Storytelling in games.

Storytelling acts as one of the fundamental pillars for creating an engaging, interesting and entertaining video game. Stories have dominated our entertainment culture for hundreds of years; masters of language such as Shake speare and Dickens have clearly shown that stories alone can create a captivating experience, without this key aspect of entertainment, a computer game could never reach its full potential in the media industry. In this respect, video games have a lot of freedom as to how they can deliver a story, because it is an interactive medium the player can create the story as they progress through the game, their continuous decisions affecting the overall outcome of the plot. Another method would be to follow a very narrow and linear fashion, directed by how the story develops, similar to how a film would be presented. Games have been known to be influenced by popular film directors, and have adapted their presentation styles.

There have been many gaming titles, which have found success without developing a storytelling foundation. Online role-playing games, such as ‘Second Life’ provide the tools for players to create their own unique environment and character. This genre of gaming encourages players to use their imagination to create a world and lifestyle unique to their personality, no longer dictated by a looming narrative. The ‘Call of duty’ franchise, for years, has had its narrative account strongly rooted in the foundations of history, and it begs the question ‘is this a story, or a documented portrayal of historic events?’ When does the brutality of war, become a form of interactive entertainment. No matter how a game presents itself though, I think it’s clear that stories will always have a strong presence in this industry.