Survey Results

   In an attempt to gather more research, I released a survey out to my family, friends and peers on every social media I had in the past weeks to see what their views on video games are in the coming future. Knowing that this was very open ended, I did my best to make the questions as specific as possible (Especially as there is also a ten question limit for SurveyMonkey and all...)

   While I can't necessarily use most of these for my dissertation (Or perhaps I can, at least insert in few bits and pieces in there of my findings in hopes that it would aid my practical piece as well) seeing as they are all so incredibly different from one another (Also due to the lack in narrowing it down to a specific target audience), it was interesting seeing everyone's views on the matter, from those that play games on their phone to kill some time every once in awhile, to those that make video gaming a huge part of their lives. I will still try to analyse these results a little when I can, as their views on the Uncanny Valley will still be of some help into my research. 

   And if I do get any more results, I will be posting them up here. Also, if you haven't take it yet, here's the link!

   Anyway, here are the results:

How often do you play video games? List down one or a few of your favourites and explain why.

1. everyday 
2. Quite a lot unless I have coursework to do. A few favourites are: Assassins Creed Black Flag - I love the world building and the amount of places that you can explore and actually achieve in the game is amazing. A lot of stuff to collect, interesting side quests, and I got quite attached to the main character through his personality, back story and characters he was friends with. Wind Waker - Again the world building and the exploration are amazing. Even though this is quite an old game its still by far one of my all time favourites. The plot is simple but its interesting and gets you hooked. I'm a sucker for the Legend of Zelda games. PT Demo - although it is a demo, I loved every minute of it. I liked how you were kept in this same room where everything was kept the same everytime the loop kickstarted again. It made it eerie and more scary. The use of sound and lighting played a huge role for the game as it wouldn't have been as scary without these elements.
3. Once a day. Halo for its gunplay. Bioshock for its environment design. The Legend of Zelda for game design.
4. I play them twice a week. My favourites are "Final Fantasy XIII" series and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. The reasons why they are my favourites is the interactive gameplay and the graphics.
5. Occasionally. Odin Sphere for its deft handling of story, characters and art. Okami, for the characterisation, unique gameplay and painting-like world.
6. I can honestly say that I pretty much play video games all the time. Some of my favorites are Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Undertale, Bastion, Transistor, and Journey. DA and ME, are my faves because I'm a sucker for games with character creation and I love most of the characters. Undertale because it's got amazing music and equally amazing characters. Bastion and Transistor because the art is amazing, music is A+, the stories always make me cry, and the game's are always narrated in interesting ways. Journey's art was amazing, the story was interesting (once you could figure it out), music was out of this world, game play mechanics were really interesting, and how they wanted you to play with other people without using your voice, I thought it was really cool.
7. I play video games constantly. My favourites include Metal Gear Solid, because of its memorable characters and strong story that blends itself well with the gameplay; Legend of Zelda because each game is fun in their own way, and age well. Chrono Trigger is my favourite RPG because it has a huge branching story, amazing graphics that age very well, and the best gameplay for an RPG around. Resident Evil 4 for the same reasons as MGS, plus a very smart blend of action and horror.
8. I play video games fairly often, on average once a day for about an hour. My favorite game is Okami, but some other liked games are the Sengoku BASARA series, the Dynasty/Samurai Warriors series, the Pokemon series, Soulcalibur series, and Undertale. I really like them for their unique character designs and their worldbuilding. The gameplay, of course, is quite good for all of the above as well.
9. Bayonetta - Interesting story, action-packed! Tales of Symphonia franchise - amazing narrative, typical Japanese RPG style Grand Theft Auto - open world, loads to do, storyline is great with ability to influence outcomes

Do you know what the Uncanny Valley is? Please give any form of explanation about it if you do and list some games you have come across that suffers from that issue.

