The protagonist of Dead Rising (2006, Capcom) is a freelance photographer and photojournalist who has covered many world events, wars, and other big stories. Looking for the next big scoop, he stumbles onto some strange events happening in a small town.
Most of the time, the player experiences a game through four specific moments which can be broken down into stages such as for sleep : drowsiness, rapid eye movement, etc. except that in this case they're not necessarily consecutive,
- Contemplation : observing the graphics, the animation, some details,
- Raw play : to spend time, practicing with no real care,
- Precise play : in the old days, people would say "this time, I'll complete it (without using any continue)",
- Failure : hang on and start over.
In Dead Rising (2006, Capcom), these phases are exhibited in four gameplay ideas :
- The photo camera stands for the contemplation part,
- The beat'em up stands for the raw play part,
- The rescuing stands for the precise play part,
- The new game + stands for the failure part.
But how this ideas serve the scenario ?
- The photo camera (contemplation) insists on the very details of a jostled existence, loss of a child, dementia, facial disfigurement, etc. Being interested in capturing these moments makes earn points,
- The beat'em up (raw play) invokes the overwhelming power of sheer number. By randomly assigning the moves (lariat, hammer throw, etc.) that might benefit the hero and help him get out of difficult situations, the game presents itself as much crueler than fate. The player then understands that many survivors, unlike the character he controls, have been killed (or zombified) for the simple reason they weren't blessed with such (even though completely randomly assigned) abilities. It reassesses the importance of the luck factor in a worst case scenario : being in the wrong place at the wrong time becomes not having the appropriate move at the right time,
- The rescuing (precise play) needs a lot of preparation (appropriate items), knowledge (map, events), attention (skill), for the sole purpose of saving one life or two from a certain death. When carrying someone, most of the abilities become inaccessible, making the trip more stressful. It's a clever way to make the player feel how much dedication are required to preserve someone else's life,
- The new game + (failure) remixes Game Over. Just by including one dimension, the temporality, chaos is generated. The game offers a high incentive to start again from the very beginning (experience and skills are saved), every time the player loses. But it becomes clear that repeating exactly the series of scripted events (unfolding the story) which occured before the player died/failed is nearly impossible, not because events are randomly generated, but because they're precisely timed. Reaching a place one second later than during the previous walkthrough is enough to change the perception the player has of the story irremediably. This fits into the theme of this small town, Willamette, and its familiarity suddenly and constantly redefined for his inhabitants, as much as it, constantly, is for the player.
Dead Rising had and still has (a HD remaster being available now) this very rare ludonarrative harmony.
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