Game Magazine Article
Forms of Storytelling
Within the modern video games, there are several forms of storytelling, such as:
- Narration, where an anonymous and omnipotent being dictates all series of major events or dialogs to the player.
- In-game character dialogs, where the player can talk to an NPC within a game, and they will tell the player about the main story arc of the game, and may emphasize a particularly relevant point.
- In-game cut-scenes, where there will be no interaction by the player, although they may be present, and events or pre-determined dialog between characters can occur, evolving the story line however the game is designed to.
There are many more, however these are the most commonly used methods and forms of telling a story within games.
Although this may initially seem like a rather pointless and vain feature of a game, when looked at in more depth, one can begin to see exactly why game developers put so much time and effort into deciding which forms of storytelling to use. For example, if an unseen third party NPC dictates the story of a game from behind the camera, then the players’ thoughts will usually differ from thoughts that they would have if the primary method of evolving the story is by in-game dialogs. Take a generic war game – If the story is told by a third party who is not involved in the war, then he/she would most likely not show a biased opinion towards the opposing factions, therefore not implanting any favouritism into the player. However, if the story was told by the General of one faction, then he would be incredibly biased towards his own team, which would influence the player to see him in a lighter shade. With subtle influences like those, game developers can quite easily manipulate the emotional themes of games, to suit how they think the game would best be suited to play. As well as using the forms of storytelling to manipulate the emotional themes, game developers also use them to aide in player choice, as the players’ opinions of the characters and events within a story will have an effect on how he makes decisions. If we use our generic war scenario again, then you can clearly see a perfect example of how player choice can be affected. So imagine a scenario in which the player is left with a choice of whether to kill a member of the opposing faction, or let him live. If his mind has been polluted by unfair biases, then he is a lot more likely to kill him, but if his thoughts have remained neutral, then he may let the person live.
As you can see, the form of storytelling can have a much greater effect of a game then it first appears.
Genre
When people hear the word “genre”, they usually think of things like science fiction, or action. Although they are correct to do so, many people forget that there is a completely other side of genre, at least for games. This includes things such as First Person Shoots, Role Playing Games, amongst many others. Because of this secondary type of genre, which is by no means any less significant, there are countless varieties of how two games could be, even if they are identical when broken down to their most basic forms.
Although pretty much all aspects of a game are affected by the genres, there are two which are affected more than the others: the emotional themes, and then in turn, the environment. This is because as the genre changes, usually so does the general style of the game. For example, the environment of a thriller/horror first person shooter action game would be a lot darker and grittier then that of a comedy role playing game. This is because in most games, the environment is supposed to act as a reflection of the most powerful emotion that is intended to be felt at any particular point in a game. So if a main character, who the player had formed an emotional connection with, dies, then the environment will most likely be one which suggests a quite depressing theme, such as a dark hallway, or the depths of a jungle with no help for hundreds of miles.
Something that a lot of game have done over the course of history is mix several genres together, to try and get the most out of any game. Although this can be a good technique, I personally think that game developers have to get it absolutely perfect for it to work well, otherwise you end up with a game that can’t make its mind up about what it wants to be, such as the Grand Theft Auto series. None of the games seem to know if they want to be a shooting game, a driving game, or a generic sandbox game with several mini games within it, and according to information posted on http://www.gameinformer.com (Bertz, 2012) about the much anticipated release of GTA V, my point will hold true even more so! A set of games that pulls of the multi genre feature rather successfully however, are the game in the Portal series, released by Valve. The game is primarily a puzzle based science fiction action game, and the gameplay is, although at times repetitive, constantly fun and exciting.
Genre can have a major influence on the way in which a story is told, or the form of storytelling. One reason for this, as I mentioned earlier, is because if the genre changes, usually the general style of the game and the gameplay do too, and with many games it’s vital that the method of storytelling matches the style of the game. For example, most FPS (first person shooter) games won’t have narration by an anonymous third party, but will usually rely on in-game cut-scenes and character dialogs to dictate the story. This is in contrast to many RPGs (role playing games), which quite often do have third party omnipotent characters who will at least narrate the introduction to the game.
Environment
In my opinion, one aspect which a lot of the general population of gamers overlook in today’s games, is the environments. One reason why I think this, is due to when I recently asked a friend of mine (who is a rather avid gamer) which aspect of games he values more, out of environments, dialog, and character detail. The thing that annoyed me, however, wasn’t that he answered with character detail, but more how he seemed to react when he heard that I was comparing the environment to character detail. He seemed disgusted, as if environments were just a minor aspect of a game! This really got to me, as environments within games are one of the most important aspects of all games! So why exactly do I think this? Well, in short, the environment of a game, or even a movie, is supposed to reflect and influence how a player/watcher perceives the overall story. Take the F.E.A.R series for example – The environment in these games is dark, damp, blood stained, and generally evil. This fits perfectly hand-in-hand with the rather scary storyline on the games, as well as the actual name of the game! The majority of the game environments are designed to inspire fear within the player throughout the game, from start to finish. For this reason, I think that environments should be more highly appreciated within the gaming world, since without them most games storylines perish.
