bit-tech.net - How Games Tell Stories

U.K. site bit-tech.net posts a feature article dealing with narrative in games and whether games should follow the paths of films and novels in considering how to best tell a story.
The article starts out asking this question:

The question is do we, as gamers, limit ourselves by comparing games to the stories and structure of films and novels, by wanting a game equivalent of War & Peace or Citizen Kane? Are video games even storytelling systems in the same sense as novels or cinema? Can a story exist that's told in different way to the three-act, narrated structure of books and films?...

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It goes on to cover cut scenes and cinematics as 'interactive movie' story-telling devices, the idea that games are evolving more sophisticated stories over time similar to TV and comics, and includes some commentary from Rhianna Pratchett on game storywriting:

“Too often in games development ‘story’ is considered to be something that can be poured on top, long after a game has been designed and productions is in full swing. Like a kind of narrative custard,” Rhianna Pratchett, scriptwriter for Overlord and Mirror’s Edge, told us.
“But the uniqueness of games cannot be ignored. The challenges of immersing players in a story - really making them feel like an active agent in it and weaving narrative and gameplay together in a way that compliments, rather than clashes - are not to be under-estimated.”...

“Narrative in games isn’t often given the attention it both deserves and needs in order to flourish,” she explains. “In the past story construction and script has often been the remit of designers, producers or others who did it in addition to their main role. There’s a popular misconception that being able to construct the basics of language, namely the mechanics of writing, automatically means that someone can write a good story. It’s not the case.”

“Story creation is a skill that is honed, practiced and developed over the course of many years, even by the most successful of storytellers. Finding a writer is only one part of the challenge (and it’s certainly becoming a little more commonplace these days) using them correctly for the needs of the project is still an on-going battle.”

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The article concludes with the idea of interactivity perhaps being the wave of the future:

Authorship in a game becomes entirely procedure based; rather than explicitly dictating the actions of the plot, the real role of the author here is to create the framework while the user propels the actual story.

It's just one idea though. The future of narrative in games lies in understanding the potential of games, instead of trying to evolve the One System to Rule Them All mentality. If there’s one thing that Façade has proven it’s that even though games aren’t movies they certainly have the ability to tell stories in their own way.

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More information.

Rhianna Pratchett, scriptwriter for Overlord and Mirror’s Edge, told us.

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What sterling credentials indeed! Who can deny the revolutionary plotline of either?

“…weaving narrative and gameplay together in a way that compliments, rather than clashes…”

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That would be complements, Miss Pratchett, not compliments. I, for one, do not want a story that spends its time tossing out favorable remarks about how grand a game it is, rather one that meshes seamlessly with the mechanics.

Also, am I the only one who is sick of reading newsbits concerning "narrative in games" that peak their interest, only to be downcast once they realize it is yet another discussion with Miss Pratchett? If it weren't for her father she'd be just another writer.
Speak with the former Black Isle and Troika writers, even the folk behind BioWare's constant rehash of the monomyth. Why, I'd even gleefully welcome the writers behind the Resident Evil franchise. Heaven knows they're certainly quirky and original enough when it comes to the final product.
For that matter, what about the smaller studio authors? The dedicated writers at Piranha Bytes? The gents over at Arkane? A little insight into both their past and future projects, in addition to such wonderful tales as Arx Fatalis and the Gothic series would be superb.
…but no, it's always Rhianna Pratchett. Ugh….

POSTSCRIPT:

…wanting a game equivalent of War & Peace or Citizen Kane?

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Has anyone actually seen Citizen Kane? I've watched the ruddy thing four times, yet not once have I been impressed. Better movies were released in the same time-period and the cinema has seen better since. For that matter, videogames with better plots have been released. Quests have been included within games that are better. I've had enough of the constant harping on "videogames need a Citizen Kane!" That, too, must go.

I generally agree with Roger Ebert - if a player can influence the story, then it's a lot harder for a writer to make a point. But, it's possible if all the choices would boil down to the same thing - one would lead the player to a dark alley where he would be viciously slaughtered by a band of intelligent rats, the other would have him trip and fall on a very sharp knife… different choices ultimately leading to his demise… only he gets killed in a different way based on the choices he made.

Anyway, games don't need to look like films, they're a different media and have a lot more potential. Down with cut-scenes, I say! We don't even need them in RPGs - you walk to an NPC, he starts talking (but you don't get into ''dialogue mode''), then you can say something… or walk away in which case he goes like: ''Hey, where're you going???''. And when you get back: ''Why did you left, man?''. It wouldn't be that hard to make. Other than that, the dialogues would stay the same.

IMHO, this is the wrong direction for games. Mainstream game developers have been misled by superficial similarities with movies. Movies are linear and passive; like books, they're a very good medium for telling a story.

Games, however, are not. But games ARE a very good medium for creating a story - not the developer's story (though, yes, his setting, rules, and AI), but each player's story, unique each time he plays the game. I think we're only at the very, very beginning of this, but Dwarf Fortress is a great example of this kind of thing. Or look at Aurora, Mount&Blade, UnReal World, etc.

If anyone's really interested, I examined this idea in more detail here:

http://garthright.blogspot.com/2010/03/role-playing-games-arent-movies.html

Obviously, it's not a new idea. Re. that Roger Ebert quote, I'd never say that games are "inferior," just different (perhaps "inferior" in being able to tell an author's story, though).

The player should create the adventures/stories himself, that's whats so great about Bethesda's approach to games imo.

I'm not that interested in movie or book-like experiences (like in Bioware games), especially since they're nowhere near the quality of a good book or movie. I rather have simpler adventures but created by me through the choices i've made on how to travel, how to approach things and where i decided to go exploring. The game world needs to be very interactive for this to work well (eg you should be able to swim/dive, climb/jump, pick up almost any object etc). This makes gaming feel really different from reading a book or watching a movie.

If Bethesda had more skilled writers, The Elder Scrolls would be really awesome. Or if a game like Dragon Age would let the player travel around the country in real time instead of quick traveling. I think games like that have potential to be better than books and films in telling the developer's story as well. They're not so limited.

Malk said:

I think games like that have potential to be better than books and films in telling the developer's story as well. They're not so limited.

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But storytelling is inherently passive. The storyteller tells the story, and you listen, watch, or read it. It's also linear. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end.

So if you want to tell a story in a game, you have to make sure the player follows along. There's an inherent conflict between storytelling and letting the player make decisions. Mainstream developers try to compromise - by letting the player ignore the main story as long as he wants, or by creating multiple endings - but those things increase player freedom (to whatever extent) by making the story less effective (you can't have multiple endings that are all equally good for whatever story you're trying to tell).

Games just aren't well-suited for someone telling stories to us. They're the wrong medium for that. But they'd be a great medium for setting up the conditions by which each player could create his own "story." Let a game drop you down into a realistic (even if fantasy) world where YOU decide what to do - how to live, who to help, what ongoing situation you want to become a part of, from whatever angle, to whatever result. This wouldn't be easy, and it would require a huge amount of creative imagination from the developer, but he would be setting up the conditions for a story - for an almost unlimited number of stories - rather than trying to tell one himself.

Games have the potential to allow the player to actively affect the story. Not just by changing the way they end, but also by setting a player in a different level (all based on his choices). Imagine Dragon Age where one choice would lead you to Orzammar and the other to Mages' Tower. You can't do that in books and films. Of course, a lot more work would have to go into that kind of a game.

Also I think games can have multiple and effective endings at the same time, if all endings would boil down to the same thing (like I said before… I gave an example in my first message on this topic).