by Rahman Majere

Created on: March 12, 2011

What are the key features of a great game? In his book on game design [1], Richard Rouse elaborates on the fundamental aspects that determine the innate quality of a game. This article aims to analyze those issues in the context of the increasing complexity of modern games. We will also look at the great games of the past and question whether their relative simplicity are necessary to the design. Throughout this article, topics such as aesthetic improvements, game series and several other relevant ideas will be discussed.

* Aesthetic Improvements

It is extremely obvious that video games have continuously improved in the area of aesthetics. Recall the earliest instances of video games such as Space Invaders and the later generation of the Mario Brothers. Immediately after that, we have the likes of Warcraft and Duke Nukem. But it was games like Command and Conquer that truly gave rise to the idea of not only good in-game graphics and sounds but also dedicated cutscenes of cinematic quality. Indeed, some game developers have even hired talents in various areas such as acting and computer graphics to create game environments of fantastic realism.

Few would argue that such a trend is bad, but some have expressed concerns over the nature of these cutscenes to say nothing of the time and resources spent making them. It is important here to realize that a primary element of a game is its interactivity. Yet, most traditional cutscenes do not require or respond to any kind of input from the player. Such a concern is valid, but there are several good arguments that addresses this issue and others that pertain to aesthetic improvements in general. 

i) High quality cutscenes that can be interrupted

Anyone familiar with the Command and Conquer series will likely know of Kane. Joseph D. Kucan portrayal of the character is nothing less than sheer genius. Due to such great talents, most players will actually rather enjoy the cutscenes rather than viewing them as a chore. Of course, many modern games also allow the player to skip the cutscenes to jump right back into the game. Some games like the Final Fantasy series, however, often disallow certain cutscenes to be skipped and this brings us directly to our next point.

ii) Interactive cutscenes

Consider the previously mentioned Final Fantasy series. In Final Fantasy 8 for instance, we have minor cutscenes every single time we call upon a certain ability (Guardian Force). But the makers of the game realized the repetitive

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