1. no
2. Yes, when an object, animated or real, has an eerie resemblance to that of a human. Polar Express game, took the same evil looks as the movie, couldn't play it after the first few mins of gameplay. Can't think of anymore, tend to stay away from them.
3. That moment when you detect that something isn't quite human or alive. Anytime you stare at Commander Shepard's eyes.
4. Uncanny valley happens when a robotic or non living organism imitates real life action, which makes viewers feel uncomfortable. On certain cutscenes in Dissidia, the way the character's blink feels unnatural. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" characters in Kingdom Hearts II also have this issue.
5. The strange area when a representation of reality comes too near but is still too far from our understanding of it. It is not distant enough to be comforted by the differences, but too near to be in denial of its likeness. I'm not particularly attracted to realism in games, so I'm afraid I have nothing much to add here.
6. My basic understand is that video game characters look really human and it freaks people out. That's what I understand. If that's the case, Heavy Rain, Until Dawn, and Beyond: Two Souls are 3 that come to mind
7. I believe I do. It I believe a game that does kind of suffer from this is Silent Hill: Downpour, which does this unintentionally but its enemy designs are very uncreative for the game's creepy setting, and their animations and AI, especially with the Weeping Bat, were just goofy. Sonic 06 suffers by using really overblown HD FMV cutscenes that resemble Final Fantasy, when the game itself looks horrible. As well as the human characters looking way too realistic around the cartoony main characters.
8. The Uncanny Valley is when an object (or work of art, as in a video game) greatly resembles a human being, but does not look quite enough like a human being and thus triggers a response of disgust or fear from the viewer. I have not personally played any games that have this to a large extent, but I do know of some that exist. As for games that have slight uncanny valley, many of the created characters in Tecmo-Koei's Musou series have a slight uncanny valley effect to them, perhaps due to some face or outfit layouts not being suited to the created character face frame.
9. Yes, I guess it's that unusual and uncomfortable feeling you get when something doesn't feel quite right, usually down to awkwardly mimicked reality and distorted realism. Things like funfairs, puppets, and mannequins can be examples of this.

Are there any video games that you still enjoyed despite its issue with the Uncanny? If so, why?

1. not applicable
2. Until Dawn, even though the motion capture was crazy, it added to the atmosphere.
3. Mass Effect and Skyrim. Facial animation and conversations only make up a small part of gameplay and I could quickly move on.
4. Dissidia is one of the games I still like, in spite of this issue. I like to look at the visuals and textures.
5. The closest game I could perhaps bring up would be the later Final Fantasy series'. I enjoyed it mainly for the flashy and satisfying battle system and to some extent the customisation options of costuming. The uncanny valley is less intimidating when the game is padded with other unrealistic or middling aspects that distract from that disquieting realism.
6. Not really.
7. is something that differs entirely to what we are familiar with, and in film it is something withing that narrative that differs tonally to what the audience is accustomed to. A brilliant example of that is in Earthbound, which is a bright, jolly, and humorous game throughout, but at the end it intentionally becomes very dark and scary. It does not suffer from this but rather benefits from it. Deadly Premonition's dark tone is always killed by the very imperfect animations but that's one of the many reasons I enjoy that game. I find Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker's comic book style cutscenes way too visually jarring, when the gameplay is full 3D. It's still think the game makes up for it with a decent enough story and gameplay.
8. I still enjoy the Musou series quite a bit in spite of some created characters looking like scary human-dolls, haha. Mostly because the unique characters look good themselves and don't look unusual!
9. Dante's Inferno - story was great albeit a bit linear and felt a bit uncanny. Character (monsters especially) design was amazing! Fran Bow - interesting and creepy, but uncanny. Evil Within/Psycho Break - Bit of a bland story and incredibly weird but action packed and interesting to play. Outlast - horror game, amazing story

How important is it for video games these days to have a strong narrative?

