[Air-L] Plot retention rates in AAA titles

[Rob Baron]

Jordan,

That's an interesting question, especially when you consider that the 
single-player (more plot driven) portion of many FPS is a small part of 
the overall game-playing experience.

I don't think it's necessarily a matter of the retention of a game's 
plot, or ignoring the plot of a game, but rather how much players engage 
with that plot as part of their overall gaming experience.  For example 
/Call of Duty: Modern Warfare/ has a much bigger presence as a 
multiplayer community than as as a single player game.  I would argue 
that this multiplayer portion has more to do with pure ludic experience 
rather than a narrative experience of the single player campaign.

I think the question has more to do with the number of player that want 
to engage with a FPS's plot as opposed to the effectiveness of that 
plots presentation, especially considering that some of the earliest 
examples of this genre only used plot as a way to set up the "shooty 
parts" of the game.

You could look at the extent to which players engage in single-player 
portions of a FPS to try to assess this.

I'd also be careful of lumping all FPS games together.  I know that 
there are a number of games that put a premium on plot and totally 
eschew multiplayer gameplay (like /Bioshock/).  You may want to specify 
the kinds of FPSs that you're looking at.

-- 
Rob Baron
PhD Candidate and Graduate Instructor
Rhetoric, Scientific and Technical Communication
Department of Writing Studies
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities


On 10/25/10 11:16 AM, Jordan Lynn wrote:
> Good afternoon, everyone!
>
> I have a question, and this group seems like the place to ask. What
> level of plot retention would you consider to be average in a First or
> Third-Person Shooter? Studying AAA titles for plot retention is
> difficult, since there are several subsets of gamers that ignore
> plotlines as a matter of course, and shooters aren't usually noted for
> narrative depth. My primary issue is figuring out what percentage of
> gamers are ignoring the plot, and what percentage are not getting it
> because the game is not delivering it effectively. Also, there is some
> difference between total narrative comprehension and getting "the
> gist" of the game's plot- what percentages of players would you expect
> to fully understand the narrative, and what percentage understand the
> basics of the story?
>
> Thoughts?
> -Jordan
> _______________________________________________
> The Air-L at listserv.aoir.org mailing list
> is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org
> Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
>
> Join the Association of Internet Researchers:
> http://www.aoir.org/