As a long-time fan of the Metro series, I can confidently say that Dmitry Glukhovsky’s insights into the narrative and character writing for Metro Awakening have piqued my interest even further. His approach to immersing players by dropping them headfirst into a character’s current problem rather than overloading them with backstory is a masterstroke, as seen in the iconic example of Gordon Freeman from Half Life.
Even though Metro Awakening is set to be the fourth installment in the post-apocalyptic underground series, its virtual reality format has brought about distinct difficulties when it comes to storytelling and character development, as well as the typical game design obstacles that developers face in the realm of VR.
As a gaming enthusiast, I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Dmitry Glukhovsky, the brilliant mind behind the Metro series, who’s been deeply engaged in the creation of Metro Awakening. During our conversation, he shared his unique perspective on crafting narratives and characters within the realm of virtual reality games, contrasting them from their traditional counterparts on flat screens.
How Players Become Metro Awakening’s Protagonist
Glukhovsky, from the get-go, pondered over how to create a realistic experience for players since they’re expected to embody virtual reality characters. His approach was not to delve too deeply into the character’s past and burden players with excessive historical details. Instead, he believed immersing players directly in the character’s present predicament would help them identify more closely with the character. The protagonist of Half Life, Gordon Freeman, demonstrates this effectively: with little backstory or heavy exposition, players swiftly adopt the role of Gordon Freeman, making his frantic attempt to escape Black Mesa their own struggle.
After contemplating, I arrived at the idea that to make this character truly captivating, it’s crucial to establish an intense, instantaneous drama for them. To achieve this, let’s refrain from providing any background information about the character initially. The allure of drama and storytelling lies in the fact that once we empathize with the character and perceive their predicament as a significant hurdle we wish to assist them in overcoming – regardless if it’s a personal or global issue – our sense of self gradually merges with theirs.
10 minutes into a two-hour movie and you find yourself deeply immersed, as if you’ve stepped into the character’s shoes, particularly during scenes where moral decisions are at stake. In these moments, you forget your own existence. You become one with the character. When the character faces hardships, your heart races in sympathy. When there are awkward situations, you share a sense of embarrassment. And when love blossoms, you can almost feel the stirrings of desire too.
Glukhovsky noted that people tend to become more engaged when characters are confronted with ethical dilemmas. It’s crucial that these moral choices align with what the player might choose in similar circumstances, as deviating from this can make the player feel detached and disrupt their immersion. This strong connection to moral decision-making may be a key reason why many gamers appreciate games featuring morality systems and dialogue options.
Metro Awakening Doesn’t Have A Silent Protagonist
In the Metro series, there was a trend towards silent protagonists following Metro 2033, but that’s about to change with Metro Awakening. This time around, the protagonist is Khan, a character players have met before and will be voiced by the original actor. So, it seems that we are returning to having a vocal protagonist in this installment of the series.
“We possess a unique ability, called empathy, which allows us to step into another’s shoes, understand their feelings, and share their viewpoint.
In my opinion, the primary hurdle in storytelling lies in avoiding portraying this dictator as an unrelatable gaming character. The protagonist of Metro Awakening, who is now voiced for the first time excluding DLCs from previous Metro games and being the first game in the series to feature a voiced protagonist, faces this challenge.
Referencing the thoughts of Glukhovsky on immersion, incorporating a voiced protagonist in the game “Metro Awakening” could deepen players’ emotional ties to the game. To illustrate this further, consider the success of the voiced protagonist in “Half Life: Alyx“. With Dmitry Glukhovsky’s exceptional writing skills and Vertigo Games’ proven expertise in VR, it seems that “Metro Awakening” is on track to deliver a heart-pounding, emotionally intense, and utterly immersive experience.
Metro Awakening releases November 7 on PC, PlayStation VR2, and Meta Quest.
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2024-09-26 20:13