In my previous article about DearS anime, I mentioned a difference between desirability of subject of an animation and a quality of animation. These are not one and the same. There can be a very high quality picture that depicts something subjectively undesirable, like for example a pile of turd. On the other hand there could be the opposite too, a very poor quality picture that depicts something desirable, for example cake. My and other people's biggest issue with modern media is the former problem, they depict the subjects, I find unlikable and unpleasant.
I mentioned this in my articles about World of Warcraft and Heroes of Might and Magic. In case of both of these games I am not alone. Majority of players prefer older 3rd HoMM and Pre-Cata WoW to more modern versions. Sometimes people cite various reasons, like charm of old 2d pictures over the modern 3d models, fondness for disfigured low-poly models or even plain old nostalgia for these player's sentiments. None of these however hit the mark. Problem is not in these things but in the simple fact that subject of the picture does not appeal to public. No matter how much you improve the picture of a turd from HD to UHD and then to 4k and 8k, it will not make it any more likeable. The reason for that is not that public dislikes 8k and prefer good old 320x240, but in the fact that public does not like looking at turd.
Some might argue here that newer versions of the games feature all the same characters, fractions and so on. Its not like the subject have changed. That is far from truth. As games evolve, the way they depict their characters changes too. New design or redesign may not hold the same appeal as the original one. One may say its the same archer or centaur or some famous hero but that misses important small details that make characters what they are. Various features that became associated with the character could be altered and discarded by new art director or designer. Sometimes a simple facial expression change can ruin public perception of a character. Replace an iconic grin or scowl with a "friendly" smile or neutral expression and people no longer like the character.
Heroes of Might and Magic particularly suffer from this problem. In my article about the game I argued how 3rd game version of towns and creatures particularly appeal to players and why sequels changed to much less likable designs. Its small things like colour of centaurs and shape of their lances, but they do make or break the game. Centaurs in 3rd look like Remy Martin logo, in 4th like a donkey with human face.
There is also an issue of different tastes. No one will argue that turd is not appealing and few will have any issues with cake. However replace these things with say broccoli and beer and you will see public much more divided. Some will argue for broccoli, saying its healthy and should be included, other will feel repealed as broccoli does not taste too good. On the other hand beer will repeal most of the broccoli fans who will argue that alcohol is bad, meanwhile the opponents of broccoli will be a lot more entices with booze. There will also be those who like and hate both in equal or different measures.
World of Warcraft suffers from this problem a lot. Many of the changes and new characters are disliked by old fans. Blizzard went to far into broccoli direction and as a result many fans would rather have their old slightly spoiled, but still sweet cake of the Classic than a new and healthy but bitter and unpleasant broccoli of retail.
However how one can design games that will appeal to more people. What characters, stories and designs capture people's imagination and make them return to them over and over again? What instead make them feel they should be doing something else instead? It is a complex question. Often it was solved not through any knowledge or method but through simple trial and error. However through years of trial and error we now do have knowledge of what works and what does not, there are TV tropes, stereotype like dandere or tsundere and more. One can also trial new ideas in subtle way to see if public is interested or not. A small cameo appearance and a survey of public opinion can tell if people are interested or not. Finally one can employ knowledgeable people like myself to direct the game in the right direction and make sure it depict subjects that people do want to see on screen.
For a long time, the industry has chased the quality of execution while ignoring subjective appeal of the subject. Quality is easy to measure in tangible numbers, like number of polygons or scale of resolution. It is something one can clearly see improving. Subjective appeal of subject is more difficult as one cannot measure it in a simple way. Nonetheless public's outrage over the subject of the matter clearly shows that public is not happy with the subjective appeal of the games. A solution to this problem is needed to keep public interested in the games, movies, anime and other media. Experts such as I can help in this matter and win back the players.
No comments:
Post a Comment