In the world of gaming, there are two main types of environments; linear, and sandbox. Some people prefer one, others prefer the other, and some like both equally. I personally don’t have a preference, since I have played fantastic games from both categories. The only requirement that I have, is that a game must suit its game environment. The GTA series for example would never have achieved the success which it has if it was not a sandbox game, whereas the Portal game series would not have been anywhere near as successful as it has been if it did not have linear environments! An environmental technique that some games use is to incorporate both forms of environment into one game, depending on the situation. One game that does this well, is the Ultimate Spider-man game, released in late 2005. Most of the game is an open sandbox game where you can explore the city and do as you please, but there are select story missions where you have to follow a set path which if you stray from, you fail the mission. There are even parts of the game where you cannot stray form the path, and are confined to a single area, which expands, and shrinks as you make your way through the area.
Character Backstories
Character backstories can play a very important role within games, as they create the illusion of realism, which can immerse a player completely. This is semi-conditional of the character backstories being very in-depth, and consistent. If a character backstory has continuity errors, then it can completely ruin a character. If multiple characters backstories have continuity errors however, then it can ruin a game almost completely! In a lot of games, the character backstories are used as a way of helping the player empathize with the people who they meet within a game, which by default affects player choice. For example, in the game “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic”, at one point you are asked to torture a prisoner, and after playing around with various dialog options, you can hear his backstory. After continuing to play around with more dialog options, you can either help fake his death, so that he gets released, or you can continue to torture him to get the required information. After hearing what he has to say though, the player can empathizes with him a great deal!
Quite often in game I find that the environment and area which particular characters are found it, reflect their personalities and personas. This helps players deduce how a character is intended to be, regardless of how the player views them. A wonderful example of this, is in the game “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion” with a character called Lucien Lachance. He is the second in command of a group of evil assassins known as the Dark Brotherhood, and is located (for most of the game) in a dark, and broken castle, located in an isolated part of a forest. This isolation from the rest of society, in a dark broken castle reflects his partially broken humanity in a way which even when you work for him, reminds you to be cautious of him at all times. This link between character backstories/personalities and environments can go a long way in affecting how the player interacts with different characters in a game, which can in turn have an effect on the evolution of a story.
Emotional Themes
Emotional themes in a game are a wonderful way of keeping the story alive. To do this, many game developers will use a main emotional theme, such as fear, and then occasionally have sub-plots within the game which will have a slightly different theme, such as hope, in order diversify the emotion that players feel.
Game developers also use various emotional themes to draw players into the game, and provide a much more satisfying game play experience. To do this, developers usually try to use faster paced and exhilarating emotions in the introductions of games. The game “Fallout 3” does this pretty well by having you escape from an underground vault near the very start of the game, while being chased and shot at. The mental thrill of the possibility of being caught, or killed, releases endorphins in the brain, which causes the player to subconsciously be happy while playing the game, which in turn make them continuously come back for more and more. This is the same process which happens to adrenaline junkies when they are stupid enough to jump off of a bridge with a glorified elastic band attached to their ankles. (Kennedy, 2012)
Player Choice
As games have developed over the past few decades, player choice has grown and grown within the industry to a point that it is now a standard feature in many games. Out of all of the sections on the past three pages, this one has the greatest effect on gameplay experience in my opinion. This is because with a lot of more modern games, the player has the ability to alter the entire story of the game, which in turn usually affects how other characters act and react to the players actions, which again in turn alters how the play perceives the characters and environments.
I genuinely believe that player choice is one of the main contributing factors to the game industry booming so much over the past few years, as it not only makes many games more believable and realistic, but also engages the player in an entirely different way than games did beforehand. For example, several years ago, many action games just involved being given an objective, and completing it in a set and predetermined manor. Whereas nowadays if you’re given an objective in an action game, there may be several ways to accomplish it, and it will be up to the player to decide how they wish to go about doing so. So if they are given a task to assassinate somebody at a construction site, they might choose to go in with guns blazing, or they might decide to kill their target stealthily with a sniper rifle from afar, or they may even decide to cause an ‘un-scheduled demolition’ which the target just happens to get caught in. This revolution in gaming has allowed players to engage more of the cognitive part of the brain, which is never a bad thing really.
In short, all of these storytelling techniques play a major aspect in gameplay experience due to various intertwining links. These links allow the games to project more reality and realism, which in turn improves player experience by allowing the player to interact with the world around them in a much more active manor, thus allowing for a much more immersive storytelling.
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