1. Very
2. dont know
3. Extremely. It wouldn't be a good game without strong storytelling. Games are a form of escapism, we want to get drawn into the story and unravel the plot till the end, it must be gripping for the player to continue. I would rather have low graphics with an amazing plot rather than outstanding graphics with hardly any plot.
4. Important.
5. From a scale of 1(least important) - 10(Most important), I would give an 8.
6. Everyone and their dog can shit out a playable game these days. However not everyone can write good stories to make the game worth playing. Even a dull game can be livened up with a good story that takes the dullness and makes it part of a bigger and better whole.
7. Nowadays, if everything else in the game but characters and narrative is strong, it's a good game (ie. Bloodborne, Souls games etc). Personally, I think it's important to have a strong narrative.
8. I think video games tend to benefit from narratives, however I would not say they should be a selling point for games these days so it's not important.
9. It depends on the type of game. If it is a game meant to be played solely for the gameplay or to be played in bits (such as a puzzle-based handheld title), story does not need to be important. For games on home consoles or PC, story should be as much of a core focus as gameplay.
10. For me not too important as I get bored easily with games. GTA franchise was the only title that I stuck by all the way that had a strong and successful narrative. Maybe that's why it's so popular? I prefer lots of content over a good narrative, but GTA has always had both.

While a mixture is always good, would you choose a game for its gameplay or for its story? 

1. Gameplay
2. no idea
3. Most likely it's story, but if its a sequel I'll get for gameplay.
4. Gameplay.
5. For its story.
6. Depends on the game, and my expectations from it. I have chosen games for their gameplay, despite the lack of story- or games for their story, despite the terrible gameplay. Although I am more likely to finish games with adequate gameplay, rather than games with adequate story, the latter is more fulfilling and memorable than the former.
7. Most definitely the story.
8. If I had to choose it would be gameplay
9. It depends on the type of game. For RPGs, whether in the "Japanese" style or "Western" style, story is paramount. For action games or fighting games, gameplay is more important- but story is still more than welcome.
10. Gameplay definitely! If a game is enjoyable and can be played over and over that doesn't require you to complete a story, then I think it has more appeal, especially for those of us that get bored easily and prefer to free-roam and mess about, like Halo forge mode, Minecraft, GTA online, Elder Scrolls Online etc.

What are your thoughts on photo realistic (Eg, Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls) and more stylised games (Telltales: The Walking Dead, Journey)? Do you have a preference between these two?

1. Goosebumps
2. no comment
3. It all depends on the narrative but I personally prefer the stylised games, its brings something different to the story and game play.
4. They both have their moments and each lends itself to their own gameplay design.
5. The photo realistic games tend to tackle more serious issue and emotions as compared to stylised games. I personally prefer photo realistic.
6. Stylised games. I play games not for more reality, but an escape from the banality of it.
7. I think they're both very interesting. Photo realistic shows how far video game making technology and such has come and I think that's really cool. Stylized games like Telltales games, I'm personally not into because they mess with my eyes, Journey was super pleasant though.
8. I prefer stylised games. Photo realism isn't, it can certainly still have art style built around it, but I just find stylisation more appealing to video games.
9. I prefer stylised more than realistic. I notice many games I play have heavy anime influence. Realism is still a nice thing to have, of course.
10. Telltale games do a really good job in general when it comes to realism. The Game of Thrones game they did looked amazing. Realistic-looking games tend to be more believable, but more stylised and quirky-looking games with unique characters and an 'avant-garde' sort of look might tend to be successful among younger audiences as there's that element of imagination and surrealism.

Why do you think so many major game developers are going for the more photo realistic look when it comes to recent games?

1. Video effects are instant
2. more realism
3. I think its to make it seem more realistic, with the advancement of technology as well, they have all the tools to allow them to do this, Until Dawn as a recent example.
4. Photo real (technical) is arguably easier then highly stylised art direction (e.g. Wind Walker, Okami, Jet Grind)
5. It is due to the current capabilities of games engine since they are able to support better and able to store high resolution/photo realistic information. Also, they want to give players a sense of reality, especially on VR or simulation games.
6. Because it is a safe and easy choice, requires less guesswork, less visual development. Easy to shit out and not have to think too much about.
7. They want to drag the people in more, think that they're actually there, I guess? I don't really know to be honest.
8. I believe it's so that the games appeal to casual gamers, or audiences just getting into games, like they don't want to distance that audience too much from film. It's unlikely that a casual gamer will look at Okami and Call of Duty then pick up Okami, for instance.
9. It is likely that they feel it makes them seem more "adult" or "mature", so that they can lure in people who feel they are too old for cartoons and by extension cartoon-esque games.
10. With improved technological advances and a huge demand for games that have amazing graphics, I imagine developers would want to opt for a realistic style as that seems to be the target of competition at the moment - games are aiming to aesthetically 'wow' the audience. When GTA V came out (sorry, I love GTA so much!) everyone was fascinated by the detail and realism of the environments, characters, and physics. That sold so well and I think that was one of the main reasons - it looked so real!

