Pacing Your Game Scenarios

Arthur Parsons, Head Designer at TT Games, visited the University of Bolton to give a talk about his role in the games industry, Arthur talked about his responsibilities as the Head Designer. He then lead onto talking about his “Designer Checklist” that he applies to all of the games he works on at TT Games. Pacing and drama were on this list, Arthur explained that sometimes short and sweet is much better. Most Zelda games contain large dungeons, that can take numerous hours to complete at a time, whereas the latest instalment to the Zelda series, Zelda: Breathe of the Wild, contains an abundance of small, mini puzzles rather than a handful of larger dungeons. Rather than taking up the players time with a large dungeon, Breath of the Wild offers mini dungeons that take 5 – 10 minutes to complete at a time. This doesn’t obscure the player from exploring the large map.

Much like the film industry, pacing is a huge aspect to the games industry, a good understanding of pacing can lead to excellent and well planned pacing, however on the other hand a lack of understanding can lead to an unpleasant or boring experience. Many well received games take inspiration from the pacing of Hollywood blockbusters, such as Dawn of the Dead and Dead Rising (McGrath, 2014). however, in films the director is in complete control of cinematic pacing, whereas in games it’s the player who takes the lead, this can sometimes lead to misunderstandings or disorientation. “there's just enough time for [Luke Skywalker] to take a look at the damaged R2-D2 and listen to Obi-Wan's advice. In a game, such a quick alternation between lower and higher intensity disorients the player.” (Wesołowski, 2017)

McGrath, J. (2014) 7 Killer Video Games Inspired By Horror Films. WhatCulture. [Online]. Available from: http://whatculture.com/gaming/7-killer-video-games-inspired-by-horror-films?page=4 [Accessed 11 March 2017].

Wesołowski, J. (2012) Beyond Pacing: Games Aren't Hollywood. Gamasutra. [Online] Available from: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4032/beyond_pacing_games_arent_.php?print=1. [Accessed on 11 March 2017]