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Story telling has come a long ways since it's inception, moving from spoken word, to printed
volume, to moving pictures, and finally to the interactive medium we know as video games.
Each form has its pros and cons, and while each progressive form of storytelling outshines
it's predecessor, it always relinquishes something to be better at something else. For instance
movies gave up an extreme amount of linear detail that books had, in order to deliver
a real-time visual minute to minute experience. In games though, storytelling is much more
difficult because timed linear delivery is sacrificed for interaction. And it's the lack
of utilizing player interaction that often hiders the delivery of a games story. Books
rely on words and Moves rely on video, therefore they tell and show their stories respectively.
However, games are about doing, so story should be presented during and through interaction.
This is known as "Do, don't show or tell", but many games don't follow this rule. However,
there are multiple titles that can be used to make example of how following this maxim
is for the best, and one of the better games to start with is Half-Life 2.
Half-Life 2 exemplifies not only how a good game should play, but also how a good game
should present it's story. With the exception of it's short beginning and conclusion, Half-Life
2 never takes control out of the player's hands. In every instance where the story is
the focus of the moment, your still allowed to move around and do as you please. By allowing
this Half-Life never removes you from the role of player, and remains an interactive
experience from start to finish. This is how story telling in games is at it's best, when
complete control is left in the player's hands, and never wrestled away for anything like
a cut scene. Of course while Half-Life 2 is triple A across the board, it doesn't explore
all of the of the good interactive storytelling techniques that exist.
Another game that exemplifies interactive story telling is BioShock. Just like Half-Life
2 BioShock never takes control out of the players hands, with the only exception being
the small introduction and conclusion to the game. Instead of stopping to display cut scenes
the player stumbles across countless audio diaries, or receives radio transmissions.
Granted these snippets of dialogue do conform to the rule of being told things, but because
they are delivered at the same time as gameplay they function through an acceptable, and moreover
effective, loophole. This style of presentation works very well because interaction doesn't
have to stop in order to push the story forward. However, there are some technical problems
with this style of presentation. The most glaring issue is how audio transmissions conflict
with real-time sound effects. This is a problem that isn't easily solved in a first person
shooter, as fading out environment sound for the sake of spoken dialogue can make being
snuck up on a problem. However it is a better alternative than being forced to stop playing,
and find a safe place to stand while listening the recording. Furthermore having to go into
a menu to find and play audio logs is also an enormously bad idea, because it breaks
the minute to minute gameplay. Doom 3, which used audio recordings first, made this exact
mistake. As a result the personnel logs you picked up in Mars city were more cumbersome
and less effective at telling back story than the audio logs were in BioShock. The point
is being told back story in a game isn't bad, so long as you don't have to stop playing
in order to listen to it, or worse yet read it, but I digress. Point being the audio log
system is effective, but it can be taken even a step further.
Though an unusual method of story delivery, and more often seen in television and film,
narration can also be a surprisingly effective form of story telling in games. Bastion is
a good example of how narration can enrich a game's experience, and also deliver a copious
amount of information to the player in an entertaining manner. However, this is a very
dangerous way to deliver a story, because of how easily it can be executed wrong. It's
important that whenever a story is delivered through narration, it isn't just monologuing
what is happening on screen. This is part of the "do don't show or tell" rule. Bastion
does make this mistake to a certain extent. However, it does it in such minor volume,
and even then in such an entertaining manner, that it doesn't detract from the presentation
much, if at all. Most of the information relayed through the narration is actually about what
your getting into, or giving you a head up on your enemies or surroundings. This is how
narration can be properly used to enrich a game's experience; By commenting on the situation
in an informative manner, rather than just saying what's going on. Not many games use
active narration though, as it is a unique form of story telling. However, as shown by
Bastion, when used right narration can make a game phenomenally better than without.
Storytelling is a long standing form of entertainment, and it's only through the long and painful
process of trial and error, that the most effective methods of presentation are ever
fleshed out. Just keep in mind that a poorly written story,
and a poorly presented story are two different things even though they are related. And that
while a good story can be killed by poor presentation, no amount of good presentation can save a
poorly written story.
This is subject that has room for more discussion though, so if you've formulated an opinion
that can further the matter then go ahead and hit the comments.
Until next time this has been a video blog by William Strife for B-1-0-G dot net, August
22, 2011 Strife Out.