Games and Stories - Quest for Glory 2: Trial by Fire
It's about time I dedicate an entire blog post to an adventure game...
Choose a game which you feel attempts to incorporate strong narrative elements.
I'm picking Quest for Glory 2: Trial by Fire (QFG 2) as the game topic to discuss about because of its interesting narrative structure. Before I answer the question, a synopsis is in order.
QFG 2 is the sequel to Quest for Glory: So You Want To Be A Hero? (originally known as Hero's Quest), where the Hero of Spielburg travels to the desert city of Shapeir thinking that he can take a well-earned rest, only to find that he's needed there as well. Four elementals plague Shapeir, and the Emir of Rasier (Shapeir's twin city) has mysteriously disappeared, leaving Rasier in the hands of a dictator. Can the Hero solve the mystery and put things right for both cities?
The game was released in 1990 as an EGA text parser game with limited mouse control.
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The series spawned quite a number of fan projects, including:
QFG 2 Remake by AGDI - This game will be completed some time this year with an updated user interface and VGA graphics.
Hero6 by Hero6 Development Team
- The very first fan project for adventure games.
(Still in production. Programmers and artists wanted!)
Quest for Infamy by Infamous Adventures - From the same people that are remaking KQ3. You get to play as a villain in this game.
(Still in production)
Hero of Infamous Kingdoms by Silver Sphinx Studios - Go play it! I voice-acted as the Pixie!
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1. Discuss the tension between agency and narrative structure within the game. Do you agree that narrative and interactivity can never co-exist? Why/why not?
The game is told using locations and story hubs. The player is free to move his Hero anywhere (whether it's inside the city or out in the desert), and converse with any of the NPCs. Dialogue is handled using the text-parser, but there's a twist - unlike most text-parser games of its time, QFG 2 was programmed such that the player could ask the NPCs from a wide range of conversation topics. So instead of typing "talk guard" to get a standard response, the player can type "ask guard about city", "ask guard about money changer", "ask guard about map", or even "ask guard about saurus". It's very much like Facade since you can't see any visible list of conversation topics to talk about. The player can also have the Hero share what he knows with the NPCs through the "tell" command, like "tell about self", or "tell about story". It's even possible to flirt with the female NPCs! This makes characters seem more real since you can have a two-way conversation with them (as long as the developers had anticipated what the player would most likely have his Hero say and script those responses in). It is also through conversing with the characters that the player receives new quests as well as hints for solving some of those quests. The more the Hero converses with others, the higher his Communication skill points will be, which allows him to bargain for better prices, or even complete quests through talking, so there's local as well as global agency.
Speaking of local agency, there's plenty of that in the game, and it's evident from the quests the Hero can do. Some are required in order to advance the story (like saving the city from the elementals), some are based on character class (the Thief
, the Wizard 
and the Fighter 
), and some are optional (like restoring a man to his true form in the desert). Whenever a player achieves something (picking up an item, learning a new spell, killing a monster or completing a quest), he not only earns points for the score system and/or stat system, but will also experience something new story-wise, like unlocking the next part of the story, or witnessing the NPCs react according to the Hero's actions, or receiving a reward. Failure could result in death if the quest was critical (eg. getting caught while trying to rob a house) or if the Hero was in combat.
There's even global agency in the game. One example is where Hero has a chance of becoming the honourable Paladin with the flaming sword
(regardless of character class) at the end if he'd not only done many good deeds, but also didn't do anything dishonourable throughout the entire game. If the Hero had killed an innocent creature, or used the x-ray glasses to spy on a woman as she undressed herself, for instance, the game can still be completed, but the Hero will not be made a Paladin. The other example is where a villain will challenge the Hero only if he's both a fighter and had been accepted into Eternal Order of Fighters (EOF) much earlier during the game. If the player failed to get his Hero accepted into EOF, or picked a different character class, he'll need to use a different solution because the villain won't want to waste his time on "an unworthy opponent".
Narrative and interactivity can co-exist in the game, and QFG 2 is proof that it does. The main events remain the same throughout the game, but how they can be solved largely depends on the Hero's class. A Wizard has to use spells to solve some of the problems presented during the game, the Thief has to rely on his stealth and agility, and the Fighter has to use his brute strength. This, coupled with the class-specific quests, make this game highly interactive as well as replayable, as it gives players an incentive to replay the game to see an alternate story path, try new solutions to existing problems, or meet certain characters that can only be met when the Hero is of a certain class. Also, the interactivity largely depends on the narrativity, as it is only through conversing with NPCs can the Hero pick up useful hints as well as learn new information in order to carry out the tasks successfully.
