Dogma: 2001? As if.
http://comp4431.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/design-idea-wk-1-dogma-manifesto/
This is my reaction to the proposed Dogma: 2001 found here: http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20010129/adams_01.htm
1. The design documents shall contain no reference to any object which is installed inside the outer case of the target machine.
The motivation behind this is ridiculous. Denounce technology? No way. Technology is the driving factor for new and innovative solutions. If technology is not involved, we will be stuck with the same old controls and same way of playing games forever. I think in this case, forcing people to buy new graphics cards (like they already do) increases the driving force for the development of better, stronger, faster gaming experiences. How does this relate to game design? With new technology comes new ways of playing and new ways of designing games.
Sure a game can be designed to be awesome without the use of high-end tech, but surely improved specs can result in new “game designs” that would have been impossible to implement previously.
2. The use of hardware 3D acceleration of any sort is forbidden.
Why? I believe that 3d acceleration when used properly can add so much more to gaming experience. Doom 3 was scary because of the creepy life like environment (and the random monsters that jump out of the dark). It was easy to place yourself into the environment because of the detail, which would only be possible with the support of hardware acceleration. I would like to see Doom 3 be scary in 640-480 VGA 16-bit colour mode, where the monsters are blobs of colour. OoOoooo scaryyy blobs.
3. Only the following input devices are allowed: on a console machine, the controller which normally ships with it.
I completely disagree with this. For example: on the Wii, playing Mario Kart with the remote is awkward and difficult to control. Sometimes the classic controller (sold separately) can improve game play. Sometimes, with Mario Galaxy for example, the original controller + the nunchuck give the game a unique and fresh feel.
Also, imagine playing a racing game on your computer using only the keyboard and mouse. Wouldn’t a driving wheel be more suited to a game like this, especially if it is a driving sim? Sometimes, extra controllers are needed to play a game the way it was intended to be played, and not restricted by the underlying platform it is built for.
4. There shall be no knights, elves, dwarves or dragons.
While I agree that there are tonnes of poorly developed games that involve (all of the above), a well designed game can incorporate these ideas in a fresh and interesting way, instead of just reusing the same old ideas in the same old way. Plus dwarves are cool. In an mmo fantasy rpg, noone would want to be a Midget race. Sometimes, you just have to have Dwarves.
Restricting (good) game developers from using these ideas my blow away a fresh idea for the genre that can change the way people think about knights, elves, dwarves and dragons. Instead they will be lost forever and we can never play as dwarves again!
5. The following types of games are prohibited: first-person shooters, side-scrollers, any action game with “special attacks.”
Although there are many games that fall into these categories, there are also some great games. I enjoyed the Final Fantasy series, which is a typical number heavy RPG, but is also strongly based around storyline. If developers are restricted from making games in these genre’s, I will never have had the opportunity to play Final Fantasy and I would be (sad face).
6. All cinematics, cut-scenes, and other non-interactive movies are forbidden.
I don’t believe that game developers want to be movie directors. That’s what all of our hundreds of 3D artists are for. Scrolling text is boring and lacks every sense of expression that comes with wonderful visuals. This is a horrible idea.
7. Violence is strictly limited to the disappearance or immobilization of destroyed units.
I don’t know about you, but blowing things up in games gives me a sense of satisfaction. By throwing a well placed grenade under a tank, I have a certain expectation that the tank (which is full of fuel), will blow up in a giant ball of flames and all the evil penguins around it will get thrown into the sky. If all that happened was the tank faded away, I would quit the game instantly and call it cheap rubbish (afterall they couldn’t even afford to make decent animations).
The motivation behind number 7 also makes me question whether the writers of this article actually know anything about developing games. I seriously doubt that the animations team responsible for making “blow up” graphics are the same team that focus their time on creating better AI etc.
8. There may be victory and defeat, and my side and their side, but there may not be Good and Evil.
This is assuming that no game is about humans vs evil cyborgs that want to take human limbs for spare parts (Enemy Territories: Quake Wars). Sometimes its a more interesting if the story involves some epic struggle against an evil force that is threatening to take over the world. It wouldn’t nearly be as interesting if cute bunny rabbits were taking over the world peacefully. In fact that’s a game I wouldn’t want to even play.
And sometimes a game is great if there are neutral sides (Total Annihilation). I see no reason to remove the whole good vs evil conflict, I certainly enjoy it, even if it is overused. It’s a great concept and it keeps me interested.
9. If a game is representational rather than abstract, it may contain no conceptual non sequiturs, e.g. medical kits may not be hidden inside oil tanks.
To a certain extent, I agree with this point. But who knows what those evil penguins were thinking? Putting a medical kit inside an oil tank seems silly, but its a whole lot of fun to get that medical kit. Imagine if you had to solve a complex puzzle just to obtain a medical kit. So every time you got shot you would have to waste your time trying to get a medical kit instead of playing the actual game.
I would rather save the complex puzzles for items related to the progress in the game, rather than useful items that should be quick and easy to get (like blowing up an oil tank).
10. If a game is representational rather than abstract, the color black may not be used to depict any manmade object except ink, nor any dangerous fictitious nonhuman creatures.
Black is a great colour. It made Doom 3 scary as hell. Humans are scared by the dark probably by instinct. If a room is dark, you know instantly that the room posesses some hidden danger. Black is a cool colour and taking that away is completely retarded.
Overall, I spit on this evil Dogma: 2001 and burn it down with a nazi flamethrower that I found in an oil tank.
