Walking Segments in Video Games
Well, hello there, dear steemians! So, today I am writing about a pretty bothersome trend affecting video games: that of the walking segment.
Recently I got quite a bit of free time, which, of course, I decided to fill up by playing some video games (really original idea, I know), and a little itsy-bitsy problem reared its head while I was playing The Last of Us: there are long stretches of the game in which you are forced to simply walk through the environment, or, if the game feels generous lazily jog around, and nothing really happens. The characters sometimes exchange a few lines, then silence. This problem is not exclusive to The Last of Us, a lot of games focused on narrative have featured this problem in recent years.
To name a few games suffering from this blight, we have The Evil Within, the rebooted Tomb Raider series, God of War, The Order: 1886, Furi... quite a long list, huh? So, why do game developers do this? The simple answer is padding the length of the game and the inability to come up with another solution to give the player some well deserved downtime between enemy encounters. The pattern is pretty simple: you start the game with one forced walking segment, you have a combat encounter, another walking segment to let the player rest a bit, and this cycle is repeated until the game is finished. It does not feel natural at all and as mentioned above, it artificially increases the time it takes to finish the game. Funny thing is, The Order: 1886 is already criminally short, clocking in at about 5 hours, so the game is padded to hell and back, but still feels short.
Older games were more playful with the downtime activities, to be completely honest. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and its two sequels used platforming levels and puzzles as a way to unwind the player after finishing bloody battle with the sand monsters. It gave the player a challenge, but not the one of smiting enemies, but to take in and navigate the environment. Another replacement for a walking segment could be a cutscene. I know, it is not gameplay, but neither is forcing the player to twiddle their thumbs while holding forward on their keyboard/controller. Also, in this case, the player could actually be arsed to give a crap about the discussions between characters, without having the contrivance of being in a fake state of control. It would also not kill the pace of the game as much, so, by extension, it won't discourage replayability by forcing the player to repeat these tedious portions of said games.
All in all, I hope that the industry will leave this trend in the past, as it is lazy and unappealing to the player. I, for one, can accept the concept of walking simulators, but utterly despise when a game which actually has gameplay depth tries to be one between tense moments.
Sources: cover, 1, 2, 3, footer
Vlad, I'm going to be the devil's advocate here. :)
I am a fan of these walking moments, at least when they're nicely structured and add something to the game world. The Last of Us, for example, if I recall correctly, the exchanges between Joel and Ellie during these moments helped bring the characters to life.
Journey is also a game that is mostly about walking and yet it has a lot to say (show, actually) without barely any action or platforming.
I liked The Evil Within (1 and 2) a lot and never felt that those little breaks were used to extend the game time. In fact, I was pleased to have them, as it would give me a moment to breathe from all the fighting.
I would be bored if The Last of Us was all fighting from start to finish, but that is my personal opinion. I prefer my games with some moments to relax, to look at the world around, appreciate the details before the next fight begins. I like my downtime, as long as it feels perfectly integrated in the game (that giraffe bit in The Last of Us) and doesn't feel cheap. I don't want any platforming in my action adventure games either, but I don't mind the occasional puzzle.
That is my 2 cents. :)
Thing is, I just wish there was a more involved way of conveying the conversations, other than simply walking. Maybe for The Last of Us, cleaning and repairing your equipment after fights. Maybe Ellie could have small wounds which would need to be treated. Spice things up a bit instead of giving the player a road to walk.
Also, I did not mention I disliked the games I brought up (except The Order: 1886). I actually think they are great, or I wouldn't have played them to completion. I was just ranting that character development and relationship building could be done in more interesting ways.
In the end, thank you for your opinion. I really appreciate when people actually comment and share what they think about the subjects I tackle. :)
Maybe dialogue choices instead of linear scriptwriting could be a nice alternative. They should look at Firewatch for a great example of interactive storytelling, where you're moving and choosing your replies in real time. Now that was clever and you made me remember that this would be a much better system for any game.
You're welcome, fellow gamer :)
I feel there a time and a place if done right. If a game lacks any kind of fast travel what so ever and you are just forced in these endless long drawn out walking cycles-- yuck. If a game lacks enough content to last 2 hours before a platform like steam would not auto refund a return and they are simply using this game mechanic to slow down the player then that just shameful and they need go out of business.
If it adds in a meaningful way to the players overall experience for most then I think its fine. Not everyone going enjoy certainty types of points in games. I’m not much into lore or hearing long over drawn backstories. Yet it sill has a place and can at the very least help build up to something. If however there no payoff for that time spent than it was not thought out properly.
I myself am not a big fan of them either. I think most don’t carry them out very well. They just seem like “filler” content than anything else. If a game lacks the budget to properly have these then they should not try to include them. They can find another way to add a build up of suspense or what ever else they are trying to create for the user.
I hope that the developers of the games I mentioned learned something when implementing those segments. Ways to spice them up or to replace them altogether. It really feels awkward compared to the rest of the game in almost all situations.
Also, thanks for sharing your two cents on the issue, friend. :)
Although I can't relate.. Being a mobile gamer.
I actually like walking moments