2. How is time represented in the game? Is there a separation of story and discourse time? How does the game’s use of time allow for interactivity?
Time is represented in a day/night cycle. It mimics real life as the sky does change colour according to the time in the game, and the Hero requires sleep and food after X number of hours or his health will suffer. Certain quests and events are only triggered on certain days, or times of the day, and the type of monsters the Hero faces depends on the time as well. For instance, the Hero can only fight Ghouls at night, but not during the day. Each of the elementals arrive on a certain fixed day and terrorize the city for about four days. If the Hero fails to stop the threat within the time period, the city is destroyed and the Hero dies. For other quests, there's no time-limit at all, so the Hero can take as much time as he want to solve them with no penalty involved. With all these events taking place at different times, the player has to plan his Hero's actions carefully such that he doesn't take too long to solve a problem at the expense of another problem that might be more urgent.
Is there a separation of story and discourse time? In most cases, no. The story and discourse time are pretty much the same except when the player is told of past events through some NPCs, or when the player has to let the Hero narrate his past accomplishments in Spielburg to help a woman trapped in a form of a tree. In all these cases, the player can't do anything to influence the past, so it only serves to benefit the narrative.
Choose a game which you feel attempts to incorporate strong narrative elements.
I'm picking Quest for Glory 2: Trial by Fire (QFG 2) as the game topic to discuss about because of its interesting narrative structure. Before I answer the question, a synopsis is in order.
QFG 2 is the sequel to Quest for Glory: So You Want To Be A Hero? (originally known as Hero's Quest), where the Hero of Spielburg travels to the desert city of Shapeir thinking that he can take a well-earned rest, only to find that he's needed there as well. Four elementals plague Shapeir, and the Emir of Rasier (Shapeir's twin city) has mysteriously disappeared, leaving Rasier in the hands of a dictator. Can the Hero solve the mystery and put things right for both cities?
The game was released in 1990 as an EGA text parser game with limited mouse control.
[advertisement]
The series spawned quite a number of fan projects, including:
QFG 2 Remake by AGDI - This game will be completed some time this year with an updated user interface and VGA graphics.
Hero6 by Hero6 Development Team
- The very first fan project for adventure games.(Still in production. Programmers and artists wanted!)
Quest for Infamy by Infamous Adventures - From the same people that are remaking KQ3. You get to play as a villain in this game.
(Still in production)
Hero of Infamous Kingdoms by Silver Sphinx Studios - Go play it! I voice-acted as the Pixie!
[/advertisement]
1. Discuss the tension between agency and narrative structure within the game. Do you agree that narrative and interactivity can never co-exist? Why/why not?
The game is told using locations and story hubs. The player is free to move his Hero anywhere (whether it's inside the city or out in the desert), and converse with any of the NPCs. Dialogue is handled using the text-parser, but there's a twist - unlike most text-parser games of its time, QFG 2 was programmed such that the player could ask the NPCs from a wide range of conversation topics. So instead of typing "talk guard" to get a standard response, the player can type "ask guard about city", "ask guard about money changer", "ask guard about map", or even "ask guard about saurus". It's very much like Facade since you can't see any visible list of conversation topics to talk about. The player can also have the Hero share what he knows with the NPCs through the "tell" command, like "tell about self", or "tell about story". It's even possible to flirt with the female NPCs! This makes characters seem more real since you can have a two-way conversation with them (as long as the developers had anticipated what the player would most likely have his Hero say and script those responses in). It is also through conversing with the characters that the player receives new quests as well as hints for solving some of those quests. The more the Hero converses with others, the higher his Communication skill points will be, which allows him to bargain for better prices, or even complete quests through talking, so there's local as well as global agency.
