I has a sleepy.
Note: This was actually written a week ago, but I forget to post it until now. I still haven't gotten around to Facade, though I've seen a few LPs--my only shift in opinion is that is does seem to demonstrate how scripted and formalized casual conversation can be, but only through how easy it is to break the flow with trolly comments.
Before the removal of the Cthulhu Tooth, I managed to slip into a New Media workshop at the University. Unfortunately I missed the one on Heavy Rain, but I was there for the presentation on Facade.
Façade puts the player in the role of a close friend of Grace and Trip, a couple who recently invited the player to their home for cocktails. This pleasant gathering, however, is somewhat damaged by the clear domestic confrontation between Grace and Trip upon the player's entry. Making full use of the incorporated language processing software, the game allows the player to type sentences to "speak" with the couple, either supporting them through their troubles, driving them farther apart, or being thrown out of the apartment.
Incorporating elements of both video gaming and drama, Façade takes advantage of voice acting and a 3-D environment, as well as natural language processing and other advanced artificial intelligence routines, to provide a robust interactive fiction experience. The player can take an active role in the conversation, pushing the topic one way or another, as in an interactive stage-play. These stage-plays are stored as script text files which can be read after the game is finished.
Facade is...interesting. Conceptually it seems to be a mix of text-based games like Zork, dating sim style visual novels, and an episode of a soap opera. If they'd hit what they were going for it would have been pretty cool. It's a decent idea, taking the 'dialogue tree' concept and making it even more complex, where you're able to choose what words you use and when at any point. Unfortunately the game is hobbled by...well, the game. It lacks the creativity and humor of Zork, the competant writing and emotional connection of a good dating sim, and any interest in the main characters or immersion in your part.
In a word, it sucks. In a sentence, "This is what happens when people who don't understand video games try to make a video game." According to the presenter, the game designers had deliberately set out to make an 'anti-video-game', which further indicates to me that they really don't know much about the field they're playing in. For the majority of the presentation I just kept thinking "congratulations, you've made a rather complex dating sim, except extremely boring and without the potential to get into a large-eyed young lady's pants". The fact that the presenter (for all that he was trying to support the game and seemed like a very nice guy) didn't bode well.
I watched the presenter play it during his presentation and he used only the most bland and program compliant of phrases. "You look great", "can I have another drink", "why is she upset" and other phrases that should have been at the top of the list in things keyed to affect the scene. Even then he was barely having any visible impact on the relationship trainwreck going on in front of us, the characters continued talking and interacting with each other as if the PC was barely there. Watching some purposefully troll it up was pretty amusing, but the only reactions from the characters were confused 'uhhhhs' or comments having nothing to do with the previous statement. You can see them straining hard to bring things back into relationship angst, but immersion is nil.
The goal of Facade is to have the changes so subtle that you couldn't tell the exact points where you'd had an effect on the situation. The result was a feeling of pointlessness where no real affect was visible at all until the most obvious of words or phrases were used. As one person at the workshop pointed out, people will wind up spending their attention not on the "play" before them but on what words and phrases will trigger a reaction from the other characters. That's what most text-based games understand, and why Zork had a game event programmed in just in case the player was crazy enough to type that they wanted to kil the dragon with their bare hands. It's great for fun, or to feel that you have a lot of freedom in the world, but there's always a recognition that the constraints are there. If you're trying to simulate an actual social situation using that model you're going to fail and fail hard.
The graphics and movement are laughable. I know we're not supposed to care, but it's really bad. Any possible pathos we could get from the scene is erased by watching Grace walk through a solid object or turning to find Trip seriously invading our personal space by standing a nosewidth away from us. The audience spent most of the presenter's LP laughing and I highly doubt that was the reaction the creators wanted.
As for writing...yuch. There's nothing subtle about this game. They start fighting before you even get in the door and they give exposition at the drop of a hat. The title is supposed to refer to the facade that is their marriage but there is no facade left at all. Thirty seconds with this pair and you know they're fucked up. HERE, LOOK AT THIS PICTURE. IT IS FROM ITALY. I TOOK IT IN ITALY. MY WIFE DOES NOT LIKE IT, MUCH AS SHE DID NOT LIKE THE TRIP. LET US ARGUE ABOUT THE TRIP TO DEMONSTRATE OUR ANTAGONISM TOWARDS EACH OTHER. Cripes, the G-Men from Psychonauts had better segues than this.
According to the presenter Facade isn't supposed to be 'fun', it's supposed to be 'satisfying', which is something I've heard about arty games before. Personally I think that's an excuse to cover up for being unenjoyable by calling it art. Unfortunately it's not satisfying at all, unless you count the humor factor. Given the LPs I've reviewed the only way you can scrounge some enjoyment from the dreary mess is by typing in silly things and laughing at their horrified expressions. Or playing as Darth Vader. You could do so many wonderful things with a concept like this and they wasted it on making me watch this couple bicker over frivolities with the most cliche of dialogue while they walk through their own furniture and make occasional offended expressions. A good idea badly executed is still bad.
