When discussing fragmented narratives, one can't avoid mentioning the man doing sit-ups on his pedestal.
Hidetaka Miyazaki.
Fragmented narrative is precisely what Souls-like games excel at, and it's also what Souls scholars are keen to analyze.
In retrospect, fragmentation might also be a clever application of Gestalt principles.
It is precisely because of its mystical and ambiguous nature that it has created a unique charm, keeping players tirelessly researching the stories hidden behind the game to this day.
If it had been just an ordinary, linear narrative from the very beginning, perhaps it wouldn't have reached such a high level of achievement.
Soulslike games are a very complex genre.
It is difficult to define its interpretation using a rigid dogma.
Some people believe that highly difficult games are like Souls.
Some believe that the soul of a soul should be its genius-like spatial narrative ability and its ability to create miniature worlds.
Some believe that its core lies in its technological drive and its fatal design.
Just as there are a thousand Hamlet among a thousand readers, there will be a thousand different interpretations of "Souls-like" games among a thousand players.
For many Souls enthusiasts, fragmented narratives are an essential element of Souls games.
Traditional RPG games rarely choose this narrative approach.
Because the storyline itself is a core component of the game.
Just like the Witcher 3.
While the game itself is very fun, it falls short without the story.
However, Soul took a radical step and chose to remove the story from the game.
At least the original fragmented and dense text has been removed, leaving only the essential core narrative.
This is quite different from works that rely on camera shots and slideshows to tell a story, yet it has its own unique flavor.
For Soul Wanderers, understanding the entire story is like solving a massive mystery puzzle.
Players must piece together the story of the entire world from fragmented and obscure clues throughout the game.
Rather than being spectators, players in this process are more like... investigators, or even authors. A classic example, of course, is the Legend comrade, the Solaire, Warrior of Sunlight.
The phrase "praise the sun!" directly created an IP address.
Every encounter with him silently tells the player a story that takes place behind the scenes.
When we first met, he was the only positive and optimistic person in the despair-stricken Lordran, never giving up on his dreams and pursuits, and always maintaining a fighting spirit.
He praised the sun, worshipped the sun, and hoped that one day he could shine and give off heat like the sun.
Players will encounter him multiple times during the rest of the journey, and may even have the opportunity to fight alongside him against bosses.
However, if it's a first-time player, or a player who hasn't done any research...
The last time I saw him, he had been parasitized by the Sunlight Maggot and had gone completely insane.
Throughout the entire process, only when they met did the two sides have the opportunity to exchange a few complete sentences.
All other times, the player has no idea what this guy who's chasing the sun is doing.
But Hidetaka Miyazaki used an entire game to create the image of this resolute man who, despite wearing basic equipment, managed to reach the very end.
When countless players see him being summoned with his hands raised high, they can't help but shout: Praise the Sun!
"So... it's about letting players create their own stories?"
"You could say that we're just providing a fixed template and framework; how brilliant the story ultimately becomes depends entirely on how much the players add to it."
The great power of Gestalt once again came into play.
In addition to effectively reducing production costs, it also gives players unparalleled autonomy.
No longer being led by the nose by designers, no longer being forced to watch long stretches of CG animation.
Instead, they act as the narrators themselves, piecing together the entire story.
They can even transcend the game and become creators of the story.
The most valuable thing this system creates is... immersion.
"And fragmentation has another advantage,"
Lin Lixin continued, his gaze falling on the densely packed relationship lines on the large planning board, "We don't need to tell the story linearly in chronological order; we can tell it in reverse chronological order, or even out of order."
"You mean, not narrating events as they happened, but... uh... montage?"
Lucas tried to understand what Lin Lixin meant.
It's probably a technique similar to montage.
"Yes, think about it, who is the player playing?"
Lin Lixin nodded, his gaze falling on the character who stood apart from all the other characters.
"We were just an insurance investigator investigating the situation, not one of the crew members, so it's impossible for us to know the full picture of the incident. Essentially, we were just conducting an investigation."
Under these conditions, how should the camera work be arranged? How should the narrative be advanced?
The answer is simple: just like a real investigator, look for clues on the ship.
However, this process can be made a little... dramatic.
"We can design an image; simply searching for clues can easily become boring. We can try to make it more interesting, for example... we have a pocket watch."
Lin Lixin looked around, then grabbed a pen, pretending it was a pocket watch. "This pocket watch has magical powers. When we touch a corpse, it can take us back to the moment of that corpse's death."
