Narrative and Story in Video Games
What is a story’s role within a video game? Is it a linear sequence of events like a movie or a book, or is it simply means to an end, where the player is rewarded? And how do narratives differ in their interaction? Some suggest that video games cannot contain narratives at all because of the strict definition and confining of the word ‘narrative’ to mean that of which can only be thrust upon, not engaged with. Some still suggest that presence of a story detracts from games and what games set out to do. Here I wish to respond and offer my own interpretation of what these terms mean in a video game setting.
In an essay entitled “Narrative Realities and Alternate Zombies” in the book “Play/Write,” author Jill Morris states “Your winning or losing does not change the overall narrative of the game, even if you are given the chance to ‘be there.’ Interactivity, therefore, keeps most games from being true narratives” (Morris 255). She then goes on to describe a constructed ARG (alternate reality game) in which her students participate in the writing process directly and impact the story through their actions. In this way, the players of the game are involved in constructing the narrative and interacting within the set environment. In my opinion, this does not nullify the existence of the narrative but in fact enhances it in a way that normal games do not have access to (thanks in most part to technological limitations). “Being there” makes all the difference in this case, as “being there” completely redefines the narrative being told.
Jan Simons, author of “Narrative, Games, and Theory” appears to agree in that this limited definition of a narrative is counterintuitive, saying “Probably because most games studies scholars have a background in literary studies and film studies, where narratological approaches enjoy a prominent status, some games studies scholars feel urged to demonstrate that games are not narratives. Unfortunately they choose to do so with arguments that are mainly derived from narrative theory itself, and thus firmly stay attached to the umbilical cord that keeps them tied to their parent discipline” (Simons). If a narrative deviates from the one intended by the author in terms of sequence or time, I fail to recognize how the specific playstyle of a game nullifies the existence of a narrative if it is, in fact, inventing a new narrative with each recurrent playthrough of a game. Nor does a player engaging in the present moment disrupt the past narrative. If the events within a game take place within the past, there is nothing preventing a player in the present world from engaging and operating in this past along with it, as the recognition of being in the present does not occur or matter to gamers who have wholly given in to interacting with the game on the game’s terms.
However, the narrative discussion can be set aside to instead open possibilities on story. In a particularly novel spectacle, Ian Bogost of the Atlantic calls for the end of stories in video games as we know it, claiming about Edith Finch “the story is entirely linear, and interacting with the environment only gets in the way, such as when a particularly dark hallway makes it unclear that the next scene is right around the corner. One answer could be cinema envy. The game industry has long dreamed of overtaking Hollywood to become the ‘medium of the 21st century’” (Bogost). One wonders in reading this article what Bogost’s ideal game would look like. He calls for games to be new and innovative in that they ought to be “the aesthetic form of everyday objects” without falling back on stories, yet one can’t help but think this person would be better suited to sticking with Pong if emotional engagement was such an affront. The implication appears to be that player interaction does not alter the perception of the story being told, and I wholly disagree with this. Even within “walking simulators” there is an element of interactivity that makes the story more deeply engaging in a way that affects perception. Put the same story on film and in a game and the same player will have two completely different reactions. Choices no longer seem so obvious, objectivity is lost when the “spectator” is the driver.
I would suggest that the story is not simply the sum of what its writers intended, especially within the realm of video games. A book cannot contain a story if it is not read, except existing vaguely on pages and within the author’s head. The only way to draw out a story from text is by interacting with the text. Without a mind to construct meaning, the text on its own means nothing. Louise Rosenblatt calls this “evocation” of meaning. In the same vein, it is the evocation within a video game by the active, engaged player that makes a story present. Video games also have the unique synthesis between player and character. While some appear to claim this interactivity makes the narrative null, I would argue that it is up to the player to allow the narrative to unfold. If I take my hands off of the controller, the character stops. The narrative behind the gameplay has ceased to develop, although perhaps one could say in the act of pausing I have written a pause into the narrative itself. This is a powerful relationship that allows gamers to delve into the body of a text more deeply than having words upon a page thrust at them for them to organize; in the act of gaming, one has formed a kinetic bond with what they control.
Because of this, I am of firm belief that the world of video games does not evade definitions of story and narrative. Redefining what these terms mean by introducing elements of interactivity and personal significance does not nullify the use of them, but instead broadens them. It is then a worthwhile pursuit to examine how story and narrative interact with video games, and the prospect of adding an entirely different realm to narratology ought to be an exciting endeavor. The division between spectator and driving force has been blurred, so as writers it is up to us to examine what implications this might have on the future of literature as we know it.
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Bogost, I. (2017, April 25). Video Games Are Better Without Stories. Retrieved September 18, 2017, from https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/04/video-games-stories/524148/#article-comments
Morris, J. (2016). Narrative Realities and Alternate Zombies. In Play/Write: Digital Rhetoric, Writing, Games (pp. 255–268). Anderson, SC: Parlor Press.
Simons, J. (2007). Narrative, Games, and Theory. Game Studies, 7(1). Retrieved September 18, 2017, from http://gamestudies.org/0701/articles/simons
