By Sam Coles:
Video games generally want to hold your attention, whether
it is pulse pounding action or a captivating story with characters that you
have grown to love throughout the game or series over the years. However there
is one small but important part of a game and that is “quiet time”. I feel that
it is important as sometimes a game can be overwhelming when it is nothing but
non-stop action, where you almost get a headache after exploding heads as your
gun has continuously coughed cordite for two hours.
What do I mean when I say quiet time? It’s where you have
finished an action sequence or a particularly intense moment and the game dials
back and slows down, it is a time for you to reflect upon what has happened and
the situation finally sinks in and plays with your emotions. These parts are
generally remembered in games because everything slows down and you can smell
the roses both figuratively and literally. I’m not saying that every game needs
it, but there are times in games where you feel overwhelmed you have to step
back a bit and slow down, a game with relentless action can get stressful
sometimes which I found when I played Doom 2016. I want to go over a few
examples that utilise quiet time.
Call of Duty is not known for its subtlety, most people would
think of a Michael Bay extravaganza. However they are actually one of the few
good examples for dialling it back in their campaigns, well in the early days.
Yes in Call of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2 they have moments where they slow
things down and let the player breathe as you it changes gears.
In Call of Duty 4 you are tasked with capturing Al Asad, as
you and Captain Price kick the doors in and he guns down all the arm guards and
then proceeds to kick seven shades of blue out of him, you hear a phone ring
and then he says one name “Zakhaev, Imran Zakhaev”. The game then switches
gears and we are told an anecdote about his exploits in Chernobyl where he was
tasked to assassinate Zakhaev unsuccessfully of course. However instead of
being thrown into a warzone with explosions everywhere, there is nothing but an
ambient track, the baron wasteland and Captain McMillian accompanying you. It
was a complete juxtaposition from the rest of the game, and might I add that
this was a game where a nuke goes off, it was a nice change as it let you relax
and take your time before it threw you back into the fray.
Metal Gear Solid 3 is another good example, now I know what
you’re going to say “Sam it’s a stealth game of course it’s always quiet”,
which you are partially right but the tense situations keep you on edge whether
it is the boss fights or slipping past guards. No there is a moment and I think
you will know if you have played or heard of this game, and that moment is the
ladder scene. After going through a lot from fighting The Pain, The Fear and The
End, you are tasked with meeting EVA at the top of a mountain, but Kojima was
not sure how to transition that so he created the ladder scene.
Now this may sound boring and tedious but is great, as all
you hear are the sound of Snake’s boots hitting each step of the ladder and a
distant voice singing the main theme. This is a time to reflect on what you
have been through because you have been through a lot by this point, not only
the player but you could argue that Snake is reflecting on what he has done and
the foes he has slain.
Red Dead Redemption is great, as you would think that it
being a western it would be nothing but gunfights and bar fights, but most of
the time you are alone with nothing but the sound of wildlife, horse shoes
clopping and the ambient soundtrack that cuts in now and again. It is a great
break from the missions where you may have been firing a Gatling gun continuously
to clearing a gang hideout; it lets you collect your thoughts. Not only that
there are certain scenes that work in the same way, when you first enter Mexico
a track by Jose Gonzalez plays this is a reflection of John Marston’s situation
of being alone and far from home, which lets you reflect of how far you have
come in the game.
Quiet time is not only a good way to reflect on what has
happened it is also great for creating atmosphere; Dark Souls is a prime
example of this as majority of the game is nothing but silence. You’ll traverse
these dark and oppressive environments with nothing but the sound of your
armour laden feet, flesh tearing under the pressure of your sword and the
distant moans of torture souls. It’s only in boss fights where there is any
kind of sweeping musical score and prominent sounds, but in general gameplay it
is quiet making you feel uneasy, where there is dread around every corner you turn
and every door you cautiously open.
Quiet Time in video games is essential, it is a great way to
take a break from the action and reflect upon what you have just been through
letting you think in depth about the situation. Not only that, it can be a
powerful way to build atmosphere to make you feel on edge and catch you off
guard. The next time a game slows down and changes gears really have a think
about why it is doing it and you might be surprised why.
Man I am not very good at Stealth game but I like them nice and loud
ReplyDeleteThe Half Life series is built around these "quiet times" and are the result of meticulous play testing and feedback from QA. The lulls in action also provide an opportunity to save and quit, which is important.
ReplyDeleteOne game that could have really benefited from these pauses was Thief 3 (and Thief 4, although there were other much more serious flaws with that game) which is a shame because it had the perfect opportunity to slow things down with the city segments. For some reason, you were forced to stealth around every area, even if you were just doing some shopping. Never made any sense and got tiring having to constantly be at alert.