to the Cloud Suit power-up early on in the game. The suit allows the player to create up to three platforms in mid-air. Once the third platform has been created the suit disappears, and must be re-acquired in the level to be used again.

To finish the earlier levels the player need only create a simple set of platforms to take them to the level’s star.

“The first interaction teaches players the basics, the second teaches them to creatively apply their new tools.”

In later levels, players must combine Mario’s advanced acrobatics, (back flipping for extra height, long jumping for extra distance), in conjunction with the cloud suit to reach out of the way platforms, to eventually nab the star. The green laser walls knock you off the cloud to your death.

 

Occasionally break your own rules (carefully)

“The occasional shift in the patterns of the game can surprise and delight your player.” “It keeps the gameplay fresh and enables the player to feel they have creatively applied the mechanics of the game”.

SMG2 uses a ‘comet’ system to vary the level to level gameplay of the game. Every level in the game contains a ‘comet medal’. Once a set number of medals are collected, a comet arrives at a fixed level. The comet applies effects such as; sped up enemies, time limit, limiting Mario to one health, and shadow Mario clones. The clones will constantly spawn at the beginning of the level, and mimic your actions. If you stand still the clones will eventually catch up to you, doing damage as they collide.

 

All of these mechanics modify the normal flow of the levels, actively engaging the player with different types of gameplay.

Create a plan

“It’s crucial to outline your level structure. Layout where you think you will introduce new concepts, power-ups, enemies and content to the game.”

"Outlining the whole game helps you craft the overall experience of the game, progressing the game in complexity and difficulty. It will also help you see which elements you are using too often and which you are ignoring.”

Conclusion

Thanks for reading this entry about Trefry’s casual game design book and the information in contains. All being well I should be updating at least once per week every weekend.

Books Referenced

Casual Game Design, Trefry, 2010

Games Referenced

Super Meat Boy, PC/Xbox 360, Team Meat

Trackmania 2, PC, Nadeo

Super Mario Galaxy 2, Wii, Nintendo EAD

Remediation Between Gaming and Film

NB. Major spoilers will follow to the plot of the film Run Lola Run, in order for me to talk about it in detail. I therefore suggest that anyone reading this should watch the film before reading this blog entry... (I will also describe plot elements from other films, most notably, The Matrix Trilogy and the more recent, SuckerPunch).

Remediation is a concept I had come across before, in several different mediums without being aware of it.

Remediation is "the representation of one medium in another..." (Bolter Jay, Grusin Richard, 2000, Page 45). A simple example of this is taking a feature, a time limit, from one medium, gaming and applying that into another medium, film, in the form of Run Lola Run.

In this case I will focus on remediation between films and video games. Many other kinds of remediation exist, scrolling TV news tickers emulate internet news sites, the fundamental rules of perspective of 3D shapes on a flat plane used in many current video games, were created in the Renaissance, centuries ago.  Some video games are in fact based directly on existing movie or book franchises.

These games are sometimes referred to as "movie tie-in games" when the game releases at the same time or shortly after the film. If these games are rushed to retail to meet the films deadline, then it is possible a decline in quality will follow. A well known example of a game based on a movie held in high regard by gamers and critics alike, is the N64 FPS game Goldeneye. This game was eventually released several years after the film that prompted it, thus leading to a dramatic overall of the gameplay features, likely increasing the games overall quality.

Anyway, onto how Run Lola Run uses Remediation from video games...

Run Lola Run

This was a very interesting film, and an excellent example of remediation in action. In this case, elements common to gaming, were taken and used in a film, which creates quite a unique experience. (We watched the film in German, with English subtitles).

Before I talk about the different elements which were inspired by games, I will first cover the bare bones plot of the movie, to give my writing some much needed context. The plot involves Lola and Mani trying to repay gangsters the £20,000 they accidently left on a train. Mani is contemplating armed robbery to get the money he needs to pay the gangster that employed him. Lola’s goal is to get to Mani, who will only wait 20 minutes before robbing the shop. The film has a number of unexpected twists, which I will describe below.

Time Limit

Perhaps the most obvious instance of remediation is the 20 minute time limit that Lola has to save Mani, before he tries to earn the money needed by robbing the nearby shop. Time limits are a common element in most older video games. A few notable examples are Space Invaders, Sonic 1,  and Mario Brothers Donkey Kong. In Space Invaders the player gets a Game Over if the spiky blue aliens reach the bottom edge of the screen. In Sonic 1, and the other original Genesis games, each level has a time limit of 10 minutes. Once this time limit is reached, Sonic loses a life and will be reset at the last checkpoint.

The film itself really seemed to have a large element of tension, since we, the audience, know that Lola is constantly running out of time to achieve her aim of saving Mani. Every time she is delayed, we wince, as we know that it costs her precious time, and consequently brings Mani closer to committing the crime and suffering the consequences.

Which brings up to the next element the film borrows from games, if Lola fails, in her task of Mani saving within the 20 minute time limit, she gets extra...

Lives

Lives. Lola seems to have multiple lives to achieve her goal. Lives are a tried and true gaming concept dating back to games like, Donkey Kong Space Invaders, and Pac Man. It seemed like a novel, clever idea to continue the film in this way. At the end of the first 20 minute run, I was convinced that the film was over, Mani was captured, and Lola was dead...

I will now summarise the key changes that occur in each new life. As I said above, major plot points/spoilers will be discussed in this section. You have been warned.

Attempt 1 - This is the first attempt, which introduces us to Lola and Mani's characters, and the people they interact with in the 20 minute time-frame they have. It sets the scene for the rest of the film, and gives us some idea of what to expect.

