The human element...

madjack · 08-07-07, 02:46 AM

I bought SH4 a few weeks ago. And it's often exciting and also deeply involving and yet...where's the human element, where's the human drama?

Let me explain.

My thinking is that as a commander of a sub, you would have been responsible for 30-40 men, cooped up in a metal tube in the middle of the vast ocean, in peril. To a man, they would have been looking to you to make the right decisions to 'take the fight to the enemy' but also, crucially, to bring them back to their wives, their children, their loved ones. As sub-commander you would've gotten to know many of them personally, had knowledge of their backgrounds, commended some, punished others.

And yet there's essentially none of that in the game. The men are essentially cyphers, icons to be moved about. In fact the menu screens hold more human interest than the actual game. Your sub is essentially a cursor (albeit a very pretty cursor) that you direct in a virtual space (albeit a very detailed virtual space), with which you issue commands. Which in many ways, when it's all boiled down, is what you're doing when you're working, say, with a spreadsheet.

Ok, that's being flippant but to be plain about it, when my sub is being depth-charged I'm concerned (as you might expect). But not because the boat holds any characters in whom I've made an emotional investment - and they're in danger. I'm concerned because my big sub-shaped cursor is in trouble and I'll probably need to reload and so lose game progress and 'reputation'. You tell me which is the bigger tragedy, or the more harrowing. And why can't I have both in my subsim? Why can't I be concerned that I'll lose game progress and probably need to reload, but also have an emotional reaction to what should be a clear human tragedy?

I could understand this focus on the 'nuts and bolts' of the simulation in the old days of subsimming. Computer resources were at such a minimum that it often appeared as though your boat was deserted and it was you all alone working the dials. But now it's starting to look like a sort of wilful negligence - sort of 'well, this is how its always been done, so this is how we'll do it now'. And so bow-waves get more detailed, harbours get more buildings, the seabed gets (oversized) rocks and seaweed. But why this disdain for including the human element in a simulation that purports to be comprehensive?

I can just hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth; 'you want to make our sim into an RPG!'. Well, no, I don't. But a bigger nod towards the men who make up your crew would be a welcome addition to the SH series surely? Just take a look at the forums. You'll find elaborate stories written up about simulated patrols, where the author has even written dialogue supposedly coming from the icons and wooden puppets they've see on-screen! That should tell you something.

08-07-07, 02:46 AM	#1
madjack Swabbie Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 9 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0	The human element... I bought SH4 a few weeks ago. And it's often exciting and also deeply involving and yet...where's the human element, where's the human drama? Let me explain. My thinking is that as a commander of a sub, you would have been responsible for 30-40 men, cooped up in a metal tube in the middle of the vast ocean, in peril. To a man, they would have been looking to you to make the right decisions to 'take the fight to the enemy' but also, crucially, to bring them back to their wives, their children, their loved ones. As sub-commander you would've gotten to know many of them personally, had knowledge of their backgrounds, commended some, punished others. And yet there's essentially none of that in the game. The men are essentially cyphers, icons to be moved about. In fact the menu screens hold more human interest than the actual game. Your sub is essentially a cursor (albeit a very pretty cursor) that you direct in a virtual space (albeit a very detailed virtual space), with which you issue commands. Which in many ways, when it's all boiled down, is what you're doing when you're working, say, with a spreadsheet. Ok, that's being flippant but to be plain about it, when my sub is being depth-charged I'm concerned (as you might expect). But not because the boat holds any characters in whom I've made an emotional investment - and they're in danger. I'm concerned because my big sub-shaped cursor is in trouble and I'll probably need to reload and so lose game progress and 'reputation'. You tell me which is the bigger tragedy, or the more harrowing. And why can't I have both in my subsim? Why can't I be concerned that I'll lose game progress and probably need to reload, but also have an emotional reaction to what should be a clear human tragedy? I could understand this focus on the 'nuts and bolts' of the simulation in the old days of subsimming. Computer resources were at such a minimum that it often appeared as though your boat was deserted and it was you all alone working the dials. But now it's starting to look like a sort of wilful negligence - sort of 'well, this is how its always been done, so this is how we'll do it now'. And so bow-waves get more detailed, harbours get more buildings, the seabed gets (oversized) rocks and seaweed. But why this disdain for including the human element in a simulation that purports to be comprehensive? I can just hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth; 'you want to make our sim into an RPG!'. Well, no, I don't. But a bigger nod towards the men who make up your crew would be a welcome addition to the SH series surely? Just take a look at the forums. You'll find elaborate stories written up about simulated patrols, where the author has even written dialogue supposedly coming from the icons and wooden puppets they've see on-screen! That should tell you something.