East versus West: A Discussion of Game Design Philosophy

[JordAnime]

 I hate to debunk the west, I do, but when it comes to video games, we haven't quite lived up to the achievements of Japan. In Miyamoto's recent keynote at GDC, he discussed his philosophy when it comes to development. I think if one thing was made clear, it was that it's all about the central idea for Miyamoto, and you don't have to look farther than his games to figure that out. In Mario, the idea was that you'd jump over and on obstacles and make it to the end of the level, in Zelda, he envisioned a world where players would explore and communicate with other gamers to find the many secrets in Hyrule. This over-arching idea that the mechanics were more important than anything can be viewed in many Japanese games, everything from Sonic to Resident Evil seems to have a central idea that takes priority over the plot line and environments. The mechanics in those games are so fine tuned, there's sort of an art to it. Now I'm not saying these aspects aren't important, the Zelda series is renowned for its visual quality, Resident Evil 4 was stunning, etc.

Now what happens when we hop the pond. You have games like GTA and The Elder Scrolls where the environment is more of the primary aspect of the game. In both games the central mechanic seems relatively irrelevant. I don't get the same feeling when I'm attacking an enemy in Oblivion as I do in Zelda, I don't get the same feeling mowing down people, or even just moving the character around, in GTA than I do in Resident Evil 4. These are only two examples but I think they pretty much sum up many western games. We're responsible for more FPS games and RTS games than Japan. What are our RTS games? Well they all follow the sort of war idea, then you have a game like Pikmin that's an RTS but it's just so much different, instead of building bases and moving armies your controlling these strange little creatures in a very unconventional way.

There's exceptions, there's a lot of trashy Japanese games floating around, especially in the RPG department, and there's also games like The Sims that break down barriers. I personally prefer what the Japanese tend to offer with games, but what do you guys think?

[The Tao Of Bill]

The one thing Americans get right with their games are story lines. Japanese game developers tend to avoid any compelling story whatsoever. There are exceptions like resident evil and final fantasy (Though final fantasy is starting to recycle the same old basic story) and occationally zelda gets a hit or 2. But for the most part they all either recycle the same story line from game to game or they just avoid stories all together or they have some really crappy story with horrible voice acting and some random ass magical power. America on the otherhand is a country where hollywood rules. Most good american games have a great storyline attached to them. They are like interactive movies which is what makes them so great.

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas was such a great game because it was like a movie. All the characters were great and loveable. The writing was excellent and the voice acting was even better.

In fact I would say that the main focus on American games is not graphics and environment but rather Storyline. Graphics and Environment are only a tool in order to tell the story with more detail.

[JordAnime]

In fact I would say that the main focus on American games is not graphics and environment but rather Storyline. Graphics and Environment are only a tool in order to tell the story with more detail.

I think that both the east and west take stories differently, it just depends on what kind of game they're creating.  I'd never consider the story a reason to buy any game, if I want a good story I'll watch a movie or read a book.  A good story can be a plus when it's done appropriately, but if the game stinks there's absolutely no reason to play it, graphics or otherwise. 

[Hyruleansoldier]

In fact I would say that the main focus on American games is not graphics and environment but rather Storyline. Graphics and Environment are only a tool in order to tell the story with more detail.

I think that both the east and west take stories differently, it just depends on what kind of game they're creating.  I'd never consider the story a reason to buy any game, if I want a good story I'll watch a movie or read a book.  A good story can be a plus when it's done appropriately, but if the game stinks there's absolutely no reason to play it, graphics or otherwise. 

Good points are raised here. Though we would love to see otherwise, story is seldom REALLY the number one concern of your average game. Gameplay and Graphics are usually the most prominent elements. Without them, you can't hope to really sell a story now can you?

Of course I agree that graphics should not really be as important as how the plot and gameplay packs out, but then the first thing we see of a game is not a story, the thing that sells games is how they *look*. The feel (aka gameplay) and the plot come along with that as you go. In the end it's the combination of all of these things which either makes a game good or bad...

[The Tao Of Bill]

To me games are about putting yourself in the shoes of someone much more exciting than yourself. Gaming to me is like reading a book or watching a movie but much more interactive. And frankly I don't fully enjoy a game unless I can fully emerse myself into the characters shoes and the rest of the games universe.