0:00:05.340,0:00:11.600 Hi, this is Mark Brown with Game Maker's Toolkit,[br]a series on video game design. 0:00:11.600,0:00:17.160 Sony's new PS4 game Until Dawn is billed as[br]an interactive horror film, where 0:00:17.160,0:00:21.160 TRAILER DUDE: Only your choices determine who will survive 0:00:21.160,0:00:23.860 And I want to talk about that, but not about how 0:00:23.860,0:00:26.460 much you can effect the story with your choices. 0:00:26.460,0:00:31.250 Because, it's basically identical to the systems[br]we've seen in games by Telltale and Quantic 0:00:31.250,0:00:36.730 Dream. Yes, your decisions will make a dent[br]in the plot, but it's also full of false choices, 0:00:36.730,0:00:41.620 characters who can't die until the very end,[br]branching paths that snap back to a central 0:00:41.620,0:00:45.700 point, and that cute little indicator to tell[br]you that this choice will definitely have 0:00:45.700,0:00:48.440 an effect on the plot, somewhere down the[br]line. 0:00:48.480,0:00:52.120 CHRIS: Boom, butterfly effect 0:00:52.129,0:00:56.200 It does have some ideas that I haven't seen[br]in one of these types of games before, though. 0:00:56.200,0:01:00.829 Sometimes, you'll get a nice sepia-tinged[br]flashback, to give you a better idea of which 0:01:00.829,0:01:03.140 choices led up to the events onscreen. 0:01:03.140,0:01:08.020 But don't be fooled by these screens which[br]show how all your choices play out, and the 0:01:08.020,0:01:12.479 incredibly granular meters that show your[br]current personality traits and relationships 0:01:12.479,0:01:16.700 to the other characters. They're all a bit[br]smoke and mirrors, to be honest. 0:01:16.700,0:01:21.090 And that's fine. As we talked about in this[br]video, these games aren't about offering infinite 0:01:21.090,0:01:26.789 story states. And simply making choices is[br]often more fulfilling than seeing wildly unique 0:01:26.789,0:01:31.649 consequences play out. Plus, games are expensive[br]to make without considering a billion unique 0:01:31.649,0:01:34.289 paths. Especially when they look like this. 0:01:34.289,0:01:42.319 DR HILL: I believe that in our last session, you were[br]not completely honest with me. 0:01:42.319,0:01:46.869 So what I want to talk about, is the question[br]of whether all these choices and their consequences 0:01:46.869,0:01:51.479 - especially the more grisly, blood-soaked[br]of the consequences - can actually lead to 0:01:51.479,0:01:52.939 good drama. 0:01:52.940,0:01:57.300 Because, while it is true that any story can[br]become more meaningful and memorable when 0:01:57.310,0:02:01.439 you're having a say on the proceedings. Much[br]like how almost anything is improved with 0:02:01.439,0:02:03.239 the addition of cooperative play. 0:02:03.239,0:02:04.539 Or chocolate 0:02:04.560,0:02:08.660 Does that actually make the stories dramatically satisfying? 0:02:08.660,0:02:13.660 And this question is especially important[br]to Until Dawn as it wants to play out like 0:02:13.670,0:02:18.650 a Hollywood horror movie. This isn't a naturalistic[br]story like The Wire, where characters can 0:02:18.650,0:02:22.730 be snuffed out seemingly at random. This is[br]a horror movie, man... 0:02:22.730,0:02:27.750 RANDY: There's a formula to it! A very simple formula! 0:02:30.260,0:02:35.180 The game is heavily based on slasher movies.[br]It's got a bunch of horny teenagers, getting 0:02:35.180,0:02:39.620 together in a isolated cabin in the woods,[br]on the anniversary of some horrible event. 0:02:39.620,0:02:42.980 And there's a psychopath, who wants to pick[br]them off - one by one. 0:02:42.989,0:02:47.379 It also has elements of psychological horror[br]and torture porn and - well, I don't want 0:02:47.379,0:02:49.879 to spoil things. So let's stick to slasher[br]flicks. 0:02:49.879,0:02:53.819 The thing about these movies is that there[br]is always a very specific reason why some 0:02:53.819,0:02:58.439 characters live, and others die. And sometimes,[br]importance is placed on the sequence of the 0:02:58.439,0:03:03.810 kills, too. In early slasher flicks, for example,[br]it was all about morals. Sniffy, puritanical, 0:03:03.810,0:03:06.980 thou shalt not morals, maybe, but those were[br]the rules. 0:03:06.980,0:03:13.010 RANDY: There are certain rules that one must abide[br]by to successfully survive a horror movie. 0:03:13.010,0:03:19.670 RANDY: Number one. You can never have sex. Big no[br]no! Big no no! 0:03:19.670,0:03:21.879 STU: You're dead Meg. RANDY: Sex equals 0:03:21.879,0:03:28.290 death, okay? Number two. You can never drink,[br]or do drugs. 