Speaking of local agency, there's plenty of that in the game, and it's evident from the quests the Hero can do. Some are required in order to advance the story (like saving the city from the elementals), some are based on character class (the Thief
, the Wizard and the Fighter ), and some are optional (like restoring a man to his true form in the desert). Whenever a player achieves something (picking up an item, learning a new spell, killing a monster or completing a quest), he not only earns points for the score system and/or stat system, but will also experience something new story-wise, like unlocking the next part of the story, or witnessing the NPCs react according to the Hero's actions, or receiving a reward. Failure could result in death if the quest was critical (eg. getting caught while trying to rob a house) or if the Hero was in combat. There's even global agency in the game. One example is where Hero has a chance of becoming the honourable Paladin with the flaming sword
(regardless of character class) at the end if he'd not only done many good deeds, but also didn't do anything dishonourable throughout the entire game. If the Hero had killed an innocent creature, or used the x-ray glasses to spy on a woman as she undressed herself, for instance, the game can still be completed, but the Hero will not be made a Paladin. The other example is where a villain will challenge the Hero only if he's both a fighter and had been accepted into Eternal Order of Fighters (EOF) much earlier during the game. If the player failed to get his Hero accepted into EOF, or picked a different character class, he'll need to use a different solution because the villain won't want to waste his time on "an unworthy opponent".Narrative and interactivity can co-exist in the game, and QFG 2 is proof that it does. The main events remain the same throughout the game, but how they can be solved largely depends on the Hero's class. A Wizard has to use spells to solve some of the problems presented during the game, the Thief has to rely on his stealth and agility, and the Fighter has to use his brute strength. This, coupled with the class-specific quests, make this game highly interactive as well as replayable, as it gives players an incentive to replay the game to see an alternate story path, try new solutions to existing problems, or meet certain characters that can only be met when the Hero is of a certain class. Also, the interactivity largely depends on the narrativity, as it is only through conversing with NPCs can the Hero pick up useful hints as well as learn new information in order to carry out the tasks successfully.
2. How is time represented in the game? Is there a separation of story and discourse time? How does the game’s use of time allow for interactivity?
Time is represented in a day/night cycle. It mimics real life as the sky does change colour according to the time in the game, and the Hero requires sleep and food after X number of hours or his health will suffer. Certain quests and events are only triggered on certain days, or times of the day, and the type of monsters the Hero faces depends on the time as well. For instance, the Hero can only fight Ghouls at night, but not during the day. Each of the elementals arrive on a certain fixed day and terrorize the city for about four days. If the Hero fails to stop the threat within the time period, the city is destroyed and the Hero dies. For other quests, there's no time-limit at all, so the Hero can take as much time as he want to solve them with no penalty involved. With all these events taking place at different times, the player has to plan his Hero's actions carefully such that he doesn't take too long to solve a problem at the expense of another problem that might be more urgent.
Is there a separation of story and discourse time? In most cases, no. The story and discourse time are pretty much the same except when the player is told of past events through some NPCs, or when the player has to let the Hero narrate his past accomplishments in Spielburg to help a woman trapped in a form of a tree. In all these cases, the player can't do anything to influence the past, so it only serves to benefit the narrative.
posted by Swift at
12:34 pm
2 Comments:
I'm still working out the whole interactivity vs. narrative thing, but I think the important issue is the notion that a narrative is "past" - its a retelling of previous events, structured such that the discourse creates a dramatic arc, which builds up tension and creates interest for the reader. This is different from story, which consists of the underlying events which the discourse is conveying to the reader. For QFG 2, as you said, the telling is almost always "now", meaning its the raw story, ie. story time and discourse time are merged in the gameplay. If you were watching this discourse (rather than playing), I wonder if it would come across as an effective narrative? For me this is the difference between narrative and game - for a game, its only really enjoyable when you're playing the game. Spectator sports are the exception I suppose.
Anyway, like I said, I'm still working out where I stand on this issue. I don't entirely agree with the ludologists, but I think they made some good points which are worth considering...
By
alex, at 9:46 am
I wonder if a narrative has to always be a retelling of previous events. Game books tend to be written in the present tense, and so the events happen at the same time as the reading itself. Since some people regard game books as books rather than games, wouldn't this be a valid counter-example to the notion that narrative is "past"?
It's not just game books that have this. Joy Luck Club is also written in the present tense, and the narrators describe the events as they are happening. Like the game books, Joy Luck Club gives the reader the feeling of immediacy, as though the reader is in the narrator's mind and experiencing it in real-time.
Some plays also have this. Emily of Emerald Hill has the protagonist speaking to the audience inbetween scenes where she appears to be speaking to other characters. She might have used present tense as well, but I can't confirm that right now as the book is playing hide and seek with me. Ahmed's pointed out that improvisational theatre are an exception to Jesper's point about the events in movies and theatres aren't happening in real-time.
In Cluedo the Play, the audience get to vote whodunnit, where and with what weapon, and so the ending actually changes according to the voting results. Would this narrative still be counted as "past"?
The point about watching the game is an interesting one. I might be one of the rare few who actually do enjoy watching the game if I know what's going on. For instance, my sister and I watched my brother play Resident Evil: Nemesis because we wanted to see the story unfold and didn't dare to take on the monsters ourselves. Was it a different experience from playing the game? Yes. Was it any less enjoyable? No, because the PC's health wasn't my responsibility, so the stress element is absent, although I'd still be worried whenever the PC's health starts dropping dangerously low.
By
Swift, at 1:28 am
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