In recent years, people have begun to analyse video games much like they would films and while this for some reason continues to be an argument among critics, are even seen as works of art. What are your thoughts on this?

1. Beside kids adults are into it so thus different demands..LIKE
2. great
3. I think it should definitely be a form of art or even interactive literature, at the end of the day you immerse yourself in this narrative, in the game, much like you would with a film, animation or book. They are all a representation of a reality that the creator has envisioned.
4. Video games and interactive media are indisputably art. And just as the medium is young and finding evolving, so to is the language to critique and dissect it. Unlike static art forms, games introduce a larger number of variables to their consumption. As such, the only question is not whether gaming is art, but what path it's school of examination will take.
5. It is great to have more exposure on various roles.
6. Works of creativity are always worthy of analysis or admiration. Art is meant to make you feel, and make you think. If a game is able to do that, why can't you call it art?
7. Hm, well I get why people do it but I personally don't really care about what other people think of games. I just wish people would stop tearing at each others throats over it. It's getting kinda ridiculous.
8. I believe we've far since reached the point in which games can be considered art. The games industry in the 90s was practically at the point film was at during the 1910s, when people were trying to prove this could be used to tell stories. A lot of games have challenged audiences and experimented enough for the medium to be considered an art form.
9. If the industry is to develop and not stagnate, criticism of games as art must be allowed. This includes criticizing more than just gameplay- but story, art direction, animation, music, voice direction/acting, and more. It also includes being critical of more social issues.
10. Video games are most definitely works of art! They provoke the same if not more intense emotions that traditional art, they engage us in the same way and allow us to interact with them unlike other forms of art. Designers, artists, modelers, programmers, and coders alike all make some form of art - art comes from the imagination and soul and video games are exactly that!

What would you actually like to see in the future of video game narratives?

1. Short to the point..
2. full explanation of how to play and what is the goal of the game
3. I want to see the next stage up of a game like Until Dawn, Until Dawn was great I loved how it was designed to make it appear like an interactive movie, but I would have loved to have seen more interesting endings that don't all depend on the entire house exploding (not saying anymore as spoilers). Would have been nice to have seen more substantial consequences etc.
4. Narrative informing gameplay and vice versa. Gaming is not film. It shares some similarities, but it would be a mistake to neglect the power of its original intent which is to afford the user control and agency. This participation is what separates gaming from all other media and should inform its evolution.
5. More interaction with players.
6. A more cohesive whole, between gameplay, aesthetics, story and characterisation. Showing a story rather than telling it, and characters that engage and grow with the player rather than a brainless ragdoll you fling through the game.
7. Honestly, I just want less white scruffy dudes with tortured pasts. I want more girls as game protags
8. More narratives that aim to challenge audiences and work with the gameplay, like the Mother, or Silent Hill series'.
9. More games set in Asia or Africa. Also, more games with female leads. I'd also like it if Western devs would give games set in Japan a try without fetishizing the setting (i.e., ninjas everywhere in a game not about ninjas, geishas everywhere in a game not about geisha, characters going "HONOR this, HONOR that" outside of the Edo period, etc.)
10. I'd like to see a greater level of interaction between the audience/player and the game through the use of augmented and virtual reality, much as the Oculus Rift allows the player to move their head and arms to react to the game. This will mean that narratives can be even more influenced by the audience and in the future who's to say we can't push the limits of gaming and create worlds that we're psychically capable of interacting with on a more sophisticated level? That could change the future of narrative in gaming.