Narrative
The majority of mainstream computer games have strong
narrative elements and through this created many new genres. Most popular games
have a linear storyline however will have a broken narrative where an optional
or bonus level will exist which perhaps isn’t very important to the story line.
In some games , peoples actions can
directly affect the story line.
Generally the structure to a game will follow a basic story
arch. For games to be popular and immersive they cannot follow the same story
structures to films, novels or television series. They can be similar in terms
of following a hero’s journey, where the protagonist will suffer some sort of
loss, making them relatable and fragile. This loss could be in the form of many
things for example loss of freedom: In Portal (game produced by Valve released
in 2007) the protagonist Chell wakes up in a facility and is ‘tested’ without
an option to leave; A friend, family member or love interest being kidnapped –
There are many examples of this scenario, the most obvious is the Super Mario
franchise where princess Peach is kidnapped. A hero’s journey often follows the
story arch of suffering a loss and the protagonist overcoming and growing.
Again this scenario surfaces in many forms as they can physically change in
order to achieve the resolution or have to grow mentally and learn. A good example
of this is heavy rain (Psychological Thriller game released on Playstation 3 by
Quantic dream in 2010), it is almost a murder mystery and the player, through
the characters, has to learn and find clues to discover the killer. The last
stage in this story arc is the resolution, where the protagonist will use their
new skills and overcome their suffering or retrieve the loss.
Here is the ‘classic 8-point story arc’ as voted by GamingLives
gaming blog:
1. Stasis
2. Trigger
3. The Quest
4. Surprise
5. Critical Choice
6. Climax
7. Reversal
8. Resolution
As these may not automatically seem to relate putting it
into another form : Once upon a time there was ___.
Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until
finally ___.’ This definitely makes the story
arc more clear.
Following this
rule it is easy to see that is a common basis for many story lines for games,
movies, novels and television series. Especially more linear games where the
player cannot meander from the main storyline and although there is an illusion of freedom there are there is one
sequence of scenarios that the player has to follow in order to progress
through the game. A game where the player cannot control where they are going
but only their actions (like shooting) is referred to as ‘On Rails’. An example
of this is Time Crisis (a light shooter arcade game released by Namco in 1995) where
walking around is not a mechanic option in the game, it follows ‘rails’ once a
level is completed.
Games can only
have a similar story arc to movies, novels and television, not exactly the same
because of the interactive element to the medium. It needs to be stimulating in
a different way whilst following a parallel story arc. For example a movie will
be only one or two hours long whereas a game will have a lot more. Therefore
the elements to the story arc will need to be stretched, mostly the hero’s
development and growth. Also where films can concentrate on character
development games would be a little boring if this happened in the same way, as
players can get to know and relate to characters as they play and grow with
them during their time of crisis. Games will often have a short cut scene at
the beginning of the game setting the scene and introducing the characters. For
example is: Jak and Daxter: The precursor Legacy (released on Playstation 1 by
Naughty Dog in 2001), the first cut scene explains the problem or loss already
occurred and the game play and story line consists of working towards the
resolution. However in the form of a movie it would be a little tedious.
Therefore games can follow a similar story arc to other mediums however they
have to be executed in an entirely different way in terms of time lapse. The
game Portal was lightly based on a film called A Space Odyssey 2001. In the
movie there is a small introduction with the protagonist and enemy, it slowly
delves into the problem of the computer taking away the freedom of the
astronauts, then the resolving and final confrontation is quick, whereas in the
game, it could be said that the whole game is the resolving of the problem and
also has a quick confrontation at the end. So the arc is pretty much the same
but the time is which they take to happen is very different. So although the
story is the same (bar the acid trip at the end) it is executed different over
different mediums.
http://www.gaminglives.com/2012/12/28/best-of-2012-10-games-and-their-classic-8-point-story-arcs/
[16/05/2013]
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