Ever since i've been playing video games, beginning with the basic Mario Bros on gameboy to Sonic the Hedgehog on Sega Genesis, I've been able to be apart of a gaming narrative. Many of these games allow for players to have options within their gameplay; different roles, responsibilities and actions are provided throughout the game to engage the player. That sense of control during gameplay, knowing that my decision in a game can change the ending of the entire story, are the type of interactions that many gamers look for.
The narratives that are associated with the games today give even more depth to story lines and provide a wider range of participation. Nielsen talks about the importance of gamer participation within a narrative, but also stresses that the game has to make sure that the user can act freely with his character but still provide an interesting story with their actions. For example, the game Prototype on Xbox 360 allows free movement the character, similar to GTA. The character has the option to choose from many missions and objectives to complete the game, but different missions give the player different results. Narratives with these particular structures have been quite popular within the gaming industry.
This is an interesting post. Could you give some examples of how different player choices result in a different narrative or story being created? do you think that this strategy is successful or unsuccessful in this game? Though players do want to feel like they are "free" to make the story, what happens if everyone makes really really different stories using the same game? can they all enjoy it equally?
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