Result = Mani is captured; Lola is shot by a panicking policeman and dies. Lola gets another chance to try to save Mani.

Attempt 2 -

Result = Lola managed to rob her fathers business and escape with the money needed. Mani is run over by an ambulance, when running towards Lola. Lola gets another chance to try to save Mani.

Attempt 3 -

Result = Lola manages to win most of the money needed in a casino. Mani manages to chase down the homeless person who ended up with their money on the train. Mani gets the money back by threatening him with the gun. Meanwhile Lola saves a man in an ambulance.

Eventually Lola catches up to Mani, and is very angry with him, since he managed to get the money himself, and she went through all that distress for nothing. (Frankly I was surprised that Lola didn't leave Mani, after all her efforts were for nothing. The film broke so many conventional ideas, that I was almost disappointed that it had a conventional, "happy ending").

Overall I greatly enjoyed watching Run Lola Run! It seemed like a well made, thought out film, which I'd happily recommend to friends.

Another example of remediation from gaming to film is the well known sci-fi franchise the Matrix trilogy.

The Matrix Trilogy

Neo dodging bullets in The Matrix

The Matrix Trilogy is another good example of remediation in action. Video games have often tried to change and manipulate the laws of reality, gravity, physics etc, in gaming. This is exactly what Neo, Trinity and Morpheus do while inside the Matrix. They bend and warp the rules to suit themselves. This allows them to react and fight with super-human speed, run up and along walls, jump massive distances, and even fly. In addition to this, characters can enter a state known as "Bullet Time" where time slows down to the point where they can see and dodge individual bullets. As the trilogy progresses Neo becomes progressively more powerful and gains new abilities, in much the same way a video game character would level up in an RPG. Indeed by the end of the second film, The Matrix Reloaded, Neo is able to exhort some control of his abilities in reality, although this takes a terrible toll on his physical body.

Suckerpunch

Suckerpunch Trench Battle

Suckerpunch is a recent action/adventure film and perhaps the most recent example of remediation in film. Large segments of the film take place in the main protagonists mind, and these are the bits which use remediation heavily. Below I shall describe some of these segments, and relate them to games I have either played, or have knowledge of.

One futuristic section of the film is set on a fast moving train, where the characters must get to and disarm a bomb before it reaches a massive city and detonates. This segment is highly reminiscent of the first Gears of War game. In Gears 1 the main protagonists are using a train to transport a bomb to an enemy base. In both cases, the characters must fight multiple enemies on the train, in order to disarm or transport it.

Another segment of the film, involves the characters fighting their way through a futuristic version of WW2-like trenches to reach a military bunker. Once inside the bunker a map must be stolen. That sentence may seem normal, until you consider that the enemy soldiers are not German infantry, but steam powered zombies. The look of these soldiers recalls the Hellgast in Playstation 3's Killzone series of games. One of the main characters also pilots a hulking mech, complete with grenade launchers, machine guns, and jump jets that allow it to fly for periods of time.

Suckerpunch Zombie Soldier   

Helghast soldier from Killzone.

An earlier segment of the film has the main protagonist Baby Doll fighting and overcoming gigantic stone samurai warriors. These warriors wield both conventional weapons such as swords, and spears, as well as shoulder mounted missiles launchers and massively destructive mini-guns. This segment, sans the modern weapons, reminds me heavily of games like Ninja Gaiden, where the player plays as a fast moving ninja master character. In Ninja Gaiden the player fights both human Samurai and demonic enemies, called fiends. The general feel of the fast paced, brutal combat seemed to be replicated in this film.

I think it is also worth mentioning that the overall plot of the film, the girls stealing the 5 items (which they acquire by fighting through epic CGI battle sequences), to use in an escape plan, is similar in structure to many video games. Many video games have the player going on a quest, overcoming challenges to gain x number of magical items. Indeed, the popular Legend of Zelda, series of video games usually boils down to this basic narrative formula.

It was enjoyable to write about some of the films I've seen recently, and show how these relate to gaming.

Thanks for reading.

Bibliography

Jay Bolter & Richard Grusin (2000) Remediation: Understanding New Media MIT Press

Examples of Remediation Worth Watching

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright), 2010

This crazy film was based on an even crazier comic. The entire film is packed with hundreds of video game references, everything from on-screen statistics meters, dramatic "KO!'s" to direct uses of video game music. (Legend of Zelda forest theme).

Favourite moment = When Scott confronts his "dark" self. Excellent parody of gaming conventions.

Run Lola Run! (Tom Tykwer) 1998

Favourite moment = When Lola escapes her fathers bank in the second attempt, only to think the police are pointing the guns at her...

The Matrix (The Wachowskis) 1999

The first Matrix film. Favourite moment = When Neo first realises the potential of his powers, and uses them to defeat an enemy agent.

The Matrix Reloaded (The Wachowskis) 2003

The second Matrix film. Favourite moment = Highway chase/battle scene. Lots of fighting on top of and around cars/trucks.

The Matrix Revolutions (The Wachowskis) 2003

The third and final Matrix film. Favourite moment = Neo and Smiths final battle in the rain.

SuckerPunch (Zack Snyder) 2011

A bizarre thriller/action adventure film. Great CGI battle sequences.

Favourite moment = Futuristic WW2 trench battle sequence.

Games Mentioned

Goldeneye (Nintendo 64) Rareware, 1997

Gears of War 1 (Xbox 360) Epic, 2006

Killzone (Playstation 3) Geurrilla Games, 2004

Ninja Gaiden (Xbox) Team Ninja, 2003