A lot is made of immersion in games. Great writing, visual design and captivating characters can help blur out the outside world and keep users engaged, but something unique to games is feedback. With controllers and playable characters, movement can be a bridge between the audience and the work. In some ways, movement can describe the environment in which we find ourselves and our avatars in as well. Let’s look at four different approaches to movement in recent gaming. How are the players incentivized to interact with the conditions and what limiting factors are in place?
First, Mario Odyssey. The most recent of the Mario 3D platformers, it builds off a legacy of success. Frankly put, Mario 64 got it right on the first try, and has become the foundation of everything we have seen after. Player engagement is based on a mastery of a moveset. You have your triple jump, wall jump, spin jump, etc. etc. What these simple tools give you is a way to traverse both vertically and horizontally, mostly without the need for momentum encouraging experimentation and exploration at a low cost. Different kingdoms like New Donk City and Steam Gardens are playgrounds for the player to use all moves in combination to find their prizes, moons. While the environment is mostly static, the changes really come by way of use of Cappy and the … possession(?)… of other characters, all with unique movement to meet the challenges of the environment, or for a good laugh. I’m looking at you random pine tree Mario. What Mario Odyssey does so well in this regard is commit to the moveset with fine precision, and challenges the players to reach a higher level of mastery. The passive multiplayer (Luigi’s Balloon World) takes it even further, if you so dare, with player made challenges. Mario has never felt better in 3D than he does here and yet so familiar. Nintendo is known for their iterative design but the expansion of character and movement in Odyssey really makes it stand out. And the soundtrack is a banger.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have Red Dead Redemption 2. A game who’s movement is a direct reflection of the narrative pacing; slow, heavy and repetitive. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as its intention is to bring a level or realism and immersion that ties that whole world together. When looking out at the grand vistas and stretches of land that game offers you to explore, it is hard to imagine how speed would improve on the experience. A grounded player character is almost required to counter the immensity of the landscape. Every animation, all the tedium of carrying carcasses to and from your horse, is all laid with intention. But, the more time you put into it, the more you get from it in very subtle ways. Bonding with your horse opens up advantageous behaviors (movement) and choosing the correct diet can give you a boost in speed and stamina. You can tailor your experience, but only in small ways and it takes a thoughtful look over a period of time to see the effects. One very interesting design choice is the option to give up all control and movement for a cinematic view of your travels. Although there is a risk involved with wild predator attacks and thieving highwaymen encounters, it is further emphasis into the goal of the game. Take it slow, take it in. Your mileage may vary.
For a middle ground between these two approaches, look to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The environment here balances a fine line between bespoke and naturally occurring, with carved foot paths and randomized weather events to persuade the player to explore. You have your standard 3D movement and camera work, largely made standard by Ocarina of Time, and now have the ability to scale just about any surface. Although the player will have their eyes focused on the stamina meter, verticality is now in play. What is essential to this experience is the use of sight lines. Anywhere you can see, you can go. The higher you are, the more you can see, making climbing and vertical movement beneficial. The use of runes are meant to avert the natural dangers (mostly of gravity). They facilitate that same exploration by manipulating the terrain temporarily by use of ice or even escalating the amount of force put on an object and send it flying off in the distance (with or without you). You are given a glider to not only avert the dangers of a fall, but travel great distances with very little resistance. To top it all, you’ve got an instant teleport system that has to be earned, but shrinks the large map considerably, granting a lot of freedom of choice.The placement of desirable items (food, gems, wildlife) on the map incentivizes you to explore further. It’s hard not to appreciate the lengths at which the developers went to encourage this. In a lot of ways, Link is just a tool box for the player to engage with the world around them, but the level of freedom inherent in the player’s movement compliments the design of the landscapes.
Death Stranding. Like in Breath of the Wild, you are given tools to manage traversal but the terrain is actively working against you. The weather is out to age you and your goods, hills can become cliffs, streams can become raging rapids and whiteout blizzards can slow you down to a crawl. Prepping is everything (see that?). How much weight will you carry, can you keep balance on the steep terrain going up or rushing full speed down a mountainside. Did anyone leave you a ladder as a way up? Is there enough cover for rain? There are a myriad of systems out there working against you and many considerations to take into account, but hardly has there been a more satisfying take on traversal. While yes, end game involves a lot of zip lining, highway cruising and even automated delivery, trekking is the most immersive. Taking live snapshots of the topography, watching the skies for clouds and following the footsteps of other players you’ve never met to reach your goal simulates what a hike in an unknown, indifferent land feels like. In a narrative wrapped in surrealism, this is the most grounded, simple experience that acts as a counter balance. Yes, you are just making deliveries while reconnecting a country to gain enough information to stop an oncoming extinction event … but in the end, you’re walking. It’s a meditative angle on the cosmic events happening to a very mundane character. That’s taking the concept of both design and narrative to a higher level of sophistication. Approaches like this can help elevate the medium to high art. Hopefully with enough introspection as both consumers and developers, we can get there like Sam, one step at a time.
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