0:03:28.290,0:03:34.530 No, it's the sin factor. It's a sin. It's an extension of number one. 0:03:34.530,0:03:40.659 Break those rules and you'll be killed, leaving[br]one last girl. An innocent, virginal, Final 0:03:40.659,0:03:45.439 Girl. Early slashers were often criticised[br]for being misogynistic. Which should make 0:03:45.439,0:03:47.930 them the perfect source material for video[br]games. 0:03:48.609,0:03:54.769 Anyway, the point is that in drama, people[br]die for a reason. Whether that's a heroic sacrifice or 0:03:54.769,0:03:59.650 in vengeance or to give another character motivation[br]to do something, or - in horror movies - because 0:03:59.650,0:04:02.499 they smoked pot, or chugged a beer, or were[br]a total bully. 0:04:02.499,0:04:07.760 But when interactivity comes into play, the[br]rules can go out of the window. In Until Dawn, 0:04:07.760,0:04:10.180 take Emily, who is a monster bitch. 0:04:10.180,0:04:15.300 MATT: Let me think. EMILY: Don't think you idiot just get me outta here! 0:04:15.300,0:04:19.739 She would be killed in the most gruesome[br]way possible in any horror movie, but can 0:04:19.739,0:04:25.919 survive the entire night in Until Dawn, while[br]her put upon boyfriend Matt is, uh, hung out to dry 0:04:25.919,0:04:31.789 Or take Jess and Mike. Horror movie tropes say[br]these sexpots should die, while innocent characters 0:04:31.789,0:04:36.550 should live. But that's not how things work[br]in Until Dawn. In fact, any combination of characters 0:04:36.550,0:04:38.280 can make it to the finale. 0:04:38.280,0:04:43.800 And you'll probably end with multiple survivors.[br]If not all of them making it through the night, 0:04:43.800,0:04:50.120 even though that goes against the horror movie[br]set up where just one person survives. 0:04:50.120,0:04:54.590 But even if you don't care about horror movie[br]formulas. Or you revel in the idea of a horror 0:04:54.590,0:05:00.460 flick that ignores them entirely, the interactive[br]story can sometimes just be... a bit rubbish. 0:05:00.460,0:05:04.500 Take Jess, for example, who gets killed in the game, but[br]you don't see a body so of course she's going 0:05:04.500,0:05:09.340 to come back. And she does: hours later into[br]the story she wakes up, alone, in the mines. 0:05:09.340,0:05:15.750 And then, in my game, she walked forward a few paces, and was immediately killed. Oh. I think any script editor 0:05:15.750,0:05:19.110 would put a big red circle around that scene. 0:05:19.110,0:05:22.479 And that's the thing: while interactivity[br]can lead to more memorable, more surprising, 0:05:22.479,0:05:26.979 and more personal narratives, without the[br]smart guiding hand of a director or a script 0:05:26.979,0:05:31.870 editor, the story can fall apart. It can be[br]desperately unsatisfying, or lack important 0:05:31.870,0:05:35.990 elements like character arcs, poetic justice,[br]and good pacing. 0:05:35.990,0:05:39.199 And that's the way it will always be. Thanks[br]for watching, please like, comment, and subscribe. 0:05:39.199,0:05:44.639 Throw all your money at my Patreon - and,[br]wait. Actually. Maybe we can fix this. 0:05:46.050,0:05:50.849 You see, the thing I liked the most about Until Dawn[br]is that you get to control eight different 0:05:50.849,0:05:54.639 characters. That's much more than games like[br]Life is Strange, Tales from the Borderlands, 0:05:54.639,0:05:56.669 and Beyond: Two Souls. 0:05:56.669,0:06:00.979 Which meant that while I normally play these[br]sorts of games as a kind and compassionate 0:06:00.979,0:06:04.860 character, having eight different people to[br]play with, some of them archetypical arseholes 0:06:04.860,0:06:09.460 and narcissists, I felt much more comfortable[br]role playing them as jerks. And while I tried 0:06:09.460,0:06:14.020 my best to save my favourite characters, like[br]Sam, Chris, and Ashley, I was happy for the 0:06:14.020,0:06:17.800 others to make dumb decisions and wouldn't[br]really mind if they ended up as puddles of 0:06:17.800,0:06:19.880 bones and teeth. 0:06:22.000,0:06:26.840 I realised that I wasn't really playing as[br]the characters, but the as the director. Influencing 0:06:26.840,0:06:31.889 who lived and who died, based on my own judgmental[br]preferences. Suddenly, those horror rules 0:06:31.889,0:06:35.840 were falling back into place and the story[br]was way less disconnected. 0:06:35.840,0:06:39.300 Perhaps you might want to try and subvert[br]the most problematic tropes of horror movies. 0:06:39.300,0:06:43.629 Have the ditzy, slutty blonde survive[br]the ordeal, stop the black guy from getting 0:06:43.629,0:06:48.360 killed first, or have the archetypical Final[br]Girl bite it at the last moment. 