I'd like to bring up an age-old topic in the hope that I might learn something from the potential discussion. I'm thinking about the telling of stories in games, in terms of narrative methods and problems associated with those methods. First off, I would like to learn how the gaming community might respond to a more narrative approach. That is, do you think that games should involve story-telling at all? What I mean by story-telling is the construction of plot. Twists and turns in the game that lead to various outcomes and potentially different conclusions. Is a game the correct place for this approach? Secondly, if you are one who would enjoy story-telling in a game, what method of narration would you like to see? Would it be through cut-scenes (film-style), narration, or even a graphic novel. What tickles my fancy right now, is the graphic novel. A kind of comic-book interpsersed with game-play and interactivity. What are your thoughts on this approach? Can you come up with your own? Please discuss your thoughts. Thomo.

Quote: Original post by Thomo
I'd like to bring up an age-old topic in the hope that I might learn something from the potential discussion.

I'm thinking about the telling of stories in games, in terms of narrative methods and problems associated with those methods.

Story-telling in games is one of the topics I think about the most, because it's an area that still has a lot of ground to be covered.

Quote: Original post by Thomo
First off, I would like to learn how the gaming community might respond to a more narrative approach. That is, do you think that games should involve story-telling at all? What I mean by story-telling is the construction of plot. Twists and turns in the game that lead to various outcomes and potentially different conclusions. Is a game the correct place for this approach?

Well, yes and no. It's all about priorities.

I believe it was Cory Barlog that criticized the lack of a decent story in Super Mario Galaxy. While the same-old formula of rescuing the princess has been done for like 20 years, Mario games don't need an incredible story full of twists and turns. All they need is to tell us where Mario is (Peach's Castle? Outer Space? Delfino Island?) and why he's there. (He wants cake. To rescue the princess. On vacation, I think.)

Our priorities also tell us that we expect a decent plot when playing RPGs, that is, it's because of the plot that we've decided to play that particular game. With Mario, it's the opposite: the gameplay lured us, not the plot.

Quote: Original post by Thomo
Secondly, if you are one who would enjoy story-telling in a game, what method of narration would you like to see? Would it be through cut-scenes (film-style), narration, or even a graphic novel.

I can't say that there is one single method of narration that would work for every game, especially since sometimes no one has to tell any story per se; you can embed clues and whatnot all over the game's world. An example would be Portal.

The narrative style has to match with the game's universe and the story you're trying to tell, otherwise you risk losing immersion. For example, a game with superheroes as characters would greatly benefit from having graphic novels to move the plot forward, but the same doesn't apply to a conventional jRPG, for instance. It would be a tad weird, I believe.

I'm all for story-tellers trying new things, though. That was one of the reasons I really liked Final Fantasy X's way to tell its story: the mature Tidus that narrates every now and then was a stark contrast to the overly brash Tidus we see during cutscenes.

Quote: Original post by Thomo
What tickles my fancy right now, is the graphic novel. A kind of comic-book interpsersed with game-play and interactivity. What are your thoughts on this approach? Can you come up with your own?

Please discuss your thoughts.

Thomo.

It's like I said above, I believe the narrative style must match the game's universe and the kind of story you want to tell. <shamelessplug>Which is why I am ripped off... uh, I mean, I am paying homage to one of the greatest Brazilian playwrights ever by adapting his idea of three narrative planes into a game. For more details, please come here. (updates coming soon, I promise!)</shamelessplug>

Has anyone heard of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon? While I think it's a fantastic way to tell a story, I reckon gamers would be bored from having to play the same thing from different perspectives. Or maybe not, hmmm...