S3: Place for Respite
Wolfenstein: The New Colossus provides a welcome place for respite amidst the chaos and violence.
"My Garden" by tsbl2000 is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
Wolfenstein: The New Colossus, released 2017, Developed by Machine Games, available on PC, consoles, and Switch. You engage in gun-based combat through a first-person perspective.
I slam down the trigger to send bullets directly into the torso of a Nazi patrol, then sprint right to avoid the flamethrower of a large cyborg monstrosity. Grenades follow me and explode mere moments after I sprint forward. I leap, and smash, and shoot, for what seems like an eternity, when finally silence graces my ears.
I gather ammo and take care of my wounds, still not confident that the fight is indeed over, or even paused, for now. I just refuse to be caught unprepared. After a short period, the rebellion’s helicopter lands. I jump on board, still not certain I am safe. Finally, we land on the deck of our submarine and are lowered into the belly of the launch bay. As the doors above my head thunder to a close and the klaxon warning that we are submerging rings, I smile and exhale.
I’m home. I’m safe.
On the surface, Wolfenstein: The New Colossus appears to be a mindless, adrenaline soaked violence simulation. It is a first person shooter’s first person shooter! But, the game includes a Place for Respite in between these levels. The rebellion’s submarine is filled with work spaces, a bar where soldiers commiserate after their shifts, and the bunks where these desperate people carve out a private space to call home.
The thesis of this blog is that great games have One Cool Thing that is so interesting it could be tied to any game. Rarely is a post built on such a firm foundation as this. Since I noticed this in The New Colossus, I have enjoyed experiencing it in Sindri’s home (God of War: Ragnorok), the family’s home (Children of Morta), the whaling ship (Dishonored 2), the House of Hades (Hades), the police station (Astral Chain), the small town (Hollow Knight), the command ship (Helldivers), and countless others.
Note: If I made a The Coolest Things Pantheon, it would include Place for Respite alongside Personnel Progression. Maybe a good post after Season 5 (my target for 2023)?
The Place for Respite is so absurdly valuable to the experience because it delivers emotional experiences, brings the menu to life, and is a player-driven pacing agent. Let’s quickly explore each of these claims.
Achieving victory is perhaps the most classic motivation for play, but it is a fleeting reward. You’re only as good as your next game or even the next level. Adding emotional stakes, like saving another character, or growing as a character, are a great way to add a more persistent layer of richness. Letting the player experience these stakes in an interactive setting, like taking notes in class, is the best way to really enshrine it in memory.
In Wolfenstein, you return from missions where you could have died, and get to share a quiet moment with your pregnant girlfriend, Anya. After saving a group of rebels from New York, you see them wandering about, laughing, mixing with the crew, and operating a new radio center to gather signals intelligence. As you eliminate Nazi officials, you see the board updated, recognizing your progress.
The submarine acts as an interactive emotional sauna, like Disneyland, but with feelings. It reminds you of why you’re fighting and provides opportunities for levity and human sentiment. One of my favorite movies is Saving Private Ryan. The scene just before the final battle where they share stories of home and Private Ryan shares the anecdote about his brother in the barn is a favorite movie moment for me. But also, it’s an emotional place for respite in the middle of hell.
The place for respite also brings the menu to life. In so many games, for so long, you upgrade your character by assigning points in a pop-up dialog (World of Warcraft skills), craft potions in a menu (The Witcher 3), or head to the main menu to check your accomplishments (Xbox Achievements). It is all rather clinical.
While it is technically less efficient (i.e. walking to a character to engage versus opening a menu takes longer). it works, because the core interaction of the game shifts momentarily. For example, in Wolfenstein, the core interaction is shooting Nazis on combat missions. In the absence of aiming, shooting, sprinting, looking for secrets, and lobbing grenades, I need something to do. Therefore, it makes sense that I am now walking around, talking, examining areas peacefully, overhearing conversation, and yes, enhancing my character.
In Astral Chain, you head downstairs to the R&D lab to talk to the nerds about upgrading your weapons. It makes sense fictionally and builds a moment around an otherwise mindless choice. In Elden Ring, you incrementally learn more about the characters offering their wares. Instead of never-ending exposition, or being overwhelmed, you’re slowly brought forward while taking care of housekeeping.
