Difference between revisions of "Diegetic Consistency"

Revision as of 01:42, 9 May 2011

That the depiction of a game world only contains the visual elements that are thematically motivated.

Diegesis is the presentation of the elements in a game world. However, games may need to provide more information due to their systems containing more information than just the game worlds and when this occurs designers may need to question the value of having Diegetic Consistency or showing this information within the reference system of the game world.

Examples

LARPs

360 illusion

Using the pattern

While considering Diegetic Consistency, it may be worthwhile to also consider Thematic and Temporal Consistency since these also relate to the aesthetic experiences games can provide. It may for example be more important that the diegetic elements that exist in Game Worlds behave thematically consistent to each other that that everything in the game environment is diegetically present.

The main requirement for making Diegetic Consistency possible is to avoid Non-Diegetic Features such as Geospatial Game Widgets, Extra-Game Consequences, and Extra-Game Information. HUD Interfaces may be necessary to avoid as well, since they are not thematically consistent with all themes and are Non-Diegetic Features if an assumption existing that everything shown on a display should be presented the Game Worlds. Power-Ups share similar problems but mainly since they so clearly affect gameplay. Game State Indicators do not have to be presented within Game Worlds but having them in any form may start making players perceive other game elements more from the perspective of a game system than a diegetic setting. A second requirement is to not make to strong use of Diegetically Outstanding Features since they may be experienced as not being diegetic. Given the right content in this way, Diegetic Consistency can be easy to maintain during gameplay if Dedicated Game Facilitators are used to present Game Worlds. This cannot be guaranteed in Self-Facilitated Games but a solution, which puts the responsibility on somebody else, is to assign the task of portray Game Worlds to Game Masters.

Warp Zones can break Diegetic Constistency if the zones themselves are not part of the Game Worlds or if they point of other areas that are not part of the Game Worlds.

While Diegetic Consistency is primarily about removing the presence of Non-Diegetic Features, not all parts of Game Worlds should actually be directly perceivable. This fact makes the use of Abstract Player Constructs, Characters, and Inventories help maintain Diegetic Consistency.

Due to the Freedom of Choice they give players, the possibility for them to engage in Enactment, Roleplaying, and Storytelling can make Diegetic Consistency break if non-diegetic elements are introduced; this is often mainly a potential problem in Multiplayer Games.

A Consistent Reality Logic in a game almost always creates a stronger sense of Immersion even without having realistic audiovisual representations of the game elements. Concentrating on Consistent Reality Logic on the expense of the graphical outlook of the Game World may promote Cognitive Immersion instead of Emotional Immersion, and may be more suitable for a particular game design. For example, it is doubtful that the experience of playing computer Chess would benefit from photorealistic and animated movement of the pieces; the outcome would probably be negative regarding gameplay. A sign of Consistent Reality Logic that is combined with Emotional Immersion in games is when players can have Identification with their Enemies.

Consistent Reality Logic also helps players get started. If the actions, events, rules, and especially the Penalties of the game are intuitive and have Predictable Consequences, i. e., they resemble the basic notions of how the reality works, it is much easier to learn the controls and the rules of the game, thus supporting Smooth Learning Curves and Predictable Consequences. This, of course, does not mean that the game should simulate the reality as accurately as possible; on the contrary, games are caricatures of reality, and as such, it is in most cases detrimental to the whole gameplay to make the simulation too real.

Common ways Consistent Reality Logic is challenged include: any kind of Extra-Game Information; the use of Lives, Rewards, or Ability Losses not motivated by what caused them within the Game World; Spawning, as this has few plausible real world explanations; and Easter Eggs, which provide Extra-Game Consequences or Games within Games. Clues, Indirect Information, and Game Pauses that are not designed in such way that they function within the Alternative Reality of the game also negatively affect Consistent Reality Logic.

One of the problems with providing Diegetic Consistency in Game Worlds or Levels is related to size since thematically these should often be larger than is practically possible to design and implement. One solution, which risks breaking Thematic Consistency instead, is to make use of Inaccessible Areas and [[Invisible Walls] since these can allow games to present larger Game Worlds than are actually possible to visit. One example of this is Out of Character Conversations but the risk of these may be mitigated by introducing Communication Channels. The use of Levels can be used separately or together with these since the Levels can by having different themes and styles imply that not only intermediate areas exist but also others not yet seen.

Diegetic Aspects

Diegetic Consistency is a completely diegetic pattern.

Interface Aspects

The choice of Focus Loci easily affects Diegetic Consistency - Avatars and Units can may maintain it while God Fingers break them. Controllable Cameras can break Diegetic Consistency even it they cannot be seen (an exception to this is found in Super Mario 64 where the player's camera is diegetically presented and carried by the character Lakitu) since moving into corner etc. can make the presence of these non-diegetic entities noticeable.

Narrative Aspects

Consequences

Having or not having Diegetic Consistency quite naturally affects how players perceive Game Worlds and Levels.

Having Diegetic Consistency is a requirement to be able to have Thematic Consistency since any Non-Diegetic Features automatically also break a theme in the presentation of Game Worlds or Levels.

When dealing with the Consistent Reality Logic of the game, two levels of consistency have to be considered: the level of logical contradictions and irregularities between the game elements in the game and the level of how the Game World reflects the real world. The second layer is defined by carefully making the actions and their consequences and the game events consistent with both the internal logic of the game and, to some extent, with the fundamental features of the real world. As previously mentioned, this does not necessarily mean that they should simulate their real-word counterparts, but there should be some resemblance to how we as human beings act and perceive the world. For example, even though Tetris is an abstract game, the basic actions and events have their counterparts in real life. Moving and rotating objects---in this case, the falling blocks---are very fundamental actions in the real world. Changes in the game can nearly always be explained by real world equivalents: introduction of new game elements can be explained by Construction, and New Abilities can be explained through Tools or Character Development. Other changes such as Ultra-Powerful Events can be explained through Storytelling or unfolding of the Narrative Structure without breaking the reality logic, but such changes may require Downtime for players during the explanation.

The first layer of consistency, not having logical contradictions or irregularities in the game, is somewhat easier to deal with. When the basic actions, events, and game elements have been designed for a game, it is just a matter of going through these and checking that there are no outright contradictions in their behavior. For example, if some of the items can be picked up, it makes sense to make all items portable or to otherwise indicate clearly the difference between static and moveable items. Alternative Reality can also be used to mold the elements and actions according to the theme of the game.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Thematic Consistency

Can Modulate

Game Worlds, Levels

Can Be Instantiated By

Avatars, Abstract Player Constructs, Characters, Communication Channels, Dedicated Game Facilitators, Game Masters, Inaccessible Areas, Inventories, Invisible Walls, Levels, Units

Can Be Modulated By

-

Possible Closure Effects

-

Potentially Conflicting With

Cameras, Diegetically Outstanding Features, Enactment, Extra-Game Consequences, Extra-Game Information, Geospatial Game Widgets, God Fingers, HUD Interfaces, Non-Diegetic Features, Out of Character Conversations, Power-Ups, Roleplaying, Self-Facilitated Games, Storytelling, Warp Zones

History

A rewrite of the pattern Consistent Reality Logic that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design^[1]. Significant parts of the original pattern is however now part of the pattern Thematic Consistency.

References

1. ↑ Björk, S. & Holopainen, J. (2004) Patterns in Game Design. Charles River Media. ISBN1-58450-354-8.