Module: MGRA501.1
Authorship & Interaction | BA (Hons) Graphic Communication Design | University of Westminster
© 2013 Stanislav Cernov

RAW

RAW

Introduction:
Videogames are loved by many. A videogame is a programed environment for the purpose of learning any kind of activity that it focuses on. One of the main characteristic features of the computer era began with computer games. Videogame environments can benefit as training aids by having the player solve puzzles, have quick time events and forcing to use strategic approaches etc. on the other hand videogames may distract from the work and other important aspects of life. Psychologists believe that videogames with plenty of scenes of violence - even if expressed in a very conditional form - contribute to the formation of a child’s brain in a bad manner. Over their creation highly qualified programmers, artists, animators are employed and the software used to program games is often very professional.

The subject of my studies will be Resident evil 2 which is a big part of Survival Horror Genre; it has a unique approach on interaction. The term "survival horror" was first used for the original Japanese release of Resident Evil in 1996 It was a critical and commercial success, leading to the production of my all-time favorite game in this genre, Resident Evil 2 The name “Survival Horror” has been used since then for games with similar gameplay, and has been retroactively applied to games as old as Haunted House from 1982. Since the beginning of video games the main idea of a video game is to involve human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a screen based video device and make the process a fun experience.

The gaming companies used lively colour pallets to design their games in focus on children as a target audience. Survival Horror originated with a new way of playing a videogame, Capcom Co. Ltd. ( in Japanese Kabushiki-gaisha Kapukon), or Capcom, a developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Mega Man, Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry and Street Fighter. Originally established in 1983, it has since become an international enterprise with branches and subsidiaries in North America, Europe, and East Asia.

Body:
Survival Horror games are oriented to the development of players certain knowledge, skills and abilities, the player is required to have following skills to play the game:
• Ability to control given objects, quick reacting and manipulation.
• Quick and appropriate reaction to events;
• A sense of time, the ability to withstand the specified time intervals.
• The ability to keep track of multiple objects simultaneously.
• Knowledge of the geography of the playing field, the laws of the game world ;
• Knowledge of a particular subject area, which is modeled in the game.
• The ability to look for patterns;
• The ability to anticipate enemy action.
• Knowledge of the algorithm and the winning strategy.
• The ability to rapidly use the sorting options;
• Memory for current events.

The parental advisory took action against Capcom as they believed that the creators of Resident evil were being too controversial. Capcom also agreed with parental advisory because it could ruin the outlook of their company. An older target audience experienced one of the first survival horror titles Developed by Capcom. As the game begins we are greeted with a Capcom company logo followed by a warning message “This game contains scenes of explicit violence and gore.” As a result of parental advisory law mentioned earlier. For the first time Capcom brought us a vulnerable character surrounded with a greater threat than usual enemies in games. Capcom is known for supernatural approaches on the character abilities, and now we have Resident evil which makes you a survivor rather than an attacker. That alone made a reflection on how the player handles the game, by saving up ammunition, medical kits, constantly reloading their weapon, solving mind-blowing puzzles just to get a key to the next room that has more of the unknown fear behind every door, and finding notes on what is the next step in your adventure. The lonely atmosphere makes the player feel alone, looking for survivors to interact with and much more.

To Interact with the Audience Resident evil 2 uses an environment built from pre-rendered backgrounds and fixed camera angles It gives the feeling of a maze as the camera changes its angle according to which way the player leaves the screen. The backgrounds have a dark, thrashed design and the camera features awkward yet cinematic angles. The only 3D elements in the game are the ones that involve movement. That gives the player a feel of loneliness as the world sits still around the character. The Sound and musical interface of the game focuses on footsteps, yet again giving that lonesome effect.

Music composed by Masami Ueda, Shusaku Uchiyama, and Syun Nishigaki is strong at keeping an intense atmosphere on the game’s interface. Various musical styles, ranging from ambient horror music to industrial pieces, are used to represent the different environments of the game. For example, the streets of Raccoon City are emphasized with militaristic percussion-based music, while the police department features ominous piano underscores. Key events of the story are supported with orchestral and cinematic compositions – a move that was inspired by blockbuster films. Two albums containing music from the game were released in January and August 1998, respectively.

The controls are often referred to as “Tank controls” by many gamers. For the purpose of walking the player needs to face the direction that he wants to move to which involves using left or right to steer the character model before advancing forward. This can often be frustrating especially when set in a claustrophobic environment with an approaching threat.

Resident Evil 2 uses many “jump scares” a term referred to unexpected events that shock many players as beforehand you are located in a quiet and non-threatening environment you might get attacked out of nowhere.

The player will encounter third party characters that play a role in the plot of the game. They will often communicate with the player and give clues to what you have to do next to proceed further they might twist the story and radically change the story. It is often that you may not realise that the character can be a threat to you, and in the least expected moment they might harm you.

The logical chain of events involves the player’s memory of the game as he will need to remember what keys to use to open which door and the reason for going into that door in the first place, the amount of ammunition at hand, and the characters health condition. Which can all be seen in the inventory (status screen/sub-screen) is used in the Resident Evil series to store items. Starting in the first Resident Evil, the inventory, map, files, and condition (health) of the player character are displayed in the status screen. That gives players the ability to manage and interact with the items they’ve gathered, combine items that come together from simple herbs mixed together for a larger health boost to weapon upgrades etc. to give them a better chance in survival. For the purpose of saving your game progress you will need to find ink ribbons (item) to use on a typewriter in various limited locations, the player is forced to carry ink with them every time they come across a typewriter.

