Difference between revisions of "Hurry Up!"

Revision as of 04:07, 25 May 2012

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Synopsis

Relationships

Context:
Emotional Script , Awareness , Window of Opportunity .
May relate to:
Imminent Death .
Often uses:
Sound Effects , Music , Entrainment .

Description

The urge to complete some goal is usually supported by sound. Considering that time is the dimension that needs to be emphasized in these scenarios, common solutions involve augmenting the perception of time ticking or accelerating some sort of pulse, in a tentative to induce arousal through Entrainment. Intense and accelerated Music is also a common ingredient. Hurry Up! should contribute to the Emotional Script.

Hurry Up! is closely related to Window of Opportunity in the sense that they both call for urgent acting. Yet they fit different gameplay situations. Whilst a Window of Opportunity may or may not be explored (it may even concur with a major goal), the case in Hurry Up! implies timely completing the goal to succeed.

It is common that the pulses used during Hurry Up! to elicit the sense of urge through Entrainment resemble the Heartbeat.

Examples

Katamari Forever: Quests are explicitly time based and consist of collecting as much items as possible. When closer to the given time an alarm-like Sound Effect augments the Awareness for the pertinence of making the best out of the remaining time.

Assassin's Creed 2: Ezio has to activate a lever to open a remote door through which he will have to pass in order to proceed. The fact that a ticking sound starts to be heard is easily recognizable as an indicator that that door will be open only for a limited amount of time.

Tomb Raider Underworld: The astonishing Foley of the scenario falling apart, a very loud alarm, the Dialogue from a repeating voiced message, and a overwhelming Music, are elements of a composition that leads the player to urge to the exit. Interestingly enough, [SHOW SPOILER] this is not an actual time dependent quest [pending: double check this]; that is to say, nothing would happen if the player did not urge – which even puts more merit on sound design, that provides such illusion .

Buzz! Brain of the World: Timed answers are signalled by an Heartbeat with increasing beating.

Far Cry 2: Hurry Up! is found in association with Imminent Death. When facing such situation, the PC has a limited amount of time to perform some self-healing action. In this case the Heartbeat (along with visual cues) is used to signal the emergency.