Praise be to the video game clich�

by Jared Rea { Jul 23rd 2007 at 4:28PM }

Wired's Chris Baker is handing out free lessons on the language of video games, clichés. Baker explains that more so than television or movies, video games depend on the unique iconography of clichés to guide the players. Think about it: when was the last time you looked at an instruction manual before you started a new game? Why, we dread to think of a world without our sweet, dependable clichés.

From sequels to waypoints, barrels to crates, Chris paints a positive portrait on our favorite stand-bys with a simple message: "Why have video game clichés persisted? Because game designers want to make sure that we're having a good time."

Tags: clichés, explodingbarrels

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

dmbrandon @ Jul 23rd 2007 4:38PM

I agree with this to no end. I absolutely love the fact that when I play a new RPG, I understand all the elemental properties off the bat: Fire beats Ice, ect.

Same for equipment; you don't see white mages wearing plate armor. (Warhammer is going to mess things up a bit, in the world of video games. ^_^)

And while cliches are damn important, it's always good to be unique! Super Mario 64, I'd say, was the best example of this. The same old Mario, but in a whole new way.

It takes more than money to make a good game.

Grindstone @ Jul 23rd 2007 4:39PM

Typically when I get a new game, it's during my lunch break. So, once I have game in hand, I'll read the manual throughout the rest of the day until I'm off work, then I play. Meaning, I still read the manual before I play.

Nushio @ Jul 23rd 2007 4:47PM

I do the same thing. Since I live in Mexico, and do all my VG shopping in the US, I usually read the manual on the way home. Unless its a DS game, then I just pop in the game and play.

Sometimes, after I'm stuck, or curious, I'll go ahead and read the manual. There's usually nice artwork among other things.

waves @ Jul 23rd 2007 7:43PM

I read the manual on the Subway ride home.

WiNG @ Jul 23rd 2007 4:46PM

I think the best cliché in RPGs/MMOs is that the enemies you fight at the end are so hard compared to the enemies you first fight. And also that you must start with the weakest crap weapon, and pay for everything, even if you're the "chosen one" to save the world, the merchants charge you to fix your stuff!

DrXym @ Jul 23rd 2007 4:55PM

Anyone who claims crates or exploding barrels make for a good game needs a serious slapping. Every bloody first person shooter employs them, with the cliche hitting new lows in HL2 such that Gordon Frohman had a great time parodying them. Enough with the exploding barrels. Crates are as bad whether they contain powerups or retarded enemies bobbing up and down behind them. Both are symptomatic of extremely lazy level design. Games reviewers should dock points for cliches.

Gavin @ Jul 23rd 2007 4:56PM

How about the cliche of video game magazines and websites writing articles about video game cliches and then bringing up exploding barrels?

Freelance @ Jul 23rd 2007 4:59PM

This has been done enough times. It is becoming cliche when gaming mdia talk about video game cliches. look through joystiq and you will see someone else talked about it last week

Imadogg99 @ Jul 23rd 2007 5:11PM

Yea joystiq, a video game site, talks about articles dealing with video games... and from time to time they talk about articles dealing with video game cliches.

OMG how cliche of them......

vidGuy @ Jul 23rd 2007 5:10PM

Wait! Video games are derivative and full of cliches? Who would have guessed?

**Goes back to playing Final Fantasy XII and Mario Party 8**

Tom @ Jul 23rd 2007 5:11PM

Context-sensitive button prompts are such a cliché, it all started with Ocarina of Time. I hate games blatantly telling me what to do, I'd rather just guess...

ill trooper @ Jul 23rd 2007 6:11PM

Yes, let's discuss some clichés that haven't become meta-clichés like the ol' "crate thing..."

Often I'll be playing a new video game and my girlfriend (or someone else not as deep into gaming) might be watching - and they'll say something like "wow, you're really good at video games," but the reality is, I'm not always that good, I'm simply really _familiar_ with video games - there are some paradigms that seem to carry over so pervasively that you can pick up a new game and you probably know 80% of how to play it already.

I could go on and on, but these are some quick initial things that come to mind:

I'm wondering if the ol' "when you shoot what you're supposed to hit if flashes red/white" thing is going to be switched up or removed - Graphic detail is getting to the point where we could likely discern subtle damage and figure it out ourselves.

Or the everpresent "bullet count" in the corner of the screen - how you can possibly know how much ammo you have left in your gun in a WWII shooter? A game would be much more tense if you had to learn to subconciously 'count' how many bullets were left, or check your clip by removing it - like someone in real combat likely has had to do.

I'm loving the trend towards no HUD, as well. Probably one of the best aspects of King Kong on the 360. This would have been a great feature in Condemned, where even several hours of gameplay an annoying weapons comparison would pop up and ruin the mood, along with that lame heath bar across the top, glowing bright even though the game created such an intense mood of darkness and fear.

I understand the need for certain conventions to keep the player motivated, like time limits, patterns in attack, etc., but a great change has go to be coming - a truly 'next gen' of gaming without some of these omnipresent 'clues' that are not possible in real life.