0:06:48.360,0:06:52.789 And you do have some ability to influence[br]events in a specific way, because the deaths 0:06:52.789,0:06:57.330 often follow some internal logic. Characters[br]can get killed if you screw up quick-time 0:06:57.330,0:07:01.789 events. Messing with those relationship meters[br]can lead to at least one death. And if you 0:07:01.789,0:07:06.210 ignore the tropes of the genre - like wandering[br]off from the group to investigate a spooky 0:07:06.210,0:07:10.430 noise - then perhaps that character deserves[br]to get killed for not watching enough horror movies. 0:07:10.430,0:07:14.270 And then there are these totems, which is[br]another clever mechanic. Find one of these 0:07:14.270,0:07:17.599 and pick it up, and it will show you a clip[br]of one of the characters getting killed or 0:07:17.599,0:07:22.539 surviving an attack. They're vague, but you[br]might be able to use them to help guide later choices. 0:07:22.550,0:07:27.879 But not all deaths are so easy to foresee.[br]Understandable, of course, as Supermassive 0:07:27.879,0:07:31.590 wanted to surprise you. And the legions of[br]YouTubers who have made this game famous. 0:07:31.590,0:07:36.430 So, your choice of how to deal with this flare[br]gun, for example, is an almost entirely opaque 0:07:36.430,0:07:39.819 decision but will have huge consequences for[br]Emily and Matt. 0:07:39.819,0:07:44.669 And that's only if, like me, you were even[br]trying to tell a specific story. Until Dawn 0:07:44.669,0:07:48.830 doesn't give players any instructions, and[br]while the trophies - which reward you for 0:07:48.830,0:07:53.050 finishing the game with certain combinations[br]- could push you to try and get a specific 0:07:53.050,0:07:55.390 outcome, they're all hidden trophies. 0:07:56.620,0:08:00.780 So how about this for an idea. And, before I go on, I[br]want to acknowledge that maybe I am trying 0:08:00.789,0:08:04.780 to make the game into something that it's not.[br]And, for the record, I really enjoyed Until 0:08:04.780,0:08:09.600 Dawn and would recommend it. But, what if[br]the game was actually about being the director. 0:08:09.600,0:08:14.700 Similar gameplay, but at the outset of the game you would be told who must live and who must die 0:08:14.700,0:08:19.180 and maybe even in what order. And then, you'd have to[br]force the characters to act in different ways 0:08:19.189,0:08:23.879 to ensure their death or survival. For those[br]who are fated to die, you must act immorally 0:08:23.879,0:08:29.150 and say nasty things to force the big baddy[br]to enact poetic justice on their guts, or 0:08:29.150,0:08:33.669 play into obvious horror cliches and get them[br]split up from the rest of the group. 0:08:33.669,0:08:38.080 The game could be a lot shorter, but designed[br]to be replayed over and over again with different 0:08:38.080,0:08:41.630 instructions each time. It would also need[br]some random elements, to keep you on your 0:08:41.630,0:08:46.210 toes and also ensure that those jump scares[br]and creepy moments don't become blasé. 0:08:46.960,0:08:52.900 Because here's the main issue that nags at[br]Until Dawn. On the one hand it, it wants to 0:08:52.910,0:08:58.790 be a horror movie where characters get killed[br]in increasingly gruesome ways. But on the 0:08:58.790,0:09:02.540 other hand, it's a video game, and video games are[br]there to be won. 0:09:02.540,0:09:07.140 Games teach us to make the smart dialogue[br]decisions that will give us the best outcomes. 0:09:07.140,0:09:10.300 When buttons flash up on the screen,[br]we've been taught to hit them as quickly as 0:09:10.300,0:09:15.130 possible. And systems, like the totems that[br]warn of potential deaths, are supposed to 0:09:15.130,0:09:17.070 be solved, right? 0:09:17.070,0:09:22.330 Until Dawn the movie wants everyone to die.[br]But Until Dawn the game wants everyone to 0:09:22.330,0:09:25.720 survive. Something's gotta give. 0:09:25.720,0:09:31.100 That conflict is somewhat solved when you[br]put yourself in the director's chair. And 0:09:31.100,0:09:36.880 try your hand at being Wes Craven or John[br]Carpenter. But without that push, and reliable 0:09:36.880,0:09:42.820 mechanics, many players could miss out on[br]Until Dawn's greatest pleasures. 0:09:46.320,0:09:49.780 Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed the[br]episode - if you did, please give it a like 0:09:49.790,0:09:54.670 on YouTube. Plus: how would you make an interactive[br]horror movie, or did Supermassive get it right? 0:09:54.670,0:09:57.010 Let me know your thoughts in the comments[br]below.