Now, I will admit I only observed gameplay, between a few LPs and the presentation. I do like to be fair to new media, so I've downloaded it and I'm going to give it a few playthroughs when I'm not so work swamped. But in full disclosure I'm going to spend at least one round trying to gamebreak by being as goofy as possible.
Before the removal of the Cthulhu Tooth, I managed to slip into a New Media workshop at the University. Unfortunately I missed the one on Heavy Rain, but I was there for the presentation on Facade.
Façade puts the player in the role of a close friend of Grace and Trip, a couple who recently invited the player to their home for cocktails. This pleasant gathering, however, is somewhat damaged by the clear domestic confrontation between Grace and Trip upon the player's entry. Making full use of the incorporated language processing software, the game allows the player to type sentences to "speak" with the couple, either supporting them through their troubles, driving them farther apart, or being thrown out of the apartment.
Incorporating elements of both video gaming and drama, Façade takes advantage of voice acting and a 3-D environment, as well as natural language processing and other advanced artificial intelligence routines, to provide a robust interactive fiction experience. The player can take an active role in the conversation, pushing the topic one way or another, as in an interactive stage-play. These stage-plays are stored as script text files which can be read after the game is finished.
Facade is...interesting. Conceptually it seems to be a mix of text-based games like Zork, dating sim style visual novels, and an episode of a soap opera. If they'd hit what they were going for it would have been pretty cool. It's a decent idea, taking the 'dialogue tree' concept and making it even more complex, where you're able to choose what words you use and when at any point. Unfortunately the game is hobbled by...well, the game. It lacks the creativity and humor of Zork, the competant writing and emotional connection of a good dating sim, and any interest in the main characters or immersion in your part.
In a word, it sucks. In a sentence, "This is what happens when people who don't understand video games try to make a video game." According to the presenter, the game designers had deliberately set out to make an 'anti-video-game', which further indicates to me that they really don't know much about the field they're playing in. For the majority of the presentation I just kept thinking "congratulations, you've made a rather complex dating sim, except extremely boring and without the potential to get into a large-eyed young lady's pants". The fact that the presenter (for all that he was trying to support the game and seemed like a very nice guy) didn't bode well.
I watched the presenter play it during his presentation and he used only the most bland and program compliant of phrases. "You look great", "can I have another drink", "why is she upset" and other phrases that should have been at the top of the list in things keyed to affect the scene. Even then he was barely having any visible impact on the relationship trainwreck going on in front of us, the characters continued talking and interacting with each other as if the PC was barely there. Watching some purposefully troll it up was pretty amusing, but the only reactions from the characters were confused 'uhhhhs' or comments having nothing to do with the previous statement. You can see them straining hard to bring things back into relationship angst, but immersion is nil.
The goal of Facade is to have the changes so subtle that you couldn't tell the exact points where you'd had an effect on the situation. The result was a feeling of pointlessness where no real affect was visible at all until the most obvious of words or phrases were used. As one person at the workshop pointed out, people will wind up spending their attention not on the "play" before them but on what words and phrases will trigger a reaction from the other characters. That's what most text-based games understand, and why Zork had a game event programmed in just in case the player was crazy enough to type that they wanted to kil the dragon with their bare hands. It's great for fun, or to feel that you have a lot of freedom in the world, but there's always a recognition that the constraints are there. If you're trying to simulate an actual social situation using that model you're going to fail and fail hard.
The graphics and movement are laughable. I know we're not supposed to care, but it's really bad. Any possible pathos we could get from the scene is erased by watching Grace walk through a solid object or turning to find Trip seriously invading our personal space by standing a nosewidth away from us. The audience spent most of the presenter's LP laughing and I highly doubt that was the reaction the creators wanted.
As for writing...yuch. There's nothing subtle about this game. They start fighting before you even get in the door and they give exposition at the drop of a hat. The title is supposed to refer to the facade that is their marriage but there is no facade left at all. Thirty seconds with this pair and you know they're fucked up. HERE, LOOK AT THIS PICTURE. IT IS FROM ITALY. I TOOK IT IN ITALY. MY WIFE DOES NOT LIKE IT, MUCH AS SHE DID NOT LIKE THE TRIP. LET US ARGUE ABOUT THE TRIP TO DEMONSTRATE OUR ANTAGONISM TOWARDS EACH OTHER. Cripes, the G-Men from Psychonauts had better segues than this.
According to the presenter Facade isn't supposed to be 'fun', it's supposed to be 'satisfying', which is something I've heard about arty games before. Personally I think that's an excuse to cover up for being unenjoyable by calling it art. Unfortunately it's not satisfying at all, unless you count the humor factor. Given the LPs I've reviewed the only way you can scrounge some enjoyment from the dreary mess is by typing in silly things and laughing at their horrified expressions. Or playing as Darth Vader. You could do so many wonderful things with a concept like this and they wasted it on making me watch this couple bicker over frivolities with the most cliche of dialogue while they walk through their own furniture and make occasional offended expressions. A good idea badly executed is still bad.
Now, I will admit I only observed gameplay, between a few LPs and the presentation. I do like to be fair to new media, so I've downloaded it and I'm going to give it a few playthroughs when I'm not so work swamped. But in full disclosure I'm going to spend at least one round trying to gamebreak by being as goofy as possible.