The Problem of the Cutscene
-
Category: News ArchiveHits: 753
I would first like to note that the pre-rendered cutscene has been (and indeed continues to be) used very effectively in the third person perspective - perhaps more so than any other genre of play where the interface is directly responsive.
Look for example at the increasingly elaborate cutscenes in games by Blizzard, and the now inactive Westwood Studios. Without involving the question of the financial cost of such sequences, if we, nonetheless take these examples as our guiding point, we'll quickly notice that one way of addressing the issue of differences between visual definition is to distance the narrative content of the pre-rendered cutscene from the game play sessions themselves by making sure that the cutscene isn't simply mirroring the game play sequence or its immediate perspective.
This is most formidably the case with Diablo II, one of a number of games that I believe fundamentally appreciated not only the editorial rhythm but even more importantly the distance required to accomplish the integration of a fully pre-rendered and visually impressive cutscene. The reason for this is that the distancing between the completion of an episode of gameplay from the contemplative content of the cutscene was sufficient enough to make them a kind of welcome (but not enforced) reward.
Interestingly, in the case of Diablo II, the use of the cutscene in relation to the narrative was also further removed from the kinesthetic relationship that develops between the player and the avatar through the use of the parallel storyline (that is, a pre-rendered cutscene which does not concern the player or the avatar immediately, but which instead follows other characters and shadows the events of the game's dramatic progression through an external perspective).
