Game Narrative

On a more serious note, here is an article on Gamasutra.com that discusses the use of narrative as an element in video games. It tackles the oft-considered but rarely tackled subject of narrative application in game. Justin Marks is right on a lot of issues here, essentially saying that there is no reason that as the primary character in the games has no real effects on the game world itself. Mentioning the narrative limitations of GTAIV, Marks states, "It's no longer acceptable that we can take our girlfriend on a date and never once have her mention the fact that we're carrying a missile launcher by our side" (a similar topic is well-mocked by Penny Arcade). I agree wholeheartedly. There is no reason with today's hardware sophistication that we cannot have our girlfriend notice the rocket launcher in the game.

I do disagree a bit with Marks when he states that "Even better story is not the answer. That's been a symptom recently too - bringing on high end screenwriters to punch up dialogue, as if that had anything to do with the game's playability. An "Oscar-caliber" plot is still going to be skipped over if it doesn't augment gameplay". It's not a matter of well-done plot-based narratives in games just cultivating the belief that games are a subset of Hollywood. For some games, an interactive story fits well into the design of the game (e.g. Bioshock or Oblivion)This is a misinterpretation of that medium that is unjust and if not fixed could lead to the downfall of the industry. The issue here is the integration of the narrative elements into the game's design. Story is often secondary to the design of a game, which makes sense from a certain standpoint. Get the game's elements down, then move forward with creating a story and a script.

For true growth, high-quality stories and scripts must be better combined with the artificial world's interactive nature, allowing the game's world to change with the player's actions through his/her avatar. I understand that this will add a lot of work on the developer's side for storyline integration, but I know that it is possible. However, it requires a different approach to the game's design from the get-go. Perhaps designers will take this concept to heart in the near future. The hardware capabilities are there, it's just a matter of time and ingenuity.

A few games have already applied some of this into their design successfully. The RPG genre tends to show the most promise in this arena. Star Wars: KOTOR II, for example.