Clarity in Communication

Up until this point, my posts have consisted of positive content - praise for praise worthy games. Now, I want to flip the switch and talk about a game which is assaulting my design sensibilities like a bad odor or an ugly baby. 

L.A. Noire. Let’s be serious about this game, the shooting is crap, the driving is crap, and that makes this an advent

ure game. Kind of like Myst or Monkey Island, L.A. Noire’s real chops come from the elements of exploring and puzzle solving, not gunning people down or car chases. 

Let me smooth my way into this by saying the game’s voice acting is amazing, the facial recognition software they use is groundbreaking, and the stories are pretty darn great. Here’s the big but. The gameplay that ties all of these fantastic elements together is mashing a button while walking around a room and guessing at which of the three misleading accusations to make during an interrogation. It’s that last part which really irks me. 

It’s probably been discussed to death by now if you follow game news and reviews but I wish to add my voice to the cacophony of dissenters. Truth, Doubt, and Lie. Truth means that I think you’re telling the truth. Doubt means that I doubt you’re telling the truth but I lack evidence to prove it. Lie means that I know you’re lying and I can prove it. Right? No, not right. In fact, it’s wrong. 

The first time I chose Truth because I had no reason to believe they were lying I was frustrated but accepted it. UNTIL I discovered that choosing Doubt would have intimidated them into giving me more information. I knew there was more information but Doubt means that I thought they were lying. They weren’t - but the button wasn’t labeled Intimidate, it was labeled Doubt. 

So the issue is mis-communication in terms of clarity, a problem the designer-player relationship is absolutely riddled with. How do you convey the information you want to the player without sacrificing theme, clarity, atmosphere, or understanding? Sometimes you can’t. But believe me when I say that this is the most important job of the designer. You will hear me talk about time and time again. From designing the tutorial to writing the story - the process is all about communicating the game and how it’s played.

This can be subtle like leading the player through camera clues. Or invasive like a bright flashing arrow showing you where to go next. But the communication of what to do and how to do it is key. When it comes to the main gameplay mechanic of your game, perhaps three choices is not enough.