Week 10 - Game Stories - Narrative

Game Stories - Narrative

Narrative is often neglected in games that seemingly need a story to drive the player forward. There are reasons that games like these fail worse than games that might not even have a story at all.

Narrative creates the world of which the games will take place in and within this world, we see characters grow, worlds change, and story take stage. Without narrative, there's nothing that can drive the player to play, the world to change, etc.

The Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell is an example of a common narrative tool present in our world due to how applicable it is. The classic of a hero being called to action to a journey to defeat a great evil is almost omnipresent in media today. Of course there are variations of this classic motif but it serves as a great tool of which people can compare their own stories to as a means of reference.

The hero and villain are just characters in a story. Their impact to the world of the story and to its people are all means of enhancing the world their in, so to draw the players in and immerse them in the game's world.

As listed in the article, heroes have the essential good traits while the villains are their complete opposite. The villain will serve as the driving force behind the hero's motivation to fulfill his destiny. This story structure is so easily understood and offers a lot of leeway for the story-writers to put in their own unique input.

For an example of the Hero's Journey applied implemented very well in the story, check out these episodes by Extra Credits on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWKKRbw-e4U - Part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVqT8s7bOTQ - Part 2

This game literally has the word 'Journey' as the title.
It also follows the Hero's Journey formula pretty well
while implementing their own take to its formula.

Narrative isn't just dialogue or something trivial to the game's progression. It is an essential tool to create a cohesive and rich world of which the player can play in and experience. Without story, games will be just a shell with a few interactive buttons to play with.

Here's an example of an story that is told by merely the context of the game and the player's assumptions of which both creates a natural narrative in their minds:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQJA5YjvHDU - 

Narrative Mechanics - How Missile Command Tells a Story - Extra Credits