My review is about the first Metroid. Metroid is a renowned science fiction game series by Nintendo that has had a huge impact on game design and even inspired a Metroidvania genre (“Vania” stands for Castlevania). I have played several games of that genre before, like Hollow Knight, and have been amazed by their atmosphere and world designs, which create immersion better than many 3D games with better graphics and supposedly more immersive first-person view. The original Metroid comes out on NES in 1986. It draws inspiration from Mario’s platform and Zelda’s collectible upgrade gameplay. But unlike other Nintendo games, it is set in a dark and even sometimes scary outer space world.
You play as a bounty hunter, Samus Aran, wearing an orange robot looking power suit and your objective is to destroy space privates’ bioweapon called Metroid on the planet Zebes. Besides having the standard 2D shooting platformer element, the gameplay is unique in its map design and upgrade system. The map is not left-right scrolls separated by levels like in Mario Bros, but consists of a single large area with both horizontal and vertical dimensions and divided into connected rooms. It resembles nowadays open-world games in that players are not told where they should go (like to the right in Mario), and can explore the planet freely and construct their own non-linear experience. However, designers cleverly place obstacles into some rooms, such as unbreakable walls, unreachable platforms, etc. Players need to obtain upgrades, such as missile, high jump, to come back to obstacles they previously encountered, so they can complete the main quest or collect hidden items (like additional health). (Below is a map drawn by a player.)
Thus, unlike fire flower in Mario, Metroid’s upgrades not only help combats but are tightly woven into how players interact with the world. One example is thatd doors between rooms are opened by players shooting bullets at them. This is a very interesting mechanic, since normally we open a door with hands, or it opens automatically since it’s an electronic door. I think this is a great mechanic both from a design perspective and how it immerses players in the Metroid world. The designers of Metroid didn’t want to give explicit instructions that might interfere with the world. In fact, narrative-wise, the only story is told at beginning through text which simply states the objective. Then how could they teach players about the mechanics of obstacles and upgrades? How do people learn? Ans: Through experience and trials of course. Players will always try to hit the first door with bullets since their actions are limited at that point. Then this pattern gets habituated in players’ brains until they see a door with a different color, which they can’t open with bullets. Then based on experience, it’s natural for them to think, “okay, I need to hit the door with something I haven’t obtained yet and I will come back afterward”. They then naturally discover and internalize the system.
But besides teaching players about mechanic, the dual use of bullet in fighting enemies and opening doors integrates the mechanisms of combat and upgrade into the world itself, succeeding in bridging fighting, puzzle-solving and exploration. As a comparison, in Braid we often think of the world as being a game stage or a puzzle space (like a magical circle inside a game) since time warping is limited for use only in those worlds and just serve puzzle solving purpose. Yet, in Metroid, combat, exploration, and puzzles are connected, just as in the dual use of bullet. Hence Braid’s world is more like a dream or imagination, while Metroid presents us with a connected, immersive and crystalized alien world.
Visuals, audio and affective gameplay add to this immersion, which results in an isolating and unsettling atmosphere. Metroid is heavily influenced by the Alien movie. It features a menacing and grotesque visual style with mainly dark-colored background, foreboding soundtrack, and character designs that evoke fearful feelings. As an example, when players enter rooms with power-upgrades, music suddenly changes from an upbeat theme to an unsettling mono baseline, and then players will get upgrades from an alien-resembling statue (figure shown below ),
which unnerved me on my first encounter. And since the game is set underground for the whole time, the black background combined with cold colored floors and ceilings creates claustrophobic and stressful feelings on players. And since there’re no narratives or instructions in the game, players know neither who they are (only until the ending when Samus’ face is revealed) under the energy suit, nor how they come down into the underground. And as players go deeper into the base, the music turns darker and more menacing. These elements together make players feel a sense of total isolation on a foreign planet and consistent fear/stress since life-threatening enemies are everywhere. Hence, these add to the immersion and create an all-encompassing atmosphere that is somewhat similar to that of the first Alien movie, which draws out people’s curiosity and fearsome of outer space.
However, this feeling changes drastically after players have obtained all the upgrades and become familiarized with the world. One important difference of Metroid’s non-linear progress from other platformers’ and even other non-linear games’ is the need for players to revisit the same room multiple times. When players pick up a new upgrade, they quickly go through their memory and examine if there are previous obstacles unlockable by the upgrade. The revisiting of rooms means players must battle the same enemy multiple times and must be ultra-familiar with the map, since there was no map system in the first Metroid. Yet the frustration of repetition is cleverly mitigated because new upgrades often allow players to fight old enemies differently and accidentally discover hidden paths in previous rooms. For instance, the ice beam can freeze quick-moving enemies and then players can use them as platforms to reach unreachable platforms. If we combine this emphasis on revisiting with the fearful atmosphere we’ve discussed before. The gameplay process resembles an overcoming process of internal fears: players navigate through the world and memorize the risks and obstacles, and they have to revisit the same fears multiple times in their exploration until they surpass them with the new upgrades (external help) and familiarity with the map(internal strength). And it is the immersion and atmosphere of the game that makes this process so visceral. Rather than being a separated puzzle world or game stage, Metroid grabs players’ curiosity and fear and takes them into the world of Zebes and lets them overcome their fears.
A very basic interpretation of a platformer is an experience of reverse-engineering designers’ puzzles, but game is often more than just puzzles. For Braid, its narrative adds depth to puzzles. For Metroid, it is its visuals, sound design and mechanics, which combines exploration, combat, and puzzle-solving, that brings fear and sense of achievement in players and takes them onto a journey overcoming internal fears.
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