INTERACTIVE NARRATIVE :: Week 1 Questions

Wk1 Video Questions

TFX – Gaming Moment

1. What is the significance of the player coming up with a “gaming moment” or gaming narrative when playing a videogame?

The gaming moment helps to solidify the personal experience of the player, and adds to their understanding of the game itself. By discovering what they can and cannot do in the game, or experiencing something that is different to the proposed gameplay, the player learns where their boundaries lie and what they are able to do within them. It teaches the player how to play without holding their hand and giving direct instructions, allowing them to learn through their own mistakes and in-game choices and decisions.

2. Is my story of ejecting upside down a game narrative? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes! Through ejecting upside down, you as the player are discovering limits and boundaries to the game and heightening your gaming experience. It also plays on the idea of a consequence of action narrative, in that the player character suffers quite graphically, especially for a game of this time period. The player experience also creates a story that can be spread to other players of the game, who may then go on to experience the event for themeselves in order to discern whether the original storyteller was being truthful and to create their own reaction to the situation.

3. What is one of your favourite game moments? Was it deliberate in the game, or did you come up with it through experimentation?

For me, one of the earliest gaming moments that has stuck with me was playing the old 16 bit game King's Quest I when I was very young. I'd watched my dad play the King's quest series many times, and through that understood that there were many different ways that the player could die. Playing the game was an anxiety inducing experience for me and my sister, as we were afraid of making mistakes or accidentally clicking in the wrong place to induce one of many pun-related deaths. At one point in the game, the protagonist, Graham, can enter a gingerbread cottage in order to obtain some items necessary to progress the story and potentially kill a witch. However, the witch captured us in her house and locked us in a tiny cell, which terrified us, and after a minute or so had passed, the scene cut to outside her cottage, where she emerged from the door holding a terrifying low graphic gingerbread version of Graham and placed it on her lawn alongside three gingerbread children. The terrifying part for me was the bulging marshmallow eyes on the Graham cracker and the screaming pixel mouth that he had – I had nightmares for weeks and because of that, I was determined to never get caught by the witch again. It was not a deliberate decision for us to remain in the witch's house when she returned home, we had no idea that she would interrupt our snooping. Weeks later one of my friends came over to visit and after my sister told her about the graham cracker incident, she proceeded to change my desktop wallpaper to a tiled version of graham's screaming cracker face.

Gamemakers Toolkit – Ico

1. What does Ico teach us about the relationship between narrative and design in videogames?

Ico's approach to design aims to show a very clear link between the elements within the game and the core concept that the game developer wanted to express. Everything within the game focuses or reflects the core concept of the relationship and values of Ico and Yorda, and everything that did not relate to this concept in some significant way was removed in order to keep the narrative strong and remind the player constantly of what they and the characters were aiming to achieve, creating a very strong sense of immersion through the prevaling power of the game's ideals and goals.

2. What are the benefits of “minimalist” design? Can you think of other games that are minimalist?
   Minimalistic design places focus on the key concept and morals of the story, strengthening it by providing no distraction or deviation from the central ideas or goals. The minimalistic approach can create a greater sense of aesthetic and is a concept that is seldom used in most video games today, generating interest for not adhering to the standard and offering a different way to experience a story.
   
   Fez is referenced as a similar minimalistic game in the video that places emphasis on rotating the world and taking a new perspective.
   
   A similar game known as Loved could be considered minimalist, as it is a 2D platformer with one core dynamic – there is a voice telling your character who it is and what they should do. As long as you obey, the world sharpens and desaturates creating an empty but logical world. The more you disobey, the brighter and more muddled the game gets, blocks of color covering walls and obstacles to the point that color is all you see. The game parallels the emotions found in one experiencing an abusive relationship.

Thomas was Alone is another game that has been recommended to me, which is a platformer done in a very minimalistic pixel style where the characters are bits of program shaped like rectangles. They have no physical human features though their given names and personalities creates a personable link to the player. The player moves these rectangles through portal doorways at the ends of a 2D platforming stage, and as the rectangles progress, storyline is achieved.

Reading Questions

Juul, J. (2001). Games telling Stories? A brief note on games and narratives

1. What are existents and events in narrative theory and how do they relate to videogames?

Existents refer to the actors and settings of the narrative, while events refer to the actions and happenings. Exsistent elements in a game that effect the player are limited and therefore the results that the player can achieve are finite, used in order to achieve a means to an end such as unfolding the events within the game. The Existent can be translated to the player character or NPCs or enemies that the player encounters within the game while Events can refer to cutscenes or simulations with multiple outcomes, such as the player's ability to proceed through an area or die at the hands of an enemy/wrong choice. These concepts show that there is a narrative backbone within video games, though the context of the game changes how strong this narrative may appear (video games based on movies vs standalone games)

2. Juul argues that “story time,” “narrative time” and “player/reader time” implode in videogames – what does he mean by this?

Narrative relies heavily on the distance between the events (narrative time) and presentation of events (story time). Literature and film imply that the events told within them are not happening now, at the exact moment that the viewer is experiencing them. Within video games, watching cutscenes and making decisions within the game means that these events will stay seperate and true to the literary and film aspect of the game. But once the player begins to act or interactively affect the game, events happen as the player experiences them and progresses with the story – what they see on screen cannot be happening in the past and is not something that has happened prior to the player experiencing it. This is the implosion that Juul suggests.

3. What is the significance of interactivity in videogame storytelling (addressed in the Conclusion)?

Interactivity changes the experience of the game due to the player's active participation within it. We are not simply bystanding and watching events unfold as one would in a film or read about in a novel, but the player helps to directly influence the story as it happens by controlling a character or otherwise involving themselves in order to create an outcome with the events. Games are dynamic in that we are allowed to explore the world within them and are not sent on a railroad with severe limitations. The player is given a degree of freedom that is not found in the linear progression of a novel or movie, and feels their input is important to the events at hand, creating a more engaging experience that in turn draws them more deeply into the story.

4. Do you think that videogames tell stories? How do they do this?

I definitely believe that video games tell stories, though I find certain types more engaging than others. RPGs for example have very strong narrative elements, and with games such as Dragon Age and Undertale, the player is given a variety of options and an overarching main goal that they are attempting to achieve. In games where character creation is left to the player, it offers the player an avatar to insert into a fantastical world, and this avatar may in turn grow its own personality and backstory as the player learns more about the world that they are immersed in and the choices they make.

Cardoso, P. (2001). Breaking the Game: the Traversal of the Emergent Narrative

1. In what ways is the player crucial to the narrative of videogames?

The player shapes the narrative based on their own personal experience of the game. Their choices affect the gameplay and events, which in turn influences their own experience of the game. Choice is the core element of the video game medium, as the game is unable to progress without the input of the player. Though rules and boundaries are placed within the game to limit the options that the player has, it is generally open enough that the player does not feel restricted and feels that their choices and decisions carry a weight to the rest of the storyline and events within the game.

2. What does Cardoso mean by “traversal” in videogames?
   Traversal here refers to the way that the player moves forward both within the game and in experiencing the game through the choices that they make. Each choice creates a different response or action on the player's part and this traversal can not typically be experienced the same way twice. For example; a first time player, an experience could be surprising, but upon replaying the game, the player knows what to expect and will not experience the same degree of surprise again. Should the player choose a different path or overlook something that they remembered in their previous playthrough, however, they may be surprised at a different outcome despite believing they did the same things that happened on their last playthrough.