How Videogames are a form of story telling
When videogames first came out, they were just that a game, a dot going back and forth across the screen, then slowly over time you had racing games, then fighting games, and as the years went on, not only did the mechanics for the games improve, but so did the ability for story telling as well.
Some of the oldest games I played that I still remember fondly, that was amazing at telling stories, was one of Japanese horror classics, Fatal Frame series, not only was it packed with ghosts, levels, puzzles, and mystery, but at its core, was a story centered around family. In the first game, you had Miku Hinasaki, who was looking for her brother, Mafuyu who went missing in the Himuro mansion. In Fatal Frame 2, you had Mio Amakura was looking for her sister Mayu, who went missing in, The Lost Village. Fatal Frame 3, you had, Rei Kurosawa, who was searching for her dead lover, Yuu Asou, in The Manor of Sleep. All of them centered around family.
The Last of Us, also was about family, and survival. Showing Joel on his journey with Ellie, through the states, fighting off the infected, showing both of their lives, how in the beginning Joel lost his daughter, and how Ellie lost her friend Riley. How them losing people that they loved, changed and shaped them as a person, showing how they were before the outbreak, and showing how they were following the aftermath of the outbreak. It wasn’t just a zombie game, it was a game, that showed the story of two people, whose lives were greatly affected, and shaped of the outbreak, Joel and Ellie, both having to rely and depend on each other, slowly over time, becoming each other’s family. They both lost someone they cared for, and loved, by the end of the game, they cared for, and loved each other.
Life is Strange, it Centered around Max and Chloe, their friendship, and them finding out what happened to Chloe’s ex-girlfriend Rachel. It was a mixture of sci-fi, mystery, friendship, and love. It showed how Max was forced to grow, change, and get out of her comfort zone, her going back in time, over and over again, trying to save Chloe from dying multiple times, her discovering how Rachel was murdered. It showed all the people in Max’s and Chloe’s lives throughout the game, from small moments to major ones. In the end of the game, it showed Max sacrificing Chloe, in order to save the town, going all the way back in time, to the beginning, where it all started, and letting Chloe die.
Final Fantasy X-2, centered around the theme of friendship, and lost love, it followed Yuna, Rikku, and Paine, as they traveled together around Spira, hunting and looking for Spere’s, also while Yuna researches and looks for her lost love, Tidus. It shows the three of them traveling together, making new friends, going to new places, while it shows parts of their lives, and how they ended up as Sphere hunters, what motivated them, also showing there contrasting personalities.
Xenosaga, centered around friendship, lost love, sci-fi, action adventure, and religious themes. The series followed, Shion, KOS-MOS, Alien, Momo, Jr, Choas, Ziggy, as they traveled together, fighting off the alien lifeforms known as the Gnosis. While they fight off the Gnosis, they travel and search for the lost artifact called the, Zohar. As the story progresses, it shows the past of the characters, what motivates them, and how they ended up where they are, also showing their friends and family at different points throughout the game.
.hack//(Series), followed the characters Kite and Haseo on their jounery inside the video game, “The World”, as they work to discover what’s behind the infections, the game breaking down, and people falling into coma’s back in the real world. Kite was in the games, .hack//Infection,. hack// Mutation, .hack// Outbreak, and .hack// Quarantine. While Haseo was in a separate series, .hack//G.U Vol 1. Rebirth, .hack//G.U Vol 2. Reminisce, and .hack//G.U Vol 3. Redemption. The games had there separate plots, separate characters, and worlds, but based on the concept of, “The World”, the videogame, and the game breaking down, it was based off the anime, .hack//Sign.
Tomb Raider Legend, was centered around Lara Croft, trying to find out what happened to her mother, throughout the game, you follow Lara, as she goes through tombs, and researches and discovers the truth of what happened to her mother. She also comes across her old friend Amanda, who, she soon realizes, that they both drifted apart, no longer friends, and are now enemies.
Conclusion:
Videogames are no longer just games, a pass the time, they are art, a medium to tell, and show a story, character development, friendships, fall outs, family, love, hatred, honor, loyalty, betrayal, history of the main plot, back stories of the characters, showing their motives, and how they came to be in the present time, how their past changed and shaped them. Or jumping years into the future instead. My point is this, videogames are just as valid as books, movies and films, when it comes to storytelling. Videogames are no longer just a way to pass the time, but a way to tell stories. ❤
