The Narrative

Nielson et al. writes about in the chapter the narrative on video games and how it is present in most of them. The narrative is the story of the game which also means games are medium to present stories like film does. It can be very apparent in most games such as adventure ones. They can also be seen that are not necessarily seen as having a story but there is an imaginative aspect to it. Games like those either have set fictional world with an external story like many Star War games or let players create their own kind of narrative to add enjoyment like Monkey Ball. These games create the game space for people to somewhat believe that virtual reality.

In the chapter, they video games have become another medium to tell a story. Like many other media (film, play, or novel), a lot of video games have a plot. It practically starts off with the basic exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and to finally conclusion. This is also called the hero’s journey. Video game narratives also have progression within the storyline. It can be the traditional, linear path or the interactive fiction where are different endings that the player can obtain. And of course, with every story, there is at least a character to be seen. The types are the stage, functional, cast characters, and the player character. Playing through a game, it shows what kind of characters they are mostly towards the cast and the player character. Lastly, cut scenes add an effect to add more to the storyline as it can add information, create tension, sets the course of the game’s protagonist, and so on.

In the chapter, it states that stories are everywhere and within a video game narrative, the story is important. As I see it, video games without some sort of narrative lack depth. The story helps create a sense of relation to the game as if you are there. Going back to the game space, the reality is more believability with a story.

-Vircell Dayap