In the game, this thing is called [memento mortem].
The Latin word meaning " to Memento Mortem ".
This perfectly corresponds to the item's function, leading the player back to the moment the corpse died.
Of course, pocket watches themselves also carry the imagery of time, and can represent the concept of going back in time, making them a kind of abstract artistic expression.
No matter what happened during that time, the player was always just an observer.
This is not a time-travel Adventure story.
"Wonderful..."
Each mechanism is interconnected and cleverly combined.
No design element is redundant or a compromise.
Everything in the game exists to serve other mechanics; everything complements and reinforces each other.
It's as if this wasn't a work created step by step, but rather a complete piece from the start. "Now we only need one last piece of the puzzle."
Lin Lixin tossed the pen aside.
He has completed the entire framework, including the system structure, and has control over the direction of the story.
He wouldn't need to get involved much from then on; he just needed to make sure everything was moving in the right direction.
"As for the music... we could ask Hans Zimmer to do it; he's very good at creating nautical melodies."
After all, he's the man who will be composing the score for " Pirates! of the Caribbean " in the future.
He's also the guy who created a timeless classic like "He's a Pirate".
It would be perfect to have him in charge of the soundtrack for this project.
Lin Lixin took out his mobile phone and prepared to dial a number.
But Lucas suddenly spoke up and stopped him.
"Wait, Lin, I have an idea."
Seeing Lin Lixin looking at him with a puzzled expression, Lucas smirked, "Have you forgotten what I do?"
Lucasfilm, as the most mature industrial empire in the entire Hollywood film industry ecosystem, naturally has its own acoustic studio.
Just as Lin Lixin strives to build Gamenova into a complete industrial ecosystem, Lucas also owns his own acoustics company.
Skywalker Sound.
Although it doesn't enjoy the same prestigious reputation in the industry as Industrial Light & Magic, it is still a very profitable company that has made a lot of money for Lucas.
The two got into the car and drove through the vast Skywalker Ranch.
When the large building with red brick walls and green tiles appeared on the lakeside, Lin Lixin knew that he had arrived at his destination.
One has to admit that Lucas's place is incredibly luxurious.
It takes quite a while to drive here from the library.
With mountains and water, the environment is simply unbelievably beautiful.
But once Lin Lixin stepped into the room, he suddenly realized that it was just as impressive as the outside. It was less like a laboratory and more like a movie theater.
A huge movie screen hangs at the far end of the enormous room.
Nearby is an oversized control panel, even more spacious than a bed.
Mixing consoles, tape drives, recording equipment, monitoring equipment...
Although the configuration is not as luxurious as the one Lin Lixin made for Hans Zimmer, the scale is much more impressive.
Because it's just too big.
"We have our own sophisticated acoustic library, Lin, these are treasures that money can't buy."
Noticing Lin Lixin's surprise, Lucas straightened his back a bit.
If I could surprise him, then all my efforts weren't in vain.
He approached an engineer.
"We need the sound of waves crashing against the ship's hull."
"What kind of ship?" "A... a wooden merchant ship of the East India Company Uncharted Waters, with a hull made of oak and pine, thick planks, and baked."
"I see..."
The engineer nodded briefly, put the monitoring headphones aside, and led the two men to the next room.
How large is the volume of a sound?
In this era where digitalization is not yet widespread, its size is larger than that of a library.
The walls are very thick and covered with sound-absorbing material.
As soon as I stepped into the room, it felt like even the ambient noise had completely disappeared.
Let alone hearing it, just standing there made Lin Lixin feel a tingling sensation all over his body.
Rows of cabinets extend from the floor to the ceiling, accessible by escalator.
Like a library, everything here is neatly organized by category.
These are not books.
Instead... magnetic tapes. A large number of DAT-format digital recording tapes, and all sorts of strange and unusual storage media used for different needs.
Of course, CDs were also indispensable.
Each cassette tape was covered with densely written archival information.
The engineer opened the thick paper catalog, quickly flipped through a few pages following the instructions, and then started looking for something on the shelf.
Before long, they found several cassette tapes.
Real ocean waves, breakwater sounds, and beach sounds sampled from the seaside...
The second sample features the wooden structures of the old dock and wooden pier.
A stack of tapes, none of which perfectly met their needs, but with clever mixing and editing, they were enough to fool the ear.