Immersed in Story
By Aryan Jain
A week ago I just finished playing the game The Last of Us: Part 2. By the end of the game I was so connected to the characters that it actually made me tear up by the ending of the game. This got me wondering why I was so emotionally attached to these fictitious characters in a video game with zombies in them. Just like for me games are an escape for millions of people throughout the world. With the gaming industry on a boom with no signs of stopping, we will look into why these games are so immersive and connect with their audience leaving an emotional bond by the end.
Before we get into the specifics of how games are creating an immersive environment for gamers throughout the world, I would like to begin with how I feel when I play a game. When I switch on my PS5 and the Playstation loading sound emerges it’s like an engine on a car starting that’s ready to take me to a different, new and undiscovered place. I connect my headphones to my controller and make sure the controller has complete charge, I sign into my account and choose the game I want to play. The game loading screen to me is like a traffic light, where the cars have to wait for a minute and then move on. After the game has loaded I enter a state of complete concentration where the gaming world is my world and the character is me trying to make the best in the world. While playing The Last of Us, it
being a game set in a world where zombies have taken over the world, I go into hyperfocus, I check every single drawer, cabinet and shelf there is for supplies that will help me survive this plague not only protecting me from zombies but also from other humans and starvation. I imagine myself as the main character who is actually stuck in that situation. With the introduction of side characters I start to build up a sense of responsibility towards them, that it is my job to protect them, having a sort of hero-complex. I get lost in a world where everything has gone bad and survival is the job of every single day. I forget about my actual worries like pending assignments or my day to day chores and create new worries of what ifs and hows that are related to the game. After a more than appreciated time of escapism I somehow force myself to leave this world of pure imagination and come back to the real world.
This was enough for my experience. Now let us get back to the topic in hand, why and how games are able to create an immersive and emotional connection with players.
Games have evolved from challenging-single player games like tetris or Ms Pacman to story indulging with 100+ hours of gameplay worth games that give players a chance to be in total control of what and how the character does like The Last of Us, Detroit Become Human, Ghost of Tshushima and God of War Ragnarock.
The interactive aspect is what distinguishes gaming storytelling from movies and books. Games require player interaction in comparison to passive forms of entertainment like movies or books. Players become essential to the plot as a result of this involvement, which acts as a trigger for emotional investment. A player’s experience in the game is made more distinctive and tailored by the choices they make, the routes they take, and the connections they establish there. The audience watches characters in traditional storytelling as they are faced with decisions and obstacles, whereas, individuals assume the roles of these characters in games, making choices that affect the plot’s course. This degree of agency creates a feeling of accountability and control over the narrative, strengthening the bond with the characters and their hardships. The emotional connections that players make in the virtual world deepen and last over time as they put more time and effort into it. Modern games are effectively able to bring in a wide range of emotions in their stories from joy or triumph to utter despair or grief. These emotional connections add to the player creating a connection with the main character, they believe that they are the main character and they are going through the emotions of the character in control. A perfect example of this could be Kratos from the God of War
series, he became a caring, collected and loving father from a rageful, angry and vengeful soldier who sought revenge. This development throughout the series shows maturity and growth in a character which allows the audience to connect on a personal level, they view his character development in comparison to their own. With the character growing players themselves feel like they are growing. Games like Detroit Become Human that is an all around user centric game requires the player to make major story altering decisions offering more than 85 different endings to the game that all depend on the actions of the game. This thereby builds up a guilty conscience in the player, that they are responsible for the actions that are taking place in the game, be it good or bad.
By embodying characters from different backgrounds, time-periods, cultures, circumstances, ideologies and so on, players experience life in a different perspective. The emotional connection does not end with the protagonist but also extends to the supporting characters. From characters like Atreus from the God of War series or Ellie from The Last of Us or Chloe Frazer from the Uncharted series players have built a deep connection with these characters that has an ever-lasting effect.
It also is extremely important to point out that along with impactful-immersive storytelling and well timed cutscenes, technology has played a crucial role in the development of user controlled entertainment. People in the 1980’s and 90’s saw gaming as just a medium of time pass and cure of boredom. With granny-pixelated character to loew graphic surroundings people just were not able to build an emotional connection. Development of the Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) allows for a smoother and more realistic environment and with improved ray tracing the way light interacts with objects has made the gaming world more and more realistic. The development doesn’t just stop there, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) allow players to gain 1st person experience of the character by placing them into the gaming environment using VR headsets, and games like Pokemon Go are the perfect example of the use of AR technology in gaming. The level of detailing in the characters facial expressions and their environment, interaction with Non-Playable Characters (NPCs) has created a world within a world for players.
The possibilities for immersive experiences are endless as the game industry keeps pushing the limits of storytelling and technology. Next-generation technologies like virtual reality and artificial intelligence will probably change how we interact with
game stories. Interactive storytelling alongside cutting-edge technology promises to create experiences that will captivate our minds and move our hearts. Storytelling in video games is becoming more than just an add-on for gameplay; it is the engine that keeps the genre moving ahead. Gaming has become a singular art form because of its immersive quality which allows us to live, feel and explore the infinite reaches of human emotion within the virtual realm in addition to well just playing. As we set out on this continuously evolving journey, the issue that has to be answered is not only how games immerse us in stories but also how these stories immerse us in the boundless potential of our own imagination.
