Ninja Gaiden Intro

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about the differences in design pertaining to flash games versus console games. This brought a new thought to my mind that I’m rather surprised hasn’t hit me until now; why don’t more flash games have cut scenes? Movie intros to games help set a mood, entertain the player before they even start playing, and give the player a feel for what’s to come. For a minimal amount of work, a significant increase in value can be added. I’ve spoken of the importance of plot, and it’s simple intros like these that can achieve the desired story telling effect.

Cut scenes have been in games since the NES, even earlier if you count the character intros and instruction demos arcade classics such as Pac Man had to offer. The NES had what I would say is the closest style of cut scene that a flash game should offer. Games such as Ninja Gaiden 1 had very simple cut scenes, but they really added to the game. They weren’t complex, the animations were minimal, but they got a point across and they looked pretty good too. Other NES titles that had incredibly short, minimal animation intros include, but are not limited to, Little Nemo: The Dream Master, Ninja Turtles, Blaster Master, Night Shade, and so on. All of these games were excellent, and those quick intros and mid game cute scenes really added to the game, whether the player noticed it or not.

So why haven’t developers been adding cut scenes? First and foremost, I think the biggest reason is that it just hasn’t been a custom in flash games yet. People aren’t leaving them out on purpose, they’re simply not thinking to add them at all. When is the last time you developed a game and planned out mini cut scenes for a game that wasn’t an RPG? I’m sure a select few of you can give an example where you did, but I’m guessing that most would say you haven’t ever, I know I haven’t. Another reason to leave them out of the plan is that they do require a bit of work, nothing significant, but nothing that isn’t going to add a few hours to the production time; for what it’s worth though, those extra hours will go a long way. The last reason I can think of to leave them out, is due to a players patience. Most players click through instructions because they just want to get in and play, cut scenes would delay how quick players could jump into the action. A solution to this however is to make a button that allows the player to skip the cut scene if they so choose, simple, yet effective solution.

There you have it, yet another way to increase the value of your flash games. It’s not rocket science, but I’m sure we can all name a few games that left out cut scenes that shouldn’t have. I remind you that this in fact a generalization, there have been games that follow my above thoughts in every possible way, Hero’s Arms being a perfect example of such a game. If you’re looking to add a bit of value to your games and haven’t been adding cut scenes, you know what to do, get on it.