The Case for Photojournalism in Elite Dangerous: Lessons from Gaming Success Stories

[gorgofdoom]

Integrating photojournalism into Elite Dangerous could revolutionize the way players engage with its vast and visually stunning universe. By drawing inspiration from successful implementations of similar features in other games, such as Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Pokémon Snap, Frontier Developments can create an innovative and deeply rewarding experience.

Enhanced Immersion and Storytelling​

Photojournalism has proven to be a powerful tool for enhancing immersion and storytelling in games. In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the in-game Sheikah Slate allows players to photograph wildlife, landscapes, and enemies, creating a personal record of their journey. This feature not only adds a layer of interaction but also deepens the player’s connection to the game world. Similarly, Elite Dangerous could offer tools for players to document celestial phenomena, alien lifeforms, or the remnants of ancient civilizations, adding narrative depth to exploration and discovery.

Community Building and Social Engagement​

Nintendo’s Pokémon Snap, a game centered entirely on photography, demonstrates how photojournalism can build community and foster social engagement. Players share their best shots, compete for high scores, and engage in discussions about their photographic achievements. By implementing an in-game gallery or online sharing platform, Elite Dangerous could allow players to showcase their best captures, host photography contests, and create collaborative projects. This could deepen community bonds and encourage creative expression.

Expanding Gameplay Opportunities​

The introduction of photography mechanics in Super Mario Odyssey showcases how photojournalism can become an engaging gameplay element. The game’s Snapshot Mode encourages players to pause and frame their adventures creatively, which adds a layer of exploration and fun. In Elite Dangerous, missions could be designed to reward players for photographing rare stellar events, alien encounters, or high-risk zones, encouraging players to explore every corner of the galaxy with a purpose.

A New Appreciation for Visual Design​

Games like No Man’s Sky and Microsoft Flight Simulator have also benefited from the inclusion of photography mechanics. Players in these games often take time to capture and share stunning landscapes and moments, celebrating the developers' artistic achievements. A photojournalism feature in Elite Dangerous would serve a similar purpose, encouraging players to admire the intricate designs of space stations, planetary surfaces, and nebulae while sharing their appreciation with the community.

Conclusion​

By incorporating photojournalism, Elite Dangerous could capitalize on proven strategies from games like Breath of the Wild, Pokémon Snap, and No Man’s Sky to enhance storytelling, community engagement, and gameplay depth. It would offer players a new lens through which to view the galaxy, transforming exploration into a creative and immersive endeavor. With photojournalism, the universe of Elite Dangerous could become not just a playground for adventurers but a canvas for storytellers and artists alike.

 

[Lhorndra]

What exactly do you mean by "photojournalism"? Is it just a fancy word for "being able to make screenshots and posting them online", or is it something different?

Similarly, Elite Dangerous could offer tools for players to document celestial phenomena, alien lifeforms, or the remnants of ancient civilizations, adding narrative depth to exploration and discovery.

Soooooo, like hitting F10 in-game? And, maybe having e.g. EDDiscovery converting every picture to whatever format you prefer on the fly in the background?

By implementing an in-game gallery or online sharing platform

An online sharing platform like this? Or like this?

Elite Dangerous could allow players to showcase their best captures, host photography contests, and create collaborative projects. This could deepen community bonds and encourage creative expression.

Photography contests like this?

and create collaborative projects.

Collaborative projects like this?

Players in these games often take time to capture and share stunning landscapes and moments, celebrating the developers' artistic achievements.

So you mean that players of Elite Dangerous do not celebrate stunning moments? Not here, or here, or here?

It would offer players a new lens

A new lens that's capable of focussing, zooming, blurring like the in-game camera?

I'm sorry for being overly sarcastic, but unless we both mean something completely different, practically everything you mentioned already exists.

 

[Frankymole]

Soooooo, like hitting F10 in-game? And, maybe having e.g. EDDiscovery converting every picture to whatever format you prefer on the fly in the background?

Sounds more like a fan wiki or the Codex if it worked properly!

 

[gorgofdoom]

What exactly do you mean by "photojournalism"? Is it just a fancy word for "being able to make screenshots and posting them online", or is it something different?


Soooooo, like hitting F10 in-game? And, maybe having e.g. EDDiscovery converting every picture to whatever format you prefer on the fly in the background?


An online sharing platform like this? Or like this?


Photography contests like this?


Collaborative projects like this?


So you mean that players of Elite Dangerous do not celebrate stunning moments? Not here, or here, or here?


A new lens that's capable of focussing, zooming, blurring like the in-game camera?

I'm sorry for being overly sarcastic, but unless we both mean something completely different, practically everything you mentioned already exists.

In so many forms, they do exist, and this is supporting foundation for what i'm proposing. None of this community interaction is really represented or rewarded in the game itself. We have several youtubers who create news-like content for ED. They do it because it entertains them to entertain others.

Imagine commanders are represented in the actual game like galnet is, able to upload media or written content for other players to vote upon like reddit. Imagine you could get paid for taking screenshots in certain context, IE in the same instance as a first footfall or first scan of an exobio. Imagine you can be a journalist, attend happenings in the game universe, and get rewarded by the community for distributing cool stories.

Fdev could use this content to promote their game-- like Nintendo & several others do.

You can take a screenshot in any game an post it to another service. It's not particularly remarkable. I'm suggesting ED have it's own in-universe community hub and encourage generating content with in-game rewards.

Not to sound harsh but ED is an MMORPG with an emphasis on deep exploration where the only way to share about the game, in the game, is with wonky Voip or the nearly useless text box. It's one thing they could maybe improve the most.

 

[Rubbernuke]

Didn't older Elite games have spy missions to photograph things?

But then we have Stellar Screenshots.

 

[Ozric]

I'm closing this as the OP is clearly in breach of the forum rules on AI generated content.

If you want to get paid for taking screenshots then I suggest you look at Frontier's partnership with Just About

Elite Dangerous | Just About Announcement

Hey Commanders, we’ve got something special for you! We are delighted to announce that, together with Just About, we are launching Just About Elite Dangerous: bringing real-money rewards to the Elite Dangerous community for creating the best content and conversation on the internet. Through...

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