Grindstone @ Jul 23rd 2007 6:25PM

I've considered your opinings on the matter several times. A game with a clean HUD is intriguing, making it more "real life", but then the games become tedious, as yo uare forced to consider how many rounds you have left, reloading, how badly hurt am I really, and other nuances we deal with. Sure, could be done well, but games still have a long way to go before "real life" meshes cohesively.

ill trooper @ Jul 23rd 2007 6:38PM

Yeah, I hear you - I don't think it needs to change across the board - certain aspects we're discussing will always be present, as they can simply make the gaming experiece more 'fun.' Basic aspects of gameplay can be revisited the same way books, music, and movies can use tried and true building blocks to tell stories that are new, hopefully avoiding the repetition that gets clichéd.
I'm certainly not mad with Geometry Wars arriving on the the scene with the old '3 lives/3 bombs' formula - it's a classic genre that can still work.

But I'm still thinking the more realistic approach would help certain games, like in the 'Condemned' example above.

riggs @ Jul 24th 2007 10:42AM

i agree wholeheartedly about the HUD issue, but sometimes HUDs are needed and cleverly integrated (some games cleverly refer that the HUD is coming from the person's "helmet")

scarfy @ Jul 23rd 2007 6:19PM

How about when you're playing a 2D platformer and you come to a bridge that will almost always collapse on you.

Myrpok @ Jul 23rd 2007 7:10PM

lol playing a whut?
.
.
.
I miss them so much

Raymond Devine @ Jul 23rd 2007 7:08PM

iLL and Grindstone:

Very nice points on both ends.

I find the concept of tracking your own ammo and such very appealing. In many ways it harkens back to memory play. For example, while it was mentally draining, getting a perfect score out of Megaman Zero was an exercise. I've never been more proud. Obviously there is older stuff (as I'm sure I got a few scoffs at the MMZ reference) the point is still there. Difficulty and credit to the player are things missing from many mainstream games.

That's why I really like the standard convention of many shooters to have the screen start going red when you're taking damage instead of a health gauge. Of course, the ability to just keep chugging along is a bit troublesome.

That said, what about games where a HUD is more than appropriate? Halo? Metroid Prime? I find those wonderfully satisfying.

It all fits into the game I suppose. Would Call of Duty sell as well if it ran without a HUD? I know I would find it attractive...but then again I, and I assume both of you, have been playing video games for a long time. Would the actual war vet appreciate the design choice? What about the longstanding CoD faithful? The newbie?

General:
As for the "standard tricks," I admit that there is a certain language required in today's games. The great games, though, tend to work around the barrier. Returning to Metroid Prime, the controls have always been incredibly intuitive while also being effective. While I've heard arguments about the Wii controller possibly lowering the technical skill involved in play (by having to dumb down precision in favor of "waggle"), perhaps it is also a way to get over such lame situations.

Then again, great game design should be able to get over such obstacles within limitations. Well they, of course, contained explosive elements, the standard grenade supply of Halo and the missile work of Metroid allows for a general disregard for exploding barrels.

But what if your hero isn't a high-tech-one-entity-army?

*checks post*

Hmm, this is turning into a blog entry, I'll leave you with that. ;)

Phi @ Jul 23rd 2007 7:40PM

I love how in most RPGs, you walk into people's houses and basically steal things from their chests, drawers, etc.

Variable Gear @ Jul 31st 2007 2:03AM

While many feel otherwise, I am not a big fan of the 'red-screen' mechanic. This cliche allows a perfectly average character to recover from fatal bullet wounds by catching his/her breath. How BS was that? I would much rather have developers use the HUD if it means we will have responsibility for the health of our characters. This could be done just as well without a HUD but developers would actually need to go back and evolve their concepts - which will take time.

And, Metroid Prime DID have exploding barrels...

Ezzeloharr @ Jul 24th 2007 8:07PM

The biggest cliché in all video games is the number 3. It's always 3: when you fight a boss, the attack pattern is always three things. Or, you have to repeat a certain action three times in order to defeat it. Or there are three things you need to collect in order to complete a quest... It's always three!! I'd be nice to see a change, just to throw people off.

Maybe that's just Nintendo games though - feel free to correct me on this.

Brad Lee @ Jul 26th 2007 10:40AM

Cliches in video games are lazy and lack imagination, and for that matter so do "instruction manuals" and "tutorials" by far the worst of the three.

What pisses me off the most about cliches are how unbelievably stupid some of them are. Why is it that when I shoot some random barrel it explodes but when I shoot a fire extinguisher nothing happens?

The best games are ones that don't need an instruction manual or tutorials at all, and eliminate the supposed "necessity" of cliches.

Viewtiful Joe is one of my favorite games of all time, and that game doesn't have you flipping through pages in an instruction manual or trudging through unnecessarily long tutorials to understand how to play the game. Only once in a while is the quick-paced action interrupted for some necessary explanation.

Cliches kill video games for me, because the more cliches a game uses the more I feel like I've "played it all before." I've gotten so bored with modern games that I'm back to playing dos games.

Halo, Gears, Mario, ya'll got NOTHIN on Masters of Magic and Transport Tycoon!