The game has a fair number of riddles, puzzles and mazes. It keeps the player occupied and often gamers get lost and look for clues on how to proceed further by re visiting rooms for notes. Although all that’s said above keeps the player occupied as it is and gives an ultimate challenge as it is, the game uses the limited resources mechanics resulting in finding needed items less often making it More difficult than usual gaming experiences, example being adventure genre games. The gaming environment of Resident Evil 2 is the three-dimensional computer world, with everything that stands , moves, appears and disappears in accordance with the meaning and the laws of the game. Interaction - this is all in the program, which allows the player to have an effect on any object that is given the ability to do that by the game environment. Evaluation unit - these are the conditions for playing games and for objects on the game scene. It counts the number of points of accomplishment according to the player’s progress from start to finish.

There are three hierarchical levels used in the game known as constructed tactics that the player uses to interact with the game: operational, tactical and strategic.
Operational level interacting with objects on the game scene by pressing keys or control device (gamepad/ controller). The result of how well the player operates with the controls shall be the display of all movements and changes in the game’s interface.
Tactical level includes the operational level to achieve a well-defined local target in resident’s evil case, solve riddles to get the keys needed to escape the environment full of threat. Good tactics result in game complexity and pace being easier.
Strategic level includes tactical and contains several independent aspects: identifying the gaming system of all objects to determine their tasks and visualization of initial parameters, verification criteria of the end of the game, capturing and visualizing the results of the game in general and the results of past games to accomplish the task.

Conclusion:
To conclude my studies I would like to recap on the games Graphical interface, Soundtrack, Control scheme, Third party characters, the plot, logical chain of events, puzzles and riddles and the limited resources. These are the main aspects of interaction with the audience as it keeps the player occupied on top of the main objective of the game, that being solving all puzzles and escaping the scene alive.

The interface is quite simple, painting like pre-rendered background graphics that are still and horrifying, this interacts with the players mind to focus on the character you control which chronologically gets you attached to him. The games play area is surrounded by 3D elements that the player can interact with, by doing that it automatically tells the audience that all 3D objects are there for the player to interact with.

The sound keeps the player focused on the empty, quiet yet dangerous play area, implying fast pace music when endangered the audience knows it is being hunted. Calm music makes the player feel alone in the whole scene.

The control scheme is set for the player in a way that they are not fluent for the purpose of learning them to survive.
The tank like controls make it harder to escape or attack the enemies which keeps the player thrilled. The player has a natural instinct to look for someone to communicate with. Especially in the lonesome playground which is how the game is programed. There are not many of them, yet when you interact with them they reveal important clues and other relevant information you need to progress through the levels. The plot has its importance in the game as it keeps the player interested and rewards him with relevant cut scenes for his progress in the game. Even when the player feels to stop playing, the story draws in the audience keeping the audience playing to reveal more of the plot. Logical chain of events takes effect when the person starts to memorize things and build a strategy to win at the game. It identifies what happened before, and the player interacts with these events by remembering passcodes and other forms of key elements and how they are used to proceed further. The puzzles interact with the audience by putting the players in a maze making them go back to past locations to look for clues of what to do next, or objects that they need to obtain to place them in an unknown area for it to reveal more of the game. Which results in longer gam play time. In conclusion, with all that being said Resident evil is a great game to interact with, for the purpose of learning to survive, mastering the difficult controls, solving puzzles and shooting zombies. The game is a lot of fun and keeps lots of players around the world talking about their experiences within the game’s playground.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

“Resident Evil: City of the Dead”
Novel by Stephany Daniel Perry. 1999

“Bio Hazard Perfect Guide: Inside of Bio-Hazard”.
ASCII Corporation. 1997

"CGR Resident Evil 2 Review (Nintendo 64)"
Taylor, Martin Classic Game Review. Archived from the original on 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqvx1Jp_hEI
“Guinness Book of Records. Year 2000” p. 170
"Resident Evil 2 from Capcom Entertainment sold more than 380000 units in its debut weekend – more than 60% of its initial production. It made more than $19 million, surpassing the revenue of all but one Hollywood movie for the same weekend. The game was released on January 21, 1998 for the Sony PlayStation, and broke records set by some of the industry's biggest video games, including Final Fantasy VIIand Super Mario 64. Resident Evil 2 was supported by a $5-million advertising campaign"

“Resident Evil 2 Instruction Manual”
(Section VM Status). Virgin Interactive Entertainment. P. 13 2000.

“Resident Evil 2 Instruction Manual”
(Section Condition)” Capcom Entertainment inc. January 21, 1998. p. 11.

“Resident Evil: the Official Comic Book Magazine”
"An Interview With Shinji Mikami". (Image Comics, Inc.) March 1998.

Resident Evil Archives.
Brandygames Publishing November 9, 2005. p. 253.

“Resident Evil 2 Official Soundtrack”
http://www.crimson-ceremony.net/lostreleases/item.php?id=reostv_re2-uk-ost1