A strong narrative is an incredible way to push players forward, to have them engage with your mechanisms and continue playing. Buttons cannot talk, and pop-up menus are not deserving of empathy. Characters can, and are, and can serve the role of the buttons with a bit more panache.
Finally, the place for respite provides a player-driven pacing agent. It’s in the title, for starters: respite, in stark contrast to the intensity of the typical moments in Wolfenstein. But, the submarine does more than provide a momentary pause, like the one you find in The Last of Us when you encounter an empty set of buildings. It gives you agency on when to resume.
There are many ways to take advantage of this, but the submarine provides several great examples. When you eliminate certain Nazi soldiers, you earn enigma codes. You can use them to engage in a decoding mini-game that unlocks newer levels with rewards. You can also practice with different weapons at the shooting range to improve your skills and re-supply for the next mission.
There are characters throughout the submarine with whom you can converse to learn about tasks you can satisfy. Engaging in the conversation is a fun moment-to-moment interactive experience (that is different from combat). Furthermore, it ties into the overall game, in that you soon discover additional things to do and see while in your missions. Finally, it provides compelling motivations in the form of rewards, weaponry, and an emotional connection with other characters.
Other games give you time to engage in lore, such as reading books you’ve found, watching television in the game world, or listening to radio broadcasts.
The Place for Respite brings all of the disparate elements of the experience into focus, into life, and makes them interactive. The pace of so many games and the complexity of interaction often makes it difficult to fully appreciate all of the amazing details contributing to the experience. Just as there is a place for adrenaline, even your alternate history super-soldiers appreciate a cup of coffee with a loved one. If a game is nothing but tension, there is no contrast. This calm moment of respite sets up the intensity in a much better way.
The One Cool Thing
As I said at the beginning, Place for Respite is such a valuable, flexible feature. I’ve been developing games professionally so long that it’s difficult to stop my brain from beginning feature cost-benefit analysis. But, this is one where I think the value is incredibly high.
It serves so many purposes and is such a flexible vessel. The fact that I’ve seen it in shooters, rogue-likes, action games, and RPGs alike tells me that I’m basically recognizing something so many people already knew: people, even gamers, love having a home to return to.
Season 3 Finale
Each season of Play Kaizen includes six posts. Five posts cover One Cool Thing from five different video games. The sixth - which is the next post - is a new game pitch that incorporates all of the One Cool Things. Catch up on Season 3 using these links!
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons: Non-Verbal Narrative
What Remains of Edith Finch: Recurring Emotion
Tales of Arise: Modernized Heartbeat
Olli Olli World: Vibes Evangelist
Wolfenstein: The New Colossus: Place for Respite
I will also share the five games about which I’m writing in Season 4.
Edited by Joshua Buergel
Experiencing a real appreciation for Place of Respite in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice right now. It actually has two such mechanisms, the Dilapitated Temple where you acquire most of your weapon upgrades, and the Buddha Idols which serve as checkpoints and places to level up/acquire skills. You get small moments of reprieve and recharge your healing items at the idols in between stealth sections and intense combat sequences, and every once in a while go back to the temple to catch up with NPCs, get new toys, and practice your fighting techniques. It’s a challenging game and I appreciate that the game is equally generous with moments of peace and growth.
Yes! I think that leaning into this experience intentionally is so valuable. We aren’t just creating a hub space, we are creating a place for respite. Moves it from what we are making to what value it gives.
On the first day of Destiny 2’s release I stayed up late with a best friend and we began our campaign against Dominus Ghaul’s legions, all to protect the Last City of Earth. The last bastion of humanity’s light in the universe.
With our usual hub space from Destiny 1—The Tower—destroyed by Ghaul’s vicious sneak attack, we had to retreat to the European Dead Zone to a simple makeshift outpost called simply—The Farm.
And as the sun rose on my real day in San Francisco—hundreds of miles from my best friend—It rose too on The Farm in the European Dead Zone. I sat my character down in a relaxed pose, weary from the fighting. Weary from it all.
They…no I think We stared off into the horizon and I think for a moment we both considered—
I wonder what happens next?
I wonder how far we’ll go?
Not just in my and my Hunter’s battle to defend the Last City of Humanity.
But in all our pursuits to nurture, grow and protect the First Planet of Humanity.
To ensure that our First Planet does not indeed become a Last City.
Thank you Grant. These are inspirational.